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Why Malala Yousafzai is a hero in the West but not back home

by Mariya Karimjee , B.A. Parker , Dalia Mortada , Jess Kung , Xavier Lopez , Christina Cala , Leah Donnella , Gene Demby , Veralyn Williams

October 1, 2025 • Why is Malala Yousafzai so revered in the West while being much less popular in her home country of Pakistan? On this week's Code Switch, we unpack how Pakistani skepticism of Malala extends from a suspicion of U.S. and other foreign interests.

CS MALALA

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Is the American dream a scam?

by Xavier Lopez , B.A. Parker , Leah Donnella , Cher Vincent , Jess Kung , Dalia Mortada , Christina Cala , Veralyn Williams , Gene Demby

September 24, 2025 • This week on the pod: author Edgar Gomez talks about what it was like growing up poor, queer, and Nicaraguan Puerto Rican in Florida. His new memoir, Alligator Tears, chronicles his dreams of making it big, the various mini-scams he got into along the way, and his realization that a rich life might not ever come with bundles of money.

Alligator Tears

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How calls for mass deportations went mainstream

by Jess Kung , Gene Demby , Dalia Mortada , Huo Jingnan , Lisa Hagen , Audrey Nguyen , Brett Neely , Xavier Lopez , Leah Donnella , Veralyn Williams , Christina Cala

September 10, 2025 • Calls to ban "third world immigration" in favor of "remigration" -- or, mass deportation -- went from fringe ideas in far right circles to ones pedaled by mainstream conservatives. Now, those ideas are mirrored in government policy. On this week's Code Switch, we track how these ideas got their start among white nationalists and neo-Nazis in the U.S. and Europe and found their way into the language of popular right-wing influencers and Trump administration advisers. Note: This episode makes references to Charlie Kirk, and it was reported and recorded before he was shot in Utah.

How calls for mass deportations went mainstream

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An encampment for the unhoused in Washington D.C. near the Kennedy Center was cleared by employees of the city's Department of Health and Human Services. The residents of the encampment packed up their belongings and left with the help of city outreach workers as well as non-profit employees and volunteers. Tyrone Turner/WAMU for NPR hide caption

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Tyrone Turner/WAMU for NPR

Code Switch

How Trump's D.C. takeover criminalizes homelessness

by Jess Kung , Leah Donnella , Gene Demby , Xavier Lopez , Courtney Stein , Christina Cala , Dalia Mortada , B.A. Parker , Veralyn Williams

August 20, 2025 • On August 11, President Trump announced his intention to "rescue" the nation's capital. A central feature of his plan involved using federal officials to remove people experiencing homelessness from the city — people that he listed alongside "violent gangs, bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, and drugged out maniacs." On this episode, we're diving into what it means to criminalize homelessness, what it looks like when police officers are used to solve social problems, and what this D.C. takeover might portend for the rest of the country.

"Crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor."

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Courtesy of Kovert Creative

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Statelessness, but make it funny

by Xavier Lopez , Gene Demby , Leah Donnella , Dalia Mortada , Jess Kung , B.A. Parker , Christina Cala , Veralyn Williams , Courtney Stein

August 13, 2025 • Mo Amer is the creator and star of the hit Netflix comedy series Mo. It's a first-of-its kind Palestinian-American sitcom with a fraught plot line about the American immigration system and the hope to return, at least for a visit, to his family's homeland. We talk to Mo Amer what it’s like to make a show so centered on the real facts of his own life, and to be thrust into the role of spokesperson for Palestinian-Americans at this particular moment.

Statelessness, but make it funny

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We asked, and you answered: How do you connect joy and resistance? Jackie Lay hide caption

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Jackie Lay

Perspective

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You told us — what brings you joy

by Leah Donnella , B.A. Parker , Jess Kung , Courtney Stein , Xavier Lopez , Christina Cala , Gene Demby , Dalia Mortada , Veralyn Williams

August 2, 2025 • On this bonus episode of the show, we're hearing from some of YOU about what brings you joy, how you connect joy and justice work, and why joy is so important in your lives.

