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Race. In your face.
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Show Me The Money

Art by Qieer Wang. Qieer Wang for NPR hide caption

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Qieer Wang for NPR

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Show Me The Money

Two friends living in Vermont decided to try a radical experiment: They asked White people in their community to give money directly to their Black neighbors — a DIY, hyper-local "reparations" program, of sorts. Our friends at the Invisibilia podcast took a look at how the community reacted, for better and for worse.

Show Me The Money

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Live From Philly*: A Code Switch Jawn
WHYY / NPR

Opinion

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Live From Philly*: A Code Switch Jawn

OK, so we weren't really in Philly (it's still a pandemic, after all.) But we did talk all things race and Philadelphia with special guests Erika Alexander and Denice Frohman. On the docket for the night: reparations, basketball, poetry and of course, the word "jawn."

Live From Philly*: A Code Switch Jawn

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Do The Golden Arches Bend Toward Justice?
Dion MBD for NPR

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Do The Golden Arches Bend Toward Justice?

Calls for racial justice are met with a lot of different proposals, but one of the loudest and most enduring is to invest in Black businesses. But can "buying Black" actually do anything to mitigate racism? To find out, we're taking a look at the surprising link between Black capitalism and McDonald's.

Do The Golden Arches Bend Toward Justice?

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Spit A Verse, Drop Some Knowledge
Halisia Hubbard for NPR

Code Switch

Spit A Verse, Drop Some Knowledge

We've spent the past year trying to analyze, dissect and intellectualize all the ways that our world has changed. But sometimes the best way to understand our circumstances isn't through data and reports — it's through art and poetry. So this week, we're hearing from some of the country's most critical observers: poets.

Spit A Verse, Drop Some Knowledge

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Why Are We Here?

Joyette Jagolino (second from the right) in critical-care nurse training with her class at Saint Paul University in Manila Courtesy of Joyette Jagolino via The Atlantic hide caption

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Courtesy of Joyette Jagolino via The Atlantic

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Why Are We Here?

Filipinos make up a small fraction of the nurses in the United States, but almost a third of the nurses who have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. have been of Filipino descent. So what exactly is going on? Our friends over at The Atlantic and WNYC tried to understand more about this troubling statistic by telling the story of one woman: Rosary Castro-Olega.

Why Are We Here?

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How To Start Conversations About Anti-Asian Racism With Your Family

A family wearing face masks and holding signs take part in a rally "Love Our Communities: Build Collective Power" to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence, at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, California, on March 13. Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images

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How To Start Conversations About Anti-Asian Racism With Your Family

The rise in reports of anti-Asian hate incidents over the past year, including the shootings at Atlanta-area spas, has resurfaced the need for many to talk about racism with their loved ones.

How To Start Conversations About Anti-Asian Racism With Your Family

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Screams And Silence
Hokyoung Kim for NPR

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Screams And Silence

Asian American organizers and influencers have been trying to sound the alarm over a dramatic spike in reports of anti-Asian racism over the last year, and have been frustrated by the lack of media and public attention paid to their worries. Then came last week, when a deadly shooting spree in Georgia realized many of their worst fears and thrust the issue into the national spotlight.

Screams And Silence

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Inside The Blacksonian With Lonnie Bunch

Lonnie G. Bunch III, shortly after he was named Smithsonian Secretary in 2019 Shuran Huang/NPR hide caption

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Shuran Huang/NPR

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Inside The Blacksonian With Lonnie Bunch

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III talks about how he turned entry into the Blacksonian into the hottest ticket in town and how the coronavirus is affecting the Smithsonians.

Inside The Blacksonian With Lonnie Bunch

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Lonnie Bunch And The 'Museum Of No'

Lonnie Bunch, the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Shuran Huang/NPR hide caption

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Shuran Huang/NPR

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Lonnie Bunch And The 'Museum Of No'

The Blacksonian — er, the National Museum of African American History and Culture — was years and years in the making. It's closed down because of the coronavirus, but we got a virtual tour from the man who devoted his life to giving it life. He's also the first Black leader of the entire Smithsonian Institution. Baller status.

