In The Thick

The Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast from Futuro Studios returns for its second season.“Suave” Gonzalez was one of thousands of juvenile lifers granted a second chance at life. Season 2 is his story about life after incarceration—and the search for the true meaning of freedom.Suave: Season 2 is out everywhere on 4/15. New episodes every Tuesday.

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2025

We’re doing something different! Today, Maria Hinojosa joins listeners for a special message announcing something new from Futuro. Been dreaming of immediate full season access, and behind the scenes chisme from your favorite shows at Futuro? We have too! Listen to hear more about what’s next for Futuro. To help us grow the future of journalism go to: futuromediagroup.org/joinplusThe Futuro Plus team includes producer Sam J Leeds, production managers Francis Poon and Jessica Ellis, marketing manager Luis Luna, development manager Danetsy Len, and engineers Gabriela Baez and Stephanie Lebow.

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

Kat Torres shows an Instagram-perfect life to her large following. She’s a supermodel turned life coach who seems harmless but is hiding a secret. And when one of her followers goes missing, one woman sets out to bring her best friend. Paty won’t stop until she finds her friend who has fallen under Kat’s spell of this modern-day guru.You can listen to more episodes of Don't Cross Kat here. 

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2025

This week, on a special In The Thick and Latino USA collaboration, we hear directly from individuals most affected by President Trump’s first actions in office. Host Maria Hinojosa is also joined by author and professor of African American studies Dr. Eddie Glaude and senior political reporter at Vox, Nicole Narea. The three discuss where we go from here and what we can expect in the coming months of Trump’s return to the White House. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 24 January 2025

Maria Hinojosa is joined by two trailblazers in the fight for trans rights: Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project, and Raquel Willis, journalist and co-founder of the Gender Liberation Movement. Chase recently made history as the first openly trans attorney to argue before the Supreme Court, challenging Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Raquel was recently arrested after staging a sit-in in a Capitol Hill bathroom to protest a bill aimed at banning trans people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Together, they discuss the fight for trans rights in the face of escalating attacks by the right, the powerful history of trans resistance, and what a future of gender liberation could look like.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 12 December 2024

ITT hosts Maria Hinojosa and Paola Ramos are joined by NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff for a deep dive into the devastating consequences of Donald Trump’s first term immigration policy. They discuss the upcoming film “Separated,” based on Soboroff’s 2020 book by the same name, Trump’s child separation policy, and what a repeat of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. immigration history could look like.

Transcribed - Published: 5 December 2024

Maria Hinojosa is joined by investigative journalist Peniley Ramírez and Producer Tasha Sandoval as they commemorate the 25 year anniversary of the case of Elián González — the six-year-old boy found floating in an inner tube off the coast of Florida after his mother died attempting to flee from Cuba. The custody battle that ensued led to a media firestorm and an international controversy that changed the course of history. Maria, Peniley and Tasha talk about what this case can teach us about today’s political landscape, the rightward shift in Miami-Dade, and the Republican party’s strategy to pull Latinos to the right.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2024

ITT co-hosts Maria Hinojosa and Dr. Christina Greer are joined by the renowned environmental justice lawyer and executive director of UPROSE, Elizabeth Yeampierre. They dig into the future of the environmental justice movement, Trump’s cabinet picks and the global implications of a deregulated fossil fuel industry.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 21 November 2024

A week after the re-election of Donald Trump, Maria Hinojosa is joined by ITT all-stars Imara Jones, journalist and founder of Translash Media, and Karen Attiah, Washington Post Opinion columnist. They dive into the far-reaching implications of Trump’s victory for our communities and what it means for the future of American democracy.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 14 November 2024

In The Thick teamed up with Futuro Media’s Latino USA to bring you a special episode, as part of its ongoing 2024 election coverage “The Latino Factor: How We Vote” series. In the election that many Americans said was “the most important of their lifetimes,” Maria Hinojosa spends the day speaking to voters, students, journalists and movement leaders across the country. Later Maria is joined by journalists Paola Ramos, Jean Guerrero and Jamil Smith to unpack key updates and trends in the election. Later Maria is joined by journalists Paola Ramos, Jean Guerrero and Jamil Smith to unpack why Trump won the elections—including the popular vote—with increased support from Latinos.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 8 November 2024

With less than a week until Election Day, ITT hosts Maria Hinojosa, Judy Reyes, Paola Ramos and Dr. Christina Greer analyze everything from the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden that drew comparisons to an American Nazi Party rally, to the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post's refusal to endorse a Presidential candidate for the first time in decades. They talk about the Latino community’s response to Puerto Rico being called “a floating island of garbage” at the Trump rally, the meaning behind the poll numbers, and what’s at stake for democracy.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2024