You told us — what brings you joy

Listen · 16:53 16:53

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A woman smiles while sipping a fancy drink. That's joy, right? Jackie Lay hide caption

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Jackie Lay

Analysis

Code Switch

Is joy an act of resistance?

by Leah Donnella , B.A. Parker , Jess Kung , Courtney Stein , Xavier Lopez , Dalia Mortada , Gene Demby , Veralyn Williams

July 30, 2025 • The phrase "joy is resistance" has been popping up all over the place lately. But what, exactly, does it mean? In this episode, we're unpacking what joy is, when it can actually be used as a tool for social change, and why the slogan has become so popular (even when joy itself feels more tenuous.)

Is joy an act of resistance?

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A side-by-side of protests from the civil rights movement, versus protests of the 21st century. Jackie Lay hide caption

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Jackie Lay

Code Switch

Protests are near constant. Do they work?

by B.A. Parker , Xavier Lopez , Leah Donnella , Courtney Stein , Gene Demby , Jess Kung , Dalia Mortada , Christina Cala , Veralyn Williams

July 23, 2025 • To the casual observer, it might seem like the U.S. has been spent years in a constant state of protest, from the Women's March in 2017 to the racial uprisings in 2020 to the No Kings protests earlier in the summer. But some are starting to wonder: How effective are any of those protests? When it comes to achieving lasting social change, do any of them work?

Protests are near constant. Do they work?

Listen · 30:35 30:35

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Code Switch

The books, movies and music that shaped the Code Switch team

by Courtney Stein , Leah Donnella , Gene Demby , B.A. Parker , Xavier Lopez , Jess Kung , Sequoia Carrillo , Dalia Mortada , Veralyn Williams

July 16, 2025 • Once upon a time, members of the Code Switch team were just kids, learning about race and identity for the first time. So on this episode, we're sharing some of the books, movies and music that deeply influenced each of us at an early age — and set us on the path to being the race nerds we are today.

The books, movies and music that shaped the Code Switch team

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Jackie Lay

Code Switch

From gr*pists to nip nops, how self-censorship shapes the language of TikTok

by B.A. Parker , Xavier Lopez , Dalia Mortada , Gene Demby , Jess Kung , Courtney Stein , Leah Donnella , Veralyn Williams

July 9, 2025 • Have you noticed people using terms like "unalive" and

From gr*pists to nip nops, how self-censorship shapes the language of TikTok

Listen · 33:58 33:58

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Shot of the Unisphere, the 140 foot-tall metal sculpture in the middle of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The Unisphere was originally commissioned for the 1964-1965 World's Fair and has since become an icon for the borough of Queens. Wendy Correa/NPR hide caption

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Wendy Correa/NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

The lighter side of immigration: A day at the park in Queens

by Xavier Lopez , Jasmine Garsd , B.A. Parker , Gene Demby , Courtney Stein , Leah Donnella , Jess Kung , Christina Cala , Dalia Mortada , Veralyn Williams , Margaret Cirino

July 2, 2025 • This week on Code Switch, we're doing a different kind of immigration coverage. We're telling a New York story: one that celebrates the beautiful, everyday life of the immigrant. Code Switch producer, Xavier Lopez and NPR immigration reporter, Jasmine Garsd spend a day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The lighter side of immigration: A day at the park in Queens

Listen · 38:18 38:18

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Jackie Lay

Code Switch

Dispatches from the living memory of trans people of color

by Jess Kung , Leah Donnella , B.A. Parker , Dalia Mortada , Christina Cala , Xavier Lopez , Veralyn Williams , Gene Demby , Courtney Stein

June 25, 2025 • Trans people are major targets of the second Trump administration. But in a way, that's nothing new; trans people have been fighting for their rights, dignity, and liberation for generations. So on this episode, we hear from trans elders about what their lives have looked like over the decades, and what messages they have for young people.

