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Gene Demby Gene Demby is the Co-host/Correspondent for NPR's Code Switch team.
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Gene Demby

Co-host/Correspondent, Code Switch

Gene Demby is the co-host and correspondent for NPR's Code Switch team.

Before coming to NPR, he served as the managing editor for Huffington Post's BlackVoices following its launch. He later covered politics.

Prior to that role he spent six years in various positions at The New York Times. While working for the Times in 2007, he started a blog about race, culture, politics and media called PostBourgie, which won the 2009 Black Weblog Award for Best News/Politics Site.

Demby is an avid runner, mainly because he wants to stay alive long enough to finally see the Sixers and Eagles win championships in their respective sports. You can follow him on Twitter at @GeeDee215.

Story Archive

Friday

Movies

Disney rolls out its latest remake, 'The Little Mermaid'

Has Disney done it again? And if they have, should they ... stop? These are some of the questions on our minds as Disney's remake of The Little Mermaid hits theaters.

Disney rolls out its latest remake, 'The Little Mermaid'

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Wednesday

The Fallout of a Callout

Hank Azaria (left) and Hari Kondabolu speak with each other in public for the first time since their fallout in 2017. PR Agency/Designed by NPR hide caption

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PR Agency/Designed by NPR

Code Switch

The Fallout of a Callout

In 2017, comedian Hari Kondabolu called out Hollywood's portrayals of South Asians with his documentary The Problem With Apu. The film was also a criticism of comedian Hank Azaria, who is white, for voicing the Indian character on The Simpsons. On this episode, Hari and Hank sit down to talk publicly for the first time about that callout and everything that has gone down since.

The Fallout of a Callout

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Wednesday

The hidden history of race and the tax code

It may not seem like it at first, but race is also a part of our taxes and who gets audited. LA Johnson/Getty/design by NPR hide caption

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LA Johnson/Getty/design by NPR

Planet Money

The hidden history of race and the tax code

This past January, researchers uncovered that Black taxpayers are three to five times as likely to be audited as everyone else. One likely reason for this is that the IRS disproportionately audits lower-income earners who claim a tax benefit called the earned income tax credit. And this, says law professor Dorothy Brown, is just one example of the many ways that race is woven through our tax system, its history, and its enforcement.

The hidden history of race and the tax code

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Wednesday

WTF does race have to do with taxes?

It may not seem like it at first, but race is also a part of our taxes and who gets audited. LA Johnson/Getty/design by NPR hide caption

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LA Johnson/Getty/design by NPR

Code Switch

WTF does race have to do with taxes?

You finally get through the confusing, stressful work of doing your taxes only to hear back from the IRS: you're being audited. And it turns out that your race plays a big role in whether you get that letter, how much you might owe the IRS, which tax breaks you can get, and even which benefits you can claim.

WTF does race have to do with taxes?

Listen · 30:05
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Tuesday

'Air' is a soleless podia-pic about the origins of a shoe

Ben Affleck directs and stars in Air. Courtesy of Prime hide caption

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Courtesy of Prime

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Air' is a soleless podia-pic about the origins of a shoe

Almost 40 years ago, a young Michael Jordan signed what was then the NBA's most lucrative sneaker deal with Nike. The new movie Air traces the origin of that deal and the creation of the culture-shifting Air Jordan. It's directed by Ben Affleck and stars Matt Damon, Viola Davis and Jason Bateman — and features a lot of talk about "greatness" and the meaning behind a shoe.

'Air' is a soleless podia-pic about the origins of a shoe

Listen · 22:25
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Wednesday

The tricky obligations of utang na loob
Malaka Gharib/NPR

Perspective

Code Switch

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 a favor for you. In this episode from 2022, we break down this "debt of the inner soul" — and discover a surprising side to this pre-colonial value.

The tricky obligations of utang na loob

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Friday

Is 'Creed III' a knockout?

Michael B. Jordan stars in Creed III, his directorial debut. Eli Ade/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios hide caption

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Eli Ade/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Is 'Creed III' a knockout?

In Creed III, Michael B. Jordan is back as Adonis "Donnie" Creed, the scrappy underdog-turned-world champion boxer from the Rocky franchise. Adonis has decided to retire on top and focus on family. But his plans are blown up when an old friend, played by Jonathan Majors, suddenly reappears. The film is also Jordan's directorial debut.

Is 'Creed III' a knockout?

Listen · 30:17
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Wednesday

This Racism Is Killing Me Inside

Wanda Irving holds her granddaughter, Soleil, in front of a portrait of Soleil's mother, Shalon, at her home in Sandy Springs, Ga. Wanda is raising Soleil since Shalon died of complications due to hypertension a few weeks after giving birth. Becky Harlan/NPR hide caption

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Becky Harlan/NPR

Code Switch

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 cost you your life. We hear the story of Shalon Irving, who died after giving birth to her daughter. Black women like her are 243 percent more likely than white women to die of pregnancy- or childbirth-related causes in the United States. And the latest evidence further supports that this gap is caused by the "weathering" effects of racism.

This Racism Is Killing Me Inside

Listen · 29:18
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Monday

We recap the 2023 Super Bowl

Rihanna performs onstage during Super Bowl LVII. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images hide caption

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Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We recap the 2023 Super Bowl

We recap this year's Super Bowl, including Rihanna's halftime show, the Kansas City Chiefs' win against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the most memorable commercials.

We recap the 2023 Super Bowl

Listen · 21:45
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Wednesday

Reckoning With The NFL's Rooney Rule
NPR/Getty Images

Code Switch

Reckoning With The NFL's Rooney Rule

The large majority of NFL players are people of color. The coaches on the sidelines? Not so much. In this episode, we're looking at the NFL's famous diversity plan and what it might tells us about why so many corporate initiatives like it don't work.

