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What Arkansas' LEARNS Act has to do with race

Code Switch is live on stage in Little Rock, Ark. (right). They interviewed Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton (left) about what it was like to go to school during desegregation efforts in the 1950s and 60s. Dr. Sibyl Jordan Hampton, Little Rock Public Radio hide caption

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Dr. Sibyl Jordan Hampton, Little Rock Public Radio

Code Switch

What Arkansas' LEARNS Act has to do with race

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Classrooms in Arkansas were at the center of school desegregation in the 1950s. Now, with the LEARNS Act, they're in the spotlight again. Code Switch comes to you live from Little Rock, Arkansas this week to unpack the latest education bill and how it echoes themes from decades past.

What Arkansas' LEARNS Act has to do with race

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These are the episodes we loved in 2023

Clockwise from upper left: B.A.Parker at Somerset Place plantation as a child; Bad Bunny exalts Puerto Rico in his music of resistance; Chefs Reem Assil and Priya Krishna; Race is also a part of our taxes and who gets audited; Originally from Rwanda, Claude Gatebuke came to Nashville 30 years ago; Hank Azaria (left) and Hari Kondabolu speak since their fallout in 2017. B.A.Parker, Getty Images, NPR, Getty Images//LA Johnson/NPR, Joseph Ross for NPR, PR Agency hide caption

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B.A.Parker, Getty Images, NPR, Getty Images//LA Johnson/NPR, Joseph Ross for NPR, PR Agency

Code Switch

These are the episodes we loved in 2023

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It's that time of year again, fam, when we look back at the past 12 months and think, "WHOA, HOW'D THAT GO BY SO FAST?" So we're taking a beat: for this week's episode, each one of us who makes Code Switch is getting on the mic to reflect on — and recommend — an episode we loved from 2023.

These are the episodes we loved in 2023

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The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

Author Kai Cheng Thom next to the cover of her recent book, Falling Back in Love with Being Human. Author photo by Rachel Woroner hide caption

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Author photo by Rachel Woroner

Code Switch

The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

by , , ,

Kai Cheng Thom is no stranger to misanthropy. There have been stretches of her life where she's felt burdened by anger, isolation, and resentment toward other people. And not without reason. Her identities, especially as a trans woman and a former sex worker, have frequently made her a locus for other people's fear and hatred. But at a certain point, Kai decided to embark on a radical experiment: to see if she could "fall back in love with being human." The result was a series of letters, poems, exercises and prayers that let Kai confront some of the most painful moments of her life, and then try to move past them.

The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

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Travel is supposed to expand your horizons... but it's complicated

Author Shahnaz Habib next to the cover of her new book, Airplane Mode. Author photo by Eva Garmendia hide caption

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Author photo by Eva Garmendia

Code Switch

Travel is supposed to expand your horizons... but it's complicated

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Traveling is supposed to open your mind and expand your horizons — but what if it doesn't? In her new book Airplane Mode, author Shahnaz Habib suggests that sometimes, traveling does more to enforce our ideas about the world than to upend them. Which means that people with "passport privilege" — AKA, the ability to travel freely from country to country — may end up feeling like the stars of some massive international adventure, while people whose travel is more restricted feel like perpetual interlopers.

Travel is supposed to expand your horizons... but it's complicated

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How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

Nate Taylor (left) and Sylvia Fred (right), two of the co-founders of the Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter School on Red Lake Reservation standing in front of the construction site for a new school building. Sequoia Carrillo/NPR hide caption

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Sequoia Carrillo/NPR

Code Switch

How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

by , , , , , , , , , , Sasha Crawford-Holland

The word "reservation" implies "reserved" – as in, this land is reserved for Native Americans. But most reservation land actually isn't owned by tribes. That's true for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota, where the tribe owns just a tiny fraction of its reservation land. But just northwest of Leech Lake is Red Lake: one of the only reservations in the country where the tribe owns all of its land.

How the history of Leech Lake and Red Lake went down totally different paths

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Two Palestinian American writers on being denied the "right to a story"

People rally during the "National March on Washington: Free Palestine" while calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Freedom Plaza November 4, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) hide caption

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(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Code Switch

Two Palestinian American writers on being denied the "right to a story"

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On this week's Code Switch, we hear from two Palestinian American poets who talk about what it's like to be Palestinian American in the U.S. Fady Joudah and Tariq Luthun say the way their stories are told — or aren't told — has contributed to what they see as an erasure of their identities, and often of their humanity.

