In part two of our two-part special, we continue our investigation into the death of a man in a U.S. immigration detention center in 2015. José de Jesús turned himself into Border Patrol saying somebody was after him. Three days later, he died by suicide after stuffing a sock down his throat. In part two of this story, surveillance video reveals clues about what happened inside his cell, and an internal investigation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement answers many of our questions about wh...
Jul 07, 2024•46 min
Colombian-Canadian singer-songwriter Lido Pimienta tells us how her experience of migration led to her love of Afro-Colombian music, how a beauty pageant and its underlying anti-blackness inspired her new album, and how she came to collaborate with the legendary Afro-Colombian ensemble, Sexteto Tabalá, in her track "Pelo Cucú.” This episode originally aired in 2020. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Latino...
Jul 05, 2024•13 min
A man dies in a U.S. immigration detention center, under unusual circumstances. He is found unresponsive in his cell, with a sock stuffed down his throat. His death is ruled a suicide, but little information is put out about what happened, and the family wants answers. In this first part of a special two-part series, Latino USA investigates why José de Jesús died in the custody of the U.S. government, and what his death tells us about conditions—especially mental health services—inside the immig...
Jun 30, 2024•49 min
When Angela Guzman started her internship at Apple back in 2008 she had no idea her first project would have such an impact on how we communicate. Guzman co-designed the first set of Apple Emojis and our keyboards haven't been the same since. This episode originally aired in 2019. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Latino USA and all our podcasts. www.futuromediagroup.org/joinplus....
Jun 28, 2024•9 min
This election year, a question roams in many voters' minds: Is there an “invasion” on our southern border? The answer from plenty of the people who live and work there is no. To understand what is really going on at the border, we travel to Sasabe, a tiny community in a remote area of the Arizona border with Mexico, to find out how human-smuggling battles within the Sinaloa cartel turned it into a ghost town. We also visit a pop-up camp set up on the U.S. side of the border fence. There, volunte...
Jun 23, 2024•56 min
The Tiarras have been playing together since they were just little girls, but they’ve been sisters forever. The band is arguably best known for writing and performing catchy tunes that dive into themes of Latina empowerment, self-love and they’re not afraid to get political. On this episode of Latino USA, these hermanas tell us more about the role sisterhood plays in their creative process and why they hope their art and journey inspires future generations of Latinos and Latinas. This episode or...
Jun 21, 2024•23 min
For Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Ileana Cabra — known by her stage name, iLe — music has always been a way to reflect and comment on the world around her. iLe began her musical career singing with her brothers in their renowned rap group Calle 13. But in 2016, iLe decided to go solo. She would go on to release three studio albums, using those platforms to explore many musical genres with deep roots in Latin America and the Caribbean: from boleros and salsa, to pop and reggaeton. As a songwrite...
Jun 16, 2024•20 min
Will watching all of Pedro Almodovar's movies in one month make you more or less neurotic? Hard-hitting journalists Antonia Cereijido and Fernanda Echávarri decided to find out. Along the way they glean life lessons about moms, absurdity, and friendship. They even get guidance from the iconic Spanish director himself. This episode originally aired in 2017. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube . Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the...
Jun 14, 2024•32 min
Shea Serrano’s prolific writing career started unexpectedly when his wife, pregnant with twins, had to stop working. With not many options that could fit his full-time job as middle school teacher, Shea started hunting for writing gigs that eventually lead to him becoming a New York Times bestselling author, a showrunner, and a movie writer. In this episode, we talk to the San Antonio-born and raised author whose work spans from the movie “Miguel Wants to Fight,” to the Netflix series “Neon” and...
Jun 09, 2024•21 min
In this episode of Latino USA, we hear from three Latino voices around the country on what informs their solidarity with Palestinians as the war on Gaza continues. From Pro-Palestinian organizers to Jewish Latinos to Latino evangelicals, they help us understand how different Latino communities are responding to this moment, and how this political activism will impact the presidential election in November. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube . Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ ...
