Accessibility links
Code Switch Race and identity, remixed.

Code SwitchCode Switch

Race. In your face.
NPR YouTube
NPR YouTube
NPR YouTube
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.

Finding 'A Perfect Match'

Terika Haughton and Ibby Caputo Courtesy of Ibby Caputo hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Ibby Caputo

Code Switch

Finding 'A Perfect Match'

Two close friends both suffered from the same aggressive form of cancer. After years of treatment, one lived and the other died. And while many variables factored into what happened, the woman who survived — reporter Ibby Caputo — couldn't help wondering what role race had played in the outcome.

Finding 'A Perfect Match'

Listen · 31:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/953674992/953760093" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Black And Up In Arms

(From left) Dickson "Q" Amoah, Jon McDonald, Kourtney Redmond, Costia Harris and David Hayes are members and/or officers of the Chicago chapter of the National African American Gun Association. Olivia Obineme for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Olivia Obineme for NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

Black And Up In Arms

by Lakeidra Chavis

Guns. They're as American as apple pie. They represent independence and self-reliance. But ... not so much if you're Black. On this episode, we're getting into the complicated history of Black gun ownership and what it has to tell us about our present moment.

Black And Up In Arms

Listen · 48:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/944615029/947007469" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Books That Got Away
NPR

Review

Code Switch

The Books That Got Away

Listen, a lot has happened this year, and it's no shock that some things may have slipped under the radar. So our resident book expert, Karen Grigsby Bates, took a virtual trip around the country to talk to independent book store owners about their favorite underappreciated reads of 2020.

The Books That Got Away

Listen · 21:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/945433640/946102084" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Stepping Back Inside Carmen Maria Machado's 'Dream House'

Carmen Maria Machado's new memoir is called "In The Dreamhouse." Art Streiber/AUGUST hide caption

toggle caption
Art Streiber/AUGUST

Review

Code Switch

Stepping Back Inside Carmen Maria Machado's 'Dream House'

It's no secret that Code Switch is a team full of book nerds. So this week, we're revisiting one of our favorite book conversations, with author Carmen Maria Machado. Her genre-defying memoir, In the Dream House, tells the story of how she survived intimate partner violence, despite having few models of how to deal with, or even recognize abusive dynamics in queer relationships.

Stepping Back Inside Carmen Maria Machado's 'Dream House'

Listen · 36:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/944409653/944486048" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org