Stay ConnectedWelcome to a collection of some of NPR’s best podcast episodes and features from across the Black experience. Some might make you laugh. Some might make you feel inspired. Others might make you uncomfortable. And some might make you feel all of that in the same five-minute span. This is NPR, noir.
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The Civil Rights Act was signed into law on July 2, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson called it a way for America to honor its promise of liberty. But 60 years on, how well has it lived up to that promise?
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In the post-apocalyptic world of A Quiet Place, aliens kill anyone who makes a sound, forcing humans into a near-silent existence. The new movie A Quiet Place: Day One takes us back to the beginning, but this time through the eyes of a terminally ill cancer patient played by the excellent Lupita Nyong'o.
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For many Black people, transitioning to natural hair can feel frustrating, especially if you're doing it for the first time. Experts share what you need to know about growing out natural hair, from washing it and styling it – to learning to love it.
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With the news of O.J. Simpson's death on Thursday, we're revisiting our reporting from 2016, where we took a look into how Simpson went from being "too famous to be Black," to becoming a stand-in for the way Black people writ-large were mistreated by the U.S. carceral system.
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What does a comedian know about baseball? And what can America's oldest baseball field tell us about the civil rights movement?
Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama is America's oldest ballpark. It's older than Wrigley Field and Fenway park. But its history is full of contradictions. In its heyday, Rickwood was home to both the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons, one of the most talented teams in the Negro Leagues. The field hosted a women's suffrage event, but the stadium's owner also allowed a KKK rally to take place there.
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. hosts a new podcast called Road to Rickwood from WWNO & WRKF, which takes a closer look at the field's history as a microcosm of the civil rights movement itself. Wood Jr. grew up in Birmingham playing baseball at Rickwood. In the podcast, he speaks to historians, civic leaders, major league baseball executives, former Negro Leaguers, and members of Alabama's first integrated sports team. For himself and those he interviewed, baseball was an oasis. It was also still a space where racism shaped the lives of some of the nation's best baseball players.
In this episode of The Sunday Story, Wood Jr. sits down with host Ayesha Rascoe to talk baseball, Birmingham, and race in America.
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Michael Jackson is reaching a new generation of fans through a popular Broadway musical featuring his legendary music and choreography — and a big screen biopic is scheduled to premiere next year.It remains to be seen how the film will address Jackson's tumultuous career, but the estate has been involved with the movie's development. Fifteen years on, Michael Jackson's legacy remains fraught. Is it possible to separate the artist and the person? And should we?
NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with media critics Eric Deggans and Ann Powers.
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The dating app Bumble can not stay out of the news. First, the company launched an anti-celibacy advertising campaign mocking abstinence and suggesting women shouldn't give up on dating apps. Then, at a tech summit, Bumble's founder suggested artificial intelligence might be the future of dating. Both efforts were met with backlash, and during a time when everyone seems irritated with dating - where can people turn? Shani Silver, author of the Cheaper Than Therapy substack, and KCRW's Myisha Battle, dating coach and host of How's Your Sex Life? join the show to make sense of the mess.
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Trans women have become culturally associated with the violence they face, both in sympathy and stigma. The historian Jules Gill-Peterson looks to how that came to be in her book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny. This week, we talk about how panics around trans femininity are shaped by wider forces of colonialism, segregation, and class interests.
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First up, there has been a media frenzy around the fouls made against rising basketball star and Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark. Commentators and fans have called her fellow WNBA players bullies, jealous, and catty. But Code Switch co-host Gene Demby and Defector's Maitreyi Anantharaman say a lot of the people commenting misunderstand the WNBA. Host Brittany Luse learns what the new fans might be missing and how racism, sexism and homophobia could be fanning the flames of the latest hot takes. Brittany also leads Gene and Maitreyi through a game of "But Did You Know."
