It's Thanksgiving week, so we're bringing you a second helping of one of our favorite episodes, where we answer your questions about race and food. We're getting into the perceived whiteness of vegetarianism, what it means when H-Mart becomes a little too mainstream, and the etiquette around bringing pungent-smelling food to the (proverbial) office. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 24, 2021•32 min•Ep. 313
You already know we love books here on Code Switch — and given that we're smack dab in the middle of Native American Heritage month, we thought we'd introduce you to some of our favorite recent books by Indigenous authors. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Nov 17, 2021•31 min•Ep. 312
When 'Soul Train' first aired in 1971, there had never been a show like it. Fifty years later, that's still true. So this week, we're passing the mic to our friends at NPR's It's Been a Minute podcast, who did a deep dive into the age of Black joy — and Black flyness — that Soul Train kicked off. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 10, 2021•35 min•Ep. 311
If you're Native American, there's a good chance that you've thought a lot about blood quantum — a highly controversial measurement of the amount of "Indian blood" you have. It can affect your identity, your relationships and whether or not you — or your children — may become a citizen of your tribe. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 03, 2021•22 min•Ep. 310
Or do they? This week, we're answering some of your toughest questions about race and your parents. How do you create boundaries with immigrant parents? What dynamics might interracial couples bring to families? And why do so many Black parents want to prevent their kids from looking "too grown"? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 27, 2021•43 min•Ep. 309
The 2020 census data is finally here! At first glance, it paints a surprising portrait of a changing United States: The number of people who identify as white and no other race is smaller; the share of multiracial people has shot up; and the country's second-largest racial group is... "some other race." But resident census-expert Hansi Lo Wang told us that when you start to unpack the data, you quickly find that those numbers don't tell the whole story. Learn more about sponsor message choices: ...
Oct 20, 2021•32 min•Ep. 308
In a small suburb of Washington, D.C., a non-descript beige building houses thousands of Native human remains. The remains are currently in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution. But for the past decade, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has been fighting to get some of them back to Florida to be buried. The controversy over who should decide the fate of these remains has raised questions about identity, history, and the nature of archaeology. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcas...
Oct 13, 2021•32 min•Ep. 307
If you've been paying attention to the news over the past couple years, you know what a so-called 'Karen' is: a white woman who uses her race and gender to wield power over someone more vulnerable. But long before most people became familiar with the term Karen, POCs have been calling out Karen-esque behavior. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Oct 06, 2021•24 min•Ep. 306
Black women have always faced immense pressure to make their bodies look a certain way. But if done the "wrong way," achieving that idealized figure can lead to just as much scrutiny and critique. So today, we're talking about the cosmetic procedure known as a Brazilian Butt Lift, and what its rise in popularity illustrates about the type of bodies that do and don't get valued. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Sep 29, 2021•29 min•Ep. 305
Kacen Callender started out as a kid in St. Thomas writing fan fiction. Today, they are the author of multiple middle grade and young adult novels full of empathy, learning, and a healthy dose of high school drama. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Sep 24, 2021•19 min•Ep. 304
But seriously, who? Because while it is Hispanic Heritage Month, the notion of a multiracial, multinational, pan-ethnic identity called "Hispanic" is a relatively recent — and somewhat haphazard invention — in the United States. So on this episode, we're digging into how the term got created and why it continues to both unite and bewilder. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Sep 22, 2021•35 min•Ep. 303
For two decades, many Americans have seen Afghanistan depicted primarily through the lens of war. But that's not the full story — not even close. Afghanistan has a long, rich, complex history and culture. A lot of it flies in the face of the images those of us in the U.S. are exposed to. So this week, our friends at Throughline are helping us understand the fuller story. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Sep 15, 2021•56 min•Ep. 302
Twenty years ago, during the dog days of summer , a fledgling journalist named Shereen Marisol Meraji — maybe you've heard of her? — headed to Durban, South Africa. Her mission: to report on a meeting of thousands of organizers and ambassadors gathered at a global conference on racism. The conference filled Shereen with hope and optimism — all of which would soon be wiped away. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Sep 08, 2021•47 min•Ep. 301
What moral panics reveal about the ongoing freakout over critical race theory in schools. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Sep 01, 2021•38 min•Ep. 300
Kat Chow was 13 when her mother died, and with that loss came profound and lasting questions about identity, family and history. In her memoir, Seeing Ghosts , the author and former Code Switch reporter explores how her mother's death has haunted her through the years, in ways that are profound, tragic and, sometimes, darkly hilarious. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Aug 25, 2021•27 min•Ep. 299
