Accessibility links
Code Switch Blog Race and identity, remixed.

Code SwitchCode Switch

Race. In your face.
NPR YouTube
NPR YouTube
NPR YouTube
Painting By Numbers

An artistic portrayal of the changing demographics of the United States. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
LA Johnson/NPR

Code Switch

Painting By Numbers

The 2020 census data is finally here! At first glance, it paints a surprising portrait of a changing United States: The number of people who identify as white and no other race is smaller; the share of multiracial people has shot up; and the country's second-largest racial group is... "some other race." But resident census-expert Hansi Lo Wang told us that when you start to unpack the data, you quickly find that those numbers don't tell the whole story.

Painting By Numbers

Listen · 29:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1041510105/1047467112" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Skeletons In The Closet

A young Native American woman sits in a museum display case alongside artifacts and human remains. Gabriella Trujillo for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Gabriella Trujillo for NPR

Code Switch

Skeletons In The Closet

In a small suburb of Washington, D.C., a non-descript beige building houses thousands of Native human remains. The remains are currently in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution. But for the past decade, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has been fighting to get some of them back to Florida to be buried. The controversy over who should decide the fate of these remains has raised questions about identity, history, and the nature of archaeology.

Skeletons In The Closet

Listen · 33:22
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1045518876/1045532761" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Once And Future 'Karen'

The evolution of a nickname for a certain type of white woman. Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR

Code Switch

The Once And Future 'Karen'

If you've been paying attention to the news over the past couple years, you know what a so-called 'Karen' is: a white woman who uses her race and gender to wield power over someone more vulnerable. But long before most people became familiar with the term Karen, POCs have been calling out Karen-esque behavior.

The Once And Future 'Karen'

Listen · 23:51
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1043491781/1043540455" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
You Are What You Cook

Michelle Zauner (L) of Japanese Breakfast performs with drummer Craig Hendrix at the Intersect music festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on December 07, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images

Code Switch

You Are What You Cook

In her memoir, Crying In H Mart, released earlier this year, author and musician Michelle Zauner explores how cooking helped her understand her identity as a Korean American after her mother's death.

You Are What You Cook

Listen · 4:37
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/246211198/1042603306" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The Rise Of The BBL
LA Johnson/NPR

Code Switch

The Rise Of The BBL

Black women have always faced immense pressure to make their bodies look a certain way. But if done the "wrong way," achieving that idealized figure can lead to just as much scrutiny and critique. So today, we're talking about the cosmetic procedure known as a Brazilian Butt Lift, and what its rise in popularity illustrates about the type of bodies that do and don't get valued.

The Rise Of The BBL

Listen · 29:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1041366972/1041390578" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Dramatic Life Of The American Teenager

Kacen Callender, author of middle and young adult novels, including Felix Ever After and Hurricane Child. Ashley Cain hide caption

toggle caption
Ashley Cain

Code Switch

The Dramatic Life Of The American Teenager

Kacen Callender started out as a kid in St. Thomas writing fan fiction. Today, they are the author of multiple middle grade and young adult novels full of empathy, learning, and a healthy dose of high school drama.

The Dramatic Life Of The American Teenager

Listen · 18:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1040399538/1040401020" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Who You Calling 'Hispanic'?
Chelsea Beck/NPR

Code Switch

Who You Calling 'Hispanic'?

But seriously, who? Because while it is Hispanic Heritage Month, the notion of a multiracial, multinational, pan-ethnic identity called "Hispanic" is a relatively recent — and somewhat haphazard invention — in the United States. So on this episode, we're digging into how the term got created and why it continues to both unite and bewilder.

Who You Calling 'Hispanic'?

Listen · 35:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1039053932/1039453705" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The Making And Remaking Of Afghanistan
Isabel Seliger for NPR

Code Switch

The Making And Remaking Of Afghanistan

For two decades, many Americans have seen Afghanistan depicted primarily through the lens of war. But that's not the full story — not even close. Afghanistan has a long, rich, complex history and culture. A lot of it flies in the face of the images those of us in the U.S. are exposed to. So this week, our friends at Throughline are helping us understand the fuller story.

