Racist slurs, naughty words, and how dictionary editors define them

After midnight on September 30th, helicopters hovered above a large Chicago apartment building, and heavily armored agents rappelled from the choppers onto the roof. What unfolded became a spectacle that swept up both undocumented migrants and U.S. citizens alike. We’re looking at one of the most high-profile and aggressive raids in President Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown —and what it means for other big cities that might be on the business end of operations like it.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

How do we define slurs like the N-word? Whether it’s heated debates about racist or ableist slurs, arguments about gender, or even new kinds of profanity, dictionary editors have been at the center of these fights for a long time. We're joined by Stefan Fatsis, the author of Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary, for a deep dive on divisive words and how the word nerds at America's premier dictionary wrestle with what to do with them.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Even since before October 7, 2023, American Jews have found themselves grappling with what it means to speak out against Israel and the rifts in their communities over their political views. And despite a new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the division among Jews in the U.S. about Zionism and anti-Zionism could go on for years to come. In this episode, we revisit our conversations with some people experiencing that division first hand, and we dive deep into the long history of Jewish criticism of Israel with Marjorie Feld, professor of history at Babson College, and author of Threshold of Dissent, A History of American Jewish Critics of Zionism.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Stacey Abrams is one of the most high-profile voting rights activists in the U.S. She says whether we have an actual democracy might literally depend on protecting voting rights in the next election cycle or two. How to prevent that? Keep an eye on the 10 steps from democracy to autocracy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Next Wednesday, the Supreme Court hears a case that could further weaken the Voting Rights Act, which was passed to ensure fair districting and voting practices across different racial groups. Meanwhile, lawmakers across states are taking other paths to limit who can vote, from redrawing districts in order to favor a single party to limiting which government-issued IDs are permitted at the ballot box. And with election day just a few weeks a day, we’re asking, who will be able to vote — and whose votes will really count?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week: why the term "genocide" matters when talking about Israel's actions against Palestinians in Gaza. On Tuesday, a UN commission said it found that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, as more people, groups and countries are alleging the same. We break down what the word genocide means on both a personal and geopolitical level, why it’s understood very differently by different people, and what that designation requires of the rest of the world.Note: A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that Raphael Lemkin coined the term “genocide” to describe the Holocaust. He actually coined it to describe numerous other events, including Polish pogroms and the extermination of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire. It also incorrectly stated that the Genocide Convention was a part of the Geneva Conventions — those were separate treaties.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week, we're bringing you a special episode from our play cousins over at the podcast "Our Ancestors Were Messy." We hear about how Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes went from being best friends to not friends.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy