Accessibility links
The Code Switch Podcast : Code Switch The Code Switch Podcast

Code SwitchCode Switch

Race. In your face.

The Code Switch Podcast

A passenger looks on as members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front ride the Washington Metro on July 04, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Finn Gomez/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

Inside the culty white supremacists the feds are ignoring

Patriot Front is a white nationalist group that focuses on high visibility stunts, like banner drops, disrupting events, or swarming Washington, DC for Independence Day. Meanwhile, the State Department has convened 60 nations against what it calls far-left terrorism. We talk to NPR’s Odette Yousef about who the guys in Patriot Front actually are, why their finances resemble a pyramid scheme selling stickers and stencils, and what it means that the federal government is aiming its counterterrorism attention in a very different direction.

Inside the culty white supremacists the feds are ignoring

Listen · 30:39
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5903274/nx-s1-mx-5903274-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Supreme Court building in 2026.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

Whose rights just changed? Our SCOTUS debrief

A lot went down this term in the Supreme Court. So, we’re breaking down the landmark SCOTUS decisions that affect Black voters, trans athletes and immigrants. B.A. Parker and Code Switch producer Jess Kung go over the outcomes of the cases we’ve been watching, and NPR’s immigration correspondent Ximena Bustillo helps us untangle the latest for immigrants.

Whose rights just changed? Our SCOTUS debrief

Listen · 29:00
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5884867/nx-s1-mx-5884867-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A collage of Black service people, General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr., and Pete Hegseth.
Jackie Lay/NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

How anti-DEI hit the military

Pete Hegseth's Pentagon has been dismantling diversity initiatives and blocking the promotions of high-ranking Black officers. This week, Parker talks with The Atlantic's Clint Smith, who interviewed two dozen Black service members about the long, contradictory history of Black patriotism and what it means to serve a country that has always struggled with how to honor them.

How anti-DEI hit the military

Listen · 33:39
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5869453/nx-s1-mx-5869453-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
What happens if the US ends birthright citizenship?
Al Drago/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

What happens if the US ends birthright citizenship?

Any day now, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the Trump administration’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship. But beyond the ruling, the fight for who belongs in a country is much older and broader than the United States. Gene talks with Daisy Hernández, the author of Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth, about what we can learn from both other nations’ and our own history about where we might be headed.

What happens if the US ends birthright citizenship?

Listen · 34:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5861724/nx-s1-mx-5861724-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
A collage of Barack Obama, a statue of him, kids walking to school, and his new Presidential Center, a rectangular facade with text texturing the top left corner.
Jackie Lay/NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

Obama's new Presidential Center and his tricky relationship with the South Side

After nearly 10 years of planning and construction, the Obama Presidential Center is opening on the South Side of Chicago — right across the street from an under-resourced high school, in a segregated neighborhood where home prices have jumped. Who is the Center for, and what will it mean for the people who live there? We get into it with two South Siders who've covered the Center for years — journalist Natalie Moore and the Invisible Institute's Maira Khwaja — about the Chi's tricky relationship with the president who claims them.

Obama's new Presidential Center and his tricky relationship with the South Side

Listen · 34:06
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5853362/nx-s1-mx-5853362-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Pete Hegseth's American crusade
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

Pete Hegseth's American crusade

It’s no secret that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has embraced the idea of crusading for American dominance — he published a book titled American Crusade and has several tattoos of crusader iconography. And that language has become a part of how Hegseth talks about the U.S. war with Iran. B.A. Parker talks to the religion scholar Matthew Taylor about Hegseth’s corner of Christianity and its connection with Christian nationalism.

Pete Hegseth's American crusade

Listen · 22:33
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5845047/nx-s1-mx-5845047-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Protesters for trans rights in front of the Supreme Court in Washington DC. In the foreground, a sign that reads "Sports for all" in the pink white and blue of the trans flag.
Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

The trans athlete debate is about a lot more than sports

The Supreme Court is about to rule on whether states can ban transfeminine student athletes from playing on girls' and women's teams. But we're talking to journalist Imara Jones about why these cases aren't just about school sports. They come out of a massive wave of state-level anti-trans legislation that Imara says is part of a broader movement to undermine discrimination protections — by going after the small, vulnerable minority of trans girls.

The trans athlete debate is about a lot more than sports

Listen · 31:33
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5684332/nx-s1-mx-5684332-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A hand pulls the word "maxxing" out of murky depths.
Jackie Lay

The Code Switch Podcast

It's giving incel: The evolution of internet slang

How have recommendation algorithms affected language? Linguist Adam Aleksic — aka the Etymology Nerd — says most “Gen-Z slang” is either appropriated from Black people or incels. This week, we trace how -maxxing went from the eugenicist looksmaxxing subculture to trending TikToks to the Pentagon tweeting about “lethality maxxing.” And we ask what’s actually at stake when we use words without knowing where they come from.

