In Georgia, most abortions are illegal after six weeks, which is often before most people even realize that they are pregnant. At one abortion clinic in Atlanta, Tracii, the head of security, spends her days guiding patients past shouting protestors of megaphones, and into the clinic where she assures them that they are safe. In this episode, Maria Hinojosa interviews producers, Soledad O’Brien and Rose Arce about their Oscar nominated documentary, The Devil Is Busy , which follows a day in the ...
Mar 06, 2026•28 min
What started decades ago at the U.S.-Mexico border didn’t stay there. Journalist, author, and professor Jean Guerrero speaks with Maria Hinojosa and argues that communities on the southern border were a “testing ground” for the increased immigration enforcement that we’re seeing play out across U.S. cities. Jean also makes the case that Honduras may be the next laboratory for something called “startup cities” which could be replicated here. Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radi...
Mar 01, 2026•28 min
After the longest State of the Union address in U.S. history this past Tuesday, we go beyond the lies and omissions to assess where our country stands. A sobering look at what President Trump has built, and dismantled, during his second term in office. We analyze plans to build an economy around mass immigration detention, the precarious state of finances in so many U.S. households, and the duty citizens have to “fight fascism.” Maria Hinojosa speaks with journalists Jasmine Garsd and Kimberly A...
Feb 27, 2026•28 min
Introducing Bleep! with Ana Navaro , a new weekly podcast from Hyphenate Media Group and iHeart's My Cultura Podcast Network. Maria Hinojosa, Journalist and Host of Latino USA, joins Ana this week to discuss Marco Rubio's evolution and his plans for remaking the hemisphere. Plus, Ana unpacks other outrageous behavior coming from Trump's cabinet. Listen to new episodes every Monday on iHeartRadio and YouTube. About the Show: Fear thrives in silence and confusion. Ana Navarro rejects both. Her voi...
Feb 24, 2026•43 min
Ana Tijoux’s decades-long career is recognized and regarded for music that disregards borders and genres. Born in France to Chilean parents who fled Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship in the 70s, Ana Tijoux grew up between worlds. Rooted in culture and global by nature, her music is heavily influenced by Chilean musical revolutionaries and French and US hip hop of the 90s, including greats like Nas and Slum Village. In this episode rapera Ana Tijoux reflects on the importance of speaking up for inj...
Feb 22, 2026•27 min
ICE is waging an “information war” on social media, TV, and radio. Washington Post reporters got access to thousands of chats and internal communications from the employees running PR for the Department of Homeland Security. They run a taxpayer-funded media machine whose main goal is to go viral, whether people love or hate the content. The goal is to go viral. But recent polling suggests the strategy could backfire. Listen to our interview with reporter Drew Harwell. *Note: Days after this inte...
Feb 20, 2026•29 min
Last year in March, Honduran composer and singer artist Aurelio Martinez died in a tragic plane crash. Aurelio was the voice of the Garifuna people and a fierce defender of their music and culture. Almost two decades ago, producer Marlon Bishop became friends with Aurelio, living and traveling with him for several months. He shares the story of their time together. Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-...
Feb 15, 2026•30 min
Valentine’s Day is not just about romantic love, we celebrate love and friendship in el día del amor y la amistad. So for this episode Maria Hinojosa sits down with award-winning Mexican actors and best friends Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal. They discuss how they foster their lifelong friendship, and how the two create politically powerful art. The duo also talks about Hulu’s first original Spanish-language series "La Máquina" and the documentary, "State of Silence," about the threats and da...
Feb 13, 2026•30 min
It was January 24, 2022. The King of Spain was coming to Puerto Rico. But everyone woke up to unexpected news: the statue of the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León in Old San Juan had been toppled. When the mayor promised to restore it that same day, it raised questions: Who deserves to be put up on a pedestal? Who are our champions? Today, we bring you the first episode of the newest season of La Brega, a podcast from our own Futuro Studio. This season looks at Puerto Rico through the peop...
Feb 08, 2026•38 min
As we celebrate the release of season three of Futuro Studios’ hit-show La Brega, we take you back to where it all first started: Season 1, Episode 1. Host Alana Casanova-Burgess sets out to define the many meanings of “la brega”—one of them being the struggle—and its ubiquity among Boricuas. Alana takes us from potholes, to protests and metaphors, to compile all of the possible meanings that lie within “la brega”, she looks at how it sometimes asks too much of Puerto Ricans and how, at the same...
