Accessibility links
Code Switch Blog Race and identity, remixed.

Code SwitchCode Switch

Race. In your face.
NPR YouTube
NPR YouTube
NPR YouTube
When Pretendian investigations go wrong
AI Generated Image via Canadaland

The Code Switch Podcast

When Pretendian investigations go wrong

by  ,  ,  Robert Jago ,  Angel Ellis ,  Jesse Brown ,  Caleb Thompson ,  Karyn Pubgliese , 

There are wild stories about the fraudsters who pretend to be Indigenous, but sometimes casting doubt on people's indigeneity can cause more harm than good. On this episode we hear from the person behind the "Alleged Pretendians List" and someone whose name appeared on that controversial list. The problem? He's legitimately Native.

When Pretendian investigations go wrong

Listen · 27:53
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1214145105/1262545329" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The day Trump won...again
Jackie Lay

The Code Switch Podcast

The day Trump won...again

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero

The Code Switch team spent Election Day talking to folks about how the outcome might impact them. From green card holding Trump supporters in Queens, to first-time voters at Harris' watch party in DC, we bring you this time capsule of the day before we knew.

The day Trump won...again

Listen · 35:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1212604234/1262194938" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
You can't outrun voters' feelings about the economy
smartboy10

The Code Switch Podcast

You can't outrun voters' feelings about the economy

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero ,  ,  ,  , 

As we take in the news of another Donald Trump administration, we thought who better to turn the mic over to than the hosts of NPR's Politics Podcast.

You can't outrun voters' feelings about the economy

Listen · 23:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1210942143/1261904553" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Diving into the Black Manosphere
Jackie Lay

The Code Switch Podcast

Diving into the Black Manosphere

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero

The manosphere is a sprawling online ecosystem aimed at disgruntled men. Now a subset of the manosphere aimed at Black men is exposing cracks in Black voters' steadfast support of Democrats. On this episode, we take a look at how the Black manosphere came to be and wonder: could this loose community of aggrieved dudes swing the election?

Diving into the Black Manosphere

Listen · 41:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1210938547/1261301746" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Spitting on Andrew Jackson's grave with Rebecca Nagle

Journalist Rebecca Nagle poses next to her new book, By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land Photo credit: Brittany Bendabout hide caption

toggle caption
Photo credit: Brittany Bendabout

The Code Switch Podcast

Spitting on Andrew Jackson's grave with Rebecca Nagle

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero ,  , 

That's how Nagle begins her new book and how she frames the version of history she's telling. The book digs into the past and future of Native sovereignty through the lens of one of the most significant Supreme Court rulings for Native Americans in over 100 years.

Spitting on Andrew Jackson's grave with Rebecca Nagle

Listen · 33:35
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1210938384/1260895459" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In Michigan, Arab Americans weigh the power of a vote
Jackie Lay

Code Switch

In Michigan, Arab Americans weigh the power of a vote

by  ,  Colin Jackson ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero , 

We travel to Dearborn, aka the "capital of Arab America." The Dearbornites we met said that the war in Gaza is the key issue on their minds as they consider how to cast their ballots. What these voters ultimately decide could have huge consequences for the whole country.

In Michigan, Arab Americans weigh the power of a vote

Listen · 41:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1210938241/1260544715" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ask Code Switch: Am I the "token" at work?
Luke Medina

Perspective

Ask Code Switch

Ask Code Switch: Am I the "token" at work?

by  ,  ,  , 

This week on Ask Code Switch, we're getting into the question a lot of minorities face when climbing the ladder at work – am I rising because I'm talented or because I'm tokenized?

Ask Code Switch: Am I the "token" at work?

