In The Thick

Introducing "My Divo" For host Maria Garcia, Mexican megastar Juan Gabriel has always held a singular allure. He was a prolific composer and one of the world’s greatest showmen. There was a lightness and a bigness to him—a big queer exuberance. And now, as the first openly gay woman in her family line, Maria looks to Juan Gabriel as a key to reconcile her queerness with her Mexican heritage."My Divo" is an Apple Original podcast produced by Futuro Studios.Follow and listen: Apple Podcasts

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2024

This week, we’re sharing something special from our friends over at TIME. It’s a preview of their first original podcast, Person of the Week. Each week, TIME Senior Correspondent Charlotte Alter hosts candid conversations with the people who shape the world, about the forces that shape them. In this episode, Maryland Governor Wes Moore dives deep into the heart of patriotism, unpacking the often-misunderstood term, the symbolism of the American flag and what it means to be an American in today's changing world. Listen to more episodes of Person of the Week here.

Transcribed - Published: 14 September 2023

Maria checks in with an important update about In The Thick. Your favorite political podcast is taking a break for the rest of 2023. While we won't be releasing any new episodes during this hiatus, all of our previous episodes are still available on your podcast feeds. We’ll be restructuring and coming up with something new and better than ever as we get ready for our 2024 election coverage! And we want to hear from you, dear listener. Reach out to us on social media and let us know what you’d like to see on the show in the coming year. Peace for now– but we’ll be back. No te vayas!

Transcribed - Published: 13 September 2023

In this episode, we’re unpacking AI. Julio is joined by Karen Hao, contributing writer for The Atlantic focusing on AI, to talk about the human impact of the rapidly evolving technology and what it means to decolonize AI. ITT Staff Picks: Rebecca Tan and Regine Cabato report on the “digital sweatshops” across the Global South, where workers have to sort and label data for AI models, in this article for the Washington Post. “Many creative types are wrestling with the credit conundrum and questions around copyright when it comes to making use of content that has been trained on original illustrations, graphics, and written material,” writes Ko Bragg, in this article for The Markup. Prosecutors from across the US are asking lawmakers to create a commission to study the impacts of AI on child exploitation, reports Meg Kinnard for The Associated Press. Photo credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew

Transcribed - Published: 6 September 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos kick off the show with some of the latest news, including the first Republican 2024 presidential debate, and an update on extreme climate across the globe. In our roundtable, Mike German, fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program, joins Maria and Julio to talk about why people of color join white supremacist movements, and how authoritarianism in the Republican Party is nothing new. ITT Staff Picks: As the GOP presidential debates make their premiere in Milwaukee, Jeanne Whalen reports on Donald Trump’s failure to make good on a promise of bringing a manufacturing boom to Wisconsin, in this piece for the Washington Post. The deadly fires in Maui reveal the danger of compounding climate events. Emily Pontecorvo writes, “While the precise relationship between the fires, the hurricane, and climate change has yet to be determined, these kinds of “compound” events are likely to increase in a warming world, with consequences that are hard to predict,” in this article for Heatmap. Mike German answers nuanced questions in this Spanish-language Q&A with editor-in-chief of Brennan en Español, Mireya Navarro. Photo credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Transcribed - Published: 23 August 2023

Maria and Julio discuss the indictment of Donald Trump and his allies in Georgia, and the devastating fires in Maui. Then, we share a recent episode of Latino Rebels Radio. Julio talks to Myrriah Gómez, associate professor at the University of New Mexico, about the film “Oppenheimer” and its omission of New Mexican history in the creation of the atomic bomb. ITT Staff Picks: “Trevian Kutti, a former publicist for rappers Ye (Kanye West) and R-Kelly, is named as a co-defendant in the sprawling RICO case against Trump and his allies. Charged with three felony offenses, Kutti is accused of participating in the overarching criminal enterprise to subvert the election, as well as conspiring “to solicit, request, and importune Ruby Freeman, a Fulton County, Georgia, election worker, to engage in conduct constituting the felony offense,” writes Nikki McCann Ramirez in this article for Rolling Stone. Mitch Smith and Kellen Browning talked to some of the families of people that are still missing in Hawaii, in this article for The New York Times. Myrriah Gómez writes about how the Manhattan Project negatively impacted Indigenous and Mexican communities in New Mexico, a part of the story that was conveniently left out of the movie Oppenheimer, in this article for The Latinx Project. Photo credit: AP Photo

Transcribed - Published: 16 August 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the reelection of Tennessee state Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones and the move by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to relocate migrants seeking shelter. In our roundtable, Dr. Aria S. Halliday, associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky, joins them in Barbieland to break down the legacy of Black Barbie. ITT Staff Picks: Michelle Boorstein discusses the changing role of the Black church in liberation politics through the new sensation known as ‘The Justins,’ in this article for The Washington Post. Daniel Parra exposes the labor scam practiced by many New York City employment agencies, which often illegally charge immigrants upfront fees for their services, in this article for City Limits. “Whether you’re skipping Barbie in protest of its mega-corporation backer or standing in line for the film as we speak, it’s worth remembering the ways in which the 64-year-old doll has cemented unattainable societal expectations into our general consciousness, and how artists have used Barbie to dismantle the very ideas she represents,” writes Elaine Velie, in this article for Hyperallergic. Photo credit: Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Mattel

