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Race. In your face.
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A hand pulls the word "maxxing" out of murky depths.
Jackie Lay

The Code Switch Podcast

It's giving incel: The evolution of internet slang

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How have recommendation algorithms affected language? Linguist Adam Aleksic — aka the Etymology Nerd — says most “Gen-Z slang” is either appropriated from Black people or incels. This week, we trace how -maxxing went from the eugenicist looksmaxxing subculture to trending TikToks to the Pentagon tweeting about “lethality maxxing.” And we ask what’s actually at stake when we use words without knowing where they come from.

It's giving incel: The evolution of internet slang

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How the Supreme Court gutted Black voting power
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The Code Switch Podcast

How the Supreme Court gutted Black voting power

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The passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act marked what many historians mark as the actual beginning of democracy in the US. But last week the Supreme Court gutted what was left of the landmark civil rights law. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang joins us to talk through what it means for Black political power, especially in the South.

How the Supreme Court gutted Black voting power

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A 50s style illustration divided into four scenes, each featuring a different woman. One dressed for work is alarmed by a clock, one is wearing an apron and cooking, one is cleaning glamousously, and one is serving a martini to a man.
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The Code Switch Podcast

Tradwives and the pressures of modern motherhood

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Motherhood in the U.S. is revered. Actual mothers? Not so much. So where's a bedraggled mom to turn when she feels overworked, overwhelmed, and underappreciated? Turns out, momfluencers are stepping in to fill that void, including a particular category of momfluencer: the tradwife. We dive into that world to understand how it might intersect with the Trump administration, what it has to do with white supremacy, and where moms of color fit in.

Tradwives and the pressures of modern motherhood

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The backs of graduates in robes at Harvard.
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The Code Switch Podcast

In college admission, trauma is shorthand for Blackness

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At most elite colleges and universities, affirmative action is a thing of the past. But admissions offices are still interested in building racially diverse incoming classes — which can mean looking at students' essays to help determine their background. In those essays, Black students have been often been encouraged to write about experiences of overcoming trauma in order to help underscore their race. Our guest, the sociologist Aya Waller-Bey, says that practice has troubling implications for how we understand what it means to have an authentic Black experience.

In college admission, trauma is shorthand for Blackness

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A syellow tatue of Donald Trump reminiscent of a Roman Emporer against a blue cloudy background. There is a crack in the statue's face.
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The Code Switch Podcast

Is the U.S. 'empire' beginning to show cracks?

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The Trump administration's recent military actions have had certain observers asking... are we going full empire? But Daniel Immerwahr, a historian and the author of How to Hide an Empire, argues that the U.S. has engaged in empire building for hundreds of years — we've just been sneakier about it than other countries. So on today's show, we're breaking down what that history of colonization has looked like, and how President Trump's international escapades are scrambling the global order.

CS Hide an Empire

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How your vote became your identity
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The Code Switch Podcast

How your vote became your identity

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Do you vote Republican or Democrat? And why does that answer reveal so much about the rest of who you are? We talk to political scientist Lilliana Mason about how party affiliation has become a “mega-identity” — a lens through which we see all other aspects of identity — and how that shapes views on race, political behavior, and so much more.

How your vote became your identity

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A sign at a 2019 protest reading "ANTIFA = TERRORISM!"
JOHN RUDOFF/AFP/via Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

As the definition of “terrorist” expands, so does state violence

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The Trump administration has called more and more groups “terrorists,” from “narco-terrorists” in Ecuador to people who protest ICE to the entire Democratic party. But it’s also nothing new. We talk to Saher Selod, expert on the racialized surveillance of Muslims about the effects of the war on terrorism after 9/11, and historian Alex Lubin about how even since colonial settlers were fighting Indigenous people to establish frontier towns, the word “terrorist” has been used by the state to enact violence and surveillance against whoever they want.

