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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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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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These are the episodes we loved in 2023

Clockwise from upper left: B.A.Parker at Somerset Place plantation as a child; Bad Bunny exalts Puerto Rico in his music of resistance; Chefs Reem Assil and Priya Krishna; Race is also a part of our taxes and who gets audited; Originally from Rwanda, Claude Gatebuke came to Nashville 30 years ago; Hank Azaria (left) and Hari Kondabolu speak since their fallout in 2017. B.A.Parker, Getty Images, NPR, Getty Images//LA Johnson/NPR, Joseph Ross for NPR, PR Agency hide caption

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B.A.Parker, Getty Images, NPR, Getty Images//LA Johnson/NPR, Joseph Ross for NPR, PR Agency

These are the episodes we loved in 2023

It's that time of year again, fam, when we look back at the past 12 months and think, "WHOA, HOW'D THAT GO BY SO FAST?" So we're taking a beat: for this week's episode, each one of us who makes Code Switch is getting on the mic to reflect on — and recommend — an episode we loved from 2023.

These are the episodes we loved in 2023

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Revisiting 'The Color Purple' wars
Mark Harris for NPR

Revisiting 'The Color Purple' wars

The Color Purple remake drops this week and to celebrate, we're bringing you this special episode from our play cousins over at Pop Culture Happy Hour. Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple has been adapted a few times. Next week, the new movie The Color Purple hits theaters – it's based on the Tony-winning musical. The 1985 film is remembered as a fan-favorite centering Black women's lives, but this acclaimed adaptation was received quite differently among female viewers and male viewers. Today, we revisit our episode about the original film from our three-part documentary series Screening Ourselves, which explored films through the lens of representation – and misrepresentation – on screen.

Revisiting 'The Color Purple' wars

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This is what "real self-care" looks like

Psychiatrist Pooja Lakshmin next to the cover of her new book, Real Self Care (Crystals, Cleanses and Bubble Baths Not Included.) Courtesy of publisher hide caption

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Courtesy of publisher

This is what "real self-care" looks like

"You can't meditate yourself out of a 40-hour work week with no childcare and no paid sick days," says Dr. Pooja Lakshmin. But when you're overworked and overwhelmed, what can you do? On this episode, host B.A. Parker asks: What are your options when a bubble bath won't cut it?

This is what "real self-care" looks like

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The 'Renaissance' film and what we hear in Beyoncé's silence

Beyoncé on the Renaissance World Tour Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood via Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood via Getty Images

The 'Renaissance' film and what we hear in Beyoncé's silence

We're bringing you an extra treat this week from our play cousins over at It's Been A Minute: In the credits for 'Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé' the Queen Bee makes it clear who is in charge. Written by? Beyoncé. Directed by? Beyoncé. Produced by? Beyoncé. And of course, starring...Beyoncé. For someone who is so in control of their own image, what is spoken and what is unspoken are equally loud.

The 'Renaissance' film and what we hear in Beyoncé's silence

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The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

Author Kai Cheng Thom next to the cover of her recent book, Falling Back in Love with Being Human. Author photo by Rachel Woroner hide caption

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Author photo by Rachel Woroner

The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

Kai Cheng Thom is no stranger to misanthropy. There have been stretches of her life where she's felt burdened by anger, isolation, and resentment toward other people. And not without reason. Her identities, especially as a trans woman and a former sex worker, have frequently made her a locus for other people's fear and hatred. But at a certain point, Kai decided to embark on a radical experiment: to see if she could "fall back in love with being human." The result was a series of letters, poems, exercises and prayers that let Kai confront some of the most painful moments of her life, and then try to move past them.

The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

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Travel is supposed to expand your horizons... but it's complicated

Author Shahnaz Habib next to the cover of her new book, Airplane Mode. Author photo by Eva Garmendia hide caption

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Author photo by Eva Garmendia

Travel is supposed to expand your horizons... but it's complicated

Traveling is supposed to open your mind and expand your horizons — but what if it doesn't? In her new book Airplane Mode, author Shahnaz Habib suggests that sometimes, traveling does more to enforce our ideas about the world than to upend them. Which means that people with "passport privilege" — AKA, the ability to travel freely from country to country — may end up feeling like the stars of some massive international adventure, while people whose travel is more restricted feel like perpetual interlopers.

Travel is supposed to expand your horizons... but it's complicated

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How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

Nate Taylor (left) and Sylvia Fred (right), two of the co-founders of the Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter School on Red Lake Reservation standing in front of the construction site for a new school building. Sequoia Carrillo/NPR hide caption

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Sequoia Carrillo/NPR

How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

The word "reservation" implies "reserved" – as in, this land is reserved for Native Americans. But most reservation land actually isn't owned by tribes. That's true for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota, where the tribe owns just a tiny fraction of its reservation land. But just northwest of Leech Lake is Red Lake: one of the only reservations in the country where the tribe owns all of its land.

How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

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Two Palestinian American writers on being denied the "right to a story"

People rally during the "National March on Washington: Free Palestine" while calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Freedom Plaza November 4, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) hide caption

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(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Two Palestinian American writers on being denied the "right to a story"

On this week's Code Switch, we hear from two Palestinian American poets who talk about what it's like to be Palestinian American in the U.S. Fady Joudah and Tariq Luthun say the way their stories are told — or aren't told — has contributed to what they see as an erasure of their identities, and often of their humanity.

Two Palestinian American writers on being denied the "right to a story"

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How does a computer discriminate?

Safiya Noble, a professor of Africana studies, gender, and the internet at UCLA, as well as the author of the book Algorithms of Oppression. Headshot by John Davis hide caption

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Headshot by John Davis

How does a computer discriminate?

OK, not exactly a computer — more like, the wild array of technologies that inform what we consume on our computers and phones. Because on this episode, we're looking at how AI and race bias intersect. Safiya Noble, a professor at UCLA and the author of the book Algorithms of Oppression talks us through some of the messy issues that arise when algorithms and tech are used as substitutes for good old-fashioned human brains.

How does a computer discriminate?

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All The Only Ones: The missing piece of the puzzle
Sally Chen for NPR

All The Only Ones: The missing piece of the puzzle

We're bringing you something special from our play cousins over at Embedded: the first episode of a three part series about the often neglected history of trans youth in America. We meet Zen, a Mexican-American, New Orleans native, who is coming into their transness, as we learn about an historic trans person, Bernard, from Alabama in the early 1900s, fighting to be seen.

All The Only Ones: The missing piece of the puzzle

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