Transcribed - Published: 9 August 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss Gov. Ron DeSantis’ alarming amendments to the Florida school curriculum regarding slavery. They also discuss the newest indictment against former President Donald Trump. In our roundtable, Lauren Kaori Gurley, labor reporter for the Washington post, and Dani Fernandez, writer and actor on strike, join Julio to talk about the Hollywood strikes and the labor movement in the United States. ITT Staff Picks: “If you’re wondering how Trump has survived as a candidate for office, you can look squarely at the conservative elites in politics and media,” writes Adam Serwer in this piece about Trump’s indictment, for The Atlantic. “The history we teach to students in the present is as much about the country we hope to be as it is a record of the country we once were. A curriculum that distorts the truth of past injustice is meant, ultimately, for a country that excludes in the present,” writes Jamelle Bouie in this opinion piece for The New York Times. Hamilton Nolan writes about how the writers and actors participating in the Hollywood strikes are fighting a battle that all Americans will benefit from, in this article for The Guardian. Photo credit: AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

Transcribed - Published: 2 August 2023

This week, we’re sharing something special from our friends over at The Boston Globe, it’s a preview of their new show, Say More. On Say More, host Shirley Leung talks to the doers and thinkers behind the BIGGEST ideas and debates of our time. Like … will artificial intelligence make humans obsolete? Can giving cash to low-income families bring stability to their lives? Is the U.S. already in a Cold War with China? Politics. Culture. Entrepreneurship. Women shattering the glass ceiling. And more. In this clip: Joan Donovan first saw extremism up close more than 20 years ago as the vocalist of a punk band in the Boston underground scene — when she got punched in the face by a neo-Nazi. Today, Joan is a sociologist at Harvard who studies disinformation and how it colors American society, including the outsized influence that white supremacists and other fringe groups hold in online forums and social media. With the 2024 presidential cycle already begun, Joan tells us what the public — and the media — can do to combat disinformation and limit the reach of bad actors. You can listen to more episodes of Say More here.

Transcribed - Published: 27 July 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the judicial reforms in Israel and the rebranding of Twitter. In our roundtable, Fernanda is joined by climate reporter Kendra Pierre-Louis and Dr. Amite Dominick, president of the Texas Prison Community Advocates, for a conversation on how the climate crisis is impacting incarcerated individuals. ITT Staff Picks: In this latest episode of Intercepted, hosts Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain talk to Israeli American journalist Mairav Zonszein about the mass protests in Israel following judicial reforms that would limit the power of the Supreme Court. “The idea that Twitter and its 17 year-old codebase could be modified to run the global economy, of course, has exactly zero basis in reality,” writes Janus Rose, in this article for Vice. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg reports on a lawsuit filed by the ACLU over children at risk of heat-related death in Louisiana’s Angola prison, for The Appeal. Photo credit: AP Photo/Eric Gay

Transcribed - Published: 26 July 2023

Maria and guest co-host Fernanda Santos talk about the ongoing labor strikes and how record heat levels are affecting workers. In our roundtable, Maria and Julio are joined by Elie Mystal, The Nation’s justice correspondent and the host of its new legal podcast, Contempt of Court, to break down some of the recent Supreme Court decisions. They discuss affirmative action, LGBTQ+ rights, and the push for court expansion. ITT Staff Picks: “Hollywood’s CEOs are suffering. Not primarily from labor disputes or industry disruption or public-relations issues, but from vincible ignorance, which seems to be endemic in C-suites of all industries. Under pressure to deliver to Wall Street, too many CEOs have lost the plot of their own movie,” writes Xochitl Gonzales, in this article for The Atlantic. Kwaneta Harris talks about her horrific experiences being incarcerated and in solitary confinement during a record heat wave in Texas, in this article for Prism Reports. Steven Colón debunks common myths about affirmative action and talks about why meritocracy is a myth, in this article for The Hechinger Report. Photo credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Transcribed - Published: 19 July 2023

Maria and Julio discuss the record levels of heat in the world and the disappointing dismissal of reparations for survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. In our roundtable, Julio is joined by Rebecca Nagle, a Cherokee writer and host of the award-winning podcast This Land, and Joseph M. Pierce, associate professor in the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature at Stony Brook University, to talk about Indigenous rights in light of the Supreme Court ruling on ICWA. ITT Staff Picks: Joseph Winters writes about how climate change is driving more frequent and more severe heat waves, in this article for Grist. “The survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre were not trying to punish the people of Tulsa, nor were they asking for a handout. They paid taxes to be protected by a law enforcement and justice system that instead robbed them of their homes, loved ones and livelihoods. The descendants of the enslaved are simply seeking a return on the investment their ancestors contributed to America’s wealth fund,” writes Michael Harriot, in this article for The Grio. In her podcast This Land, Rebecca Nagle discusses the sinister reasons that the far-right wants to use Native children. Listen to the series on Crooked Media. Photo credit: AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File

Transcribed - Published: 12 July 2023

Maria and Julio are joined by Wesley Lowery, journalist and author, to discuss his new book “American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress.” They get into how the election of Barack Obama in 2008 led to an increase in anti-immigrant, white supremacist and racially-motivated violence in America. ITT Staff Picks: In this interview for Politico, Erin Aubry Kaplan talks to Wesley Lowery about how racial violence has been embedded in our culture since our nation’s founding. “And while it is true that sweeping change and deeply felt reckoning remain elusive, it is equally true that sustained activism has brought significant change to municipalities across the country,” writes Wesley Lowery, in this article for The Washington Post. Odette Yousef talks about the concern over political repression as domestic terrorism charges in Georgia rise, in this article for NPR. Photo credit: Wesley Lowery