CS WW Terrorism

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Markwayne Mullin wears a cowboy hat at work.
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The Code Switch Podcast

Markwayne Mullin is conservative, Christian, Cherokee, and the new head of DHS

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On Monday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as the newest head of the Department of Homeland Security, replacing Kristi Noem. It's an enormously consequential role that involves taking charge of ICE, border patrol, and TSA. And Mullin is an interesting choice for the role — he's a conservative, Christian citizen of Cherokee nation, known both for his ability to reach across the aisle, and for being a political firebrand. So today on the show, we're asking: What will Markwayne Mullin's leadership of DHS mean for Indian Country? And what will it mean for the nation as a whole?

Markwayne Mullin is conservative, Christian, Cherokee, and the new head of DHS

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The top half of a face wearing a camouflage hat that reads "TRUMP" in orange letters and aviator sunglasses.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP/Getty Images

The Code Switch Podcast

What Trump's language has in common with cult language

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When President Trump says things like “fake news,” “witch hunt” or even “Make America Great Again,” he’s not just using catchy phrases -- he’s persuading people into a way of thinking and believing. This week on Code Switch, we talk to Amanda Montell, author of Cultish and co-host of the podcast Sounds Like A Cult, about what the language of MAGA shares with cult language, and why it matters.

What Trump's language has in common with cult language

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Activist Mary Hamilton, a Black woman with short hair, stands in front of a painted sign for the Congress of Racial Equity.

Mary Hamilton was found in contempt of court in Alabama, when she refused to answer questions after the prosecution addressed her only by her first name. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled in her favor. AP/AP hide caption

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The Code Switch Podcast

The Black civil rights leader who sued to be called “Miss”

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It’s Alabama, 1963. A black woman stands before a judge, but she refuses to acknowledge his questions until he addresses her by the same honorific given to white women: “Miss.” That woman's name is Mary Hamilton. Her case eventually reached the Supreme Court and changed the courts, and eventually broader culture, for good. We’re revisiting the largely forgotten story of Miss Mary Hamilton, a Freedom Rider who struck a blow against a pervasive form of disrespect.

The Black civil rights leader who sued to be called “Miss”

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Pictures of screens displaying outdated myspace and facebook landing pages.

The Code Switch Podcast

How the internet got gentrified

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We all know what gentrification looks like IRL — boxy, corporate-owned apartment complexes, places to get a quick bowl for lunch, streets that are dubbed "cleaner" and "safer" (even at the expense of the people who used to live there). But what does gentrification look like online? We’re talking to Jessa Lingel, who studies digital culture at the University of Pennsylvania, about her argument that the internet has become gentrified, and that we're all suffering the consequences.

How the internet got gentrified

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An illustration of Iris Morales, a member of the Young Lords, as she appeared in the 1960s.
Raysa Rodriguez/Futuro Studios

The Code Switch Podcast

The Young Lords' legacy of fighting for Puerto Rico from the mainland

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While Puerto Rican independence is in the spotlight after Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, we're throwing it to our play cousins at La Brega, a show about all things Puerto Rico. We hear from former Young Lords member Iris Morales about how the group took their love for their homeland to educate and organize against U.S. colonialism.

The Young Lords' legacy of fighting for Puerto Rico from the mainland

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What is "white culture," anyway?

Jeremy Carl, President Trump's recent nominee for a senior State Department role Getty Images (Wire Photo)/Getty Images hide caption

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The Code Switch Podcast

What is "white culture," anyway?

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Jeremy Carl — President Trump's nominee for a senior State Department role -- was called out for his commentary on "white erasure" during his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month. He defended the idea that "white culture" is in danger of being erased in the U.S. and that white people face more racial discrimination than any other group in country. So on this episode, we're talking to the Princeton historian Nell Irvin Painter about her book, The History of White People, and how definitions of whiteness have morphed over time depending on the interests of the people creating those definitions.

White Culture

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The history of Black History Month, one hundred years in
Photo by Camilla Greenwell/Courtesy of Harper Collins

The Code Switch Podcast

The history of Black History Month, one hundred years in

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In so many spaces, celebrating Black History History month means learning a few fun facts about famous African Americans. But Black History Month was designed to be much more radical — it was an opportunity for Black communities to learn about the aspects of their history that had been downplayed, diminished, or even actively suppressed. We talk to historian Jarvis Givens about his new book, “I’ll Make Me A World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month”, and how studying and preserving Black history has changed (or not) over the years.

