The late Reverend Jesse Jackson was — and still is — a revered civil rights activist, political trailblazer, and pop culture icon. For his critics, he was also villainized, or at the very least, a punchline. As Jackson's home going ceremony continues, we take some time to remember how Jackson shaped American politics with journalist Adam Serwer, who warns us not to flatten Jackson into a cliche or caricature. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for s...
Feb 28, 2026•20 min
While Puerto Rican independence is in the spotlight after Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, we're throwing it to our play cousins at La Brega, a show about all things Puerto Rico . We hear from former Young Lords member Iris Morales about how the group took their love for their homeland to educate and organize against U.S. colonialism. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Priv...
Feb 25, 2026•48 min
Jeremy Carl — President Trump's nominee for a senior State Department role -- was called out for his commentary on "white erasure" during his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month. He defended the idea that "white culture" is in danger of being erased in the U.S. and that white people face more racial discrimination than any other group in country. So on this episode, we're talking to the Princeton historian Nell Irvin Painter about her book, The History of White People, and how definit...
Feb 21, 2026•27 min
The U.S. has been deporting people from Cuba in record numbers. That has come as a shock to many Cuban American communities, who had long enjoyed special protections that don't apply to most other immigrant groups. This week on the show we're talking about where this change fits into the trajectory of Cuban immigration to the U.S. We'll hear from Ada Ferrer, a historian at Princeton who shares how her family's divergent paths to the U.S. reverberated through her life. Then, we talk to historian ...
Feb 18, 2026•36 min
When President Trump shared a racist video on his Truth Social account last week, the blowback was real . But the video is also part of a tradition that has existed in the U.S. since the early 1800s — of using "humor" to spread and crystallize racist ideals. On this episode, we speak with Raul Perez, the author of "The Souls of White Jokes: How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy," who tells us how making fun of Black people was crucial to constructing "whiteness" — and perpetuating white suprema...
Feb 14, 2026•21 min
Dating can be tough. Dating while Black? That can feel nigh impossible sometimes, given how the long tentacles of racism have wrapped themselves around every aspect of our lives (and hearts.) But was dating any easier in the past? We're putting that question to the test on this special Valentine's Day episode of the pod. We revisit a conversation with audio storyteller and host of the podcast, Our Ancestors Were Messy , Nichole Hill . She takes us back in time to 1937, using archival personal ad...
Feb 11, 2026•39 min
Can a superstar be an actual voice of resistance? How does Bad Bunny's choice to perform at the NFL Super Bowl halftime show square with his politics of resistance to U.S. imperialism and decision to avoid the U.S. in his current world tour? We're speaking with Bad Bunny experts and authors of "P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance," Vanessa Diaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for spon...
Feb 07, 2026•20 min
In so many spaces, celebrating Black History History month means learning a few fun facts about famous African Americans. But Black History Month was designed to be much more radical — it was an opportunity for Black communities to learn about the aspects of their history that had been downplayed, diminished, or even actively suppressed. We talk to historian Jarvis Givens about his new book, “I’ll Make Me A World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month”, and how studying and preserving Blac...
Feb 04, 2026•35 min
"Fighting crime" is often used as a justification for many of the Trump administration's policies — from mass deportations to its actions in Venezuela to its crackdown in Minnesota — despite the fact that crime is at a historic low, and has been falling for decades. We talk to Meg Anderson, NPR’s criminal justice correspondent, about how that taps into Americans' disproportionate fears about crime, and how that makes scenes like what we see in Minneapolis possible. See pcm.adswizz.com for inform...
Jan 31, 2026•17 min
To the casual observer, it might seem like the U.S. has spent years in a constant state of protest — and they’re only getting more intense under the second Trump administration. So we’re revisiting our conversation with Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, the author of “A Protest History of the United States” about what forms of protest have worked in the past, and what lessons people can take from those protesters. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for spo...