Transcribed - Published: 5 July 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the latest Supreme Court decisions and the Wagner Group in Russia. In our roundtable, Karlton Laster, Director of Policy and Organizing at Outfront Minnesota, and Marshall Martinez, Executive Director of Equality New Mexico, join Julio to unpack how Minnesota and New Mexico became sanctuary states for the trans community. ITT Staff Picks: Adam Serwer uses Moore v. Harper to identify the line that even the conservative Supreme Court is unwilling to cross, in this piece for The Atlantic. “From the start of the invasion to Prigozhin’s dramatic insurrection, the fight against corruption has greatly influenced the course of events. And Ukraine will need to defeat corruption if it has any hope of winning the conflict and securing a meaningful peace,” write Norman Eisen and Josh Rudolph in this opinion piece for MSNBC. Karlton Laster writes about how allyship is conditional and explains why the LGBTQ+ movement needs more co-conspirators, in this article for An Injustice! Photo credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Transcribed - Published: 28 June 2023

Maria and Julio discuss the latest with former President Donald Trump’s indictment, and Hunter Biden’s plea deal on tax-related crimes. In our roundtable, we’re sharing an episode from 2021, where Maria and Julio talk with fiber artist Bisa Butler about her quilted portraits that celebrate Black life. They also get into the history of Juneteenth and the push by Republican lawmakers to take critical race theory out of classrooms. ITT Staff Picks: Solomon Jones analyzes how Trump’s indictment has widened disparities within the justice system and equates Trump’s desire to live by a different set of rights to that of a tyrant, in this piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Ayanna Dozier likens Bisa Butler’s quilted portraits to the art created by a DJ, sampling culture to create their own unique work of art and celebrate Black life, in this article for Artsy. “It is impossible to celebrate a national holiday that marks the emancipation of Black people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, without confronting the history of slavery and the role of education in freedom,” writes Kellie Carter Jackson in this piece for the Los Angeles Times. Photo credit: Courtesy of Bisa Butler

Transcribed - Published: 21 June 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos talk about the indictment of former President Donald Trump. In our roundtable, Daniel Parra, Spanish-language editor and reporter for City Limits, and Claudia Tristán, immigration campaign director with MomsRising, join Julio to discuss challenges for migrants in NYC, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-immigrant political stunt and the dangers of the asylum process. ITT Staff Picks: “In Albany, where more than 230 migrants were relocated in recent weeks, community-based organizations say they are already stretched thin,” Daniel Parra reports for City Limits. A childcare program for low-income immigrants who lack permanent legal status in NYC is set to expire at the end of the month, reports Arya Sundaram in this article for Gothamist. Rommel H. Ojeda explains what happens if asylum seekers don’t file an asylum application within one year of entering the country, for Documented. Photo credit: AP Photo/Christian Chavez, File

Transcribed - Published: 14 June 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss Mike Pence launching his 2024 bid and the latest with Cop City in Atlanta. In our roundtable, Astead Herndon, national political reporter for The New York Times and host of The Run-Up podcast, and Sabrina Rodríguez, national political reporter for The Washington Post, join Julio to delve deeper into the growing number of Republican presidential candidates. They also unpack the likelihood of a Biden/Trump rematch in 2024 and the already growing apathy among voters. ITT Staff Picks: “This is a global struggle against fascism, it’s a global struggle against the militarization of the police and state violence against folks whose dissent is being oppressed,” says Atlanta organizer Jasmine in an interview about Cop City on the Movement Memos podcast from Truthout. David A. Graham unpacks Mike Pence’s presidential campaign, in this piece for The Atlantic. Michael Barajas talks about two Republican-backed bills that are threatening election administration in Texas’ largest county, in this article for Bolts magazine. Photo credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, Meg Kinnard

Transcribed - Published: 7 June 2023

Maria and Julio talk about Uvalde, the fight for gun legislation and what to expect from the Republican presidential race. Then in our roundtable, they’re joined by Imara Jones, founder and CEO of TransLash Media and host of its investigative podcast, The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: The Plot Against Equality, to discuss the wave of anti-trans legislation across the country. ITT Staff Picks: Don’t miss Futuro’s new documentary with FRONTLINE about Uvalde. You can watch it here, and let us know your thoughts! Legislators have introduced more than 400 anti-trans bills this year so far, more than the previous four years combined, according to this Washington Post analysis. “Three states want to stipulate how, and whether, autistic transgender youth and those with mental health conditions are able to access gender-affirming care — a new tactic aimed at the intersection of two marginalized groups,” write Orion Rummler and Sara Luterman in this piece for The 19th News. Photo credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File

Transcribed - Published: 31 May 2023

Maria and Julio reflect on the one-year anniversary of the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas and the lasting impacts on the community. We go deeper in our roundtable to look at how families of victims– especially mothers, both past and present, bring about change. Maria leads the discussion with Keith Beauchamp, award-winning filmmaker and producer on the film “Till,” and Monica Muñoz Martinez, historian and associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. ITT Staff Picks: A new FRONTLINE documentary with Futuro Investigates and The Texas Tribune seeks to answer the lingering questions after the tragedy. You can watch the trailer here. “Parents have been fighting for a full accounting, but a promised city investigation hasn’t happened and a lot of information is bottled up in the district attorney's own investigation,” writes Suzanne Gamboa about the families fighting for justice in Uvalde one year later, in this piece for NBC News. Following the Uvalde school massacre last year, Loyola Professor Elliott Gorn wrote “Publishing grim photographs of mass killings might do some good in reforming America’s insane gun regime. But it won’t be because gun rights fundamentalists see the light,” for The Chicago Sun-Times. Photo credit: AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