This week In The Thick shares an episode of Latino USA.The 2024 presidential election has seen a rise in Spanish-language misinformation and in the content creators making a living by pushing out false content. For months, Futuro Investigates in collaboration with Latino USA, tracked how lies and conspiracies about the election and the candidates that originated in English soon found their way to Spanish-speaking audiences, amid the expanded monetization of tech platforms and the rise of technologies like AI. We meet face to face with social media influencers pushing out misinformation in Spanish, and with the experts combating it. This story is part of our ongoing election coverage “The Latino Factor: How We Vote.”Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2024

ITT hosts Maria Hinojosa and Judy Reyes are tacking the critical issue of abortion and how it’s shaping the 2024 election. They are joined by Imani Gandy of Rewire News Group and Monica Simpson of SisterSong to discuss the future of the reproductive justice movement and the fight for bodily autonomy.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 24 October 2024

ITT hosts Maria Hinojosa and Paola Ramos are joined by LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter and Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation to discuss voter suppression in Black and Latino communities. They break down the legal, social and political methods being used by the far-right and reveal how these misunderstood voting blocs could decide the outcome of the 2024 election.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 17 October 2024

Introducing a new series that we think you'll love: "Chess Piece: The Elián González Story," from Futuro Studios, in collaboration with iHeartRadio's My Cultura Podcast Network.In 1999, two Florida fishermen found a cherub of a boy named Elián González in the sea on Thanksgiving. The boy had floated alone for days. His mother managed to save her son’s life by strapping him to an inner tube before she drowned. Elián's father in Cuba desperately tried to get his son back.Our host, investigative journalist Peniley Ramírez, was also separated from her family by the Florida Straits. When Peni was 11 years old her dad told her a dangerous secret before he left on an official trip on behalf of the Cuban government — he would not be returning.Relating to Elián in many ways, Peniley seeks to unearth his story with the clarity of history, nearly a quarter century later. Looking beyond the mythology around Elián saga, from the miracle rescue to dolphins, Peni uncovers a more layered story, even dark at times. This season on Chess Piece, we tell you the Elián story unlike you've heard before.You can find and subscribe to "Chess Piece" on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow it on Instagram and Tiktok.

Transcribed - Published: 15 October 2024

A year after Oct 7, 2023, Maria is joined by Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour and Rabbi Alissa Wise to talk about what this past year of unimaginable loss, rage, and resistance has meant for their communities, and how they are building towards a future of solidarity. They discuss the election, the mobilizing power of grief, and what it looks like to create a world in which every life is treated as sacred. Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 10 October 2024

ITT hosts go beyond the Midwest niceties to unpack the authoritarian policies being talked about on the debate stage, and what both candidates reallymean when they talk about their abortion and immigration plans.ITT Co-hosts Judy Reyes, Maria Hinojosa, Christina Greer and Paola Ramos dig into the first and only VP debate before the election. While mainstream media has praised both men for their “civil” performance, we go beyond the Midwest niceties to unpack the authoritarian policies being talked about on the debate stage, and what both candidates really mean when they talk about their abortion and immigration plans.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 3 October 2024

Maria is joined by Paola Ramos, co-host and author of “Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America” to examine the growing support for extremism in America and why Latinos can be especially susceptible to far-right ideologies.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. 

Transcribed - Published: 25 September 2024

Maria and co-host Dr. Christina Greer are joined by Mother Jones Editorial Director Jamilah King for a deep dive into how Vice President Kamala Harris is being portrayed by the right and the left, and what it tells us about our country’s understanding of race.Follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Transcribed - Published: 18 September 2024

ITT is relaunching for a popup season to help you break down this unprecedented political moment and what it means for our communities and our futures. In our first episode, Maria Hinojosa is joined by her fellow co-hosts political scientist Dr. Christina Greer, journalist Paola Ramos and actress Judy Reyes. Together they help you decode this week's presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Transcribed - Published: 13 September 2024

Futuro Studios presents Stars and Stars with Isa in collaboration with Stitcher Studios. Each week our host and astrologer, Isa Nakazawa, sits down with some of the most talented stars and thinkers of our time, to find what their birth chart reveals about them and their purpose. You’ll laugh, you might cry, and you’ll definitely connect with your favorites. And who knows, maybe, you’ll learn a little bit more about yourself. In this episode, Isa speaks with standup comedian, host, director, and producer, W. Kamau Bell. Together, they discuss how his Aquarius Sun, Scorpio Moon, and Taurus Rising inform his ability to ask the right questions of people who should be held accountable.You can find and subscribe to Stars and Stars with Isa wherever you listen to podcasts, and follow us on Instagram and Tiktok @starsandstarswithisa.

Transcribed - Published: 22 August 2024

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