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Code Switch
Code Switch
NPR

What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles... more

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Episodes

The Tricky Obligations of Utang Na Loob

Utang na loob is the Filipino concept of an eternal debt to others, be it family or friends, who do... more

29 Mar 2023 · 38 minutes
The Women Behind the Montgomery Bus Boycott

We've all heard about Rosa Parks and her crucial role in the Montgomery bus boycott. But Parks was just one... more

22 Mar 2023 · 35 minutes
Whose Nightmares Are We Telling? How Horror Has Evolved for People of Color

Host B.A. Parker talks to Jasmin Savoy Brown, of the recently-released Scream 6, about playing a queer Black girl who... more

15 Mar 2023 · 33 minutes
The Women Who Influence How America Eats

For decades, the ingredients, dishes and chefs that are popularized have been filtered through the narrow lens of a food... more

08 Mar 2023 · 32 minutes
This Racism Is Killing Me Inside

This week, we revisit an episode from 2018 that looks into how discrimination not only degrades your health, but can... more

01 Mar 2023 · 29 minutes
Black History's Family Tree

Brett Woodson Bailey is a living relative of "the father of Black History," Carter G. Woodson. He has found support... more

22 Feb 2023 · 35 minutes
The Merengue War

From the dance floors of weddings and bar mitzvahs to the Billboard Hot 100, chances are, you've enjoyed some merengue... more

15 Feb 2023 · 43 minutes
Reckoning With The NFL's Rooney Rule

In this episode, we're looking at the NFL's famous diversity plan and what it might tells us about why so... more

08 Feb 2023 · 35 minutes
Celebrating Lunar New Year In A Time Of Grief

In this week's episode, we dive into the traditions and stories that shape Lunar New Year, and why violence and... more

01 Feb 2023 · 35 minutes
The Original Rainbow Coalition

In this episode we turn to late 1960s Chicago, when three unlikely groups came together to form a coalition based... more

25 Jan 2023 · 24 minutes
Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

Bad Bunny, the genre- and gender norm-defying Puerto Rican rapper, is one of the biggest music stars on the planet.... more

18 Jan 2023 · 39 minutes
Meet Lori Lizarraga—Our Newest Co-host

Our newest co-host Lori Lizarraga tells the story about why she goes by "Lori" when her real name is Laura.

11 Jan 2023 · 27 minutes
Revisiting 'How The Other Half Eats'

How do race and class affect the way we eat? What does it mean to "eat like a white person?"... more

04 Jan 2023 · 32 minutes
How cumbia has shaped music across Latin America

Whether you're from Ushuaia or East Los Angeles, you've likely heard cumbia blaring from a stereo. From our play friends... more

28 Dec 2022 · 29 minutes
Unlocking family history in 'Before Me'

It wasn't until Lisa Phu had her own child that she started unlocking her mother's history. In her new 5-part... more

21 Dec 2022 · 46 minutes
What We Watched in 2022

There are a lot of TV shows to watch out there - so the Code Switch team isn't trying to... more

14 Dec 2022 · 29 minutes
Why some Republicans want to narrow who counts as Black

Republican officials in Louisiana want to change how Black people are counted in voting maps. If their plan is successful,... more

07 Dec 2022 · 36 minutes
Notes from America: 'Blackness (Un)interrupted'

So many of our perceptions of race have to do with color. How does that change if you've lived in... more

30 Nov 2022 · 29 minutes
A lost bird, a found treasure

Bear Carrillo grew up with only a few details about his birth parents: they were Native university students. Decades later,... more

23 Nov 2022 · 34 minutes
Live from Chicago: What makes a city home?

This episode is excerpted from the Code Switch Live show at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, featuring special guests José... more

16 Nov 2022 · 50 minutes
Throughline: How Korean culture went global

From BTS to Squid Game to high-end beauty standards, South Korea reigns as a global exporter of pop culture and... more

09 Nov 2022 · 48 minutes
Code Switch fam! Say hello to It's Been a Minute's new host, Brittany Luse!

Code Switch's B.A. Parker introduces us to our play cousin It's Been A Minute's new voice, Brittany Luse!