Feb 06, 2026•23 min
The NFL’s all-American spectacle is back with its Super Bowl halftime musical extravaganza…and it’ll be mostly en ESPAÑOL! Puerto Rico’s own Bad Bunny, is one of the biggest artists in the world, and on Feb. 8, all eyes will be on him We speak with Vanessa Diaz, co-author of "P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance"; journalist Tess Garcia, and Antonia Cereijido, host of LAist’s "Imperfect Paradise." They talk about the significance of a Spanish-language artist,...
Feb 01, 2026•31 min
Netflix’s newest crime thriller, The Rip, brings together three Latina actresses: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Sasha Calle, and Lina Esco. The Colombian women share the silver screen with Hollywood heavyweights, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, in this high-stakes cop film, directed by Joe Carnahan. The cast reflect on their careers, from independent films like Maria Full of Grace to becoming the first Latina Supergirl. They talk activism, stereotypes in Hollywood, and the importance of speaking up, And ...
Jan 30, 2026•25 min
“Our government has failed us in many ways.” A year has passed since the fires in Los Angeles devastated Altadena, CA. Who gets to rebuild? Who stays and who leaves? We begin by checking back in with Sal Saucedo, a hairdresser who spoke to us after his home became rubble. He has since planted new roots by opening a hair salon in Mexico City. Then we delve deeper into the slow and heartbreaking recovery in Altadena so far with the help of UCLA researcher Silvia González, comedian and Altadena res...
Jan 25, 2026•25 min
Minnesotans say ICE agents and other federal officers have been terrorizing residents as part of “Operation Metro Surge” for nearly a month. And as ICE’s enforcement becomes more militarized and their numbers grow, so does the network of resistance created by everyday citizens. We speak to a local grassroots organizer and a journalist about the latest on the ground, the support networks keeping the most vulnerable in Minneapolis safe, and what others can learn from them. “This occupation has dis...
Jan 21, 2026•29 min
When Journalist Zayda Rivera decided to become a witch, people in her life thought it was a joke–many did not take her seriously. Still, Zayda was confident in her choice to follow the ancient practice of brujería. Last year, Zayda published her debut children's book, Being Bruja: A Young Mystics Guide and its Spanish version, Vivir Bruja. This Brujería 101-guide provides easy to understand basics, and also a brief history of the practice. In this episode, Maria Hinojosa meets Zayda la Bruja, to...
Jan 18, 2026•25 min
“Suddenly, a memory assaulted me: For my own journey from Cuba four decades earlier, I had worn the red polyester bell-bottom pants my mother had made.” Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Mirta Ojito joins us to talk about the inspiration behind her new novel, Deeper Than the Ocean . Mirta reflects on the real shipwreck that sparked the idea for her novel, her own immigration story of leaving Cuba during the Mariel boatlift, and her fear of water. Mirta explores the meaning of memory, the emotion...
Jan 16, 2026•26 min
Born in El Salvador, Julio Torres has become a big name in comedy. From writing for SNL and having an HBO comedy special, to making and starring in his own films, Julio's dry style is unique: it’s highly visual and deeply inquisitive, and at Latino USA we love it! In this reimagined interview from a couple years ago, Julito spoke to us about developing his own comedic approach, his journey in the industry, and how he enjoys challenging audiences to look at the world from a different perspective....
Jan 11, 2026•24 min
The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro marks yet another chapter in a long history of U.S. interventionism across Latin America. We talk to an expert on democracy to make sense of the incursion, how it could destabilize the entire rules-based international order, and why Americans should be concerned about the rise of an “unconstrained and autocratic” Trump. Plus, we get a glimpse of what it was like to be a journalist covering corruption under the Maduro regime, and what Venezuelans...
Jan 09, 2026•29 min
One in four women in the United States has a family member in prison — and those carrying the resulting financial and emotional burden are disproportionately women of color. Mary Estrada is one of them. She’s been taking care of her husband, Robert, for 40 years, as he’s been in and out of prison throughout his adult life. Most Sundays, Mary wakes up at 3 a.m. and drives 135 miles each way from Pomona, California, to San Diego to meet her incarcerated husband. In this episode, we accompany Mary ...
Jan 04, 2026•50 min
As you start the New Year, we wanted to bring you an episode from our friends at Vox’s podcast Unexplainable that we think you’ll like. It’s about a scientific mystery and with a Puerto Rican astronomer at the center of it all. Wanda Diáz-Merced lost her sight as a college student, she thought her dreams of becoming an astronomer were over — until she learned to listen to space instead. Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know...and then keeps on going. For more go to ...