It's giving incel: The evolution of internet slang

Listen · 24:05
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5826896/nx-s1-mx-5826896-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How the Supreme Court gutted Black voting power
Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

How the Supreme Court gutted Black voting power

The passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act marked what many historians mark as the actual beginning of democracy in the US. But last week the Supreme Court gutted what was left of the landmark civil rights law. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang joins us to talk through what it means for Black political power, especially in the South.

How the Supreme Court gutted Black voting power

Listen · 22:22
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5810937/nx-s1-mx-5810937-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A 50s style illustration divided into four scenes, each featuring a different woman. One dressed for work is alarmed by a clock, one is wearing an apron and cooking, one is cleaning glamousously, and one is serving a martini to a man.
Jackie Lay/NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

Tradwives and the pressures of modern motherhood

Motherhood in the U.S. is revered. Actual mothers? Not so much. So where's a bedraggled mom to turn when she feels overworked, overwhelmed, and underappreciated? Turns out, momfluencers are stepping in to fill that void, including a particular category of momfluencer: the tradwife. We dive into that world to understand how it might intersect with the Trump administration, what it has to do with white supremacy, and where moms of color fit in.

Tradwives and the pressures of modern motherhood

Listen · 38:37
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5805222/nx-s1-mx-5805222-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The backs of graduates in robes at Harvard.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

In college admission, trauma is shorthand for Blackness

At most elite colleges and universities, affirmative action is a thing of the past. But admissions offices are still interested in building racially diverse incoming classes — which can mean looking at students' essays to help determine their background. In those essays, Black students have been often been encouraged to write about experiences of overcoming trauma in order to help underscore their race. Our guest, the sociologist Aya Waller-Bey, says that practice has troubling implications for how we understand what it means to have an authentic Black experience.

In college admission, trauma is shorthand for Blackness

Listen · 27:32
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5793935/nx-s1-mx-5793935-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A syellow tatue of Donald Trump reminiscent of a Roman Emporer against a blue cloudy background. There is a crack in the statue's face.
Jackie Lay/NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

Is the U.S. 'empire' beginning to show cracks?

The Trump administration's recent military actions have had certain observers asking... are we going full empire? But Daniel Immerwahr, a historian and the author of How to Hide an Empire, argues that the U.S. has engaged in empire building for hundreds of years — we've just been sneakier about it than other countries. So on today's show, we're breaking down what that history of colonization has looked like, and how President Trump's international escapades are scrambling the global order.

CS Hide an Empire

Listen · 28:51
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5785139/nx-s1-mx-5785139-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How your vote became your identity
CSA Images/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

How your vote became your identity

Do you vote Republican or Democrat? And why does that answer reveal so much about the rest of who you are? We talk to political scientist Lilliana Mason about how party affiliation has become a “mega-identity” — a lens through which we see all other aspects of identity — and how that shapes views on race, political behavior, and so much more.

How your vote became your identity

Listen · 31:07
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5781216/nx-s1-mx-5781216-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A sign at a 2019 protest reading "ANTIFA = TERRORISM!"
JOHN RUDOFF/AFP/via Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

As the definition of “terrorist” expands, so does state violence

The Trump administration has called more and more groups “terrorists,” from “narco-terrorists” in Ecuador to people who protest ICE to the entire Democratic party. But it’s also nothing new. We talk to Saher Selod, expert on the racialized surveillance of Muslims about the effects of the war on terrorism after 9/11, and historian Alex Lubin about how even since colonial settlers were fighting Indigenous people to establish frontier towns, the word “terrorist” has been used by the state to enact violence and surveillance against whoever they want.

CS WW Terrorism

Listen · 28:04
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5759328/nx-s1-mx-5759328-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Markwayne Mullin wears a cowboy hat at work.
Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

Markwayne Mullin is conservative, Christian, Cherokee, and the new head of DHS

On Monday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as the newest head of the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem. It's an enormously consequential role that involves taking charge of ICE, border patrol, and TSA. And Mullin is an interesting choice for the role — he's a conservative, Christian citizen of Cherokee nation, known both for his ability to reach across the aisle, and for being a political firebrand. So today on the show, we're asking: What will Markwayne Mullin's leadership of DHS mean for Indian Country? And what will it mean for the nation as a whole?

