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Wednesday

Almost 4 million people are on probation or parole. Here's why that matters.

Author Vincent Schiraldi next to the cover of his new book, Mass Supervision. Headshot (left) by Paulette Louissaint hide caption

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Headshot (left) by Paulette Louissaint

Code Switch

Almost 4 million people are on probation or parole. Here's why that matters.

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In the past decade, the problem of mass incarceration has gotten increased attention and thought. But in his new book, Mass Supervision, Vincent Schiraldi argues that in those conversations, people often neglect to think about probation and parole — two of the biggest feeders to the U.S.'s prison population. These systems surveil close to four million Americans, which Schiraldi says is both a huge waste of resources and a massive human rights violation. On this episode, we're talking to Schiraldi about how probation and parole came to be, why they're no longer working as they were once supposed to, and why he thinks they might need to be done away with entirely.

Almost 4 million people are on probation or parole. Here's why that matters.

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Wednesday

The Supreme Court banned affirmative action — except at military service academies

Protesters for and against affirmative action demonstrate on Capitol Hill in June 2023. The Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Code Switch

The Supreme Court banned affirmative action — except at military service academies

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In June, the Supreme Court banned affirmative action at colleges and universities across the country, with one glaring exception: military academies. On this episode, we're asking — why?

The Supreme Court banned affirmative action — except at military service academies

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Wednesday

Remembering and unremembering, from Kigali to Nashville

Originally from Rwanda, Claude Gatebuke came to Nashville 30 years ago. Joseph Ross for NPR hide caption

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Joseph Ross for NPR

Code Switch

Remembering and unremembering, from Kigali to Nashville

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For centuries, the idea of the "American Dream" has been a powerful narrative for many immigrant communities. But for just as long, many African Americans have known that the American Dream was never meant to include them. So what happens when those beliefs collide? Today ten percent of the Black population in the U.S. are immigrants, and many grapple with this question. In this episode, we'll hear from Claude Gatebuke, who moved from Kigali to Nashville as a teenager in the wake of the Rwandan genocide. He talks about how the move to the U.S. likely saved his life, while simultaneously challenging his belief that he could have a full, meaningful future as a Black man.

Remembering and unremembering, from Kigali to Nashville

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Wednesday

Fall football — or the fall of football?
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Analysis

Code Switch

Fall football — or the fall of football?

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This week, the NFL is gearing up for the start of its 104th season. But as this new chapter begins, we're looking at some of the league's old problems with race and diversity — ones that have implications for the coaches, the players, and the fans.

Fall football — or the fall of football?

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Wednesday

Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

Bad Bunny exalts Puerto Rico in his music of resistance. Getty Images hide caption

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Code Switch

Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

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Bad Bunny, the genre- and gender norm-defying Puerto Rican rapper, is one of the biggest music stars on the planet. He has also provided a global megaphone for Puerto Rican discontent. In this episode, we take a look at how Bad Bunny became the unlikely voice of resistance in Puerto Rico. This episode originally aired in January 2023.

Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

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Wednesday

What makes a good race joke?

Comedians Brian Bahe, Maz Jobrani and Aparna Nancherla. Brian Bahe, Storm Santos and Aparna Nancherla hide caption

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Brian Bahe, Storm Santos and Aparna Nancherla

Code Switch

What makes a good race joke?

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When a comedian of color makes a joke, is it always about race, even if it's not about race? Code Switch talks to comedians Aparna Nancherla, Brian Bahe and Maz Jobrani about how and why race makes an appearance in their jokes. Plus, one of our own reveals her early-career dabbling in comedy.

What makes a good race joke?

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Wednesday

Family, fortune, and the fight for Osage headrights

Richard Lonsinger at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, holding a photo of himself as a child shortly after he was adopted. Sam Yellowhorse Kesler/NPR hide caption

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Sam Yellowhorse Kesler/NPR

Code Switch

Family, fortune, and the fight for Osage headrights

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When Richard J. Lonsinger's birth mother passed away in 2010, he wasn't included in the distribution of her estate. Feeling hurt and excluded, he asked a judge to re-open her estate, to give him a part of one particular asset: an Osage headright. But the more Lonsinger learned about the history of the headrights, the more he began to wonder who was really entitled to them, and where he fit in.

