Leah Donnella
Leah Donnella is an editor on NPR's Code Switch team, where she helps produce and edit for the Code Switch podcast, blog, and newsletter. She created the "Ask Code Switch" series, where members of the team respond to listener questions about how race, identity, and culture come up in everyday life.
Donnella originally came to NPR in September 2015 as an intern for Code Switch. Prior to that, she was a summer intern at WHYY's Public Media Commons, where she helped teach high school students the ins and outs of journalism and film-making. She spent a lot of time out in the hot Philly sun tracking down unsuspecting tourists for on-the-street interviews. She also worked at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of College Houses and Academic Resources.
Donnella graduated from Pomona College with a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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For many Americans, it goes without saying that the police help maintain public safety. But many others — especially black Americans — see the police as more of a threat than a protective force.
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Fires are blazing across southeast Australia. Scenes of smoke, sparks and blazing red capture the destruction happening in towns around the country.
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Our Word Watch series explores the term "white trash." Some people embrace it. But experts say it demeans both the people it's applied to and people of color.
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In a new book, historian Marc Dollinger argues that the conventional wisdom of Jewish and African-American harmony during the civil rights era is flawed. And that the real story has lessons for today.
