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Wednesday

Japanese American musicians across generations draw identity from incarceration
Jackie Lay for NPR

Code Switch

Japanese American musicians across generations draw identity from incarceration

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Greta Pittenger

In February of 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government issued an executive order to incarcerate people of Japanese descent. That legacy has become a defining story of Japanese American identity. In this episode, B.A. Parker and producer Jess Kung explore how Japanese American musicians across generations turn to that story as a way to explore and express identity. Featuring Kishi Bashi, Erin Aoyama and Mary Nomura.

Japanese American musicians across generations draw identity from incarceration

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Wednesday

The minty past and cloudy future of menthol cigarettes

Despite being addictive and deadly, menthol cigarettes were long advertised as a healthy alternative to "regular" cigarettes — and heavily advertised to Black folks in cities. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Jackie Lay/NPR

Code Switch

The minty past and cloudy future of menthol cigarettes

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

In the U.S., flavored cigarettes have been banned since 2009, with one glaring exception: menthols. That exception was supposed to go away in 2023, but the Biden administration quietly delayed the ban on menthols. Why? Well, an estimated 85 percent of Black smokers smoke menthols — and some (potentially suspect) polls have indicated that a ban on menthols would chill Biden's support among Black people. Of course, it's more complicated than that. The story of menthol cigarettes is tied up in policing, advertising, influencer-culture, and the weaponization of race and gender studies. Oh, and a real-life Black superhero named Mandrake the Magician.

The minty past and cloudy future of menthol cigarettes

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Friday

How ageism against Biden and Trump puts older folks at risk

President Biden delivers remarks Thursday at the White House. Biden addressed the special counsel's report on his handling of classified material, and the status of the war in Gaza. Nathan Howard/Getty Images hide caption

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Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Analysis

Code Switch

How ageism against Biden and Trump puts older folks at risk

by 

Recently, conversation about the age of the 2024 presidential candidates has risen to a fever pitch. That's the sign of a deeper problem with how our culture views aging.

Wednesday

The Lonesome Hearts of 1937

In 1937, the Washington Afro-American featured the "Lonesome Hearts" column, where Black folks looking for love could send letters. Jackie Lay hide caption

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Jackie Lay

Code Switch

The Lonesome Hearts of 1937

by  Nichole Hill ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

To celebrate the history of Black romance, Gene and Parker are joined by reporter Nichole Hill to explore the 1937 equivalent of dating apps — the personals section of one of D.C.'s Black newspapers. Parker attempts to match with a Depression-era bachelor, and along the way we learn about what love meant two generations removed from slavery.

The Lonesome Hearts of 1937

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Wednesday

What Taylor Swift's icon status says about who gets to be a 'girl'

Taylor Swift, who has been celebrated for her ability to channel the emotions and perspectives of adolescent girls. Photos: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP, Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images for TAS/Design: Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Photos: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP, Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images for TAS/Design: Jackie Lay/NPR

Perspective

Code Switch

What Taylor Swift's icon status says about who gets to be a 'girl'

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Taylor Swift has become an American icon, (and she's got the awards, sales, and accolades to prove it.) With that status, she's often been celebrated as someone whose music is authentically representing the interior lives of young women and adolescent girls. On this episode, we're asking: Why? What is it about Swift's persona — and her fandom — that feels so deeply connected to girlhood? And, because this is Code Switch, what does all of that have to do with race?

What Taylor Swift's icon status says about who gets to be a 'girl'

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Monday

A former church girl's search for a new spiritual home

After leaving the Pentecostal Church, reporter Jess Alvarenga has been searching for a new spiritual home. Jackie Lay hide caption

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Jackie Lay

Code Switch

A former church girl's search for a new spiritual home

by  Jess Alvarenga ,  ,  ,  Max Freedman ,  Sophia Paliza-Carre ,  ,  Greta Pittenger

After leaving the Pentecostal Church, reporter Jess Alvarenga has been searching for a new spiritual home. They take us on their journey to find spirituality that includes the dining room dungeon of a dominatrix, Buddhist monks taking magic mushrooms and the pulpit of a Pentecostal church. This episode is a collaboration with our friends at LAist Studios. Special thanks to the Ferriss, UC Berkeley's Psychedelic Journalism program for their support.

A former church girl's search for a new spiritual home

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Wednesday

New York City public housing is getting less public. How does that affect residents?

Fanta Kaba from WNYC's Radio Rookies (left) is also a resident of a New York City Housing Authority facility. She reports on the privatization of NYCHA buildings and what that means for residents. Carolina Hidalgo/Radio Rookies and Spencer Platt/Getty Images/NPR hide caption

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Carolina Hidalgo/Radio Rookies and Spencer Platt/Getty Images/NPR

Code Switch

New York City public housing is getting less public. How does that affect residents?

by  Fanta Kaba ,  Gene Demby ,  ,  Carolina Hidalgo ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The New York City Housing Authority is the biggest public housing program in the country. But with limited funding to address billions of dollars of outstanding repairs, NYCHA is turning to a controversial plan to change how public housing operates. Fanta Kaba of WNYC's Radio Rookies brings the story of how this will affect residents and the future of housing, as a resident of a NYCHA complex in the Bronx herself.