Transcribed - Published: 24 May 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the latest with immigration and the abortion ban in North Carolina. Then in our roundtable, Maria is joined by Josie Duffy Rice, journalist and writer, and Adam Serwer, staff writer at The Atlantic, to unpack what’s happening at the border, violence against unhoused people, and the growing issue of gun violence in this country. ITT Staff Picks: Adam Serwer talks about the fantasy of violence that drives right-wing Republicans, in this piece for The Atlantic. Karla Cornejo Villavicencio writes about the unreciprocated love immigrants have for the American dream, and how they are the secret weapon in the fight against authoritarianism, in this article for The New York Times. Dylan Scott writes about the GOP’s empty promises to support women and families after Roe, in this piece for Vox. Photo credit: AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Transcribed - Published: 17 May 2023

Maria and guest co-host Fernanda Santos talk about former President Donald Trump being found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. And they get into two recent tragedies in Texas that left multiple people dead. Then in our roundtable, Julio is joined by Kamau Franklin, the founder of Community Movement Builders, and Jacqueline Echols, board president of the South River Watershed Alliance in Georgia, to discuss the movement to stop the building of a massive police training facility in Atlanta, dubbed “Cop City.” ITT Staff Picks: Lawyer Corey Rayburn Yung explains to Slate why Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, but not rape. “An average 6th grader can look at those facts and determine that while we all have mental illness in our societies the reason only America is awash is gun violence is because we are awash in guns,” writes Heather Digby Parton in this column for Salon. Micah Herskind writes, “the struggle to Stop Cop City is a battle for the future of Atlanta,” in this primer on why Atlanta leadership wants to build the police facility on forest land, for Scalawag. Photo credit: AP Photo/R.J. Rico

Transcribed - Published: 10 May 2023

Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King discuss Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reaction to the horrific mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas and the lawsuit between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Then in our roundtable, Maria and Julio are joined by Danielle Moodie, host of the podcast Woke AF Daily and co-host of The New Abnormal and Democracy-ish podcasts, to talk about the 2024 presidential election, the impact of Twitter on the media, and the legal battle over access to the abortion pill, mifepristone. ITT Staff Picks: Eugene Robinson talks about Greg Abbott’s inappropriate response to the massacre in Texas and how the U.S. having more guns than people and a lack of gun control is what ultimately leads to mass shootings, in this opinion piece for The Washington Post. Norman Eisen and Josh Stanton analyze the lawsuit between Disney and DeSantis in this opinion piece for MSNBC. “Although emergency orders in time-sensitive cases had long been a part of the high court’s work, in recent years the volume, breadth, and partisan valence of the justices’ rulings in such matters had changed,” writes Adam Serwer in this piece for The Atlantic. Photo credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Transcribed - Published: 3 May 2023

Maria and Julio discuss President Biden’s reelection bid, the departures of Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon, and the latest on Uvalde. Then in our roundtable, guest host Fernanda Santos steps in to lead a discussion with Fernanda Echavarri, senior producer for Futuro Studios, and Tina Vasquez, editor-at-large for Prism, about their explosive two-part investigation, “Head Down,” which examines the abuse of migrant workers under the H-2A visa program. You can listen to the “Head Down” investigation here. ITT Staff Picks: “Finding someone willing to spread manufactured white fury for an hour every weeknight on Fox won’t be difficult,” writes Renée Graham, in her analysis of Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News, for The Boston Globe. “He was, in his way, a people person. He understood how to reach, teach and challenge them, how to keep them honest, how to dedicate his fame to a politics of accountability, more tenaciously than any star of the civil rights era or in its wake,” writes Wesley Morris on the legacy of Harry Belafonte, for the New York Times. Tina Vasquez discusses the abuse of migrant workers uncovered by the “Head Down” investigation through the stories of Diego and Mario, two H-2A workers from Mexico, in this article for Prism. Photo credit: Fernanda Echavarri

Transcribed - Published: 26 April 2023

Fernanda Santos and Jamilah King step into the co-host chairs to discuss the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl and a New York Times report about migrant child labor in the U.S. Then in our roundtable, Maria and Julio get into the latest attacks on reproductive rights and the state of the Supreme Court with Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of Rewire News Group, and co-host of the podcast Boom! Lawyered. ITT Staff Picks: “A white man shot an unarmed Black teen and remained free for days. When community leaders and activists say Ralph and his family deserve better, clearly the bungled arrest of the perpetrator is evidence that justice is being served slowly,” writes Toriano Porter in this opinion piece for the Kansas City Star. “Certain antisocial forces are trying their darndest to prevent all of our children from growing up and maturing into the kind of people who can make this democracy functional. And people keep putting them in power,” writes Imani Perry for The Atlantic. Garnet Henderson writes about the Online Abortion Resource Squad, which provides accurate and supportive information about abortion on Reddit, via Rewire News Group. Photo credit: AP Photo/Nathan Howard

Transcribed - Published: 19 April 2023

Maria and Julio discuss the ProPublica report about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepting luxury trips from major Republican donor Harlan Crow. They also talk about the Tennessee legislature’s expulsion of two Democratic members. Then in our roundtable, we get into the nuances of the Latino Muslim community with Rahim Ocasio, co-founder of the Latino Muslim organization Alianza Islamica, and Hazel Gómez, board member and faith-based community organizer with Dream of Detroit. ITT Staff Picks: Read the full ProPublica report detailing the extent of the luxury vacations Justice Clarence Thomas received as a gift from billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. “I wasn’t elected to be pushed to the back of the room and silenced. We who were elected to represent all Tennesseans — Black, white, brown, immigrant, female, male, poor, young, transgender and queer — are routinely silenced when we try to speak on their behalf. Last week, the world was allowed to see it in broad daylight,” writes Justin J. Pearson in this opinion piece for The New York Times. This article for NBC News examines the growing demographic of “mixed ethnicity” Latinos and how they navigate their Latinidad. Photo credit: Rahim Ocasio