The history of Black History Month, one hundred years in

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Protesters against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) march through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 25, 2026.

The Code Switch Podcast

What the history of U.S. protests illuminates about today

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To the casual observer, it might seem like the U.S. has spent years in a constant state of protest — and they’re only getting more intense under the second Trump administration. So we’re revisiting our conversation with Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, the author of “A Protest History of the United States” about what forms of protest have worked in the past, and what lessons people can take from those protesters.

What the history of U.S. protests illuminates about today

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How local police extend ICE's reach, even in sanctuary cities

The Code Switch Podcast

How local police extend ICE's reach, even in sanctuary cities

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Sanctuary policies have been described on both sides of the aisle as protecting immigrants. But in many ways, in practice, they have given rise to a specific kind of policing that gives ICE a much wider reach than it might otherwise have. We talk to anthropologist Peter Mancina, who is the author of a recent book, On the Side of Ice: Policing Immigrants in a Sanctuary State about his on-the-ground research  embedding with police in New Jersey.

How local police extend ICE's reach, even in sanctuary cities

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A cartoon baby head on a volcano, erupting with rage and little people swept up in the panic.
LA Johnson

The Code Switch Podcast

From "CRT" to "DEI": A history of race and moral panics

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A few years back, many politicians were raising the alarm about the dangers of "CRT" in schools. Today, the new risk to public education is "DEI." What do both of these moments have in common? They have all the elements of a moral panic. So in this installment of Code Switch History Class, we're looking at the history of moral panics in the U.S., and why they so often invoke fears about race and integration.

From "CRT" to "DEI": A history of race and moral panics

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Lisa Rae Gutierrez was one of the students at San Francisco State University who took part in the longest student strike in U.S. history, from 1968-1969. She has salt and pepper hair and stands with a raised fist and a Black Lives Matter t-shirt.

Lisa Rae Gutierrez was one of the students at San Francisco State University who took part in the longest student strike in U.S. history, from 1968-1969. Shereen Marisol Meraji hide caption

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Shereen Marisol Meraji

The Code Switch Podcast

What the 1968 fight for ethnic studies classes teaches us about today

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The fight over the soul of higher education is very alive right now, with the Trump administration engaged in dozens of investigations and multiple lawsuits against colleges and universities around the country. Billions of research dollars at those schools have been frozen, too. So today, in a special series called Code Switch History Class, we're looking back at another time of upheaval — a long, bloody strike at San Francisco State that forever changed higher education in the United States.

What the 1968 fight for ethnic studies classes teaches us about today

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A school building with limbs and eyes like a monster.
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The Code Switch Podcast

The fight over public education, from Texas to the White House

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For months, the Trump administration has been making moves to dismantle the Department of Education — with mixed success. But when it comes to the fight over public education, some of the most significant dustups are happening on the local level, with school boards around the country. Today, we're looking at one of those fights, which played out in a rapidly changing suburb of Dallas called Southlake.

The fight over public education, from Texas to the White House

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A collage of Black women obscured by digital artifacts
Jackie Lay/NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

The evolution of blackface in the age of AI

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With AI image and video generators, it's become easier than ever to create hyper-realistic clips of almost anything. Today, we're looking at the landscape of AI influencers that depict Black people in various ways, from the mildly stereotypical to the ultra-demeaning. And we're talking to writer Zeba Blay about why she thinks these types of videos can erode the our society's ability to take the problems of IRL, human Black people seriously.

The evolution of blackface in the age of AI

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A grey gavel with barbed wire wrapped around the handle in front of a cloudy red background.
Jackie Lay

The Code Switch Podcast

How the Trump administration is reshaping immigration

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The Trump administration has been firing immigration judges, despite the fact that there’s a massive backlog of immigration cases that need rulings. Ximena Bustillo, NPR’s immigration and DHS reporter, has spotted a trend: many of the judges let go have previous experience in immigration defense. At the same time, the Trump administration has allocated $30 billion to beef up ICE as an agency and hire “deportation judges.”

Code Switch-12.10.2025 - fired judges

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