New York City public housing is getting less public. How does that affect residents?

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Wednesday

The women who masterminded the Montgomery Bus Boycott
NPR

Code Switch

The women who masterminded the Montgomery Bus Boycott

by  Karen Grigsby Bates ,  ,  Barrett Golding ,  ,  , 

When people think back to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, they often remember just the bullet points: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and voila. But on this episode, we're hearing directly from the many women who organized for months about what exactly it took to make the boycott happen.

The women who masterminded the Montgomery Bus Boycott

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Sunday

Wednesday

Everyone from the Tea Party to immigrants rights groups want a piece of Dr. King

Author Hajar Yazdiha (left) wrote about Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy in her book, The Struggle for the People's King (right). PR Agency hide caption

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PR Agency

Code Switch

Everyone from the Tea Party to immigrants rights groups want a piece of Dr. King

by  ,  ,  , 

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 talk about the cooptation of King's legacy with Hajar Yazdiha, author of The Struggle for the People's King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement.

Everyone from the Tea Party to immigrants rights groups want a piece of Dr. King

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Wednesday

What Arkansas' LEARNS Act has to do with race

Code Switch is live on stage in Little Rock, Ark. (right). They interviewed Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton (left) about what it was like to go to school during desegregation efforts in the 1950s and 60s. Dr. Sibyl Jordan Hampton, Little Rock Public Radio hide caption

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Dr. Sibyl Jordan Hampton, Little Rock Public Radio

Code Switch

What Arkansas' LEARNS Act has to do with race

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Classrooms in Arkansas were at the center of school desegregation in the 1950s. Now, with the LEARNS Act, they're in the spotlight again. Code Switch comes to you live from Little Rock, Arkansas this week to unpack the latest education bill and how it echoes themes from decades past.

What Arkansas' LEARNS Act has to do with race

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Wednesday

These are the episodes we loved in 2023

Clockwise from upper left: B.A.Parker at Somerset Place plantation as a child; Bad Bunny exalts Puerto Rico in his music of resistance; Chefs Reem Assil and Priya Krishna; Race is also a part of our taxes and who gets audited; Originally from Rwanda, Claude Gatebuke came to Nashville 30 years ago; Hank Azaria (left) and Hari Kondabolu speak since their fallout in 2017. B.A.Parker, Getty Images, NPR, Getty Images//LA Johnson/NPR, Joseph Ross for NPR, PR Agency hide caption

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B.A.Parker, Getty Images, NPR, Getty Images//LA Johnson/NPR, Joseph Ross for NPR, PR Agency

Code Switch

These are the episodes we loved in 2023

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

It's that time of year again, fam, when we look back at the past 12 months and think, "WHOA, HOW'D THAT GO BY SO FAST?" So we're taking a beat: for this week's episode, each one of us who makes Code Switch is getting on the mic to reflect on — and recommend — an episode we loved from 2023.

These are the episodes we loved in 2023

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Wednesday

The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

Author Kai Cheng Thom next to the cover of her recent book, Falling Back in Love with Being Human. Author photo by Rachel Woroner hide caption

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Author photo by Rachel Woroner

Code Switch

The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

by  ,  ,  , 

Kai Cheng Thom is no stranger to misanthropy. There have been stretches of her life where she's felt burdened by anger, isolation, and resentment toward other people. And not without reason. Her identities, especially as a trans woman and a former sex worker, have frequently made her a locus for other people's fear and hatred. But at a certain point, Kai decided to embark on a radical experiment: to see if she could "fall back in love with being human." The result was a series of letters, poems, exercises and prayers that let Kai confront some of the most painful moments of her life, and then try to move past them.

The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

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Wednesday

Travel is supposed to expand your horizons...but it's complicated

Author Shahnaz Habib next to the cover of her new book, Airplane Mode. Author photo by Eva Garmendia hide caption

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Author photo by Eva Garmendia

Code Switch

Travel is supposed to expand your horizons...but it's complicated

by  ,  , 

Traveling is supposed to open your mind and expand your horizons — but what if it doesn't? In her new book Airplane Mode, author Shahnaz Habib suggests that sometimes, traveling does more to enforce our ideas about the world than to upend them. Which means that people with "passport privilege" — AKA, the ability to travel freely from country to country — may end up feeling like the stars of some massive international adventure, while people whose travel is more restricted feel like perpetual interlopers.

Travel is supposed to expand your horizons...but it's complicated

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Wednesday

How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

Nate Taylor (left) and Sylvia Fred (right), two of the co-founders of the Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter School on Red Lake Reservation standing in front of the construction site for a new school building. Sequoia Carrillo/NPR hide caption

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Sequoia Carrillo/NPR

Code Switch

How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

by  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Sasha Crawford-Holland

The word "reservation" implies "reserved" – as in, this land is reserved for Native Americans. But most reservation land actually isn't owned by tribes. That's true for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota, where the tribe owns just a tiny fraction of its reservation land. But just northwest of Leech Lake is Red Lake: one of the only reservations in the country where the tribe owns all of its land.

How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

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