Reckoning With The NFL's Rooney Rule

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Wednesday

How three unlikely groups worked together to achieve interracial solidarity

The original Rainbow Coalition NPR/DailyHerald hide caption

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NPR/DailyHerald

Code Switch

How three unlikely groups worked together to achieve interracial solidarity

In this episode we turn to late 1960s Chicago, when three unlikely groups came together to form a coalition based on interracial solidarity. It's hard to imagine this kind of collaboration today, but we dove into how a group of Black radicals, Confederate flag-waving white Southerners, and street-gang-turned-activist Puerto Ricans found common ground.

How three unlikely groups worked together to achieve interracial solidarity

Listen · 24:35
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Wednesday

Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

Bad Bunny exalts Puerto Rico in his music of resistance. Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

Code Switch

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. He has also provided a global megaphone for Puerto Rican discontent. In this episode, we take a look at how Bad Bunny became the unlikely voice of resistance in Puerto Rico.

Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

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Monday

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

Thumy Phan for NPR NPR hide caption

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NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode from our pals at Code Switch all about Dungeons & Dragons. It's one of the most popular tabletop roleplaying games of all time. But it has also helped cement some ideas about how we create and define race in fantasy — and in the tangible world. Host Gene Demby and producer Jess Kung take a deep dive into that game, and what racial stereotypes and colonialist supremacy it's illuminating.

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

Listen · 33:41
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Monday

The Push To Redefine 'Black' And End Anti-Racist Voter Protections

The U.S. census logo appears on census materials received in the mail with an invitation to fill out census information online in 2020 in San Anselmo, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The NPR Politics Podcast

The Push To Redefine 'Black' And End Anti-Racist Voter Protections

In this episode of Code Switch, NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports on the effort by Republican officials in Louisiana to change how Black people are counted in voting maps. If their plan is successful, it could shrink the power of Black voters across the country — and further gut the Voting Rights Act.

The Push To Redefine 'Black' And End Anti-Racist Voter Protections

Listen · 36:09
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Wednesday

Unlocking family history in 'Before Me'

Lan Phu and young Lisa Phu at Six Flags Great Adventure in 1982 Lisa Phu hide caption

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Lisa Phu

Code Switch

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 series called Before Me, Lisa asks her mother, Lan, the questions she should have asked years ago. Lisa tells us what she learned in getting to know Lan in this way.

Unlocking family history in 'Before Me'

Listen · 46:05
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Wednesday

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 bring you a list of the "best." But we are here to talk about some of the shows we watched this year that we loved. Sophia Pappas for NPR hide caption

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Sophia Pappas for NPR

Code Switch

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 bring you a list of the "best." Instead, we're chatting about the shows we watched this year that we loved, and gave us something bigger to think about, from Abbott Elementary to Bel-Air.

What we watched in 2022

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Wednesday

Why some Republicans want to narrow who counts as Black

Republican state officials in Louisiana are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on which voters should be categorized as Black when testing whether a map of election districts dilutes the political power of Black voters. Smartboy10/Getty Images hide caption

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Smartboy10/Getty Images

Code Switch

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, it could shrink the power of Black voters across the country — and further gut the Voting Rights Act.

Why some Republicans want to narrow who counts as Black

Listen · 36:19
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Wednesday

Notes from America: 'Blackness (Un)interrupted'

"Racial imposter syndrome" is definitely "a thing," for many people. Shereen and Gene hear from biracial and multi-ethnic listeners who connect with feeling "fake" or inauthentic in some part of their racial or ethnic heritage. Social scientists weigh in the need basic need for belonging. Kristen Uroda for NPR hide caption

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Kristen Uroda for NPR

Perspective

Code Switch

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 both Black and white skin? Our Executive Producer Veralyn Williams, explores this question in conversation with her sister, Lovis. Lovis has vitiligo, a skin disease that causes loss of skin color in patches.

Notes from America: 'Blackness (Un)interrupted'

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Wednesday

Live from Chicago: What makes a city home?
Atlan Arceo-Witzl for NPR

Code Switch

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 Olivarez, Sultan Salahuddin, Diallo Riddle and Adriana Cardona-Maguidad to talk all about Chicago. Musical guest KAINA provides music!

Live from Chicago: What makes a city home?

Listen · 50:35
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Wednesday

Fear, Halloween and the real-life horrors of the past
Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Code Switch

Fear, Halloween and the real-life horrors of the past

It's that time of year again: celebrations of the macabre hit a little too close to home and brush up against our country's very dark past. We talk about navigating fake horror amid what's actually terrifying and how scaring ourselves, on purpose, can help us. This episode first ran in October 2019.

Fear, Halloween and the real-life horrors of the past

Listen · 25:06
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Wednesday

Skeletons in the closet, revisited

A young Native American woman sits in a museum display case alongside artifacts and human remains. Gabriella Trujillo for NPR hide caption

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Gabriella Trujillo for NPR

Code Switch

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 one small tribe is fighting to get them back to Florida. This episode originally aired October 13, 2021.

Skeletons in the closet, revisited

Listen · 33:57
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Wednesday

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons
Thumy Phan for NPR

Code Switch

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop roleplaying games of all time. But it has also helped cement some ideas about how we create and define race in fantasy — and in the tangible world. We take a deep dive into that game, and what we find about racial stereotypes and colonialist supremacy is illuminating.

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

Listen · 34:12
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Wednesday

Can therapy solve racism?

Can therapy erase racism? What are the limits of how it can be used to combat anti-Blackness? Islenia Milien for NPR hide caption

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Islenia Milien for NPR

Perspective

Code Switch

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 sharing the stories of two Latinx people who tried to use therapy to understand and combat anti-Blackness in their own lives.

Can therapy solve racism?

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