02 Nov 2022 · 34 minutes
Fear In An Age Of Real Life Horror, Revisited

It's Halloween, and people are leaning into all things scary. But sometimes the festivities hit a little too close to... more

26 Oct 2022 · 25 minutes
Skeletons in the closet, revisited

More than 10,000 Native human remains are currently sitting in a storage facility in a Maryland suburb. This week, how... more

19 Oct 2022 · 33 minutes
Black reality in a world of fantasy

Why build a fantasy world that still has racism? B.A. Parker moderates a discussion on Black science fiction and fantasy... more

12 Oct 2022 · 29 minutes
Omar Apollo on making music, being queer and Latinx

NPR's Alt.Latino gets a reboot, and for its first episode, they speak with R&B darling Omar Apollo. Apollo shares what... more

05 Oct 2022 · 30 minutes
Gaming out race in Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop roleplaying games of all time. But it has also helped... more

28 Sep 2022 · 34 minutes
In 1962, segregationists set up "Reverse Freedom Rides"

Recently, Republican governors have been sending migrants from the southern border to cities they deem more liberal under false pretenses.... more

21 Sep 2022 · 39 minutes
Can therapy solve racism?

Nearly 20% of Americans turned to therapy in 2020. That had us wondering: What exactly can therapy accomplish? Today, we're... more

14 Sep 2022 · 35 minutes
How the Pell Grant helped POCs go to college

The cost of college has been on everyone's minds, especially with student debt cancellation. Pell Grants are one way many... more

07 Sep 2022 · 28 minutes
What does it mean to "inherit whiteness?"

In Baynard Woods' new memoir, Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness, Woods reflects on how growing up white in South Carolina... more

31 Aug 2022 · 26 minutes
What makes a good race joke?

When a comedian of color makes a joke, is it always about race, even if it's not about race? In... more

24 Aug 2022 · 27 minutes
What's so funny about race?

What makes a great joke about race? In the first of two episodes, Code Switch talks to comedians Ziwe, Anjelah... more

17 Aug 2022 · 31 minutes
Into the glittering neon universe of 'P-Valley' with Katori Hall

The Starz hit show P-Valley takes audiences to a strip club in a fictional town in the Mississippi Delta. Part... more

10 Aug 2022 · 31 minutes
Lost In Translation

Today on the show, we're bringing you the stories of two families grappling with how best to communicate across linguistic... more

03 Aug 2022 · 36 minutes
Meet B.A. Parker — our new co-host!

Fam: We finally have a new co-host of the Code Switch podcast! And we're just a *tiny bit* excited. So... more

27 Jul 2022 · 24 minutes
Who belongs in the Cherokee Nation?

In 1866, the Cherokee Nation promised citizenship for Black "freedmen" and their descendants. But more than a century later, the... more

20 Jul 2022 · 38 minutes
School Colors Episode 9: "Water Under The Bridge"

We catch up with parents who became activated on both sides of the debate over the diversity plan. And, since... more

15 Jul 2022 · 50 minutes
Code Switch's playlist for a summer road trip

This week, we're talking about the podcasts that podcasters listen to. These are the shows that members of the Code... more

13 Jul 2022 · 39 minutes
School Colors Bonus: "Ms. Mitchell's Pandemic Diary"

We look at the pandemic through the eyes of one elementary school principal and how Covid-19 rocked education in the... more

08 Jul 2022 · 28 minutes
'Wherever you go, there you are'

Many immigrants have described the feeling of being different people in different places. Maybe in one country, you're a little... more

06 Jul 2022 · 57 minutes
School Colors Episode 8: "The Only Way Out"

In this episode: why gifted education gets so much attention, even though it affects relatively few students. How do we... more

01 Jul 2022 · 1 hour,
No Man's Land

Tens of thousands of children were adopted from other countries by parents in the U.S., only to discover as adults... more

29 Jun 2022 · 35 minutes
School Colors Episode 7: "The Sleeping Giant"

In some ways, this entire season was prompted by the parents who organized against diversity planning in District 28. In... more

24 Jun 2022 · 59 minutes
On Food, Mattress Sales, and Juneteenth

It's the second year that Juneteenth has been a federal holiday — which means it's getting the full summer holiday... more

19 Jun 2022 · 33 minutes
School Colors Episode 6: "Below Liberty"

There needs to be some change in District 28, but what kind of change? We went to the Southside and... more

17 Jun 2022 · 55 minutes
The impact of COVID-19, a million deaths in

A new book by Linda Villarosa looks at how racial bias in healthcare has costs for all Americans. Spoiler: Poverty... more

15 Jun 2022 · 28 minutes
Spilling the T

Code Switch's Kumari Devarajan found an unlikely demographic doppelganger in D'Lo, a comedian and playwright whose one-person show about growing... more

08 Jun 2022 · 32 minutes
School Colors Episode 5: "The Melting Pot"

Once known for its Black/white racial binary, Queens, N.Y., has become one of the most diverse places in the world.... more

03 Jun 2022 · 54 minutes
Rethinking 'safety' in the wake of Uvalde

In the wake of violence and tragedies, people are often left in search of ways to feel safe again. That... more

01 Jun 2022 · 32 minutes
School Colors Episode 4: "The Mason-Dixon Line"

The conversation about District 28 hinges on the dynamic between the Northside and the Southside. But why were they wedged... more

27 May 2022 · 51 minutes
How We Decide Who Is 'Worthy of Welcome'

The author of Refuge reflects on her time interviewing Syrian refugees in the U.S., Canada and Germany.

