View this email online IN THE NEWS Fam, For a few months now, the Trump administration has been duking it out with the University of Pennsylvania over a controversial request: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) wants Penn to turn over what many people are referring to as a “list of Jews.” The point, the EEOC says, is to investigate claims that Penn acted illegally “by allowing antisemitic harassment to persist and escalate throughout its Philadelphia campus and creating a hostile work environment for Jewish faculty and staff.” To that end, the EEOC issued a subpoena last July requesting names and contact information for a variety of faculty, staff and students who had participated in different Jewish organizations. But the university refused to comply with the request, calling it “extraordinary and unconstitutional”; Jewish faculty and students also protested the subpoena, citing the deep anxiety it had caused many on campus. Since then, Penn and the EEOC have been locked in a legal back-and-forth. In January, the ACLU got involved on Penn’s behalf. Then, this week, a judge in Philadelphia indicated that he was sympathetic to the Trump administration’s argument that such a list was necessary. The idea of the federal government compiling a list of Jews has raised alarm bells for many — even those who accept the administration’s argument that it is trying to  root out antisemitism from universities. In a recent opinion piece for the Guardian, three Penn professors wrote that, “If history teaches us anything, it is that making lists of Jews, no matter the ostensible purpose, is often a prelude to their and others’ persecution. … Even if the EEOC is collecting Jewish community members’ personal data in a good-faith effort to ensure safety, lists of Jews can later be leaked, or deployed to other, more sinister ends. History is replete with examples: a census of Jews undertaken by the Dutch government in 1941, for instance, allowed the invading Nazis to target Jewish citizens for death camps and extermination.” On a personal level, the idea of a list like this disturbs me, too. Some years ago, I was made aware that I’d been included on an infographic identifying Jewish journalists working at NPR. The sheet included 49 people, with their images, titles, and a small blue Star of David on the top left corner of every person’s photo. Beneath the images, there were a few lines of text: “About 20% of US taxpayer funded NPR’s personnel are of Jewish descent. As merely 2% of the United States population, why are dual American and Israeli Jewish citizens allowed to represent about 1/5 of the US taxpayer subsidized public radio station?” I’ll admit that at the time, I didn’t find this sheet overly concerning. Around the same time, during the first Trump administration, I’d had people DM me pictures of Nazi death camps on Twitter, and call me anti-Black and anti-Semitic slurs on social media in response to some of my reporting. Being put on a cheesy-looking (not to mention inaccurate) flyer didn’t really raise my hackles. That was, until 2022, when a colleague let me know that that “list of NPR Jews” was one of the images included in the 180-page screed that an 18-year-old shooter published before entering a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., killing 10 people, all Black, and injuring three more. Alongside that image, there were similar images listing Jews who worked at CNN, the New York Times, Fox, NBC, and CBS. After that, there were a series of cartoons and memes about Black people and Jews scheming together to ruin the country. We’ve talked many times on Code Switch about the reasons that collecting data on people — compiling “lists” — can raise fear in vulnerable communities, from the attempt to add a question about citizenship status to the 2030 Census, to the FBI surveilling and detaining Muslims after 9/11, to AI companies compiling and selling data without the knowledge or informed consent of those included. A list is just a list, until someone decides to use it the wrong way. Then suddenly, it starts to look a lot like a hit list. Newsletter continues after sponsor message ON THE POD Warner Bros. Need to think about something lighter? Yeah, me too. So! Let's talk about the Oscars! Sinners has already broken records — it's the most nominated film in the history of the Academy Awards. But is the movie itself actually historic? And what will its success mean for the future of Black filmmaking? This week, we're joined by Aisha Harris, a host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, and NY Mag film critic Angelica Jade Bastién. We get into what we loved, what we hated, and how Sinners fits into the broader landscape of big, splashy films that are beloved...yet never quite seem to move the needle on how Hollywood greenlights and funds future projects. Listen Here TRY CODE SWITCH+ FOR FREE Support discussions that matter - try a subscription to Code Switch+. Dive deep into the conversation with none of the sponsor interruptions, and know that you’re making this all possible with your support. Learn more at plus.npr.org/codeswitch and start with 30 days free by using the code "freemonth".    Explore NPR+ WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT As I was writing this newsletter, I got the news alert that someone had rammed a truck into a synagogue on Thursday. So that's just the latest in the long, long, list of things that are keeping me up at night. And a reminder of why people in so many different communities and spaces across the country continue to feel unsafe. Anyway, fam — I want to hear from you. What do you make of everything going on? How do you feel about the "list"? How are you holding up? What makes you feel afraid, and what makes you feel safe? Send an email to CodeSwitch@npr.org and let us know your thoughts, questions, and feelings. In the meantime, be extra careful this Friday the 13th. Times are cursed enough as it is. -Leah Donnella, senior editor Written by Leah Donnella and edited by Gene Demby Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. Subscribe to Code Switch+. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: codeswitch@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. 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