In this episode of Cite Your Source with Angela Rye tackles the N-word debate head on and what it really means in 2026 -- Who gets to say it, who gets a pass, and who benefits from keeping the debate alive?

The word has been argued over for decades stemming from its racial disparagement roots and the conversation hasn’t gotten any simpler. Angela sits down with a panel of experts including Charlamagne Tha God, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Delano Squires, and more to separate history from hot takes, and to ask whether the fight over the word is taking up space that could go towards bigger issues.

Subscribe to Cite Your Source with Angela Rye for in-depth investigative breakdowns challenging the claims shaping politics, policy, and society. FEATURED GUESTS IN THIS EPISODE

• Charlamagne Tha God - Co-Host, The Breakfast Club; Founder, The Black Effect Podcast Network
• Michael Eric Dyson - Distinguished University Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University
• Derrick Johnson - President & CEO of the NAACP
• Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor “Liz” - Professor of History, Smith College; Author, Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word and Me
• Delano Squires - Director of the DeVos Center for Human Flourishing at the Heritage Foundation; Author, The Vanishing Black Family
• Jordan Pierre - Founder, The Classroom Podcast
• Special Guest: Dr. Hiram L. Smith - Linguistics Chair, Bucknell University

CITE YOUR SOURCE BOOK CLUB

• Wassup, My N***a: The Hidden History of a Controversial Word by Hiram L. Smith
• Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me by Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor
• The Vanishing Black Family: How Welfare and Feminism Made Marriage Optional and Children Vulnerable by Delano Squires

Everybody has a take. Cite Your Source! 

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Presented by Native Land Pod and executive produced by Charlamagne Tha God and Geraldine Moriba