Latino Usa

When Rafael Reif steps down as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the end of December 2022, there will no longer be a Latino president at the helm of a top university in the United States. But for Reif, his tenure and the journey that brought him to it, is one that is defined by more than just his identity. In this conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Reif reflects on the legacy he wants to leave as MIT president. He talks about how his upbringing in Venezuela shaped his outlook on education, and shares his message for Latino and Latina students pursuing higher education.

After a challenging experience as a computer science major, Samantha fell in love with making video games. But more than the technical aspects of video games, she is interested in storytelling. Now, Samantha works as a game writer and narrative designer to develop the ways a player experiences the story of the game. And she’s bringing her Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage to the video games she creates. Because, for the most part, the stories of people like Samantha have not been told in video games. In this episode of Latino USA, Samantha shares her journey of finding her way into the video game industry and the joys of bringing her whole self to the games she creates.

A Mexican-American journalist and a Cuban-Mexican investigative reporter walk into a recording studio with a bottle of tequila, and reveal an investigation where true crime meets telenovela. “USA v. García Luna” tells the story of Genaro García Luna: The most powerful Mexican government official ever to face trial in the UnitedStates for his alleged ties to infamous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. It’s the result of a 10-year investigation and a shared journalistic obsession where Pulitzer Prize-winner Maria Hinojosa and Emmy Award-winner Peniley Ramírez tackle how U.S. money funds the drug war. To hear more of USA v. García Luna, head to futuroinvestigates.org.

In the special presentation of the In The Thick political podcast produced by Futuro Media, Maria and Julio are joined by Daniela Pierre-Bravo, reporter for MSNBC’s Morning Joe, to discuss her new book, “The Other: How to Own Your Power at Work as a Woman of Color.” They talk about overcoming imposter syndrome and biases within our own communities. They also unpack the inequities and systemic issues in workplaces that contribute to feelings of otherness for Black and brown women.

In this year-long investigation from Futuro Investigates, we dig into how the Border Patrol’s decades-long deterrence policies create a deadly funnel, pushing migrants to cross through the Sonora Desert in southern Arizona—one of the deadliest terrains in the country. More than 4,000 remains have been recovered, and many have disappeared here. While the actual death toll is unknown, experts say it is likely much higher. As a result, volunteer organizations go to the most dangerous areas to search for missing people. We question why volunteers have to take on this work, and how this crisis fuels the Border Patrol’s budget.

Today, we are sharing with Latino USA listeners the first episode of “White Hats,” a new podcast by Texas Monthly. In this episode Host Jack Herrera visits the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, searching for how the Rangers became such enduring Texan symbols. Then he drives to the Rio Grande Valley, where historian Trinidad Gonzales recalls the Rangers’ role in a century-old family tragedy and discovering how his family history was part of the bigger story of Texas.

On Thanksgiving Day, hundreds of people gather on Alcatraz Island, the famous former prison and one of the largest tourist attractions in San Francisco, for a sunrise ceremony to honor Indigenous culture and history. In 1969, an intertribal group of students and activists took over the island for over 16 months in an act of political resistance. Richard Oakes, a young Mohawk from New York, was one of the leaders in this movement dubbed the "Red Power Movement." Latino USA tells the story of Richard Oakes' life, from his first involvement in activism to his untimely death at the age of 30. This episode originally aired on November 2018.

Today we bring you a taste of the comedy podcast Hyphenated, by Latina comedians Joanna Hausmann and Jenny Lorenzo. In this episode, Jenny and Joanna share various idioms and expressions from their home countries and try to explain their history and meaning, including “un arroz con mango” and “cachicamo diciéndole al morrocoy conchudo,” as well as other strange sayings from around the world.

For this year’s midterms, Latino USA is teaming up with Futuro Media’s political podcast In The Thick for a special post-election roundtable discussion. Hosts Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela are joined by Christian Paz, senior politics reporter for Vox, and Maya King, politics reporter for the New York Times, to unpack key updates in the midterm elections. They also get into the impact of young voters and the issue of abortion on the elections, and consider what to expect in 2024. Finally—we hear from you, our Latino USA and In The Thick listeners, who called in record numbers and told us what you care about when you head to the polls.

This week Latino USA is featuring “The Ballot Boogeymen,” a podcast by Reveal, which talks about a new rash of laws and agencies criminalizing and prosecuting what they consider to be election offenses, giving listeners a glimpse of what’s to come ahead of the general elections in 2024. You can subscribe here.

Introducing a new podcast by NPR and Futuro Studios: The Last Cup, a podcast about soccer and the immigrant experience As Lionel Messi rose up the ranks of the Barça football club in Spain, he dreamed of winning a World Cup for his home country. But playing with Argentina's national team has proven to be this soccer superman's kryptonite. What can Messi's story tell us about the cost of leaving home, and the struggle to return? The Last Cup is a dual-language limited series. All episodes are in both English and Spanish. Subscribe here.