Transcribed - Published: 12 April 2023

We’re back with a brand new episode and new format! Maria and Julio break down the criminal arraignment of former President Donald Trump and discuss Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ comments on immigration. Then, we dive into President Biden’s immigration policy with Erika Pinheiro, executive director of Al Otro Lado, and Silky Shah, executive director of the Detention Watch Network. ITT Staff Picks: Dhruv Mehrotra writes about the potentially illegal tool that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is using to gather data from abortion clinics, elementary schools, and news organizations, in this article for WIRED. Alex Samuels talks about Biden’s move to a more right-wing stance on immigration, in this article for FiveThirtyEight. “Although blanket coverage of Trump exposes viewers to his more unfavorable qualities, his political messages get through loud and clear. He gets to define the debate, his opponents, and even the people covering him. And both Trump and his staff are aware of this dynamic, which is why they always try to make him the center of attention. Human beings tend to remember sensational lies and smears, but can get fuzzy about the dry fact-checks that debunk them,” writes Adam Serwer in this article for The Atlantic. Photo credit: AP Photo/Fernando Llano

Transcribed - Published: 5 April 2023

This next episode of our Best of ITT series takes us back to 2016, and our conversation with Mike German, fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program. Maria and Julio talk to Mike about what he learned about the white supremacist movement during his time as an undercover FBI agent, and how the media is missing the real story. ITT Staff Picks: Nazgol Ghandnoosh writes about white supremacy’s hold on legal institutions and how it disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous communities, in this article for The Sentencing Project. “Concerns intensified after law enforcement failed to stop multiple incidents of white supremacist violence committed at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a leaked FBI report revealed it had created a new domestic terrorism category called “Black Identity Extremists” that labeled Black activists protesting racist police violence as threats” writes Michael German in this article for Brennan Center. More than 300 members of the far-right group, The Oath Keepers, are also members of the Department of Homeland Security, according to this article by Nick Schwellenbach that was published in POGO.

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2023

Our Best of ITT series continues with this roundtable from 2019. Maria and Julio are joined by Shamira Ibrahim, culture writer on race, identity and politics, and Margari Hill, co-founder and executive director of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, to discuss how the intersecting identities of being a Black Muslim woman lead to anti-Blackness both within the Muslim community and in the United States at large. ITT Staff Picks: Shamira Ibrahim writes about the power of photography and photo archives in preserving the rich culture and story of the Black community and rejecting negative stereotypes assigned to them, in this article published in Harper’s Bazaar. Maram Ahmed highlights some of the talented Black Muslim women behind the rise of British Hip-Hop, in this article for Refinery29. “Speaking to CNN about McCarthy’s proposal, Omar suggested that her religion played a role. She said of her colleagues that “many of these members don’t believe a Muslim refugee, an African, should even be in Congress, let alone have the opportunity to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee,” writes Philip Bump in this article for The Washington Post.

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2023

Our Best of ITT series continues with this episode from January 2017. Maria and Julio lead a discussion with legendary actress Rita Moreno about her star-turning role in “West Side Story” and her role in the reboot of Norman Lear’s classic television series, “One Day at a Time.” As they go behind the scenes of many of her most recognizable roles, both old and new, they get into issues of representation, accents, and race. ITT Staff Picks: Frances Negrón-Muntaner writes about Rita Moreno’s impact on the Puerto Rican community and on American culture as a whole, in this article for PBS. Actor Antonio Banderas writes about his experience voicing the “Puss in Boots” character for almost two decades and how it changed his career and the industry as a whole, in this column for The Hollywood Reporter. Raul A. Reyes writes about Raquel Welch’s complicated relationship with her Latina identity throughout her life and career as a Hollywood star in 1960s America, in this article for NBC News.

Transcribed - Published: 14 March 2023

The next episode of our Best of ITT series is from July 2019, and it gets into the significance of Black feminism. Maria and Julio talk with writer and activist Feminista Jones about her book, “Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World From the Tweets to the Streets.” They also discuss the influence of hip-hop on women's sexual liberation, the importance of mental and spiritual health, and Black women speaking out on their experiences with sexual abuse in the #MeToo era. ITT Staff Picks: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor writes about the Black feminists of the Combahee River Collective and the divisions within the feminist movement, in this article for The New Yorker. “Dorothy Pitman Hughes passed away at the age of 84 after a long, active life spent advocating for equality and human rights for all people. Known as a pioneering feminist activist, Hughes devoted her time and resources to serving people with the greatest needs,” writes Feminista Jones in this article for InStyle. Kaitlyn Greenidge writes about the Sisterhood, a 1970s Black women’s writing group that rose from the Black power and women’s movement and focused on creating work for each other rather than the white mainstream, in this piece for Harper’s Bazaar.

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2023

We continue our Best of ITT series with this live episode from May 2018. Maria and Julio take the stage at DePaul University in Chicago with David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez, artist and a former juvenile lifer, to talk about Latinos and mass incarceration. Along with hearing Suave's story, Julio also interviews Maria, who at the time had been covering Suave's story for more than 25 years. ITT Staff Picks: In this bonus episode of the Suave podcast, Maria and Suave reflect on everything that has happened in the year after their podcast was released, including the fact that they won a Pulitzer. Tamar Sarai writes about how prison policies have increasingly limited extended family visits and how that also limits the relationships and access to intimacy for incarcerated people, in this article for Prism Reports. “In its premiere, Inside Story travels to Louisiana, where we find a community group protesting the state’s decision to move some youth to Angola, a notorious prison for adults,” write Lawrence Bartley and Donald Washington, Jr. to preface their documentary essay for The Marshall Project.

