Code Switch: Do we need to stop using the word “felon”?

Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race, things changed. Her campaign almost immediately started framing the election as: Harris, the former prosecutor – vs. Trump the felon. And that word – “felon” – is one that our friends over at NPR’s Code Switch have been thinking a lot about since former President Trump was convicted of 34 counts back in May. In this episode, Code Switch co-hosts B.A. Parker and Gene Demby chop it up with the comedian Arif Shahid, who performs under the name Felonious Munk, to talk about what it means for him to carry this reference to his felony conviction so publicly. Then, Gene talks to Josie Duffy-Rice, a writer who focuses on the criminal justice system, to look at the ways “felon” sticks to people long after their sentences end.

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