Visual artist Narsiso Martinez uses materials, like discarded produce boxes and dusty charcoal, to depict intimate scenes about the life and labor of farm workers in the United States. Born in Oaxaca, Mexico in 1977, Narsiso says migrant farm work was part of his hometown’s culture — it was normal to see young people travel to the US for work. At 19, Narsiso also made that journey, and went on to do farm work in the orchards of Washington state in order to afford his dream of pursuing art school. In this episode, Narsiso Martinez takes us to his studio and his solo exhibition at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California, sharing the stories behind his work and his journey as an artist.

Author and journalist, Carmen Rita Wong, grew up believing that her father was “Papi” Peter Wong, a Chinese American man. At least, that’s what her Dominican mother, Lupe, told her. But as Carmen's mom neared the end of her life, family secrets came to the surface, sending Carmen on a search for answers. In her memoir “Why Didn’t You Tell Me,” Carmen dives into her family’s story — picking apart how race, class, and gender shaped the often difficult decisions she and her family had to make. In this intimate conversation, Carmen shares some of the childhood memories that shaped her, and talks about how the act of memoir writing can feel like a radical practice of empathy.

In the special presentation of the In The Thick political podcast produced by Futuro Media, Maria and Julio are joined by Jennifer Medina, a national politics reporter for The New York Times. They break down recent polling on Latino and Latina voters, including Futuro Media’s first-ever political poll. They also discuss the issues that actually matter to Latino and Latina voters, and what both parties are missing in their outreach. And, they get into Jennifer’s reporting on the rise of right-wing, conservative Latina candidates running on GOP platforms. To subscribe to In The Thick, click here. Photo credit: AP Photo/Morry Gash

Latino USA producer Sayre Quevedo grew up having only met two members of his blood family, his mom and his brother. His father left before he was born and his mother lost touch with her family after leaving home as a teenager. For a long time, Sayre's family history was shrouded in mystery. Until one Mother's Day, when everything changes, and he finds himself on a journey to untangle the story of his long-lost family and the secrets that have haunted them. This story originally aired in August 2018.

On October 9, the Los Angeles Times of a conversation between now-former L.A. City Council President Nury Martínez, fellow Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, and now-former L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, in which Martínez made racist remarks against another councilmember’s Black son and the city’s Indigenous community from Oaxaca. Here’s an episode from our colleagues at Latino Rebels Radio, where guest host and Latino Rebels senior editor Hector Luis Alamo speaks with Gustavo Arellano, featured contributor for the L.A. Times, to get a sense of what the scandal means for the people of Los Angeles and the future of the city.

Between the years of 2010 and 2020, North Dakota saw a growth rate of almost 150% of Latinos and Latinas, according to the U.S. Census —the biggest Latino population growth in the entire country. Jobs in the oil and gas industry are mostly responsible for this population growth in North Dakota. But moving to and living in North Dakota isn’t always easy. And many ask: are Latinos here to stay? In this episode we learn about some of the hardships Latinos and Latinas face when moving to a state like North Dakota and what it’s like to create a new Latino community from scratch. We also look at how this swift population growth is being addressed by the local government, and what efforts they’re making to get more people to stay for the long haul.

Latino USA is proud to present an episode of Brazil on Fire, a podcast produced in partnership between The Real News and NACLA. Using key issues like family values and security, Bolsonaro’s hateful rhetoric and fake news machine painted the 2018 election as a battle for the soul of the country. This episode looks at Bolsonaro’s most ardent supporters and how a culture war born in the United States inspired a wave of political violence. To subscribe to Brazil on Fire, click here.

North Dakota saw the biggest growth rate of Latinos and Latinas in the United States between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census. Why? Many people moved to North Dakota for jobs, particularly in the oil and gas industry, lured by an oil boom that started around 2008. But how has this increase of Latinos, Latinas and other people impacted the state and how is this rapid growth being received? In this episode, we look at the politics of oil and gas, the types of jobs Latinos and Latinas are doing within this controversial industry and the impact that drilling is having on the environment and Indigenous communities in North Dakota.

Latino USA is proud to present an episode from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com Rediscovering: Killed Through The Border Fence podcast. Nearly a decade ago, a Border Patrol agent in the United States shot and killed 16-year-old José Antonio Elena Rodríguez in Mexico. Rediscovering: Killed Through The Border Fence tells the story of José Antonio and his family's search for something still elusive at the border: justice. In the first episode of this new podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, a look at the tragic events on the night of Oct. 10, 2012, and how José Antonio’s family mobilized to press the U.S. government to take action as they seek for answers. To subscribe to Rediscovering: Killed Through The Border Fence, click here.