Jun 07, 2024•41 min
Luna Luna is a rising four-member band from different walks of life. They’re known for mixing nostalgic sounds of the past and fusing them with elements of funk and dream-like pop. In this episode of Latino USA, we learn more about the people behind Luna Luna and hear how they say the universe and destiny has brought them together to live out their wildest dreams. This episode originally aired in 2022. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks a...
Jun 04, 2024•20 min
In November 2021, Robert Santos became the first Latino to be confirmed as the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau. Santos is no stranger to the federal agency. Before his nomination and confirmation, Santos had warned that former President Donald Trump’s interference of the census count would result in one of the most flawed census counts in U.S. history. Census counts are important because they help determine congressional representation and how billions of federal dollars are distributed. In t...
May 31, 2024•44 min
This week Latino USA shares an episode from the podcast "So Far From Care," produced by Marfa Public Radio. Living in a small town in West Texas can feel magical. And part of that magic is how isolated we are: hours and hours down a desert highway from everything else. But when it comes to accessing reproductive healthcare, that remoteness can also be terrifying. In the Big Bend, the idea of “choice” was complicated long before Roe v. Wade was overturned. Out here, you can’t legally get an abort...
May 28, 2024•24 min
On June 2nd 2024, Mexico will elect a woman as its president for the first time in the country’s history. But a paradox prevails: while women rise to the highest positions of government in Mexico, the nation is still marked by a violent culture against women with 10 femicides every day. Latino USA travels to Mexico ahead of the historic election to document women protesting the pervasive violence in the country and interview both presidential frontrunners —Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez— s...
May 24, 2024•48 min
When she was nine years old, Xiomara Torres fled the civil war in her home country of El Salvador and came to the U.S. As a child, she adjusted to her new life in East Los Angeles before she was removed from her family and put into foster care—where she spent six years of her life moving from home to home. Now, she's the subject of a local play in Oregon titled, "Judge Torres." In this edition of “How I Made It,” Judge Torres shares how she overcame the hurdles of the foster system and made her ...
May 21, 2024•14 min
Last year, a 65-year-old grandfather was attacked and fell onto the New York City subway tracks—which eventually led to his death. He was punched from behind by a young man with schizophrenia who shouted that he was the devil. This isn't the first time this has happened, a similar situation played out 19 years earlier. So why does the cycle continue? Latino USA examines how and why someone with serious mental illness falls through the cracks of the nation's mental health system. This episode ori...
May 17, 2024•27 min
Lucía Díaz Genao’s son, Luis Guillermo, disappeared in 2013 in Veracruz, Mexico, as drug-related violence increased across the country. Amid the inaction of local authorities, Lucía started to look for Luis Guillermo herself, becoming one of today’s fiercest activists in Mexico searching for disappeared people. In this episode, Lucía shares how she managed to get over her depression to form Colectivo Solecito, a group of hundreds of other mothers with missing children who have joined forces to b...
May 14, 2024•26 min
Journalist Andrea Elliott won her first Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for Feature Writing. 15 years later, she won her second Pulitzer for her book “Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in an American City” under the General Nonfiction category. “Invisible Child” follows the life of a young Black girl named Dasani Coates, whom Andrea followed and reported on for more than eight years, exploring the intergenerational impact of poverty and race in one of the richest cities in the world. In this ep...
May 10, 2024•36 min
Trans activist, actress and author, Cecilia Gentili, knows the power of stories. Whether she is working at her company Trans Equity Consulting, writing an op-ed for the New York Times, or portraying a character on television—Cecilia believes that sharing her story is a way to advocate for the change she hopes to see. On this episode of Latino USA, Cecilia shares about her new memoir, “Faltas,” which is written as a series of letters to people in her hometown in Argentina. Cecilia talks about how...
May 07, 2024•25 min
Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade embraces contrasts in her music. Look no further than her latest album, “De Todas las Flores,” where Natalia found herself both processing death and celebrating life. Prior to this, Natalia released a number of critically acclaimed albums that drew from Latin American musical history. Her journey led her to Carnegie Hall in New York City, where she premiered her latest music in a special live performance late 2022. Just days before this show, Natalia ...