Jan 28, 2026•28 min
What does the humble, boring quarter-zip sweater have to do with respectability politics and Blackness? Apparently, a lot! When two young Black men on TikTok brought the quarter-zip into vogue for young folks, they unknowingly waded into some very long-lived discourse on Black fashion and looking "respectable." Today on the pod, we chop it up with Jonathan Square , professor of Black visual culture at Parsons School of Design , about Black fashion, and what's happening more broadly to make this ...
Jan 24, 2026•17 min
Sanctuary policies have been described on both sides of the aisle as protecting immigrants. But in many ways, in practice, they have given rise to a specific kind of policing that gives ICE a much wider reach than it might otherwise have. We talk to anthropologist Peter Mancina, who is the author of a recent book, On the Side of Ice: Policing Immigrants in a Sanctuary State about his on-the-ground research embedding with police in New Jersey. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collect...
Jan 21, 2026•39 min
In honor of MLK Day, we sit down with historian Nicholas Buccola, author of One Man’s Freedom, to re-examine the concept of "freedom" by comparing the legacies of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and conservative politician Barry Goldwater. In our conversation, Buccola reveals the profound gulf between Goldwater's abstract view of freedom and King's focus on the daily fight for dignity and individual liberty– and he helps us understand what this historical battle can teach us about the fight for ...
Jan 17, 2026•22 min
The U.S. ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is just the latest chapter in a long, troubling history of American intervention in Latin America. NPR immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd brings us to the New York courthouse where President Maduro was indicted by the U.S. government. We also talk to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Greg Grandin, who explains how the modern concept of national sovereignty — a country’s right to govern itself — originated in Latin America as a response ...
Jan 14, 2026•33 min
2026 is off to an intense start, but many of the events we're seeing play out today come out of dynamics that have been building for years. Jelani Cobb, a journalist, historian, and the Dean of Columbia's journalism school, talks to us about his new book, Three of More is a Riot (Notes on How We Got Here: 2012-2025), which analyzes some of the major events of the United States' past decade and a half, and how they've set the groundwork for much of what's happening now. See pcm.adswizz.com for in...
Jan 10, 2026•18 min
Connecting across generations can be tough, even in the same family. This is at the heart of Amy Tan’s 1989 novel The Joy Luck Club . This week, we're bringing you an episode from NPR's Books We Loved series, where our very own B. A. Parker, along with Andrew Limbong and The Indicator’s Wailin Wong, discuss how miscommunication and misunderstandings between parents and their children continues to be a theme in stories of immigrant families today. You can listen to more Books We Loved in the Book...
Jan 07, 2026•35 min
Among the American public, support for Israel has fallen among almost every demographic group. But for many White Evangelical Christians over the age of 35, support has remained steadfast. And that support continues to be a major shaper of U.S. policy in the region. So today, in our final installment of the Code Switch History Class series, we're looking into the history and theology behind how White Evangelicals became so connected to Israel, and what that connection looks like in the public sq...
Jan 03, 2026•34 min
A few years back, many politicians were raising the alarm about the dangers of "CRT" in schools. Today, the new risk to public education is "DEI." What do both of these moments have in common? They have all the elements of a moral panic. So in this installment of Code Switch History Class, we're looking at the history of moral panics in the U.S., and why they so often invoke fears about race and integration. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sp...
Dec 31, 2025•39 min
In 2018, in light of some pretty aggressive rhetoric and policies being enacted by the Trump administration, many people were asking a pretty direct question: Should ICE be abolished? Seven years later, amidst arguably even harsher policies and language, many are still asking that same question. So today, on the second installment in our Code Switch History Class series , we're taking a look at where ICE came from, and talking to an expert about what a more humane immigration system might necess...
Dec 27, 2025•19 min
The fight over the soul of higher education is very alive right now, with the Trump administration engaged in dozens of investigations and multiple lawsuits against colleges and universities around the country. Billions of research dollars at those schools have been frozen, too. So today, in a special series called Code Switch History Class, we're looking back at another time of upheaval — a long, bloody strike at San Francisco State that forever changed higher education in the United States. Se...
