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Code Switch 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
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Code Switch

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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

Most Recent Episodes

Omar Apollo on making music and being a role model for queer Latinx kids

Omar Apollo Art by Sasha Fominskaya by NPR/Photo courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Art by Sasha Fominskaya by NPR/Photo courtesy of the artist

Omar Apollo on making music and being a role model for queer Latinx kids

NPR's Alt.Latino gets a reboot, and for its first episode, they speak with R&B darling Omar Apollo. Apollo shares what it's been like being a role model for queer Latinx kids and the pressure of having to watch what he says now that he's famous.

Omar Apollo on making music and being a role model for queer Latinx kids

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

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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Migrant relocations echo a dark past: Reverse Freedom Rides

Lela Mae Williams and seven of her nine children on arrival in Hyannis. Frank C. Curtin/AP hide caption

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Frank C. Curtin/AP

Migrant relocations echo a dark past: Reverse Freedom Rides

Recently, Republican governors have been sending migrants from the southern border to cities they deem more liberal under false pretenses. The political stunt echoes what segregationists 1962 called Reverse Freedom Rides. This episode originally aired in December 2019.

Migrant relocations echo a dark past: Reverse Freedom Rides

Listen · 39:38
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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

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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In 50 years, the Pell Grant has helped over 80 million people go to college

The Pell Grant has helped 80 million students go to college. Josie Norton for NPR hide caption

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Josie Norton for NPR

In 50 years, the Pell Grant has helped over 80 million people go to college

The cost of college has been on everyone's minds, especially with student debt cancellation. Pell Grants are one way many low income students have managed to pay for college. And they exist in large part because of one Black woman who often goes unmentioned.

In 50 years, the Pell Grant has helped over 80 million people go to college

Listen · 28:48
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What does it mean to "inherit whiteness?"

Author Baynard Woods writes about his family's history in South Carolina in his book Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness. J. M. Giordano/XYZ Book Publisher Company hide caption

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J. M. Giordano/XYZ Book Publisher Company

What does it mean to "inherit whiteness?"

In Baynard Woods' new memoir, Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness, Woods reflects on how growing up white in South Carolina impacted his life. He argues that it is crucial for white people in the U.S. to reckon with their personal histories.

What does it mean to "inherit whiteness?"

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What makes a good race joke?

Comedians Brian Bahe, Maz Jobrani and Aparna Nancherla. Brian Bahe, Storm Santos and Aparna Nancherla hide caption

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Brian Bahe, Storm Santos and Aparna Nancherla

What makes a good race joke?

When a comedian of color makes a joke, is it always about race, even if it's not about race? In part two of our comedians episodes, Code Switch talks to comedians Aparna Nancherla, Brian Bahe and Maz Jobrani about how and why race makes an appearance in their jokes.

What makes a good race joke?

Listen · 27:48
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Three comedians share their thoughts on what makes a great joke about race

Comedians Ziwe, Joel Kim Booster and Anjelah Johnson-Reyes. Myles Loftin/SHOWTIME, Taylor Miller and East 2 West Collective hide caption

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Myles Loftin/SHOWTIME, Taylor Miller and East 2 West Collective

Three comedians share their thoughts on what makes a great joke about race

What makes a great joke about race? In the first of two episodes, Code Switch talks to comedians Ziwe, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes and Joel Kim Booster about their favorite race joke they tell: What's its origin story? Why is it so funny? And what does it say about race in America?

Three comedians share their thoughts on what makes a great joke about race

Listen · 31:48
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Into the glittering neon universe of 'P-Valley' with Katori Hall

The cast of the Starz TV series P-Valley. Pari Dukovic/Courtesy of Starz hide caption

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Pari Dukovic/Courtesy of Starz

Into the glittering neon universe of 'P-Valley' with Katori Hall

The Starz hit show P-Valley takes audiences to a strip club in a fictional town in the Mississippi Delta. Part soap opera, part Southern Gothic, the show focuses on the interior lives of the Black women who work at the club — and the complex social dynamics that shape their lives.

Into the glittering neon universe of 'P-Valley' with Katori Hall

Listen · 31:23
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Lost In Translation

Left, Emmett Chen-Ran and his mother, Yanfei Ran. Right, siblings Max and Isabella Bloom play together. Courtesy of the Chen-Ran and Bloom families hide caption

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Courtesy of the Chen-Ran and Bloom families

Lost In Translation

Today on the show, we're bringing you the stories of two families grappling with how best to communicate across linguistic differences. In the first story, a young man sorts through how to talk to his parents about gender in Chinese, where the words for "he" and "she" sound exactly the same. Then, we follow a family who was advised to stop speaking their heritage language, Japanese, based on some outdated and incomplete research.

Lost In Translation

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Code Switch

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