May 03, 2024•32 min
As part of “The Latino Factor: How We Vote,” our 2024 election year series, we bring you a look at how disinformation affects Latino communities. We talk with Tamoa Calzadilla, editor-in-chief of Factchequeado, an initiative that combats disinformation specifically in Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. In this episode, Tamoa shares insights into the special skills journalists need to serve Latino and Spanish-speaking communities, and offers step-by-step advice on how to combat di...
Apr 30, 2024•19 min
Melissa Barrera has been consistently making a name for herself in recent years. The Mexican actress is probably most recognizable in the U.S. for her horror roles, namely in the legacy franchise “Scream.” But in her more than a decade-long career that has taken her from Monterrey to Hollywood, she’s done it all—telenovelas, musicals, drama, romance and even comedy. In this episode of Latino USA, Melissa talks about her journey into acting, the importance of using her platform, and how she views...
Apr 26, 2024•38 min
This week, Latino USA brings you an episode of The Burden podcast. In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers (who all say they are innocent!) turned jailhouse-lawyers. In prison they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away. They set out to turn the tables on Scarcella whil...
Apr 23, 2024•36 min
This is a special episode by Futuro Investigates, in collaboration with The Center For Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. In the absence of federal or state data showing how many disaster restoration workers get sick every year because of their labor, we document for the first time how prolonged exposure to dangerous toxins affects the health of workers who clean and rebuild American cities after natural disasters. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ fo...
Apr 19, 2024•52 min
When Mireya Ramos found herself subject to scrutiny and machismo as the only woman mariachi singer in the male-dominated mariachi circles, she decided to do something about it. So she founded Flor De Toloache in 2008, the first all-female mariachi in New York City. The Latin Grammy winning group's new album, 'Indestructible' features beautiful harmonies and creative fusions that go beyond traditional mariachi. Today, we hear from core members of the group who describe how they came to be and how...
Apr 16, 2024•16 min
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones rose to instant recognition when she published the 1619 Project in 2019. Since then she’s received countless praise, awards and recognition, but the project also engulfed her into a media firestorm with many on the far-right going after her and her work, with some states even banning the teaching of the 1619 Project. In this conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Nikole Hannah-Jones reflects on how she’s pushed ahead despite controversy, talks abo...
Apr 12, 2024•56 min
For the past decade, Armando Perez has worked as a wildland firefighter with the Eldorado, California, Hotshot crew — an elite group that works in the hottest portions of wildfires. For Armando that has meant weeks away from his family, dealing with some of the worst fires in U.S. history. Still, there’s nothing else he would rather be doing. In this episode of Latino USA, Armando recreates what a typical day is like for him and his crew to understand why, along with thousands of other wildland ...
Apr 09, 2024•22 min
What and who do you include in a national Latino museum? That’s a question that many have been asking since late 2020, when Congress green-lit the creation of The National Museum of the American Latino. It’s a new addition to the Smithsonian Institution’s roster of national museums, many of which intend to preserve the history and culture of the United States. The fight to create The National Museum of the American Latino spans across decades. The idea was sparked by a damning 1994 report, commi...
Apr 05, 2024•43 min
Mimy Succar arrived with her family in Miami over three decades ago, she had three kids and a dream. A talented singer and performer from a young age, she was born in Peru to a Japanese family and maintained the traditions of her grandparents. Together with her husband Antonio, they had a band who played throughout Lima. But in the late 80s, they didn’t see a future for their family and moved to Miami with their children, Claudia, Tony and Kenji. The children began showing interest in the band a...
Apr 02, 2024•16 min
Two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, creating a cascade of harmful abortion bans and restrictions. But from Colorado to Florida, Latinas are fighting back for their bodily autonomy and a chance to reframe abortion as a human rights issue. In this episode, we speak with three Latinas on the front lines of reproductive justice: Lourdes Rivera, President of Pregnancy Justice, Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro, Executive Director at the Florida Access Network,...
Mar 29, 2024•38 min