Dispatches from the living memory of trans people of color

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Protesters in Tehran chant slogans and one holds a poster with a vampire-like illustration of President Trump to protest the U.S. strikes on nuclear sites in Iran. Getty Images/Getty Images Europe hide caption

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Code Switch

Iranian American identity was under scrutiny long before the U.S. struck Iran

by Shereen Marisol Meraji , Gene Demby , Leah Donnella , Jess Kung , Dalia Mortada , Courtney Stein , Xavier Lopez , B.A. Parker , Veralyn Williams

June 23, 2025 • We're throwing back to a conversation we had in 2020 with Jason Rezaian, Iranian American journalist who had been previously jailed in Iran. Back in January of 2020, the first Trump administration carried out a military operation killing Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian military commander. Now, the second Trump administration is striking Iranian nuclear sites. While lots has changed since 2020, much of our conversation with Jason is still eerily relevant.

Iranian American identity was under scrutiny long before the U.S. struck Iran

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(L) Andrew Harnik / (R) Matthew Hatcher / AFP

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The administration's fight against antisemitism is dividing Jews

by Gene Demby , B.A. Parker , Jess Kung , Courtney Stein , Xavier Lopez , Christina Cala , Dalia Mortada , Leah Donnella , Veralyn Williams

June 18, 2025 • In recent months we've seen the Trump administration punishing speech critical of Israel in its widening effort to combat what it sees as antisemitism. As protestors have been detained for pro-Palestinian activism, we've seen attacks on Jews and people expressing concern for Israeli hostages in Gaza — and in the wake of all this, a lot Jews don't agree on which actions constitutive antisemitism. On this episode, we're looking at the landscape of this disagreement, and talking to the legal scholar who came up with the definition of antisemitism that the White House is using, and who says he's worried that definition is being used in a way that could hurt Jews instead of protect them.

The administration's fight against antisemitism is dividing Jews

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David Dee Delgado/Getty Images & Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

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How the news can make us think we need more policing

by Gene Demby , B.A. Parker , Xavier Lopez , Dalia Mortada , Courtney Stein , Jess Kung , Christina Cala , Leah Donnella , Veralyn Williams

June 11, 2025 • As President Trump flirts with invoking the Insurrection Act on anti-ICE demonstrators in LA, we look back at the national protests of 2020, when Trump last talked about invoking the act. Back then, there was broad energy around rethinking policing, but polls show that that energy has largely vanished. In this episode, we ask: what happened? Our guest points to what he calls copaganda – or pro-police propaganda.

How the news can make us think we need more policing

Listen · 29:19 29:19

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South African President Ramaphosa meets President Trump amid tensions over Washington's resettlement of white Afrikaners that the U.S. president claims are the victims of "genocide." Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

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What Trump's fixation on 'white genocide' in South Africa tells us about the U.S.

by Gene Demby , B.A. Parker , Christina Cala , Courtney Stein , Jess Kung , Xavier Lopez , Dalia Mortada , Veralyn Williams

June 4, 2025 • How the false notion of "white genocide" traveled from the political fringes to the Oval Office. The week on Code Switch, we're talking to a reporter who was in the room during a meeting when President Trump pushed this conspiracy theory on the president of South Africa. And we're digging into what Trump's fixation on white South Africans tell us about anxieties over white replacement here in the U.S.

What Trump's fixation on 'white genocide' in South Africa tells us about the U.S.

Listen · 34:34 34:34

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Larisa Blinova/Getty Images

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Why tacos are as 'American' as apple pie

by Christina Cala , Gene Demby , Jess Kung , Courtney Stein , B.A. Parker , Xavier Lopez , Dalia Mortada , Veralyn Williams

May 28, 2025 • The hunger for Mexican food in the U.S. is longstanding — from the conquistadors' love affair with chocolate, to the classic San Francisco burrito. This week, we're exploring the history of Mexican food in the United States, and asking what it takes for a cuisine to become quintessentially "American."