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The venerable British science fiction series Doctor Who is back with a new season. Ncuti Gatwa — who is Black and openly queer — brings a vibrant energy to the story of an alien who travels through space and time in a blue box. The series, now streaming on Disney+, also features the return of showrunner Russell T. Davies, who birthed the modern era of Doctor Who. But what does this mix of new and old mean for the sci-fi institution?
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We've probably said it a hundred times on Code Switch — biological race is not a real thing. So why is race still used to help diagnose certain conditions, like keloids or cystic fibrosis? On this episode, Dr. Andrea Deyrup breaks it down for us, and unpacks the problems she sees with practicing race-based medicine.
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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.
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A civil lawsuit has been filed against rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs by his ex-girlfriend and former protégé Cassie Ventura. She alleged to have suffered years of emotional and physical abuse during the course of their relationship. Diddy denied the allegations and settled the suit quickly, but other damning claims have resurfaced in its wake.
His reputation seems to have been tarnished — at least for the moment. And it has us wondering: Is this a crucial turning point for a long-awaited reckoning within the music industry? Or merely a blip in the routine of business as usual?
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The prince of pranks, Eric André, changed the comedy landscape with his long-running series on Adult Swim, The Eric André Show. After a 3-year hiatus, the show is back. Brittany Luse sits down with André to talk about the new season, his pranks on Amber Rose and Jaleel White, and why his humor seems to always flip the script of figures of authority and create heroes out of average Joes.
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Juneteenth commemorates the day that enslaved Texans found out — more than two years after Emancipation Day — that they were free. It's also a day known for celebratory meals and red drinks. And the holiday, originally celebrated mostly in Texas, is gaining popularity around the country; in fact, on June 15, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill that would make Juneteenth a legal public holiday.
But as the Juneteenth becomes more widespread, we wondered: Is there a risk that certain people (and corporations) will try to keep the food and lose the meaning?
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Tracee Ellis Ross is an icon. From playing the premiere Black bachelorette, Joan Carol Clayton, on Girlfriends to becoming America's mom as Bow Johnson on Black-ish, she's spent the past two decades portraying a paragon of Black womanhood on screen. More recently, Tracee's turned her focus toward uplifting the stories of real people – on her Hulu documentary Hair Tales, and with her new podcast, I Am America.
Host Brittany Luse talks with Tracee about her long and varied career, how she tackles storytelling through documentary and what it means to have rich auntie energy.
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The start of a new year can push us to think about how we take care of ourselves – our bodies or our minds. And for some people that can mean seeking help for mental health issues like depression and anxiety. In some ways, being open about pursuing treatment for mental health concerns is becoming more commonplace. But for men who are socialized not to express vulnerability and keep emotions in check, seeking therapy may feel taboo. Black men must also contend with the long history of neglect and abuse that has influenced how generations of African Americans feel about health services, a lack of Black mental health professionals, and the understanding that shielding emotions is a way to face the pressures and dangers of racism. Host Michel Martins talks with writer Damon Young, author of What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays, and psychologist Earl Turner of Pepperdine University, on making therapy more accessible for Black men.
Listen to more Consider This at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR.org, or anywhere you get your podcasts.
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One in ten Black people living in the U.S. is an immigrant, and many Black immigrants—particularly those born in African nations—have settled in the South, according to a Pew Research report from 2022. This statistic caught Code Switch editor Leah Donnella's eye. She wanted to know: How have Black immigrants redefined their sense of identity in the South, while confronting American racism? In this episode of The Sunday Story, Leah tells host Ayesha Rascoe about the people she met in Tennessee.
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The Montgomery bus boycott lasted from December of 1955 through December of 1956. What people often remember of that moment in history is that when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, it sparked a bus boycott that was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But what that retelling leaves out are all the women who organized for years to make that boycott a reality and who helped sustain it for 13 long months. In this episode, the women behind the boycott tell their own story.