OK, they're not all kids. But they're all students, they're all amazing, and frankly, we're concerned that they might be coming for our jobs. That's right — the Student Podcast Challenge is back, and this year, the stories are more powerful than ever. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Aug 18, 2021•29 min•Ep. 298
It's hot out, places are shutting down again, and things might just be feeling a little bit slow. So in the spirit of spicing things up, we wanted to give you all a question to fight about: How much context should you have to give when talking about race and culture? Is it better to explain every reference, or ask people to Google as they go? Comedian Hari Kondabolu joins us to hash it out. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Aug 11, 2021•30 min•Ep. 297
We talk a lot on this show about people who have been killed by police officers. But there is so much police violence that falls short of being fatal, but forever alters the lives of the people on the business end of it. So this week, we're turning things over to the "On Our Watch" podcast, out of KQED and NPR's Investigations Team. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Aug 04, 2021•49 min•Ep. 296
For much of her childhood, Ashley Ford's father was incarcerated, and her mother struggled to raise her while grappling with her own upended life plans. In her new memoir, Somebody's Daughter, Ford looks at how her upbringing shaped her understanding of childhood, authority, forgiveness and freedom. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 28, 2021•39 min•Ep. 295
Some of the best books can make you feel free — free from your daily grind, free to imagine a new reality, free to explore different facets of your identity. This month, the Code Switch team is highlighting books that dig deep into what freedom really means. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Jul 21, 2021•37 min•Ep. 294
Maria Garcia and Maria Hinojosa are both Mexican American, both mestiza, and both relatively light-skinned. But Maria Hinojosa strongly identifies as a woman of color, whereas Maria Garcia has stopped doing so. So in this episode, we're asking: How did they arrive at such different places? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 14, 2021•36 min•Ep. 293
This month on Code Switch, we're talking about books — new and old — that have deepened our understandings of what it means to be free. First up, a conversation with author Kaitlyn Greenidge about her new novel, Libertie, which tells the story of a young woman pushing back against her mother's expectations of what her life should look like. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jul 07, 2021•23 min•Ep. 292
Forty years ago this month, the CDC reported on patients with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. for the very first time. In the years since, LGBTQIA+ Americans have been fighting for treatment and recognition of a disease that was understudied, under-reported, and deeply stigmatized. On this episode, our friends at It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders delve into the history of ACT UP — an organization that transformed the way the media, the government, corporations and medical professionals talked about AIDS....
Jun 30, 2021•50 min•Ep. 291
Anyone with a name that isn't super common in the United States will tell you that the simple act of introducing yourself can lead to a whole interrogation: Where are you from? What does your name mean? Help me pronounce it using words I understand! So on this bonus episode from our friends at the "Where We Come From" series, we're getting into what, exactly, is in a name — and what names can tell us about where we've been and where we're going. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastc...
Jun 27, 2021•17 min•Ep. 290
The Supreme Court just ruled on a case that could change the future of college sports, potentially paving the way for NCAA athletes to be paid. But is paying student athletes a good thing? And how would it affect the already fraught racial dynamics of college sports? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Jun 23, 2021•26 min•Ep. 289
Juneteenth commemorates the day that enslaved Texans found out — more than two years after Emancipation Day — that they were free. It's also a day known for celebratory meals and red drinks. But as the holiday becomes more widespread, we wondered: Is there a risk that certain people (and corporations) will try to keep the food and lose the history? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 16, 2021•32 min•Ep. 288
In the wake of several high-profile police killings last summer, support for Black Lives Matter skyrocketed among white Americans. Their new concerns about racism pushed books about race to the top of the bestseller lists, while corporations pledged billions of dollars to address injustice. A year later, though, polls show that white support for the movement has not only waned, but is lower than it was before. On this episode, two researchers explain why last year so-called racial reckoning was ...
Jun 09, 2021•36 min•Ep. 287
If you're a person of color living in the United States, chances are you've been asked more than you care to remember where you're from — no, where you're really from. In her new series "Where We Come From," NPR's Anjuli Sastry lets immigrants of color answer that question broadly, with the space and context it deserves. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
Jun 02, 2021•38 min•Ep. 286
In the spring of 1921, Black residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma's Greenwood neighborhood were attacked by a mob of angry white people. More than 300 people were killed, and thousands were left homeless. Now, 100 years later, Tulsa is still reckoning with what lessons to take from that deadly massacre. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy...
May 26, 2021•28 min
People of color have a diverse set of interests, experiences, backgrounds and cultures. And the way we experience race and racism can be really different. So why do we continue to use big umbrella terms like "POC"? And what do we risk if we lose them? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
May 19, 2021•36 min
