Code Switch
Why the trope of the 'outside agitator' persists
As protests continue to rock the campuses of colleges and universities, a familiar set of questions is being raised: Are these protests really being l...
In 'Chicano Frankenstein,' the undead are the new underpaid labor force
Daniel Olivas's novel puts a new spin on the age-old Frankenstein story. In this retelling, 12 million "reanimated" people provide a cheap workforce f...
Exclusion, resilience and the Chinese American experience on 'Mott Street'
This week on the podcast, we're revisiting a conversation we had with Ava Chin about her book, Mott Street. Through decades of painstaking research, t...
How Jewish Communities Are Divided Over Support of Israel
In the wake of October 7, and the bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government, many American Jews have found themselves questioning something that h...
The Rise and Fall of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal has been dubbed the greatest engineering feat in human history. It's also (perhaps less favorably) been called the greatest liberty m...
Reflecting on the legacy of O.J. Simpson
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 "to...
How Frederick Douglass launched generations of Black and Irish solidarity
What's a portrait of Frederick Douglass doing hanging in an Irish-themed pub in Washington, D.C.? To get to the answer, Parker and Gene dive deep into...
WTF does race have to do with taxes?
It's that time of year again: time to file your taxes. And this week on the pod, we're revisiting our conversation with Dorothy A. Brown, a tax expert...
Who does language belong to? A fight over the Lakota Language
Many Lakota people agree: It's imperative to revitalize the Lakota language. But how exactly to do that is a matter of broader debate. Should Lakota b...
Getting let down by the 'Great Expectations' of electoral politics
This episode is brought to you by our play cousins over at NPR's It's Been A Minute. Brittany Luse chops it up with New Yorker writer and podcast host...