Transcribed - Published: 28 February 2023

Our Best of ITT series continues, as we celebrate our 7th year anniversary! In this episode from July 2020, Maria and Julio are joined by authors and historians Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross to talk about their book “A Black Women's History of the United States.” They analyze the history of Black women in America and their legacy of activism, resistance and entrepreneurship. ITT Staff Picks: Olivia Lapeyrolerie writes about the incredible life’s work of Marvel Cooke, a Black reporter and union organizer, who inspired Black women activists such as Angela Davis and spent her life fighting systemic inequities and the exploitation of Black people, in this article for Teen Vogue. “The challenge of solving the Black wealth gap is informed by another time in our past when Black people were the wealth of this nation,” writes Daina Ramey Berry in this piece for The Boston Globe. The Free Black Women’s Library features a collection of four thousand books written by Black women and Black non-binary authors and celebrates these authors through workshops, readings, story circles, performances, cultural conversations and a monthly reading club.

Transcribed - Published: 21 February 2023

We’re continuing our Best of ITT series to celebrate seven years of In The Thick with this episode from June 2022. Maria and Julio are joined by Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, for a conversation about his book “How to Raise an Antiracist.” They discuss the evolution of his antiracist scholarship, the rise in mass shootings and white supremacist attacks, and how Black and brown communities can work together in solidarity. ITT Staff Picks: Kathryn Joyce writes about New College in Florida, a once liberal arts college that is being transformed into a right-leaning institution by DeSantis, who wants to replicate this motion across the country, in this article for Vanity Fair. “What I found in How to Be A (Young) Antiracist was a kind of meditation on the ways that the personal is, as they say, political,” writes Janell Ross in this interview with author Ibram X. Kendi, for Time Magazine. “The maintenance of racism has required the public’s ignorance of racism. The public’s ignorance of racism requires a perpetual undermining of public education,” argues Ibram X. Kendi in this excerpt from his book "How to Raise an Antiracist," published by USA Today.

Transcribed - Published: 14 February 2023

To celebrate ITT’s 7th year anniversary, we’re going back into the vault to share some of our best episodes that have helped shape our show. In this episode from our first year in 2016, Maria is joined by ITT all-star Terrell Jermaine Starr, host of the Black Diplomats podcast, Zak Cheney-Rice, a features writer for New York Magazine, and Tracey Meares, the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law at Yale University, to discuss policing in America, and whether reform is possible. ITT Staff Picks: Gothamist shared ways to help victims of the deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which left over 7,000 people dead so far. Find out how you can help here. Jonathan Ben-Menachem writes about new research that shows how heavily policed communities are more likely to withdraw from civic life, in this piece for Bolts magazine. “In interviews, Nichols’s relatives have attempted to ensure that he is remembered as a man beyond the gruesome video of his beating. One piece of information from these interviews stood out to me: Tyre Nichols also loved sunsets,” writes Clint Smith in this piece for The Atlantic.

Transcribed - Published: 7 February 2023

Julio and guest co-host Renée Graham, opinion columnist and associate editor at The Boston Globe, discuss Tyre Nichols’ funeral and the white supremacy behind the undercounted number of police violence cases in the U.S. They also discuss the College Board’s amendments to its AP African American Studies course, which were made shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected the course in the state of Florida. And, they unpack the recent vote to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Republican Nikki Haley’s run for presidency. ITT Staff Picks: “With the police killing of Nichols, the wash-rinse-repeat cycle has begun anew. There have been protests, though nowhere near as large or diverse as those in 2020. Black people, as usual, are doing the heavy lifting. There are talks again about reviving the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that previously stalled in the Senate. But it’ll never get through House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s extremist puppet masters,” writes Renée Graham in this piece for The Boston Globe. John Nichols writes about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s record on foreign policy and states that despite her removal from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, she will not be silenced, in this article for The Nation. Marcus Anthony Hunter writes about how the African American story is also the American story, and yet it is an uphill battle to teach African American history in light of Gov. DeSantis’ decision, in this article for the LA Times. Photo credit: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2023

This week, we’re talking about the second season of “La Brega,” a co-production from WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios. Julio is joined by Alana Casanova-Burgess, co-creator, host and producer of “La Brega,” and Jeanne Montalvo, grammy-nominated audio engineer and radio producer with Futuro Studios, to talk about the series, which takes us through the Puerto Rican experience in eight songs. They discuss how Puerto Rican artists, like Bad Bunny, have raised awareness for political and social issues on the island, and also get into the cultural and musical exchange between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Subscribe here to La Brega so you don’t miss any new episodes! ITT Staff Picks: In this episode of Code Switch, find out how Bad Bunny has become a megaphone for Puerto Rican politics and issues, which have been a major influence in his music career. Alana Casanova-Burgess discusses Bad Bunny’s activism and love for his island in comparison to the song Preciosa, one of Puerto Rico’s unofficial anthems, in the first episode of season 2 of La Brega. George Varga unpacks the Grammy’s history of “playing it safe,” often rewarding white artists over artists of color, and details some of the new initiatives that will hopefully make the organization more diverse, in this article for The San Diego Tribune. Photo credit: Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP

Transcribed - Published: 31 January 2023

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos, editorial director of Futuro Media, discuss the recent mass shootings in California, two of nearly 40 that have happened this year so far. They also unpack the anti-government protests in Peru that have resulted in a nationwide state of emergency, and they get into Meta’s decision to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts after two years of being banned. ITT Staff Picks: “Mass shootings — where four or more people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed — have averaged more than one per day in 2023. Every week has had at least six mass shootings,” writes Júlia Ledur in this article for Washington Post. “While the United States may have a ways to go before it reaches the crisis level that Peru reached, the seeds are all there,” writes Julio in his latest opinion piece for MSNBC. Wajahat Ali writes about how Meta’s decision exemplifies the GOP’s influence on American institutions, in this article for Medium. Photo credit: AP Photo/Martin Mejia

