Code Switch

Latest Episodes:

Gratitude isn’t just for Thanksgiving Nov 29, 2025

Show notes

For the millions of Americans that celebrate Thanksgiving, it's a time when many people reflect on the things and the people in our lives that they appreciate. But according to Dr. Laurie Santos, psychology professor at Yale and host of the podcast, The Happiness Lab, a practice of gratitude can improve our lives year-round. This week on the pod, we're bringing you a conversation from our friends over at It's Been A Minute. Host Brittany Luse chats with Dr. Santos about the surprising science of how gratitude can affect our brains — and how it leads us to be more generous with our future selves.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

How poetry helps Ada Limon navigate life, even when it’s tough Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

As we enter "cozy season," we're revisiting our conversation with Ada Limon, who just wrapped up her tenure as the U.S. Poet Laureate. She talks to us about loss and grief and evolving identity -- like becoming a "fall person" after a lifetime of identifying as a "summer person" -- and the power of poetry to navigate it all.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

Fearing deportation, undocumented parents are preparing to leave their kids behind Nov 22, 2025

Show notes

Today on the show, NPR immigration reporter Jasmine Garsd introduces us to two families in Washington, D.C.. One has made the difficult decision to set up "emergency guardianship" for their son, in the case that the parents are deported to Guatemala. The other has agreed to take that son in, should anything happen. It's the second part in Jasmine's reporting series looking into how immigrant families are preparing for the worst under the Trump administration's current immigration crackdown.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

How undocumented families are navigating the looming threat of ICE Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

Today on the show, NPR immigration reporter Jasmine Garsd takes us into the dimly lit living rooms of immigrant families — families trying to figure out how to stay safe as they navigate the overwhelming fear of being detained by ICE. These fears have long existed, but for many, they've become stronger and more omnipresent during this Trump administration, with its strong focus on deportation. So parents across the country are finding different ways to exist, protect themselves, and look out for their children.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

How Trump's cuts to public media threaten the first Native American station Nov 15, 2025

Show notes

On October 1, 2025, public radio stations lost all of their federal funding -- and for Black and Native American community stations, the cuts hit hard. Case in point, KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, which was the first Indigenous-led public radio station. They lost 70% of their budget after federal public media cuts, and will be shrinking from 10 full-time staffers, to 4 people. We speak to Esther Green, a Yupik elder, and her co-host Diane McEachern of KYUK's spiritual wellness show, Ikayutet, and station general manager Kristin Hall, about what the future looks like for the station.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

Tribal colleges are a unique resource — and they're under threat Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College has classes on everything from Native American studies to gardening to equine sciences to the Hidatsa language. Like other tribal colleges and universities (aka TCUs), it's a space where students can get their degrees while steeped in Indigenous traditions and learning techniques. But since the start of this presidential administration, funding for these colleges has been precarious, and tribal college administrators have been left scrambling to make sure they can continue with business as usual. So this week on the show, we're diving deep into what makes tribal colleges unique — and what these spaces mean to the students, faculty and staff who work there.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

The hidden history of demonizing SNAP recipients Nov 08, 2025

Show notes

Around 42 million people in the United States get SNAP benefits each month to cover basic needs like eggs, bread, and infant formula. Because of the government shutdown, most of those benefits have lapsed, and despite a judge's ruling that the Trump administration release contingency funds to cover the program, the White House will now only offer partial funding. On this episode, we're revisiting our 2019 reporting on how one woman became the symbol for anti-welfare politicians to turn the public against government programs for the poor.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

Freedom of speech has never been for everyone Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

Fights over free speech have taken up a lot of space in the zeitgeist lately. People on both the left and right claim to be the defenders of free speech, while pointing fingers at the other side for censorship and encroachments. So what is actually going on? This week on the podcast, we explore where the idea of free speech comes from, how the concept has changed meaning in the hands of different people, and why fights over freedom of speech are often actually fights about power.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

How Zohran Mamdani is scrambling establishment Democrat's brains Nov 01, 2025

Show notes

Zohran Mamdani has become one of the most popular and polarizing politicians in the last year. How did the New York City mayoral candidate go from a relatively unknown Democratic Socialist to becoming the frontrunner in the election for the U.S.'s largest city? In this episode, we unpack how Mamdani has energized unlikely voters and, for some, symbolized a fight for the soul of the Democratic party.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

How Elon Musk and JD Vance plan to 'save civilization' with more babies Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

What do conservatives like JD Vance and tech executives like Elon Musk have in common? They, like other pronatalists, want to “save civilization” by having more American babies. But it wasn’t that long ago that some people wanted to save the world by limiting the number of kids being born. This week on the pod, we explore the surprising way eugenics plays a role in these two seemingly opposite fears.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Code Switch

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6