Lonnie Bunch And The 'Museum Of No'

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Saving A Language You're Learning To Speak

Larry Kimura, one of the people who spearheaded the fight to save the Hawaiian language. Shereen Marisol Meraji/NPR hide caption

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Shereen Marisol Meraji/NPR

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Saving A Language You're Learning To Speak

Every two weeks, a language dies with its last speaker. That was almost the fate of the Hawaiian language — until a group of young people decided to create a strong community of Hawaiian speakers — as they were learning to speak it them themselves.

Saving A Language You're Learning To Speak

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Davíd Versus Goliath
Mya Pagan/Courtesy of La Brega

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Davíd Versus Goliath

Summer, 2004. The Olympics in Athens. The event? Men's basketball: U.S. versus Puerto Rico. And the whole world knows that Puerto Rico doesn't stand a chance. After all, the bigger, richer, imperial power always wins — right?

Davíd Versus Goliath

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'Payback's A B****'

The new podcast from Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow. Courtesy of Color Farm Media hide caption

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Courtesy of Color Farm Media

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'Payback's A B****'

We're ending Black history month where we started it...talking about reparations. On this episode, we're joined by Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow, who have spent the past two years exploring how reparations could transform the United States — and all the struggles and possibilities that go along with that.

Listen to Code Switch

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A Shot In The Dark

Rev. Baums takes COVID Vaccine administered by nurse Anita Joy at the Zion AME Syracuse. Cherilyn Beckles for NPR hide caption

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Cherilyn Beckles for NPR

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A Shot In The Dark

As the rollout of coronavirus vaccines unfolds, one big challenge for public health officials has been the skepticism many Black people have toward the vaccine. One notorious medical study — the Tuskegee experiment — has been cited as a reason. But should it be?

A Shot In The Dark

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Announcing The Code Switch Fellows: Help Our Team Tell Stories About Race In 2021

Code Switch is looking for fellows: Ideal candidates are mid-career journalists with multiple years of experience and a track record of dedication to covering stories about race; audio experience is preferred but not necessary. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

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LA Johnson/NPR

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Announcing The Code Switch Fellows: Help Our Team Tell Stories About Race In 2021

We have two brand-new opportunities: a six-month fellowship for recent college graduates, and reporting fellowships to support journalists telling stories about race.

The Queen Of Black Historical Romance Talks Race, Love And History

Beverly Jenkins author photo. Greg Anthony/Harper Collins hide caption

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Greg Anthony/Harper Collins

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The Queen Of Black Historical Romance Talks Race, Love And History

Stories about Black history often focus on struggle and suffering—but Beverly Jenkins, the author of more than 40 historical romance novels, has spent her career telling stories about Black love.

The Queen Of Black Historical Romance Talks Race, Love And History

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Black Kiss-tory

Wild Rain is author Beverly Jenkins' newest steamy novel. Harper Collins hide caption

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Harper Collins

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Black Kiss-tory

Too often, Black history is portrayed as a story of struggle and suffering, completely devoid of joy. So we called up some romance novelists whose work focuses on Black history. They told us that no matter how hard the times, there has always been room for love.

Black Kiss-tory

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Who's 'Black Enough' For Reparations?
Bee Harris for NPR

Opinion

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Who's 'Black Enough' For Reparations?

Black History Month is here, which means we're diving into big, sticky questions about what exactly it means to be Black. So this week on the show: Who is 'Black enough' for reparations? Because you know...we got some bills to pay.

Who's 'Black Enough' For Reparations?

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Stepping Out Of The Shadow Of 'Killer King'

An ICU nurse helps a COVID-19 patient speak to their family over an iPad. Gabriella Angotti-Jones for NPR hide caption

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Gabriella Angotti-Jones for NPR

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Stepping Out Of The Shadow Of 'Killer King'

For decades, residents of Compton and Watts in South Los Angeles had to rely on one particularly troubled hospital for their medical care. A new state-of-the-art hospital replaced it, but faced many of the same challenges: too few beds, too many patients who need serious help, not enough money. Then came the coronavirus.

Stepping Out Of The Shadow Of 'Killer King'

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The 'Racial Caste System' At The U.S. Capitol

Capitol workers remove damaged furniture on from the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2021, following the riot at the Capitol the day before. Bill Clark/Getty Images hide caption

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Bill Clark/Getty Images

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The 'Racial Caste System' At The U.S. Capitol

After the Capitol was cleared of insurrectionists on January 6, there was work to be done — and it wasn't lost on many that cleaning up the mess would fall largely to Black and Brown people.

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