Why tacos are as 'American' as apple pie

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Jackie Lay

The Code Switch Podcast

Arab and Black communities are trying to reconcile after Trump's election

by Gene Demby , Xavier Lopez , Courtney Stein , Jess Kung , Christina Cala , Dalia Mortada , B.A. Parker , Veralyn Williams

May 14, 2025 • Trump's win exposed political tensions between Arab-American voters — who were critical of Democratic support of Israel's war in Gaza, and Black voters — who remain the Democrats' most loyal supporters. That friction is especially pronounced in the majority Arab city of Dearborn, Michigan, and its majority Black neighbor, Detroit. This week, we go to a testy iftar dinner where Arab and Black folks sat down to begin having tough conversations.

Arab and Black communities are trying to reconcile after Trump's election

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The Code Switch Podcast

40 years ago, Philadelphia police bombed this Black neighborhood on live TV

by Gene Demby , Xavier Lopez , Courtney Stein , Jess Kung , Christina Cala , Dalia Mortada , B.A. Parker , Veralyn Williams

May 7, 2025 • We're looking back on the day a Philadelphia police department helicopter dropped a bomb on a rowhouse in a middle-class neighborhood. Even though that bombing and the fire it set off killed eleven people and left hundreds homeless, it's been largely forgotten. So how did we collectively memory-hole an event this big? And what does that tell us about race and policing even today?

40 years ago, Philadelphia police bombed this Black neighborhood on live TV

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Code Switch

In the face of trans erasure, what can we learn from Marsha P. Johnson?

by Jess Kung , B.A. Parker , Dalia Mortada , Christina Cala , Xavier Lopez , Courtney Stein , Gene Demby , Veralyn Williams

April 30, 2025 • Marsha P. Johnson was a trailblazer in the fight for gay rights. But Johnson's legacy extends beyond her activism: "Marsha was a really full person who lived a vibrant life. She was a muse and model for Andy Warhol," and a performer in New York City and London. In this episode, we talk to activist and author Tourmaline about what we can all learn from Johnson's legacy in times of adversity.

In the face of trans erasure, what can we learn from Marsha P. Johnson?

Listen · 31:30 31:30

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Code Switch

Why now is the time to find power in "otherness"

by Gene Demby , Christina Cala , Dalia Mortada , Xavier Lopez , Jess Kung , Courtney Stein , B.A. Parker , Veralyn Williams

April 23, 2025 • Viet Thanh Nguyen came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam when he was four years old. Growing up in San Jose, California, Nguyen remembers the moment he understood he was Asian-American. In his latest book, To Save and To Destroy: Writing as an Other, Nguyen examines the power in finding solidarity with other Others, especially in today's America.

Why now is the time to find power in "otherness"

Listen · 31:22 31:22

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Jackie Lay

Code Switch

Revisiting the fight over the Lakota language as Trump targets "divisive narratives"

by Christina Cala , B.A. Parker , Gene Demby , Xavier Lopez , Jess Kung , Leah Donnella , Courtney Stein , Dalia Mortada , Veralyn Williams

April 16, 2025 • As the Trump administration targets the Smithsonian Institute for "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology," it got us thinking about how we preserve our history and everything that builds it, like language. So we're revisiting an episode from last year from the Lakota Nation in South Dakota over language — who preserves it, who has the right to the stories told in it, and who (literally) owns it.

Revisiting the fight over the Lakota language as Trump targets "divisive narratives"

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Juan plays a video of his son Carlos riding a bike, which Carlos purchased the day before being taken into custody, at his home in Cedar Park, Texas, on Jan. 29, 2025. Tamir Kalifa hide caption

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Tamir Kalifa

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Why Trump is sending Venezuelans to El Salvador

by Sergio Martínez-Beltrán , Gene Demby , Christina Cala , Courtney Stein , Dalia Mortada , Luis Trelles , Xavier Lopez , Jess Kung , B.A. Parker , Veralyn Williams

April 9, 2025 • One of President Trump's main campaign promises was carrying out mass deportations. We look at how the Trump administration is testing the U.S. legal system to make good on its promise, starting with the story of one family trying to find their 18-year-old son after immigration agents showed up at their doorstep.

Why Trump is sending Venezuelans to El Salvador

Listen · 37:49 37:49

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