Support for this podcast comes from Wise, the universal account that lets you send, spend, and receive money internationally.

With one account for over 50 currencies, who's Wise made for?

It's made for jet-setters and slow travelers, for online marketplaces and real-life bazaars, for business in the city and pleasure on the coast.

Wise is made for studying abroad and supporting your little brother's schooling back home.

When you use Wise to manage your money across borders, you always get the mid-market exchange rate, with no markups and no hidden fees.

Join 13 million customers and learn how the Wise account could work for you at Wise.com slash Latino.

Food.

I'm really cold.

I'm walking on the impressive grounds of Howard University in Washington, D.C.

This is a historic place, but today it's raining and freezing.

And now I've just entered a waiting room at the university.

I'm with Latino USA producer Renaldo Leandro Jr.

You know, just in this moment of history, like what does it mean to be talking about democracy today?

The thing is that we have to be talking about democracy because the world's greatest democracy so-called is that threat.

I'm getting ready to take the stage for a panel where we're going to be talking about journalism blind spots in the mainstream media.

This is all part of the inaugural democracy summit hosted by Howard University's journalism program.

This conference in this moment in history, well, it's a very big deal.

The panel I'm on is just one of several that take place that day.

It was all organized by the New York Times journalist Nicole Hannah Jones.

She founded and now runs the journalism and democracy center here at Howard University.

It took me a minute, but I finally was able to get warm and dry backstage.

And now I've got to go on stage and see the audience, which I can hear from the other side of the curtain.

...