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Code Switch

Is joy an act of resistance?

Code Switch

NPR

Society & Culture

4.6 β€’ 14.5K Ratings

πŸ—“οΈ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The phrase "joy is resistance" has been popping up all over the place lately. But what, exactly, does it mean? In this episode, we're unpacking what joy is, when it can actually be used as a tool for social change, and why the slogan has become so popular (even when joy itself feels more tenuous.)

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

0:05.4

RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.

0:12.1

Learn more at RWJF.org.

0:16.9

Hey everyone, you're listening to Code Switch. I'm B.A. Parker. And today I'm joined by Code Switch senior editor Leah Dinella.

0:26.6

Hey, Leah. Hi, Parker.

0:28.6

So if I understand things correctly, you're coming to the mic today to talk about joy.

0:35.4

Yes, joy. Okay. Deep breaths, everyone. Parker, it's joy. Why, why do you sound

0:42.5

nervous? Because I know you and no offense, but you have a way sometimes of making fun

0:50.0

things not that fun. Like, the last time we did this together, you talked about motherhood and Nazism.

0:58.1

So, frankly, I guess I'm just concerned that you're about to ruin the concept of joy for me.

1:04.2

God, you know me too well.

1:07.0

But no, I don't think I'm going to ruin anyone's idea of joy.

1:11.6

I'm just hoping to, you know, complicate it a little.

1:15.9

Leah, that's what I'm afraid of.

1:18.9

But, okay, all right, deep breath.

1:21.6

So where are we starting?

1:24.0

All right, so Parker, I don't know if you've had this experience, but a few months ago, I noticed more and more of the people I follow on social media using the phrase joy is resistance.

1:36.5

That's because joy is resistance. Or joy is an act of resistance.

1:41.8

It's the other version I've seen. Shout out to the poet Toy Derricot.

1:45.4

Yep. And it's a phrase I'd heard before, but never this regularly and never to describe such a like normal array of experiences.

1:55.8

On Instagram, for example, I was seeing people post pictures of things like eating dinner with their friends or looking at flowers or getting a new manicure.

2:04.9

And they would caption the photos, hashtag Joy's Resistance.

...

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