Jan 02, 2026•33 min
Earlier this week we brought you an episode from “My Divo” which we think you’ll enjoy as you slow down this holiday season. This is Ep. 3: “The Long-Lost Prison File” In it, host Maria Garcia looks for answers about Juan Gabriel in Mexico and discovers government files about the artist that have never come to light. As Maria learns more about Juan Gabriel’s story as a young man on the streets and in jail, she reflects on her romantic relationship and what’s at stake when queerness is criminaliz...
Dec 28, 2025•38 min
As you enjoy time during this holiday slowdown, we want to share an episode of the “My Divo” podcast. In this episode we hear how 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 brightness 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 reconciling her queerness with her Mexican heritage. “My Divo...
Dec 26, 2025•46 min
Ada Limón ended her tenure as U.S. Poet Laureate this year – the first Latina to do so. Her work has been described as both tender and resounding, it rejoices in the simplicity of everyday life. She’s been praised for tackling head-on the imperfections of her body and the failings of our governments. But even in the darkness, her poetry does not linger in despair – it always finds a way back to the beauty in nature. Her new poetry collection is called “Startlement.” Limón spoke to us about the a...
Dec 21, 2025•25 min
Journalist Tom Llamas made history this year when he became the first Latino to anchor a major weekday evening news show in English. Every weekday, around six million viewers across the country tune in to NBC Nightly News to watch Tom give the latest national and international news. He’s been in broadcast journalism for more than 25 years. He joined Maria Hinojosa to talk about how his upbringing in Miami as the son of Cuban refugees shaped the journalist he is today, why he believes in being “d...
Dec 19, 2025•27 min
D. Esperanza is 14 years old. After traveling with his cousins from Honduras, he is held in the horrors of U.S. detention in Texas. For five months, while there, D. kept a journal of poems, drawings. It’s his memory of survival. Months later, Geraldo Iván Morales found the journal, about to be trashed. Now, D. and Gerardo are coauthors of "Detained," a book based on D.’s journal. This is their story. Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino s...
Dec 14, 2025•27 min
Earlier this year, the White House falsely claimed that millions of US taxpayers' dollars were funding “sex changes” in Guatemala — a lie used to justify gutting USAID, which has provided aid worldwide for more than 60 years. In this episode, we travel to Guatemala to uncover the truth, hear from local organizations caught in the controversy, and learn how losing USAID funding has affected these LGBTQ+ organizations and damaged U.S. credibility abroad. This reporting was produced in partnership ...
Dec 12, 2025•29 min
This week, Latino USA shares an episode from our friends at LAist’s Imperfect Paradise about a new set of citizenship test guidelines. Recently, the federal government pushed out new guidelines for naturalization, changes that are reshaping what it means to become a U.S. American. LAist Higher Education Reporter Julia Barajas takes us inside a citizenship prep class at Pasadena City College to see how these new changes are playing out. Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio pro...
Dec 07, 2025•10 min
In a rural town in south Georgia, sits “El Refugio,” a charming white home with green shutters. For 15 years, thousands have walked through its doors during the hardest moments of their lives. The house serves as a refuge for families of immigrants detained just two miles away at one of the largest immigration detention centers in the U.S.. In recent months, the visits to El Refugio have skyrocketed. We spent 48 hours inside El Refugio, the only hospitality house of its kind in the nation. We me...
Dec 05, 2025•57 min
It’s been quite the year, for the United States and for Futuro Media. At Latino USA, we’re bringing you in-depth reporting from the front lines. At Futuro Studios, we’re developing ground-breaking shows like La Brega Season 3, which is set to premiere early next year. In this special Giving Tuesday episode, Futuro Media founder Maria Hinojosa reflects on the year behind and the year ahead. She’s joined in conversation by Latino USA Managing Editor Fernanda Echavarri and Futuro Studios Executive ...
Dec 02, 2025•37 min
For some years now, mezcal, Mexico’s other national spirit, has been in a cultural spotlight in and out of Mexico—especially here in the U.S. But the unseen devastating consequences of that demand have had a profound impact on the people making it. In this episode of Latino USA, we take a journey to Oaxaca to understand the ancestral connections to mezcal, how the spirit is made, and how to become a better consumer. Because there's “so much tradition, every time you sip, every time you smell, an...
Nov 30, 2025•26 min
