Accessibility links
Code Switch Race and identity, remixed.

Code SwitchCode Switch

Race. In your face.
NPR YouTube
NPR YouTube
NPR YouTube
Do The Golden Arches Bend Toward Justice?
Dion MBD for NPR

Code Switch

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?

Listen · 31:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/986426485/987091780" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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

Listen · 24:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/984762691/984926893" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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

toggle caption
Courtesy of Joyette Jagolino via The Atlantic

Code Switch

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?

Listen · 34:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/982878218/982885462" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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

toggle caption
Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images

Code Switch

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

by Anna Sirianni ,

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

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/980942013/981017993" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Screams And Silence
Hokyoung Kim for NPR

Code Switch

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

Listen · 33:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/980437156/980631261" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Inside The Blacksonian With Lonnie Bunch

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

toggle caption
Shuran Huang/NPR

Code Switch

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

Listen · 32:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/978683313/978815615" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Lonnie Bunch And The 'Museum Of No'

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

toggle caption
Shuran Huang/NPR

Code Switch

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'

Listen · 32:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/977947084/978042094" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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

toggle caption
Shereen Marisol Meraji/NPR

Code Switch

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

Listen · 34:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/975484734/975485210" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Davíd Versus Goliath
Mya Pagan/Courtesy of La Brega

Code Switch

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

Listen · 42:13
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/972522792/973116058" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Payback's A B****'

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

toggle caption
Courtesy of Color Farm Media

Code Switch

'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

Listen · 29:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/956822681/971540664" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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

toggle caption
Cherilyn Beckles for NPR

Code Switch

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

Listen · 26:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/968359504/970820362" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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

toggle caption
LA Johnson/NPR

Code Switch

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

toggle caption
Greg Anthony/Harper Collins

Code Switch

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

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/966404855/966466106" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Black Kiss-tory

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

toggle caption
Harper Collins

Code Switch

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

Listen · 27:51
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/964001303/966290179" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Who's 'Black Enough' For Reparations?
Bee Harris for NPR

Opinion

Code Switch

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?

Listen · 36:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/960378979/963423244" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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

toggle caption
Gabriella Angotti-Jones for NPR

Code Switch

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'

Listen · 19:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/960378925/960959213" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
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

toggle caption
Bill Clark/Getty Images

Code Switch

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.

From The Fringe To The Capitol
Jon Cherry / Getty / LA Johnson/NPR

Code Switch

From The Fringe To The Capitol

Like all of you, we are still trying to make sense of Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Because even after the past four years, there are still new iterations of WTF. So on this episode, we're talking police, "terrorism", and the symbols of white nationalism that made it to the floor of the Capitol.

From The Fringe To The Capitol

Listen · 32:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/955673514/956289096" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How The Storming Of The Capitol Was — And Wasn't — About Police

Police hold back supporters of Donald Trump as they gather outside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. Olivier Douliery/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Olivier Douliery/Getty Images

Code Switch

How The Storming Of The Capitol Was — And Wasn't — About Police

Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, says it's a mistake to boil Wednesday's events down to questions of police force. He argues we need a broader conversation about race, politics and justice.

Browse archive or search npr.org