Listen · 11:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1258323361/1259209476" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Two Palestinian writers on the right to share their stories

People rally during the "National March on Washington: Free Palestine" while calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Freedom Plaza November 4, 2023 in Washington, DC. Photo by Drew Angerer hide caption

toggle caption
Photo by Drew Angerer

Code Switch

Two Palestinian writers on the right to share their stories

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero ,  , 

In the year since the devastating Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Even more have been injured or displaced. Still, many Palestinians across the diaspora feel that they aren't allowed to share their stories — that the fullness of their humanity is too often reduced to a few soundbites on the news, or images of people dying. So on this episode, we're revisiting conversations with Fady Joudah and Tariq Luthun — two Palestinian American poets who have tried to carve out space to expand the kind of stories that Palestinians are allowed to tell.

Two Palestinian writers on the right to share their stories

Listen · 33:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1249793354/1260043144" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Ask Code Switch: Is it a preference or fetish?
Luke Medina

Perspective

Ask Code Switch

Ask Code Switch: Is it a preference or fetish?

by  ,  ,  , 

This week on Ask Code Switch, when it comes to race and dating, how important is diversity in your dating history? What does the race of our past romances say about us? And how do we know when we've crossed the line from preference to fetish?

Ask Code Switch: Is it a preference or fetish?

Listen · 13:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1258323362/1259202555" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Trump campaign strategy to demonize Haitian immigrants
Photo by Jasmine Garsd

The Code Switch Podcast

The Trump campaign strategy to demonize Haitian immigrants

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero

This week, we're looking into the endgame of the racist and false rumors targeting Haitian immigrants. Are the lies being told about migrants across the country part of a strategy to land a bigger lie: that undocumented immigrants could steal the election?

The Trump campaign strategy to demonize Haitian immigrants

Listen · 33:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1202966831/1259679821" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ask Code Switch: Is picky eating about taste or race?
Luke Medina

Perspective

Ask Code Switch

Ask Code Switch: Is picky eating about taste or race?

by  ,  ,  , 

Today on Ask Code Switch, we're talking about taste. How we eat, why we prefer certain foods, and where those preferences come from. We're getting into all the things that shape and change our taste buds, from the genes you inherit to falling in love.

Ask Code Switch: Is picky eating about taste or race?

Listen · 13:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1249795976/1258264868" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Latinos are moving to the far right. Paola Ramos thinks she knows why

Author Paola Ramos poses next to the cover of her new book, Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right. Photo credit: Samantha Bloom hide caption

toggle caption
Photo credit: Samantha Bloom

Code Switch

Latinos are moving to the far right. Paola Ramos thinks she knows why

by  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

As we close in on the election, it's Trump-supporting Latinos that some pollsters believe could decide this race. So how did we get here? In her new book, Defectors, Paola Ramos explains that part of the story of being Latino has always been this temptation to defect.

Latinos are moving to the far right. Paola Ramos thinks she knows why

Listen · 33:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1201499003/1259210983" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ask Code Switch: Do bike lanes cause gentrification?
Luke Medina

Perspective

Ask Code Switch

Ask Code Switch: Do bike lanes cause gentrification?

by  ,  ,  , 

Today on Ask Code Switch, we tackle a question about race, bike lanes and gentrification. Who are bike lanes serving? Are these safety measures protecting everyone equally, or are bike advocates on the wrong side of progress?

Ask Code Switch: Do bike lanes cause gentrification?

Listen · 12:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1249795973/1258264670" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Fighting back on book bans
Jackie Lay

The Code Switch Podcast

Fighting back on book bans

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero

B.A. Parker brings us around the country to see what access to books is looking like for students in Texas, librarians in Idaho and her own high school English teacher in Pennsylvania.

Fighting back on book bans

Listen · 29:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1200121034/1258907278" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ask Code Switch: The racial politics of washing dishes?
Luke Medina

Perspective

Ask Code Switch

Ask Code Switch: The racial politics of washing dishes?

by  ,  ,  , 

This week on Ask Code Switch, we're getting into the politics and power dynamics of race and dishes in the workplace (which is more fraught than you might think). When no one is "technically" the "dishwasher" at work...who's washing the dishes and should you feel some type of way about it?

Ask Code Switch: The racial politics of washing dishes?

Listen · 13:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1249795972/1258263912" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The park. Sunday. Queens, New York.