The Making And Remaking Of Afghanistan

Listen · 55:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1036700844/1036716320" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Little Women Remixed, But Not Reimagined

The cover of Bethany C. Morrow's new book, So Many Beginnings. Jonathan Barkat hide caption

toggle caption
Jonathan Barkat

Code Switch

Little Women Remixed, But Not Reimagined

When Bethany Morrow was asked to write a new take on the beloved classic, she agreed on one condition: The new March family would look nothing like the old.

Little Women Remixed, But Not Reimagined

Listen · 6:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/187316369/1036411815" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Meet Alexis Nikole Nelson, The Wildly Popular 'Black Forager'

Alexis Nikole Nelson is behind the popular TikTok and Instagram videos based on her experience and advice on foraging. (Photo by Tim Johnson) Tim Johnson/Columbus Monthly Magazine hide caption

toggle caption
Tim Johnson/Columbus Monthly Magazine

Code Switch

Meet Alexis Nikole Nelson, The Wildly Popular 'Black Forager'

Nelson has brought in a TikTok following of more than 2 million people by talking about food, culture, and how to "eat plants that do not belong to [her.]"

The Lost Summer
Photo illustration by LA Johnson/NPR

Code Switch

The Lost Summer

Twenty years ago, during the dog days of summer , a fledgling journalist named Shereen Marisol Meraji — maybe you've heard of her? — headed to Durban, South Africa. Her mission: to report on a meeting of thousands of organizers and ambassadors gathered at a global conference on racism. The conference filled Shereen with hope and optimism — all of which would soon be wiped away.

The Lost Summer

Listen · 47:22
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1034920163/1035023304" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Indian Boarding Schools' Traumatic Legacy, And The Fight To Get Native Ancestors Back

This cemetery on the grounds of Carlisle Barracks holds the remains of students from the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Scott Finger/U.S. Army War College Photo Lab hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Finger/U.S. Army War College Photo Lab

Code Switch

Indian Boarding Schools' Traumatic Legacy, And The Fight To Get Native Ancestors Back

After discoveries of more than 1,300 bodies at Canada's residential schools, the U.S. is now facing a crucial moment of reckoning with its own history of Native American boarding schools.

Indian Boarding Schools' Traumatic Legacy, And The Fight To Get Native Ancestors Back

Listen · 4:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1031398120/1034281194" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Seeing Ghosts' Across Generations

Seeing Ghosts, a memoir by Kat Chow. Grand Central Publishing hide caption

toggle caption
Grand Central Publishing

Code Switch

'Seeing Ghosts' Across Generations

Kat Chow was 13 when her mother died, and with that loss came profound and lasting questions about identity, family and history. In her memoir, Seeing Ghosts, the author and former Code Switch reporter explores how her mother's death has haunted her through the years, in ways that are profound, tragic and, sometimes, darkly hilarious.

'Seeing Ghosts' Across Generations

Listen · 27:15
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1029896173/1030685486" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Who Runs The World? Kids.

High schoolers Ethan Lincoln, Kaylee King and Jamin Crow's podcast about their experiences subsistence hunting is a finalist in the NPR Student Podcast Challenge. The students are pictured here at the KYUK radio transmitter site in Bethel, Alaska. Katie Basile/KYUK hide caption

toggle caption
Katie Basile/KYUK

Code Switch

Who Runs The World? Kids.

OK, they're not all kids. But they're all students, they're all amazing, and frankly, we're concerned that they might be coming for our jobs. That's right — the Student Podcast Challenge is back, and this year, the stories are more powerful than ever.

Who Runs The World? Kids.

Listen · 29:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1028353571/1028546987" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Care To Explain Yourself?
Chelsea Beck/NPR

Code Switch

Care To Explain Yourself?

It's hot out, places are shutting down again, and things might just be feeling a little bit slow. So in the spirit of spicing things up, we wanted to give you all a question to fight about: How much context should you have to give when talking about race and culture? Is it better to explain every reference, or ask people to Google as they go? Comedian Hari Kondabolu joins us to hash it out.

Care To Explain Yourself?

Listen · 31:18
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1026507758/1026530402" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org