Family, fortune, and the fight for Osage headrights

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Wednesday

From 'fight the power' to advertising for the power: hip-hop turns 50
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The Code Switch Podcast

From 'fight the power' to advertising for the power: hip-hop turns 50

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For hip-hop's not-official-but-kind-of-official 50th birthday, we dig into its many contradictions. From the legend of the South Bronx block party where hip-hop was born to the multi-billion-dollar global industry and tool for U.S. diplomacy it has become, America's relationship with hip-hop — and the people who make it — is complicated.

From 'fight the power' to advertising for the power: hip-hop turns 50

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Wednesday

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons
Thumy Phan for NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

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Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop role-playing games of all time. But it has also helped cement some ideas about how we create and define race in fantasy — and in the tangible world. This week we revisit a deep dive into that game. What we find about racial stereotypes and colonialist supremacy is illuminating.

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

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Wednesday

Summer reading: Let's keep it casual

The covers of recent Code Switch summer book picks, including Hijab Butch Blues, Alma y Como Obtuvo Su Nombre, I'm Not Done With You Yet, and The Late Americans. Dial Press/Penguin Random House/Riverhead Books hide caption

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Dial Press/Penguin Random House/Riverhead Books

Code Switch

Summer reading: Let's keep it casual

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There are race books, and there are beach reads, and never the twain shall meet. You know that old truism, right? Well, this is Code Switch (the show about race and identity and romance and drama from NPR), and we weren't willing to accept that dichotomy. So on this episode, we're bringing you a bouquet of our favorite summer thrillers, love stories, memoirs and more — all of which have something to say about race.

Summer reading: Let's keep it casual

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Wednesday

This right wing conspiracy theory about eating bugs is about as racist as you think

The conspiracy theory alleges that a shadowy global elite conspires to control the world's population, in part by forcing them to eat insects. Kyle Ellingson for NPR hide caption

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Kyle Ellingson for NPR

Code Switch

This right wing conspiracy theory about eating bugs is about as racist as you think

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Gene Demby and NPR's Huo Jingnan dive into a conspiracy theory about how "global elites" are forcing people to eat bugs. And no huge surprise — the theory's popularity is largely about its loudest proponents' racist fear-mongering.

This right wing conspiracy theory about eating bugs is about as racist as you think

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Wednesday

Is "home" still home after 30 years away?

Journalist Brian de los Santos pictures in a photo collage with some of his travel documents. Dan Carino/LAist hide caption

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Dan Carino/LAist

Code Switch

Is "home" still home after 30 years away?

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Brian de los Santos always thought of Mexico as his "home" — despite not having been able to return to his country of birth for three decades. But when he finally got a chance to visit, his conception of what home was and where he belonged totally shifted.

Is "home" still home after 30 years away?

Listen · 36:44
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Wednesday

How a Black cheer squad in Buffalo deals with the racist massacre blocks away

The Buffalo All-Star Extreme cheer team grapples with the repercussions from a mass shooting at a nearby grocery store. Kristen Uroda for NPR hide caption

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Kristen Uroda for NPR

Perspective

Code Switch

How a Black cheer squad in Buffalo deals with the racist massacre blocks away

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This week, we're sharing the first episode of "Buffalo Extreme," a three-part series from our play cousins at NPR's Embedded. The series follows a Black cheer squad, their moms and their coaches in the year after the racist massacre at the Jefferson Street Tops in Buffalo, New York, just blocks from their gym. NPR hands the mic to the girls and women in that community as they navigate the complicated path to recovery in the year after.

How a Black cheer squad in Buffalo deals with the racist massacre blocks away

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Wednesday

Going back to the plantation where my ancestors were enslaved

B.A.Parker at Somerset Place plantation as a child. Courtesy of B.A.Parker hide caption

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Courtesy of B.A.Parker

Perspective

Code Switch

Going back to the plantation where my ancestors were enslaved

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In the second of two episodes, Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker is figuring out what kind of descendant she wants to be. Parker and her mom decide to go back to the plantation where their ancestors were enslaved, because despite the circumstances of slavery, this is where their family began.

Going back to the plantation where my ancestors were enslaved

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Wednesday

How do descendants of slavery honor their ancestors' legacy?

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B.A. Parker/NPR

Perspective

Code Switch

How do descendants of slavery honor their ancestors' legacy?

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Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker digs into what it means to maintain the legacy of her ancestors. In part one of two episodes, Parker goes to a symposium for descendants of slavery and meets people who, like her, are caretakers of "culturally significant historical places."

How do descendants of slavery honor their ancestors' legacy?

Listen · 33:44
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