Dec 24, 2025•41 min
How do we keep family traditions alive? For some people, it's by speaking their heritage language, or learning how to cook family recipes. For Nicole Wong, it was through games — specifically, learning the ins and outs of Mahjong. Her research led her to start the Mahjong Project , and to write a book about what she was learning called Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora . So this week, we talk to Nicole about what it's like trying to teach people a game you're not the best playe...
Dec 20, 2025•18 min
For months, the Trump administration has been making moves to dismantle the Department of Education — with mixed success. But when it comes to the fight over public education, some of the most significant dustups are happening on the local level, with school boards around the country. Today, we're looking at one of those fights, which played out in a rapidly changing suburb of Dallas called Southlake. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorsh...
Dec 17, 2025•38 min
With AI image and video generators, it's become easier than ever to create hyper-realistic clips of almost anything. Today, we're looking at the landscape of AI influencers that depict Black people in various ways, from the mildly stereotypical to the ultra-demeaning. And we're talking to writer Zeba Blay about why she thinks these types of videos can erode the our society's ability to take the problems of IRL, human Black people seriously. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collectio...
Dec 13, 2025•16 min
Over the past few weeks, President Trump has amplified derogatory and stereotypical comments about people from Afghanistan. He's derided Somalians as a whole, and specifically targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. And he's said he will end immigration from "Third World countries." So in a political climate where rhetoric like this has become normalized, is there still use to calling any particular phrase or policy racist? See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal ...
Dec 10, 2025•31 min
Alice Wong was a major force in disability activism. She passed away last month at the age of 51. For Here and Now, reporter Elissa Nadworny speaks with Yomi Young about Wong’s impact as a fellow activist, and what she leaves behind as a friend. Subscribe to Here and Now, wherever you get your podcasts. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...
Dec 06, 2025•17 min
The Trump administration has been firing immigration judges, despite the fact that there’s a massive backlog of immigration cases that need rulings. Ximena Bustillo, NPR’s immigration and DHS reporter, has spotted a trend: many of the judges let go have previous experience in immigration defense. At the same time, the Trump administration has allocated $30 billion to beef up ICE as an agency and hire “deportation judges.” See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of person...
Dec 03, 2025•41 min
For the millions of Americans that celebrate Thanksgiving, it's a time when many people reflect on the things and the people in our lives that they appreciate. But according to Dr. Laurie Santos, psychology professor at Yale and host of the podcast, The Happiness Lab, a practice of gratitude can improve our lives year-round. This week on the pod, we're bringing you a conversation from our friends over at It's Been A Minute. Host Brittany Luse chats with Dr. Santos about the surprising science of...
Nov 29, 2025•17 min
As we enter "cozy season," we're revisiting our conversation with Ada Limon, who just wrapped up her tenure as the U.S. Poet Laureate. She talks to us about loss and grief and evolving identity -- like becoming a "fall person" after a lifetime of identifying as a "summer person" -- and the power of poetry to navigate it all. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy...
Nov 26, 2025•36 min
Today on the show, NPR immigration reporter Jasmine Garsd introduces us to two families in Washington, D.C.. One has made the difficult decision to set up "emergency guardianship" for their son, in the case that the parents are deported to Guatemala. The other has agreed to take that son in, should anything happen. It's the second part in Jasmine's reporting series looking into how immigrant families are preparing for the worst under the Trump administration's current immigration crackdown. See ...
Nov 22, 2025•12 min
Today on the show, NPR immigration reporter Jasmine Garsd takes us into the dimly lit living rooms of immigrant families — families trying to figure out how to stay safe as they navigate the overwhelming fear of being detained by ICE. These fears have long existed, but for many, they've become stronger and more omnipresent during this Trump administration, with its strong focus on deportation. So parents across the country are finding different ways to exist, protect themselves, and look out for...
Nov 19, 2025•32 min