Two Palestinian American writers on being denied the "right to a story"

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How does a computer discriminate?

Safiya Noble, a professor of Africana studies, gender, and the internet at UCLA, as well as the author of the book Algorithms of Oppression. Headshot by John Davis hide caption

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Headshot by John Davis

Code Switch

How does a computer discriminate?

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OK, not exactly a computer — more like, the wild array of technologies that inform what we consume on our computers and phones. Because on this episode, we're looking at how AI and race bias intersect. Safiya Noble, a professor at UCLA and the author of the book Algorithms of Oppression talks us through some of the messy issues that arise when algorithms and tech are used as substitutes for good old-fashioned human brains.

How does a computer discriminate?

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All The Only Ones: The missing piece of the puzzle
Sally Chen for NPR

Code Switch

All The Only Ones: The missing piece of the puzzle

by

We're bringing you something special from our play cousins over at Embedded: the first episode of a three part series about the often neglected history of trans youth in America. We meet Zen, a Mexican-American, New Orleans native, who is coming into their transness, as we learn about an historic trans person, Bernard, from Alabama in the early 1900s, fighting to be seen.

All The Only Ones: The missing piece of the puzzle

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Where are the Black punks now?

Left: James Spooner, co-creator of Afropunk Festival and co-editor of Black Punk Now. Right: Black Punk Now cover art. PR Agency hide caption

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The Code Switch Podcast

Where are the Black punks now?

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More than a decade since B.A. Parker last dabbled in the Black punk scene, she heads to a punk a show, and remembers a question from James Spooner: "What is more liberating than a mosh pit full of smiling Black faces?" Parker talks to James about what it means to be a Black punk, creating the Afropunk Festival and its evolution, and a new anthology he co-edited called Black Punk Now.

Where are the Black punks now?

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Giving up on identity with Ada Limón

Ada Limon, the current U.S. Poet Laureate, as well as a new recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship. Ayna Lorenzo hide caption

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Ayna Lorenzo

Code Switch

Giving up on identity with Ada Limón

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Ada Limón is many things: the U.S. Poet Laureate, a recently named MacArthur "Genius," a Latina, a summer person becoming a fall person. But underneath all those outer identities, she's still in search for the "original animal at [her] core."

Giving up on identity with Ada Limón

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The agony and ecstasy of parenting

Comedian Hari Kondabolu with his son Arjun. Antoine Didienne/Courtesy of Hari Kondabolu hide caption

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Antoine Didienne/Courtesy of Hari Kondabolu

Code Switch

The agony and ecstasy of parenting

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Being a new parent is exhausting at the best of times. There are diapers to change, bottles to fill, screaming sobs to quiet down. But beyond all the routine chores that come with parenting, there are the larger social questions of how to raise a kid in a complex, unjust, and ever-changing world.

The agony and ecstasy of parenting

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What does it mean to be good?

Author Alejandra Oliva (right) next to the cover of her memoir, Rivermouth. Headshot by Anna Longworth hide caption

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Headshot by Anna Longworth

Code Switch

What does it mean to be good?

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In her memoir Rivermouth, author Alejandra Oliva recounts her experiences working as a translator and interpreter for people seeking asylum in the U.S. But as she navigates the world of immigration advocacy, she starts to grapple with the question of what it means to help, and what it means to "want to star in the helping."

What does it mean to be good?

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Student activists are pushing back against big polluters — and winning

Students give a presentation at a construction site in South Baltimore. The student activists, who formed the group Free Your Voice, are fighting against a very different kind of danger in their neighborhood: air pollution and climate change. B.A. Parker/NPR hide caption

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B.A. Parker/NPR

Code Switch

Student activists are pushing back against big polluters — and winning

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South Baltimore has some of the most polluted air in the country. Local teenagers are fighting polluters back, and slowly building toward climate justice.

Student activists are pushing back against big polluters — and winning

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Almost 4 million people are on probation or parole. Here's why that matters.

Author Vincent Schiraldi next to the cover of his new book, Mass Supervision. Headshot (left) by Paulette Louissaint hide caption

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Headshot (left) by Paulette Louissaint

Code Switch

Almost 4 million people are on probation or parole. Here's why that matters.

