Code Switch

This week, we're looking into the history of public swimming pools in the U.S., and the legacy that pool segregation has had on swimming skills in the country today. Earlier this year, Jasmine Romero found herself surrounded by four- and five-year-olds, ready to take her first ever swim class. Jasmine, who is in her mid-thirties, has had a fear of swimming all her life. It's a fear that was passed down from her mother, and spread to all of her sisters, too. But the Romero family isn't alone. People of color have long been afraid of the water — and with good reason. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 27 August 2025

On August 11, President Trump announced his intention to "rescue" the nation's capital. A central feature of his plan involved using federal officials to remove people experiencing homelessness from the city — people that he listed alongside "violent gangs, bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, and drugged out maniacs." On this episode, we're diving into what it means to criminalize homelessness, what it looks like when police officers are used to solve social problems, and what this D.C. takeover might portend for the rest of the country. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2025

Mo Amer is the creator and star of the hit Netflix comedy series Mo. It's a first-of-its kind Palestinian-American sitcom with a fraught plot line about the American immigration system and the hope to return, at least for a visit, to his family's homeland. We talk to Mo Amer what it’s like to make a show so centered on the real facts of his own life, and to be thrust into the role of spokesperson for Palestinian-Americans at this particular moment. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 13 August 2025

The heat disproportionately kills poor, elderly and people of color. So on this episode we're focusing on the lives of those impacted, from roofers in Florida to prisoners who live and die in cells that feel more like ovens in Texas. We’re asking why so many people are dying from the heat and whose lives we value enough to count their deaths and try to prevent them. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2025

On this bonus episode of the show, we're hearing from some of YOU about what brings you joy, how you connect joy and justice work, and why joy is so important in your lives. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 2 August 2025

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.) Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 30 July 2025

To the casual observer, it might seem like the U.S. has been spent years in a constant state of protest, from the Women's March in 2017 to the racial uprisings in 2020 to the No Kings protests earlier in the summer. But some are starting to wonder: How effective are any of those protests? When it comes to achieving lasting social change, do any of them work? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2025

Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit donate.npr.org now. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2025

Once upon a time, members of the Code Switch team were just kids, learning about race and identity for the first time. So on this episode, we're sharing some of the books, movies and music that deeply influenced each of us at an early age — and set us on the path to being the race nerds we are today. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

Have you noticed people using terms like "unalive" and "pew pews" on social media? There's a reason for that: some people are changing the way they speak on TikTok and other social media platforms to bypass what they think are algorithm blocks. For some users, it's a fun game — but for others, self-censoring certain words is crucial to being able to share their lived experience and get views. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 9 July 2025

This week on Code Switch, we're doing a different kind of immigration coverage. We're telling a New York story: one that celebrates the beautiful, everyday life of the immigrant. Code Switch producer, Xavier Lopez and NPR immigration reporter, Jasmine Garsd spend a day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

Trans people are major targets of the second Trump administration. But in a way, that's nothing new; trans people have been fighting for their rights, dignity, and liberation for generations. So on this episode, we hear from trans elders about what their lives have looked like over the decades, and what messages they have for young people. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 25 June 2025

We're throwing back to a conversation we had in 2020 with Jason Rezaian, Iranian American journalist who had been previously jailed in Iran. Back in January of 2020, the first Trump administration carried out a military operation killing Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian military commander. Now, the second Trump administration is striking Iranian nuclear sites. While lots has changed since 2020, much of our conversation with Jason is still eerily relevant. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 23 June 2025

In recent months we've seen the Trump administration punishing speech critical of Israel in its widening effort to combat what it sees as antisemitism. As protestors have been detained for pro-Palestinian activism, we've seen attacks on Jews and people expressing concern for Israeli hostages in Gaza — and in the wake of all this, a lot Jews don't agree on which actions constitutive antisemitism. On this episode, we're looking at the landscape of this disagreement, and talking to the legal scholar who came up with the definition of antisemitism that the White House is using, and who says he's worried that definition is being used in a way that could hurt Jews instead of protect them. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 18 June 2025

As President Trump flirts with invoking the Insurrection Act on anti-ICE demonstrators in LA, we look back at the national protests of 2020, when Trump last talked about invoking the act. Back then, there was broad energy around rethinking policing, but polls show that that energy has largely vanished. In this episode, we ask: what happened? Our guest points to what he calls copaganda – or pro-police propaganda. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

As President Trump flirts with invoking the Insurrection Act on anti-ICE demonstrators in LA, we look back at the national protests of 2020, when Trump last talked about invoking the act. Back then, there was broad energy around rethinking policing, but polls show that that energy has largely vanished. In this episode, we ask: what happened? Our guest points to what he calls copaganda – or pro-police propaganda. A previous version of this episode incorrectly said that Alec Karakatsanis works at Equal Justice Under Law. He currently runs an organization called the Civil Rights Corps. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

