As we take in the news of another Donald Trump administration, we thought who better to turn the mic over to than the hosts of NPR's Politics Podcast.

The manosphere is a sprawling online ecosystem aimed at disgruntled men. Now a subset of the manosphere aimed at Black men is exposing cracks in Black voters' steadfast support of Democrats. On this episode, we take a look at how the Black manosphere came to be and wonder: could this loose community of aggrieved dudes swing the election?

Reality TV has been referred to as a funhouse mirror of our culture. But even with its distortions, it can reflect back to us what we accept as a society – especially when it comes to things like gender, sexuality and race.
On today's episode we get into all of that, zeroing in on the Bachelorette, but also looking at a dating show that's trying to do it differently.

Author Mike Curato wrote Flamer as a way to help young queer kids, like he once was, better understand and accept themselves. It was met with immediate praise and accolades — until it wasn't. When the book got caught up in a wave of Texas-based book bans, suddenly the narrative changed. And like so many books that address queer identity, Flamer quickly became a flashpoint in a long, messy culture war that tried to distort the nature of the book.

NPR staffers recommend non-fiction reads from our Books We Love list: "On Minimalism," "Anansi's Gold," "Asian-Americans in an Anti-Black World," and "The Wager."

Tennessee's Black immigrant population is increasing. Many of those immigrants are pushing to raise awareness of their cultures and histories.

One in five Black Americans are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. But feeling embraced or understood by the U.S. can seem daunting for some, and impossible for others.

Being able to drive makes life easier. It can open up job opportunities. But it also has challenges, especially if there's a language barrier. And traffic stops can be especially high stakes.

What's it like to be a Black immigrant or refugee in America? We had a hundred or so conversations with people in Tennessee — one of the Blackest states in the country — to find out.

Black immigrants in Tennessee have a slew of bad options when it comes to transportation and getting a license — and are disproportionately likely to face traffic stops that may lead to deportation.

What do Black immigrants think about their racial identities, especially in the American South? Several Black immigrants living in Tennessee talk about their experiences.

From NPR's Books We Love list, we hear reviews for several mystery and sci-fi books including "Nona the Ninth," "Birds of Maine," and "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau."

In his memoir, America Made Me a Black Man, Farah tells of what American blackness has meant to him, from his childhood in Somalia to his adolescence in the Northeast — to his return to Somalia.

There's nothing like a good book to chew on. From NPR's annual reading round-up, Books We Love, here are four suggestions for books about food.

As we look back at the year, we wanted to share some of our favorite episodes of the pod. This list showcases the episodes that stayed with members of the Code Switch team, even amidst all the churn.

From NPR's yearly reading list, Books We Love, we hear suggestions for scary reads from four of our staffers.

In her new novel, In the Country of Others, Leila Slimani explores what it means to be an outsider. Her characters fight to establish their own identities while their country, Morocco, does the same.

Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, says it's a mistake to boil Wednesday's events down to questions of police force. He argues we need a broader conversation about race, politics and justice.

Our team is looking back at some of our favorite episodes to work on this year, and what made them so meaningful. And oh, what a year it has been.

This week, Code Switch is talking about our favorite pandemic reads. Today's conversation is with author Elisabeth Thomas, about her fictional cult-like college, set deep in the woods of Pennsylvania.