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In the past decade, the problem of mass incarceration has gotten increased attention and thought. But in his new book, Mass Supervision, Vincent Schiraldi argues that in those conversations, people often neglect to think about probation and parole — two of the biggest feeders to the U.S.'s prison population. These systems surveil close to four million Americans, which Schiraldi says is both a huge waste of resources and a massive human rights violation. On this episode, we're talking to Schiraldi about how probation and parole came to be, why they're no longer working as they were once supposed to, and why he thinks they might need to be done away with entirely.

Almost 4 million people are on probation or parole. Here's why that matters.

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The Supreme Court banned affirmative action — except at military service academies

Protesters for and against affirmative action demonstrate on Capitol Hill in June 2023. The Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Code Switch

The Supreme Court banned affirmative action — except at military service academies

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In June, the Supreme Court banned affirmative action at colleges and universities across the country, with one glaring exception: military academies. On this episode, we're asking — why?

The Supreme Court banned affirmative action — except at military service academies

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Remembering and unremembering, from Kigali to Nashville

Originally from Rwanda, Claude Gatebuke came to Nashville 30 years ago. Joseph Ross for NPR hide caption

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Joseph Ross for NPR

Code Switch

Remembering and unremembering, from Kigali to Nashville

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For centuries, the idea of the "American Dream" has been a powerful narrative for many immigrant communities. But for just as long, many African Americans have known that the American Dream was never meant to include them. So what happens when those beliefs collide? Today ten percent of the Black population in the U.S. are immigrants, and many grapple with this question. In this episode, we'll hear from Claude Gatebuke, who moved from Kigali to Nashville as a teenager in the wake of the Rwandan genocide. He talks about how the move to the U.S. likely saved his life, while simultaneously challenging his belief that he could have a full, meaningful future as a Black man.

Remembering and unremembering, from Kigali to Nashville

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Fall football — or the fall of football?
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Code Switch

Fall football — or the fall of football?

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This week, the NFL is gearing up for the start of its 104th season. But as this new chapter begins, we're looking at some of the league's old problems with race and diversity — ones that have implications for the coaches, the players, and the fans.

Fall football — or the fall of football?

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Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

Bad Bunny exalts Puerto Rico in his music of resistance. Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

Code Switch

Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

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Bad Bunny, the genre- and gender norm-defying Puerto Rican rapper, is one of the biggest music stars on the planet. He has also provided a global megaphone for Puerto Rican discontent. In this episode, we take a look at how Bad Bunny became the unlikely voice of resistance in Puerto Rico. This episode originally aired in January 2023.

Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

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What makes a good race joke?

Comedians Brian Bahe, Maz Jobrani and Aparna Nancherla. Brian Bahe, Storm Santos and Aparna Nancherla hide caption

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Brian Bahe, Storm Santos and Aparna Nancherla

Code Switch

What makes a good race joke?

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When a comedian of color makes a joke, is it always about race, even if it's not about race? Code Switch talks to comedians Aparna Nancherla, Brian Bahe and Maz Jobrani about how and why race makes an appearance in their jokes. Plus, one of our own reveals her early-career dabbling in comedy.

What makes a good race joke?

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Family, fortune, and the fight for Osage headrights

Richard Lonsinger at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, holding a photo of himself as a child shortly after he was adopted. Sam Yellowhorse Kesler/NPR hide caption

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Code Switch

Family, fortune, and the fight for Osage headrights

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When Richard J. Lonsinger's birth mother passed away in 2010, he wasn't included in the distribution of her estate. Feeling hurt and excluded, he asked a judge to re-open her estate, to give him a part of one particular asset: an Osage headright. But the more Lonsinger learned about the history of the headrights, the more he began to wonder who was really entitled to them, and where he fit in.

Family, fortune, and the fight for Osage headrights

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From 'fight the power' to advertising for the power: hip-hop turns 50
Islen Milien for NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

From 'fight the power' to advertising for the power: hip-hop turns 50

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For hip-hop's not-official-but-kind-of-official 50th birthday, we dig into its many contradictions. From the legend of the South Bronx block party where hip-hop was born to the multi-billion-dollar global industry and tool for U.S. diplomacy it has become, America's relationship with hip-hop — and the people who make it — is complicated.

From 'fight the power' to advertising for the power: hip-hop turns 50

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Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons
Thumy Phan for NPR

The Code Switch Podcast

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

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Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop role-playing games of all time. But it has also helped cement some ideas about how we create and define race in fantasy — and in the tangible world. This week we revisit a deep dive into that game. What we find about racial stereotypes and colonialist supremacy is illuminating.

Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

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