Can white parents raising Black children fully prepare them for the realities of racism, identity and belonging? On this episode of GBH News Rooted, host Paris Alston examines the controversy surrounding transracial adoption with Erik Mohn, author of Stranger in My Own Story, and child and adult psychiatrist Dr. Cecil R. Webster, Jr. Together, they explore the challenges Black adoptees face growing up in white families, the importance of cultural connection and what adoptive parents can do to nurture their children's racial identity.

Following a catastrophic derecho that left thousands of residents in Gary, Indiana, without power for days and, in some cases, weeks, questions are mounting about utility accountability, climate resilience, and infrastructure equity. Journalist Jan Barnes examines how years of rising utility rates, aging electrical systems, and extreme weather combined to create a crisis in one of America's most historically Black industrial cities. As state regulators investigate the utility's response and residents pursue legal action, the Gary blackout has become a powerful case study in climate justice, grid reliability, and the growing energy burden facing communities of color across the United States. The story raises urgent national questions: Who gets restored first when disaster strikes, and is America's electric grid prepared for an era of increasingly severe weather?

Teamwork, discipline, belonging. Those are the promises of youth sports. But for some student-athletes, the game comes with racism, intimidation and lasting trauma. GBH News investigative reporter Chris Burrell joins Paris Alston to discuss his reporting on racial harassment, bullying and accountability in Massachusetts high school athletics, including allegations of racist abuse directed at Black athletes. Together, they examine where competition crosses the line into harm, the role coaches and athletic officials play in preventing it, and whether current efforts to address hate in school sports are making a difference.