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 the subject of race with empathy and humor. We explore how race affects every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, food and everything in between. This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation — because we're all part of the story. Code Switch was named Apple Podcasts' first-ever Show of the Year in 2020.Want to level up your Code Switch game? Try Code Switch Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/codeswitch
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 25, 2020 • 22min
Sex, Friendship And Aging: 'It's Not All Downhill From Here'
This week, senior correspondent Karen Grigsby Bates talks with the best-selling author Terry McMillan, famous for her novels Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. The two longtime friends chat about McMillan's latest novel, It's Not All Downhill From Here, and the topics the book tackles: aging, friendship, race and sex.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Mar 18, 2020 • 17min
The All-Women Mariachi Group That's Lifting Our Spirits
With all this pandemic anxiety swirling, we thought you might need some music to take your mind off things. So this week, we've got an episode from our friends over at Latino USA. It's about Flor de Toloache, an all-women mariachi group that's making history by bucking tradition and playing a style of music that's usually performed by men.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Mar 11, 2020 • 36min
The Limits Of Empathy
In matters of race and justice, empathy is often held up as a goal unto itself. But what comes after understanding? In this episode, we're teaming up with Radio Diaries to look at the career of a white writer who put herself in someone else's skin — by disguising herself as a black woman — to find out what she learned, and what she couldn't.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Mar 4, 2020 • 25min
When Fear Of The Coronavirus Turns Into Racism And Xenophobia
As international health agencies warn that COVID-19 could become a pandemic, fears over the new coronavirus' spread have activated old, racist suspicions toward Asians and Asian Americans. It's part of a longer history in the United States, in which xenophobia has often been camouflaged as a concern for public health and hygiene.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Feb 26, 2020 • 25min
Claude Neal: A Strange And Bitter Crop
Eighty-five years ago, a crowd of several thousand white people gathered in Jackson County, Florida, to participate in the lynching of a man named Claude Neal. The poet L. Lamar Wilson grew up there, but didn't learn about Claude Neal until he was in high school. When he heard the story, he knew he had to do something. Our final story about black resistance this month is about resisting the urge to forget history, even when remembering is incredibly painful.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Feb 19, 2020 • 31min
Blexodus: The Black Exodus From The GOP
How did the party of the Ku Klux Klan became the party of choice for black voters? And how did the party of Abraham Lincoln become 90 percent white? It's a messy story, exemplified by the doomed friendship between Richard Nixon and his fellow Republican, Jackie Robinson.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Feb 12, 2020 • 51min
Pt. 2: Black Parents Take Control, Teachers Strike Back
This is Part II of the story about the 1968 teachers' strike that happened in New York city after Black and Puerto Rican parents demanded more say over their kids' education. We'll tell you why some people who lived through it remember it as a strike over antisemitism.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Feb 5, 2020 • 58min
Black Parents Take Control, Teachers Strike Back
In 1968, a vicious battle went down between white teachers and black and Puerto Rican parents in a Brooklyn school district. Many say the conflict brought up issues that have yet to be resolved more than fifty years later.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jan 29, 2020 • 32min
Books For Your Mind, Belly And Soul
Books help teach us about the world, our communities and ourselves. So this week, the Code Switch team is chatting it up with the authors of some of our favorite recent (and not-so-recent) books by and/or about people of color.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jan 23, 2020 • 46min
Bonus Episode: 'Between Friends' From WNYC
A text message gone wrong. A bachelorette party exclusion. A racist comment during the 2016 debates. When our friends at WNYC's Death, Sex and Money asked about the moments when race became a flashpoint in your friendships, they heard about awkward, funny, and deeply painful moments.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