Transcribed - Published: 28 January 2023

A year after the Twin Parks fire in the Bronx, Maria and Julio are joined by Amir Khafagy, a journalist and Report for America corps member with Documented, to discuss the systemic issues exposed by this tragedy, such as the ongoing housing crisis. They also talk about what the victims and families are still owed one year later, and get into the intersections between labor issues and immigration policy within immigrant communities. ITT Staff Picks: Amir Khafagy writes about what the victims of the Twin Parks fire are still owed one year later, in this article for Documented. “For more than 50 years, the Twin Parks North West high-rise defined the Fordham Heights skyline. But now, on the first anniversary of New York City’s deadliest fire since 1990, the building is also the neighborhood’s tallest tombstone, standing 19 stories high,” write Camille Botello, Aliya Schneider, and Robbie Sequeira in this article for Bronx Times. Ngozi Cole talks to some of the residents of the Twin Parks building and exposes a pattern of negligence, in this article for Shelterforce. Photo credit: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Transcribed - Published: 24 January 2023

Julio and guest co-host Renée Graham, opinion columnist and associate editor at The Boston Globe, discuss the latest with the House GOP, including the recent House committee assignments under new Speaker Kevin McCarthy. They also get into the arrest of Republican ex-candidate Solomon Peña in New Mexico and the response to the new sculpture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King in Boston. ITT Staff Picks: Eric Cortellessa writes about why Congressional Republicans are comparing their select committee to investigate the Biden administration to the Church Committee of the mid-1970s in this piece for Time Magazine. “The scale of the conspiracy makes this case unusual — this was not a lone wolf, but someone seeking elected office who engaged multiple people over several weeks in planning targeted attacks on Democrats,” writes Nicole Narea about the attacks on New Mexico Democrats in this piece for Vox. “‘The Embrace’ is majestic, standing 22 feet high, but also more intimate than I imagined it would be,” writes Renée Graham about the new memorial to the Kings in a column for The Boston Globe. Photo credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne

Transcribed - Published: 20 January 2023

In this rebroadcast episode from 2021, Maria and Julio are joined by Jeanne Theoharis, distinguished professor of political science at Brooklyn College, historian, author and co-editor of “Julian Bond’s Time To Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement.” They talk about the legacy of activist, politician and educator Julian Bond and the lessons from his lectures - compiled in the new book - on the civil rights movement and what it teaches us about the fight for racial justice and radical change. ITT Staff Picks: “Critics of Black Lives Matter have held up King as a foil to the movement’s criticisms of law enforcement, but those are views that King himself shared,” writes Jeanne Theoharis in this 2021 essay for The Atlantic. Patrick Darrington spoke to the authors of “Prophet of Discontent: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Critique of Racial Capitalism,” about why Dr. King should be firmly situated within the Black radical tradition, for Teen Vogue. “We cannot all those who continue to harm our communities preach peace and patience while profiting off our collective misery. Honoring King and the beloved community demands more of each of us and our contributions to the greater good,” writes Anoa Changa for NewsOne. Photo credit: The Associated Press

Transcribed - Published: 17 January 2023

Julio and guest co-host Renée Graham, opinion columnist and associate editor at The Boston Globe, get into the implications of classified documents found at President Biden’s home and former office. They also talk about the severe storms and flooding that have impacted California over the last few weeks and the growing pressure on the Biden administration to expel Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, who has been staying in Florida. ITT Staff Picks: Russ Choma writes about Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate the reports that classified documents were found in President Joe Biden’s post-vice-presidency office and in Biden’s Delaware home, via Mother Jones. “The recent onslaught of atmospheric rivers has underscored the perils of California’s climate paradox: Rising global temperatures are making the region drier, hotter and more fire-prone, but they also increase the likelihood of sudden, severe rainfall,” writes Sarah Kaplan for The Washington Post. Jonathan Guyer interviews Rodrigo Nunes, a Brazilian philosophy scholar, about Bolsonarismo and its root causes in this piece for Vox. Photo credit: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File

Transcribed - Published: 13 January 2023

Maria and Julio are joined by Jamil Smith, essayist for the Los Angeles Times, and Sabrina Rodríguez, national political reporter for The Washington Post, to discuss the storming of Brazil’s Congress by far-right Bolsonaro supporters, and the similarities to the January 6th Capitol attack in the United States. They also get into Biden’s brief visit to the southern border city of El Paso and the latest in Congress with Kevin McCarthy’s fight for House speakership. ITT Staff Picks: Yascha Mounk discusses Brazil’s “January 6 moment,” unpacking the similarities between the two events and what it means for Brazil’s democracy, in this article for The Atlantic. Suzanne Gamboa provides a timeline depicting Congress’ failure to reform immigration for the past two decades, in this article for NBC News. “If far-right lawmakers in the GOP follow through on their promises to hold up pivotal spending and debt ceiling legislation, Republicans may well have to rely on Democrats’ help to get any bills across the finish line — a dynamic Democrats could capitalize on,” writes Li Zhou in this article for Vox. Photo credit: AP Photo/Eraldo Peres This episode was mixed by Leah Shaw Dameron.