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Former first lady Michelle Obama's most recent memoir, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, offers insight on a wide range of topics: feeling seen, dealing with fear, and making new friends. But a throughline of the book is advice about relationships – with our partner, our kids and ourselves. She draws from her own experiences with her husband, former President Barack Obama, her daughters Sasha and Malia, and her mother, Marian Robinson, to illustrate how she's helped each of her relationships thrive. The key, she tells NPR's Juana Summers, is that "you have to evolve with it."
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Few shows had quite the same reach and impact in the 1990s as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The NBC series catapulted Will Smith into movie stardom, and it remains infinitely memeable — from the Carlton Dance to its instantly recognizable theme song. And while it was a goofy fish-out-of-water sitcom, the series also revealed layers and heft, with humor (and occasionally some very special drama) that frequently touched on class and race.
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Football is the most watched sport in the US - and one of the most profitable. The NFL reported that last year, the Super Bowl was watched by two-thirds of Americans.
But for some, the popularity and success of the sport are overshadowed by its continuing problems around race - from its handling of players kneeling in protest against the killing of unarmed Black people, to lawsuits over racially biased compensation for concussed Black players, to the NFL's inability –or unwillingness?--to hire and retain Black coaches in a league where a majority of the players are black.
Host Michel Martin talks to Justin Tinsley, who writes about sports and culture and appears on ESPN. And Carron Phillips, of Deadspin, explains why after 20 years the NFL's Rooney Rule has failed to bring diversity to leadership roles.
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The fantastic ABC series Abbott Elementary is a sitcom set at a severely underfunded Philadelphia public school. Quinta Brunson is the creator and very funny star of the mockumentary-style comedy, which follows a cast of teachers who are dedicated, but burnt out as they make do with limited resources and a hilariously incompetent principal.
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Omar Little, Jimmy McNulty, Stringer Bell, Snot Boogie. If you recognize these names, you are probably a fan of the HBO series The Wire. June 2022 marked 20 years since the series premiere. It ran for five seasons, following the lives of the cops, criminals, political players, and everyday folks caught up in Baltimore's often futile war on drugs. Many argue that The Wire is the best television show ever created and has earned praise for its realistic, humanizing, multi-dimensional portrayal of Black characters. But 20 years on, the conversation about policing in Black communities has changed. The deaths of Freddie Gray, George Floyd, and many others after encounters with police and the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement have brought about more public scrutiny, debate, and criticism of the police.
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You can't meditate yourself out of a 40-hour work week with no childcare and no paid sick days," says Dr. Pooja Lakshmin. But when you're overworked and overwhelmed, what actually can you do? On this episode, host B.A. Parker asks: What are your options when a bubble bath won't cut it?
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NPR has teamed up with Slate to expand the Black Film Canon, a collection of the best films directed by Black filmmakers. The intent is to challenge both gatekeepers and makers of best-of lists to consider the breadth of artistry Black creators have demonstrated onscreen – despite the odds being historically stacked against them. In this episode, we're picking a few of our favorite additions, and you can check out the full list of 75 movies here.
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How did the "bad bitch" replace the "ride-or-die chick" in hip-hop? In this episode, we talk to the original baddest herself, Trina, about how her career flipped the script on dusty old stereotypes of Black women in rap, and left men down bad. We also sit down with Trick Daddy, the man that put her on, to hear how he feels to see her shining, and check in with Latto, a rapper carrying the torch that Trina set aflame 25 years ago.
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Beyoncé's Renaissance is a joyful, sonic immersion made for dance floors of all kinds. The album earned her nine Grammy nominations and won her four, including Best Dance/Electronic Album.
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Republican officials in Louisiana want to change how Black people are counted in voting maps. If their plan is successful, it could shrink the power of Black voters across the country – and further gut the Voting Rights Act.
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Black History Month is here, which means we're diving into big, sticky questions about what exactly it means to be Black. So in this episode of the show: Who is 'Black enough' for reparations? Because you know...we got some bills to pay.