25 May 2022 · 41 minutes
School Colors Episode 3: "The Battle of Forest Hills"

In the early 1970s, the famously liberal neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens became a hotbed of reaction and backlash in... more

20 May 2022 · 59 minutes
The Utang Clan

Utang na loob is the Filipino concept of an eternal debt to others, be it family or friends, who do... more

18 May 2022 · 43 minutes
School Colors Episode 2: "Tales From The Southside"

Once home to two revolutionary experiments in integrated housing, the Southside of District 28 was once seen as a beacon... more

11 May 2022 · 50 minutes
School Colors Episode 1: "There Is No Plan"

In 2019, a school district in Queens N.Y., one of the most diverse places on the planet, is selected to... more

04 May 2022 · 58 minutes
Coming Soon: Code Switch presents 'School Colors'

Coming soon to the Code Switch feed: School Colors, a limited-run series about how race, class and power shape American... more

02 May 2022 · 3 minutes
The LA Uprising, a generation later

Some call it a riot. Some call it an uprising. Many Korean Americans simply call it "Sai-i-gu" (literally, 4-2-9.) But... more

27 Apr 2022 · 50 minutes
Race, queerness, and superpowers in 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once'

How can anything be more important than what's happening right now? That's the question a woman named Evelyn Wang is... more

20 Apr 2022 · 26 minutes
A makeup company gets a facelift

In the 70s and 80s, Fashion Fair was an iconic cosmetics company designed to create makeup for Black women of... more

13 Apr 2022 · 25 minutes
A New Movement on Standing Rock

What do you do when all your options for school kind of suck? That was the question some folks on... more

06 Apr 2022 · 36 minutes
The dance that made its way from Harlem to Sweden

Lindy Hop is a dance that was born in Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s — created and performed by... more

30 Mar 2022 · 43 minutes
Why the N-word is so toxic

It is probably the most radioactive word in the English language. At the same time, the N-word is kind of... more

23 Mar 2022 · 38 minutes
Screams and Silence

Asians and Asian Americans have been trying to sound the alarm about a huge uptick in reports of racism directed... more

16 Mar 2022 · 32 minutes
What's In A Dad?

Gene Demby and comedian Hari Kondabolu are both new fathers, and they're both learning to raise kids who will have... more

09 Mar 2022 · 28 minutes
Mabel Fairbanks: The Ice Breaker

Figure skating has always been about flair and drama. But what happens on the ice is nothing compared to what... more

02 Mar 2022 · 39 minutes
The rise and fall of 'America's Dad'

At the height of his career, Bill Cosby was one of the most famous men in the United States. He... more

23 Feb 2022 · 42 minutes
Can therapy solve racism?

In 2020, nearly 20% of Americans turned to therapy. Many of those people were looking for a space to process... more

16 Feb 2022 · 33 minutes
Humor, poetry and romance on Code Switch Live

Live from your computer screens, it's Code Switch! Guest hosts Ayesha Rascoe and Denice Frohman joined us to talk poetry... more

09 Feb 2022 · 36 minutes
Bonus Episode: Consider the Lobstermen

In Canada, tensions between indigenous fishermen and commercial fishermen have been simmering for decades. On today's bonus episode, from our... more

07 Feb 2022 · 24 minutes
The 'double-edged sword' of being a Black first

It's Black History Month, which is likely to bring boundless stories of Black Excellence and Black Firsts. So today on... more

02 Feb 2022 · 34 minutes
Bonus: Getting real (like, really real) with Gabrielle Union

We hear the phrase "unapologetically Black" thrown around a lot. But what does it actually mean? In this bonus episode... more

30 Jan 2022 · 48 minutes
Playing Pretendian

People lie about being Native American all the time – on college applications, on job applications, in casual conversation. But... more

26 Jan 2022 · 33 minutes
Bonus: Remembering the iconic, complicated André Leon Talley

Since he died this week, André Leon Talley has been described over and over again as "larger than life." But... more

23 Jan 2022 · 35 minutes
A whiteness that's only skin deep

We use words related to color to describe different racial categories all the time — Black, white, brown. But how... more

19 Jan 2022 · 24 minutes
They came, they saw, they reckoned?

It's now been more than a year since the so-called "racial reckoning" that marked the summer of 2020. The country,... more

