The proposal to know less about America

Census data about race can be incredibly important – but we might lose it. The Trump administration has proposed to stop asking people in the U.S. about their race and ethnicity in the upcoming 2030 census.

But what's the point of getting rid of these questions? And what makes the narratives around our nation's demographics so fraught?

To get into it, Brittany is joined by Russell Contreras , senior race and justice reporter at Axios, and Hansi Lo Wang , a correspondent at NPR who covers voting rights and the census. For more episodes about policy and culture, check out: Bacteria is taking over the food pyramid Is your city shaped by yuppie taste?

Don't get got by big MILK (00:00) Understanding the Trump administration's census proposal (02:58) Will the government stop collecting data on race? (05:34) What we use race data for (10:04) The proposal to stop counting some non-citizens in the census (14:42) How shifting categories might change census data (20:52) Who's afraid of America's changing demographics? Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one.

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