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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.

 Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Code Switch.

Code Switch

When Rep. Jasmine Crockett took the stage at a Chris Brown concert to honor him, the backlash came fast. It's a familiar cycle: every few years, Brown lands back in the news, and the public relitigates a history of violence stretching back to 2009. Gene talks with cultural critic Jamilah Lemieux and writer and DJ Noella Williams about why so many fans stay 10 toes down for him, and what accountability could even look like.

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Chris Brown won't get cancelled. This is why.

Lots of progressive politicians eyeing runs for higher office are distancing themselves from the politics of 2020, like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez declaring, "woke 1.0 was crazy." But should they be? Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times says voters are swayed more by identity than ideology — so it's less about the ideas and more about the vibes. We talk to him about who gets read as radical (even if they're not) and whether anyone who isn't a white guy can run as a populist.

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Do voters want woke?

Cubans are living through near-constant blackouts after an executive order that called the Cuban government an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and blocked their fuel imports. A hundred-page State Department report describes Cuba as the puppeteer behind everything from the George Floyd protests to what it calls the rise of antifa. We talk to historians Michael Bustamante and Alexander Hall about the day to day effects of U.S. pressure, why this crisis is old and new at the same time, and why Black Cubans are absorbing the worst of the crisis.

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Is Cuba Trump's next real estate project?

The WNBA is more popular than ever, but the growth has come with a lot of unwanted attention, like protests at games and death threats directed towards players. This week, we talk with independent journalist Frankie de la Cretaz about what brought all of this hate into the league, and NPR’s domestic extremism correspondent, Odette Yousef, about the ways the league is responding.

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Why can’t people be normal about the WNBA?

There’s a growing backlash to the surveillance systems that have quietly wired themselves into American neighborhoods, with concern growing among people who have never felt watched this way before. Gene talks with historian Matthew Guariglia about how the surveillance state got built, who it was built on first, and why opposing it now unites so many factions.

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Why we’re all being watched

In the 25 years since 9/11, we've seen the definition of terrorism expand. 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. This week, our conversation with Saher Selod, an expert on the surveillance of Muslims, about the effects of the war on terror after 9/11, and historian Alex Lubin about how the word “terrorist” has been used to enact violence and surveillance.

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25 years after 9/11, our definition of terrorism continues to expand

Lauryn Hill is a generational voice, a cultural lightning rod, and one of music’s biggest what-ifs. Our very own B.A. Parker joined the Big Lives podcast, hosted by Kai Wright and Emmanuel Dzotsi, to unpack the meteoric rise of the Fugees frontwoman and the intense pressures that pushed one of hip-hop and R&B’s brightest stars out of the spotlight.

Find Big Lives wherever you get your podcasts.

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We're Miseducated on Lauryn Hill

Ads for GLP-1s are everywhere. This week, we dig into why so many of those ads seem to feature Black women with Sabrina Strings, author of “Fearing the Black Body” a book about the racial origins of fatphobia. We get into the toxic comment culture around everyone from Lizzo to Ariana Grande, and how the origins of body shaming have all led us to this post-body positive moment. 

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Freedom from fatness: Why GLP-1s go after Black bodies

Banana Ball is a barnstorming baseball league revived by the tremendously popular Savannah Bananas, a team with millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram — known as much for their dance routines and shenanigans as their actual baseball. Recently the league resurrected the Indianapolis Clowns, a Negro League team with a contentious history of racial minstrelsy. We talk with journalist Josh Levin, who followed the Clowns through their Banana Ball debut.

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Banana Ball's racial minstrelsy past

Is there a family estrangement epidemic? This week, we dig into what’s behind the no-contact movement with sociologist Rin Reczek, author of the new book, “Families We Lose.” Rin walks us through who gets cut off, why the numbers look so different for Black mothers and Black fathers, and how we can start rethinking what family means.

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Unpacking estrangement: Who goes No Contact?

Today on Ask Code Switch, we tackle a question about race, bike lanes and gentrification. Who are bike lanes serving? Are these safety measures protecting everyone equally, or are bike advocates on the wrong side of progress?

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Ask Code Switch: Do bike lanes cause gentrification?

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