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Since releasing one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of 2022, pop titan Beyoncé has withheld the visuals for almost a year. NPR Senior Culture editor Bilal Qureshi went to the first stop on the Renaissance World Tour and joins producer Corey Antonio Rose to reveal one of the most highly-anticipated musical secrets. Then, journalist Tre'vell Anderson takes host Brittany Luse through a groundbreaking look at the history of transgender representation onscreen, in their new book, We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film.
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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."
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In December 2022, one of the biggest trials of the year unfolded in LA. Tory Lanez was facing more than 20 years in prison on charges of shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, and the internet was intensely divided: You were either pro-Tory or pro-Megan, and there was nothing else to say about it. In this episode, the first of our second season, we read between the lines and lies of hip-hop's most divisive trial to date with Louder Than A Riot's Senior Producer Gabby Bulgarelli. We also examine the roots of rap's misogynoir with the creator of the term, sociologist Moya Bailey. Although this isn't the first time a Black woman in hip-hop has spoken out about abuse, Megan's day on the stand revealed the level of mistreatment Black women must endure in hip-hop – and in America.
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You finally get through the confusing, stressful work of doing your taxes only to get a notice in the mail from the IRS: You're being audited. It turns out that your race plays a big role in whether you get that letter and a lot more about your taxes, like how much you might owe the IRS, which tax breaks you can get, and even which benefits you can claim. In this episode, we're looking at the racial landmines in our tax code with Dorothy A. Brown, a tax expert and author of The Whiteness Of Wealth: How The Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans And How To Fix It. Her work laid the foundations for the first research study released earlier this year uncovering the racial disparities in how the IRS audits taxpayers. We also hear from Daniel Ho, the Stanford professor who led that study.
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When folks think about where to get the latest in hip-hop, NPR doesn't usually come to mind. But that's changing, thanks to the team that produces Tiny Desk Concerts, which was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Platform in the 2022 BET Awards. Since 2008, Tiny Desk Concerts have delighted millions of listeners and viewers on YouTube with stripped-down performances from their favorite artists. Now the series is proving it's also an authentic space for showcasing all forms of hip-hop. Guest host Elise Hu talks to Tiny Desk Concerts series producer Bobby Carter about bringing new musicians into the mix, what goes on behind the scenes, and where the team wants to take the show next. Then, Elise plays a Tiny Desk edition of 'Who Said That' with Carter and video producer Josh Bryant. Finally, Elise chats with P.E. Moskowitz, author of the Mental Health newsletter, about how terms from therapy have crept into our daily language. Does it help or harm how we think about mental health?
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Serena Williams dominated tennis for the better part of two decades. Her athleticism and aggressive style changed the way the women's game is played. And she inspired a generation of young Black players who followed in her footsteps. Coco Gauff was one of them. At 18 years old, she was born five years after Williams' first Grand Slam singles title. Today, she's ranked 12th in the WTA rankings. "Growing up, I never thought I was different," she said, "because the number one player in the world was somebody who looked like me." In this episode of Consider This, Chanda Rubin of Tennis Channel reflects on Williams' career and her legacy.
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The story of civil rights in America is the story of legends like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. It is also the story of countless ordinary people who made a difference in their own, less-visible ways. In this episode, a conversation with NPR's Ayesha Roscoe about her series on the civil rights generation and how it is remembered by those who struggled against inequity and fought for a more just future.
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The latest news from around the word — updated every hour.
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NPR's Up First is the news you need to start your day. The three biggest stories of the day, with reporting and analysis from NPR News — in 10 minutes.
Available weekdays by 6 a.m. ET, with hosts Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin and A Martinez. Also available on Saturdays by 8 a.m. ET, with Ayesha Rascoe and Scott Simon. On Sundays, hear a longer exploration behind the headlines with Ayesha Rascoe on "The Sunday Story," available by 8 a.m. ET.
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Black perspectives haven't always been centered in the telling of America's story. Now, they are the story. Introducing a collection of episodes from NPR's podcasts that are as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as the Black experience. 24 accounts of what it means to be Black today, told from our perspectives.
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