12 Jan 2022 · 35 minutes
Nikole Hannah-Jones on the power of collective memory

What stories do we learn about the history of the United States? Who dreamed up those stories? And what happens... more

05 Jan 2022 · 50 minutes
Ask Code Switch: What Does Race Have To Do With Beauty?

This time of year, folks are being inundated with messages about how to become more beautiful. But beauty is an... more

29 Dec 2021 · 48 minutes
What We Watched in 2021

Y'all, 2021 brought us a lot of TV. Some of it was even good! So this week, we're talking about... more

22 Dec 2021 · 33 minutes
Bonus Episode: The blessing and curse of the '90s Latin Pop Explosion

Our play cousins at NPR's It's Been a Minute podcast reexamine the so-called "Latin explosion" of the late '90s: What... more

20 Dec 2021 · 34 minutes
What Is 'Latin Music' Anyway?

The term 'Latin Music' can encompass everything from Celia Cruz to Bad Bunny to Selena Gomez to Los Tigres del... more

15 Dec 2021 · 36 minutes
A Glimpse At 'How The Other Half Eats'

How do race and class affect the way we eat? What makes dollar store junk food different from organic junk... more

08 Dec 2021 · 33 minutes
Imagining A World Without Prisons Or Police

When Derecka Purnell was growing up, the police were a regular presence in her life. Years later, the lawyer, activist,... more

01 Dec 2021 · 32 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Thought For Food

It's Thanksgiving week, so we're bringing you a second helping of one of our favorite episodes, where we answer your... more

24 Nov 2021 · 32 minutes
'The Characters Are The Light'

You already know we love books here on Code Switch — and given that we're smack dab in the middle... more

17 Nov 2021 · 31 minutes
'Being Fly Is An Act Of Community'

When 'Soul Train' first aired in 1971, there had never been a show like it. Fifty years later, that's still... more

10 Nov 2021 · 35 minutes
Love And Blood Quantum

If you're Native American, there's a good chance that you've thought a lot about blood quantum — a highly controversial... more

03 Nov 2021 · 22 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Parents Just Don't Understand

Or do they? This week, we're answering some of your toughest questions about race and your parents. How do you... more

27 Oct 2021 · 43 minutes
Painting By Numbers

The 2020 census data is finally here! At first glance, it paints a surprising portrait of a changing United States:... more

20 Oct 2021 · 32 minutes
Skeletons In The Closet

In a small suburb of Washington, D.C., a non-descript beige building houses thousands of Native human remains. The remains are... more

13 Oct 2021 · 33 minutes
The Once And Future 'Karen'

If you've been paying attention to the news over the past couple years, you know what a so-called 'Karen' is:... more

06 Oct 2021 · 23 minutes
The Rise Of The BBL

Black women have always faced immense pressure to make their bodies look a certain way. But if done the "wrong... more

29 Sep 2021 · 29 minutes
The Dramatic Life Of The American Teenager

Kacen Callender started out as a kid in St. Thomas writing fan fiction. Today, they are the author of multiple... more

24 Sep 2021 · 18 minutes
Who You Calling 'Hispanic'?

But seriously, who? Because while it is Hispanic Heritage Month, the notion of a multiracial, multinational, pan-ethnic identity called "Hispanic"... more

22 Sep 2021 · 35 minutes
The Making And Remaking Of Afghanistan

For two decades, many Americans have seen Afghanistan depicted primarily through the lens of war. But that's not the full... more

15 Sep 2021 · 55 minutes
The Lost Summer

Twenty years ago, during the dog days of summer , a fledgling journalist named Shereen Marisol Meraji — maybe you've... more

08 Sep 2021 · 47 minutes
The Folk Devil Made Me Do It

What moral panics reveal about the ongoing freakout over critical race theory in schools.

01 Sep 2021 · 37 minutes
'Seeing Ghosts' Across Generations

Kat Chow was 13 when her mother died, and with that loss came profound and lasting questions about identity, family... more

25 Aug 2021 · 27 minutes
Who Runs The World? Kids.

OK, they're not all kids. But they're all students, they're all amazing, and frankly, we're concerned that they might be... more

18 Aug 2021 · 29 minutes
Care To Explain Yourself?

It's hot out, places are shutting down again, and things might just be feeling a little bit slow. So in... more

11 Aug 2021 · 31 minutes
Code Switch
Who You Calling 'Hispanic'?
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Description

But seriously, who? Because while it is Hispanic Heritage Month, the notion of a multiracial, multinational, pan-ethnic identity called "Hispanic" is a... more