466 episodes

What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race with empathy and humor. We explore how race affects every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, food and everything in between. This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation — because we're all part of the story. Code Switch was named Apple Podcasts' first-ever Show of the Year in 2020.Want to level up your Code Switch game? Try Code Switch Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/codeswitch

Code Switch Code Switch

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 14.1K Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race with empathy and humor. We explore how race affects every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, food and everything in between. This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation — because we're all part of the story. Code Switch was named Apple Podcasts' first-ever Show of the Year in 2020.Want to level up your Code Switch game? Try Code Switch Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/codeswitch

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    In 'Chicano Frankenstein,' the undead are the new underpaid labor force

    In 'Chicano Frankenstein,' the undead are the new underpaid labor force

    Daniel Olivas's novel puts a new spin on the age-old Frankenstein story. In this retelling, 12 million "reanimated" people provide a cheap workforce for the United States...and face a very familiar type of bigotry.

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    • 33 min
    Exclusion, resilience and the Chinese American experience on 'Mott Street'

    Exclusion, resilience and the Chinese American experience on 'Mott Street'

    This week on the podcast, we're revisiting a conversation we had with Ava Chin about her book, Mott Street. Through decades of painstaking research, the fifth-generation New Yorker discovered the stories of how her ancestors bore and resisted the weight of the Chinese Exclusion laws in the U.S. – and how the legacy of that history still affects her family today.

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    • 31 min
    How Jewish Communities Are Divided Over Support of Israel

    How Jewish Communities Are Divided Over Support of Israel

    In the wake of October 7, and the bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government, many American Jews have found themselves questioning something that had long felt like a given: that if you were Jewish, you would support Israel, and that was that. But as more Jews speak out against Israel's actions in Gaza, it's exposing deep rifts within Jewish communities – including ones that are threatening to break apart friendships, families, and institutions.

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    • 41 min
    The Rise and Fall of the Panama Canal

    The Rise and Fall of the Panama Canal

    The Panama Canal has been dubbed the greatest engineering feat in human history. It's also (perhaps less favorably) been called the greatest liberty mankind has ever taken with Mother Nature. But due to climate change, the Canal is drying up and fewer than half of the ships that used to pass through are now able to do so. So how did we get here? Today on the show, we're talking to Cristina Henriquez, the author of a new novel that explores the making of the Canal. It took 50,000 people from 90 different countries to carve the land in two — and the consequences of that extraordinary, nature-defying act are still echoing through our present.

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    • 32 min
    Reflecting on the legacy of O.J. Simpson

    Reflecting on the legacy of O.J. Simpson

    With the news of O.J. Simpson's death on Thursday, we're revisiting our reporting from 2016, where we took a look into how Simpson went from being "too famous to be Black," to becoming a stand-in for the way Black people writ-large were mistreated by the U.S. carceral system.

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    • 17 min
    How Frederick Douglass launched generations of Black and Irish solidarity

    How Frederick Douglass launched generations of Black and Irish solidarity

    What's a portrait of Frederick Douglass doing hanging in an Irish-themed pub in Washington, D.C.? To get to the answer, Parker and Gene dive deep into the long history of solidarity and exchange between Black civil rights leaders and Irish republican activists, starting with Frederick Douglass' visit to Ireland in 1845.

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    • 31 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
14.1K Ratings

14.1K Ratings

TNickiB ,

Love it!

I’ve been listening to Code Switch for a while and I love love love it!

Also, those who have an issue with talking about race should look up what it means to code switch. You’d save time and characters 😊

JoopieSoCute ,

Educational and thought provoking

I absolutely love this podcast and the vast subjects it discusses. It is a good learning tool and find myself learning something new every time I listen to it.

jasoncwolfe ,

Conflicting feelings about the hosts

BA Parker is not my taste. She seemingly defaults to a silly/light tone even when subject matter is heavy. Gene is brilliant at weaving in and out of conversations and topics with appropriate demeanor and a keenness for the subject. If this podcast was exclusively Gene I wouldn’t miss an episode but sometimes I need to turn off when Parker is steering. I could imagine liking Parkers work much more in a much lighter forum.

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