Shot of the Unisphere, the 140 foot-tall metal sculpture in the middle of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The Unisphere was originally commissioned for the 1964-1965 World's Fair and has since become an icon for the borough of Queens. Wendy Correa for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Wendy Correa for NPR

Code Switch

The park. Sunday. Queens, New York.

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero ,  ,  , 

This week on Code Switch, we're doing a different kind of immigration coverage. We're telling a New York story: one that celebrates the beautiful, everyday life of the immigrant. Code Switch producer, Xavier Lopez and NPR immigration reporter, Jasmine Garsd spend a day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The park. Sunday. Queens, New York.

Listen · 38:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198748521/1258533189" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ask Code Switch: Is this a racist question?
Luke Medina

Perspective

Ask Code Switch

Ask Code Switch: Is this a racist question?

by  ,  ,  , 

Ask Code Switch is back! Lori Lizarraga and the Code Switch team tackle all new listener questions this fall. From the tacky and tricky to the cringe and candid – we're bringing our race advice to the questions you're scared to ask.

Ask Code Switch: Is this a racist question?

Listen · 12:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198004972/1258256137" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Going back to school with schizoaffective disorder

Michael Vargas Arango, 22, is a second-year student at Miami Dade College, studying business and psychology. Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR

Code Switch

Going back to school with schizoaffective disorder

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero

Michael Vargas Arango was having a fairly typical day — hanging out at his home in Medellín, playing Xbox with one of his friends. Only, when he spoke to his mom during the day, he realized that she had no idea what "friend" he was talking about — she hadn't seen or heard anyone besides her son in the house all day. That was the first inkling either of them had that Michael was dealing with something unusual. It was the beginning of the long road toward Michael being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. On this episode, we're talking to Michael about how he experiences the world, and how he's helping to educate people about what it really means to live with a rare, stigmatized, and widely misunderstood mental health condition.

Going back to school with schizoaffective disorder

Listen · 30:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197958423/1258189743" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
What James Baldwin can teach us about Israel, and ourselves

An illustrated portrait of the famous intellectual and writer James Baldwin. Jackie Lay hide caption

toggle caption
Jackie Lay

Code Switch

What James Baldwin can teach us about Israel, and ourselves

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jasmine Romero

It's been more than ten months since devastating violence began unfolding in Israel and Gaza. And in the midst of all the death, so many people are trying to better understand what's going on in that region, and how the United States is implicated in it. So on this episode, we're looking back to the writing of James Baldwin, whose views on the country transformed significantly over the course of his life. His thoughts offer some ideas about how to grapple with trauma, and how to bridge the gap between places and ideas that, on their surface, might seem oceans apart.

What James Baldwin can teach us about Israel, and ourselves

Listen · 39:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197958398/1257907403" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Black praise in white pews: When your church doesn't love you back
Alan Lagadu/Getty Images

Code Switch

Black praise in white pews: When your church doesn't love you back

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

How do you participate in a faith practice that has a rough track record with racism? That's what our play-cousin J.C. Howard gets into in this week's episode of Code Switch. He talks to us about Black Christians who, like him for a time, found their spiritual homes in white evangelical churches.

Black praise in white pews: When your church doesn't love you back

Listen · 38:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197958356/1257490589" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Race, Romance and Reality TV
Jackie Lay

The Code Switch Podcast

Race, Romance and Reality TV

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Reality TV has been referred to as a funhouse mirror of our culture. But even with its distortions, it can reflect back to us what we accept as a society – especially when it comes to things like gender, sexuality and race.

Race, Romance and Reality TV

Listen · 33:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197958323/1257191616" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Who's "woman" enough: The long history of sex testing in sports
Dani Pendergast

The Code Switch Podcast

Who's "woman" enough: The long history of sex testing in sports

by 

Why are some female athletes asked to prove her womanhood? To understand how we got here, we're bringing you episode one of Tested, a new podcast series by our play cousins over at Embedded, made in partnership with CBC in Canada.

Who's "woman" enough: The long history of sex testing in sports

Listen · 40:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198004970/1257010622" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org