As President Trump flirts with invoking the Insurrection Act on anti-ICE demonstrators in LA, we look back at the national protests of 2020, when Trump last talked about invoking the act. Back then, there was broad energy around rethinking policing, but polls show that that energy has largely vanished. In this episode, we ask: what happened? Our guest points to what he calls copaganda – or pro-police propaganda. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

How the false notion of "white genocide" traveled from the political fringes to the Oval Office. The week on Code Switch, we're talking to a reporter who was in the room during a meeting when President Trump pushed this conspiracy theory on the president of South Africa. And we're digging into what Trump's fixation on white South Africans tell us about anxieties over white replacement here in the U.S. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2025

The hunger for Mexican food in the U.S. is longstanding — from the conquistadors' love affair with chocolate, to the classic San Francisco burrito. This week, we're exploring the history of Mexican food in the United States, and asking what it takes for a cuisine to become quintessentially "American." Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 28 May 2025

We've probably said it a hundred times on Code Switch — biological race is not a real thing. So why is race still used to help diagnose certain conditions, like keloids or cystic fibrosis? On this episode, Dr. Andrea Deyrup breaks it down for us, and unpacks the problems she sees with practicing race-based medicine, from delayed diagnoses to ignoring environmental factors that lead to different health outcomes. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2025

Trump's win exposed political tensions between Arab-American voters — who were critical of Democratic support of Israel's war in Gaza, and Black voters — who remain the Democrats' most loyal supporters. That friction is especially pronounced in the majority Arab city of Dearborn, Michigan, and its majority Black neighbor, Detroit. This week, we go to a testy iftar dinner where Arab and Black folks sat down to begin having tough conversations. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2025

We're looking back on the day a Philadelphia police department helicopter dropped a bomb on a rowhouse in a middle-class neighborhood. Even though that bombing and the fire it set off killed eleven people and left hundreds homeless, it's been largely forgotten. So how did we collectively memory-hole an event this big? And what does that tell us about race and policing even today? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2025

Marsha P. Johnson was a trailblazer in the fight for gay rights. But Johnson's legacy extends beyond her activism: "Marsha was a really full person who lived a vibrant life. She was a muse and model for Andy Warhol," and a performer in New York City and London. In this episode, we talk to activist and author Tourmaline about what we can all learn from Johnson's legacy in times of adversity. Tourmaline's two books about Marsha P. Johnson — Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson and One Day in June — are out on May 20, 2025. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2025

Viet Thanh Nguyen came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam when he was four years old. Growing up in San Jose, California, Nguyen remembers the moment he understood he was Asian-American. In his latest book, To Save and To Destroy: Writing as an Other, Nguyen examines the power in finding solidarity with other Others, especially in today's America. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2025

As the Trump administration targets the Smithsonian Institute for "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology," it got us thinking about how we preserve our history and everything that builds it, like language. So we're revisiting an episode from last year from the Lakota Nation in South Dakota over language — who preserves it, who has the right to the stories told in it, and who (literally) owns it. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

One of President Trump's main campaign promises was carrying out mass deportations. We look at how the Trump administration is testing the U.S. legal system to make good on its promise, starting with the story of one family trying to find their 18-year-old son after immigration agents showed up at their doorstep. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2025

President Trump has put diversity, equity, and inclusion in his crosshairs — but there's no consensus on what DEI even means. Some say that that fuzziness is the point, and that the current anti-DEI push is part of a larger plan to undo the gains made by the Civil Rights Movement. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2025

As the U.S. health system grapples with new outbreaks and the risk of old diseases making a comeback, we're looking to the past to inform how people in marginalized communities can prepare themselves for how the current administration might handle an epidemic. On this episode, a conversation with historian and author Edna Bonhomme, about her latest book A History of the World in Six Plagues. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 26 March 2025

Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident and Columbia alum, was detained by ICE for his role in leading pro-Palestinian protests at his former university last year. As Khalil's case has captured the nation's attention, free speech advocates see it as a test of the First Amendment. Meanwhile, the Trump administration argues they have the right to deport Khalil without charging him with a crime. On this episode, why Khalil's arrest should worry all of us. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2025

To be a Palestinian American writer right now can lead to a lot of expectation to focus on identity and devastation, but in her debut novel, Too Soon, Betty Shamieh shares the story of three generations of Palestinian women trying to find love, purpose and liberation. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2025

To be a Palestinian-American writer right now can lead to a lot of expectation to focus on identity and devastation, but in her debut novel, Too Soon, Betty Shamieh shares the story of three generations of Palestinian women trying to find love, purpose and liberation. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2025

To be a Palestinian-American writer right now can lead to a lot of expectation to focus on identity and devastation, but in her debut novel, Too Soon, Betty Shamieh shares the story of three generations of Palestinian women trying to find love, purpose and liberation. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2025