Transcribed - Published: 11 January 2023

Maria and Julio unpack what’s happening in the House of Representatives and the numerous votes to elect a new House Speaker. They also connect this to the January 6th attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol, which happened two years ago today. Finally, they discuss President Biden’s latest announcement regarding new immigration restrictions and expanding Title 42. ITT Staff Picks: Molly Jong-Fast writes about the Republican “Trumpified party” and its performative inability to elect a House Speaker in this article for Vanity Fair. “Any reflections leading up to the anniversary, already sharply divided, have been tainted by the ongoing chaos in the House, with many of the figures central in objecting to the certification of votes in 2021 — including some subpoenaed by the select committee — now emerging as key players in the Republican battle over whether Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) should serve as the next Speaker,” writes Rebecca Beitsch in this article for The Hill. Hamed Aleaziz and Courtney Subramanian write about President Biden’s new immigration strategy, including the expansion of a Trump-era policy in their reporting for the Los Angeles Times. Photo credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Transcribed - Published: 6 January 2023

Maria and Julio reflect on the state of our democracy with Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University, and Ese Olumhense, reporter for Reveal. They discuss the takeaways from the 2022 midterm elections, including the increase in voter suppression tactics since 2020. They also look ahead to the 2024 presidential election and talk about what it will take to protect voting rights. ITT Staff Picks: Host Al Letson talks to Ese Olumhense and other journalists about what the 2022 midterms revealed about the state of American democracy, in this episode of Reveal. Revisit this virtual discussion with Eddie Glaude Jr., from Harvard's Ash Center and the Institute of Politics, where he talks about reckoning with the state of our democracy by confronting our nation's history. Andrew Marantz writes about our increasingly reactionary Supreme Court being a major source of anti-democracy in our country, in this article for The New Yorker. Photo credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File

Transcribed - Published: 3 January 2023

Wrapping up another amazing year at In The Thick, Maria and Julio reflect on some of their favorite moments of 2022, including ITT’s first in-person live show since the pandemic, election coverage in collaboration with Latino USA, and the opportunity to speak to and elevate brilliant guests on the show. They also unpack some very tough moments that happened this year, from ongoing gun violence to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. ITT Staff Picks: If you missed this brilliant episode from April, Maria and Julio talk to Jullian Harris-Calvin and David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez about the systemic issues within the criminal legal system. We continued covering the coronavirus pandemic in 2022. In this episode from October, Maria and Julio are joined by Dr. Steven Thrasher to talk about how viruses reveal inequities in our society. We always love having our fellow Futuro colleagues on ITT. In this episode from September, Maria and Julio talk to Peniley Ramírez about her decision to publish an unredacted report on the investigation of 43 missing students from Ayotzinapa in Mexico. Photo credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File

Transcribed - Published: 30 December 2022

In this rebroadcast episode from 2020, Maria and Julio welcome Valarie Kaur, renowned Sikh activist, civil rights lawyer, and author of the book “See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.” They reflect on Valarie’s activist roots and her experience writing her book. They also discuss America’s history of state-sanctioned violence against communities of color and explore how revolutionary love is a feminist intervention and a force for justice. ITT Staff Picks: Melissa Harris-Perry interviewed Valarie Kaur about how “misdirected” islamophobia has affected the Sikh community for two decades, in this episode of The Takeaway. Valarie Kaur talks about how love is revolutionary and makes the case for reclaiming love as a public ethic in this Ted Talk. “A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted ahead of the 9/11 anniversary found that 53% of Americans have unfavorable views toward Islam, compared with 42% who have favorable ones. This stands in contrast to Americans’ opinions about Christianity and Judaism, for which most respondents expressed favorable views” write Mariam Fam, Deepti Hajela and Luis Andres Henao for the Associated Press. Photo credit: Amber Castro

Transcribed - Published: 27 December 2022

As Futuro Media is off for winter break, Maria and Julio check in with all of you, our dear ITT listeners. We’re sending you lots of love and joy this holiday season. But don’t go away for too long– In The Thick will be back in the new year with brand new episodes and our always fire guests! We'll see you next year, familia. No te vayas! Photo credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 2022

In The Thick is excited to present an episode from our sister podcast, Latino USA. In this episode, Maria talks with Rafael Reif, who is stepping down as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the end of the month. Reif reflects on his tenure, how his upbringing in Venezuela brought him to the helm of one of the world’s top universities, and shares his message for Latino and Latina students pursuing higher education. Subscribe to Latino USA wherever you get your podcasts!

Transcribed - Published: 20 December 2022

In The Thick is excited to share this week’s episode of Latino Rebels Radio. Julio talks to Nelson Rauda, a Salvadoran journalist for El Faro, about a lawsuit he and other journalists at El Faro filed against NSO Group, an Israeli company whose surveillance software was used to track their communications. They talk about what this lawsuit says about the media landscape in El Salvador, and what it signals about freedom of the press around the world. Subscribe to Latino Rebels Radio wherever you get your podcasts! Photo credit: AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2022

Julio is joined by Anjali Enjeti, author and co-founder of the Georgia chapter of They See Blue, and Anoa Changa, journalist and editor at NewsOne, to unpack the results of the Georgia Senate runoff election, and what it signals about party dynamics in the state and across the country. They get into voting issues in Georgia, including barriers to voting, the impact of organizing and voter outreach, and what we can expect in the next Senate session. ITT Staff Picks: Anoa Changa writes about her experience trying to vote in the Georgia runoff election and how a new state law, SB 202, has impacted the voting process in this piece for NewsOne. “Thus, not only do Southern voters face serious barriers to voting, but GOP gerrymandered congressional and state legislative districts have reduced the value of their votes,” writes Anjali Enjeti about the barriers that Southern voters, especially Black and brown voters, face at the polls in this op-ed for the Los Angeles Times. Matthew Brown writes about the racist history of the Georgia runoff election system, and how it was created to “dilute Black voting power,” in this piece for The Washington Post. Photo credit: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File

Transcribed - Published: 14 December 2022