Markwayne Mullin is conservative, Christian, Cherokee, and the new head of DHS

Listen · 35:16
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5759708/nx-s1-mx-5759708-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The top half of a face wearing a camouflage hat that reads "TRUMP" in orange letters and aviator sunglasses.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

What Trump's language has in common with cult language

When President Trump says things like “fake news,” “witch hunt” or even “Make America Great Again,” he’s not just using catchy phrases -- he’s persuading people into a way of thinking and believing. This week on Code Switch, we talk to Amanda Montell, author of Cultish and co-host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult, about what the language of MAGA shares with cult language, and why it matters.

What Trump's language has in common with cult language

Listen · 16:25
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5755013/nx-s1-mx-5755013-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Activist Mary Hamilton, a Black woman with short hair, stands in front of a painted sign for the Congress of Racial Equity.

Mary Hamilton was found in contempt of court in Alabama, when she refused to answer questions after the prosecution addressed her only by her first name. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled in her favor. AP/AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP/AP

The Code Switch Podcast

The Black civil rights leader who sued to be called “Miss”

It’s Alabama, 1963. A black woman stands before a judge, but she refuses to acknowledge his questions until he addresses her by the same honorific given to white women: “Miss.” That woman's name is Mary Hamilton. Her case eventually reached the Supreme Court and changed the courts, and eventually broader culture, for good. We’re revisiting the largely forgotten story of Miss Mary Hamilton, a Freedom Rider who struck a blow against a pervasive form of disrespect.

The Black civil rights leader who sued to be called “Miss”

Listen · 25:37
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5742442/nx-s1-mx-5742442-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Pictures of screens displaying outdated myspace and facebook landing pages.

The Code Switch Podcast

How the internet got gentrified

We all know what gentrification looks like IRL — boxy, corporate-owned apartment complexes, places to get a quick bowl for lunch, streets that are dubbed "cleaner" and "safer" (even at the expense of the people who used to live there). But what does gentrification look like online? We’re talking to Jessa Lingel, who studies digital culture at the University of Pennsylvania, about her argument that the internet has become gentrified, and that we're all suffering the consequences.

How the internet got gentrified

Listen · 31:12
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5720754/nx-s1-mx-5720754-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
An illustration of Iris Morales, a member of the Young Lords, as she appeared in the 1960s.
Raysa Rodriguez/Futuro Studios

The Code Switch Podcast

The Young Lords' legacy of fighting for Puerto Rico from the mainland

While Puerto Rican independence is in the spotlight after Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, we're throwing it to our play cousins at La Brega, a show about all things Puerto Rico. We hear from former Young Lords member Iris Morales about how the group took their love for their homeland to educate and organize against U.S. colonialism.

The Young Lords' legacy of fighting for Puerto Rico from the mainland

Listen · 47:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5724206/nx-s1-mx-5724206-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
What is "white culture," anyway?

Jeremy Carl, President Trump's recent nominee for a senior State Department role Getty Images (Wire Photo)/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Getty Images (Wire Photo)/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

What is "white culture," anyway?

Jeremy Carl — President Trump's nominee for a senior State Department role -- was called out for his commentary on "white erasure" during his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month. He defended the idea that "white culture" is in danger of being erased in the U.S. and that white people face more racial discrimination than any other group in country. So on this episode, we're talking to the Princeton historian Nell Irvin Painter about her book, The History of White People, and how definitions of whiteness have morphed over time depending on the interests of the people creating those definitions.

White Culture

Listen · 27:12
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5721166/nx-s1-mx-5721166-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The history of Black History Month, one hundred years in
Photo by Camilla Greenwell/Courtesy of Harper Collins

The Code Switch Podcast

The history of Black History Month, one hundred years in

In so many spaces, celebrating Black History History month means learning a few fun facts about famous African Americans. But Black History Month was designed to be much more radical — it was an opportunity for Black communities to learn about the aspects of their history that had been downplayed, diminished, or even actively suppressed. We talk to historian Jarvis Givens about his new book, “I’ll Make Me A World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month”, and how studying and preserving Black history has changed (or not) over the years.

The history of Black History Month, one hundred years in

Listen · 35:12
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5690184/nx-s1-mx-5690184-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Protesters against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) march through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 25, 2026.

The Code Switch Podcast

What the history of U.S. protests illuminates about today

To the casual observer, it might seem like the U.S. has spent years in a constant state of protest — and they’re only getting more intense under the second Trump administration. So we’re revisiting our conversation with Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, the author of “A Protest History of the United States” about what forms of protest have worked in the past, and what lessons people can take from those protesters.

What the history of U.S. protests illuminates about today

Listen · 28:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5688852/nx-s1-mx-5688852-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org