The Panama Canal's impact on the geopolitical stage far outreaches its roughly 51-mile stretch of land and water. This week, we're trying to understand the canal's murky future - from climate change to President Trump's threat to take it for the U.S. - by looking at its turbulent, cataclysmic birth. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2025

B.A. Parker digs into the historical connection between Black Americans and soap operas with the launching of "Beyond the Gates," the first ever soap focused primarily on a Black family. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2025

In 2015, the NFL agreed to an uncapped settlement to pay former players diagnosed with brain disease. The agreement came after players sued the league for covering what it knew about the links between brain disease and football. But who's gotten paid and how much is affected by their race. On the final episode of our series on race and football, we speak with Will Hobson, investigative sports reporter at The Washington Post. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 24 February 2025

Altadena was the site of the Eaton fire, one of two major wildfires in Los Angeles County in January. The wind and flames destroyed more than 9,000 structures — and with them, the long-tenured Black community in the town. As efforts to recover and rebuild the town are underway, many residents are left wondering, what of their community will remain? Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2025

Dominique Foxworth played in the NFL from 2005 to 2011. After he retired, he went on to become the head of the NFL Players' Association, the union that represents players in the league. In this conversation, he describes what it was like sitting across from the league's lawyers, advocating for things like players' health care at a time when the risks of playing football were becoming clearer. NOTE: This episode includes discussions of suicide. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 9 8 8 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2025

How the criminal legal system considers who is and isn't Native, and what that means for the Black people who are members of tribal nations. This reporting is part of an audio documentary from Audible called Tribal Justice: The Struggle for Black Rights on Native Land. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2025

The way football is played and who plays it — from the pee-wees to the pros — tells us so much about race, labor and power in the United States. In a conversation with cultural anthropologist Tracie Canada we explore how starting from young ages, Black players are nudged towards more physically taxing positions that require more strength, athleticism, speed. That affects who gets injured, how they're cared for and how they get paid. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 10 February 2025

Critics point out the apparent hypocrisy of a pro-Black rapper like Kendrick Lamar headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, since the NFL isn't exactly an institution that's known for its support of Black lives. So on this episode, we're digging into the history of hip hop and how it's been co-opted. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 5 February 2025

Parker has been trying to find her place in the banjo world. So this week, she talks to Black banjo players like Grammy nominee Rhiannon Giddens about creating community and reclaiming an instrument that's historically already theirs. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 29 January 2025

Martin Luther King Jr. was relatively unpopular when he was assassinated. But the way Americans of all political stripes invoke his memory today, you'd think he was held up as a hero. In this episode, we hear how King's legacy got co-opted. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2025

Comedian Youngmi Mayer talks about how her Korean family uses humor as a tool for survival. She gets into the Korean comedic tradition and why the saddest stuff is what makes them laugh the hardest. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 15 January 2025

How should Black parents talk to their kids about the police? Gene gets into it with his friend Chenjerai Kumanyika, host of Empire City, a podcast about the history of the NYPD. Chenjerai's show sprang out of his own attempts to talk with his young daughter about the police and what they do. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 8 January 2025

Happy New Year, fam! This year, we're celebrating Ecuadorian style: by burning away what we want to let go of from last year and creating space for moving ahead with this year. Code Switch producer Xavier Lopez takes us on his journey to explore the tradition of his childhood, learn its origins, and honor it in his life in New York today. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 1 January 2025

Happy New Year, fam! This year, we're celebrating Ecuadorian style: by burning away what we want to let go of from last year and creating space for moving ahead with this year. Code Switch producer Xavier Lopez takes us on his journey to explore the tradition of his childhood, learn its origins, and honor it in his life in New York today. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 1 January 2025

Shot and severely injured while visiting family in Vermont in 2023, Hisham Awartani grapples with his recovery in the U.S., and the unfolding war at home in the West Bank. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 25 December 2024

Even before Luigi Mangione was arrested for killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the reaction to the shooter was far different than other instances of gun violence. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 20 December 2024

Twenty-five years ago, a boy named Eliaán Gonzaález appeared — remarkably alive — in the waters off the coast of Miami. Immediately, his fate became the subject of an international debate: Should he stay in the U.S.? Or should he be returned to Cuba, to live with his father? From our play cousins at Futuro Studios, this is part of their series Chess Piece: The Elián González Story. We want to hear from you! Please tell us what you think about Code Switch by taking our short survey. Thank you! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 18 December 2024

In his new book, The Black Utopians, author Aaron Robertson tells the story of how Black folks have created many different versions of utopian communities throughout history — and why those communities tend to be especially meaningful during times of political tension and racial unrest. We want to hear from our listeners about what you like about Code Switch and how we could do better. Please tell us what you think by taking our short survey, and thank you! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2024