Latino USA

Chisme is the Spanish word for gossip. It happens when you speak about someone in their absence, sharing information that’s supposed to be private and not necessarily factual. But foremost, it is an ancestral tongue that has connected and bonded Latinos for generations. In this episode of Latino USA, producers Monica Morales-Garcia and Elisa Baena travel deep into a chismosa’s universe...

Eddie Palmieri’s genius couldn’t be categorized. His music was a mix of salsa, rumba, guaguanco, and jazz, and made anyone who listened to it get on the dance floor. Eddie was the first Latino artist to win a Grammy award and is credited with being a major force behind the Latin jazz boom that hit New York in the 1970s. Eddie passed away earlier this month at the age of 88. To celebrat...

Light your candles and schedule your limpia because today's episode is all about the power of intuition. First, we talk to scientist Galang Lufityanto about his research into intuitive decision-making. Then, we head to the Brooklyn Brujería festival and learn about how intuition has been part of a growing Latina feminist movement. Finally, we learn about Reporter Cindy Rodriguez’s jou...

Latinas took over the latest season of "Love Island USA" and one won the hearts of millions: “Amaya Papaya.” The massively popular show had many Latina contestants, some found love, and others found themselves in hot water after resurfaced problematic social media posts went viral for the wrong reasons. The cast just finished taping the reunion, which drops Aug. 25, so for this episode...

The musical adaptation of "Real Women Have Curves" was praised by the Tony Awards and across the country for its timeliness as it leaned heavily on one major topic: immigration. Still, the show closed after just two months on Broadway. In this episode, host Maria Hinojosa speaks with two of the lead actresses —Florencia Cuenca and Tatianna Córdoba— about what it takes to keep up...

After experiencing the complexity of migrating to the U.S. “the right way,” comedian Felipe Torres Medina set out to write a book that was informative but also fun. His goal: to help “remove the weight around the subject of immigration.” The writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert published "America Let Me In," which breaks down the serpentine world of visas and legal...

Professional men’s soccer or “futbol” has always had great Latino players, but only 7% of female professional soccer players are Latinas. That’s not how things look at the Downtown LA Soccer Club. Most of the girls playing for this non-profit are Latinas and that’s intentional. The club is trying to overcome the barriers young Latinas often face: like financial burden...

As the planet hits record-breaking carbon emissions, the race is on to slash CO2 levels. A controversial technology —called carbon capture and storage— is getting pushed as a solution by politicians and private companies. But critics say it’s just another way to keep fossil fuels alive, and for taxpayers to foot the bill  We traveled to California’s Central Valley &mda...

In a chilling interview, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez is sounding the alarm about government censorship, the Trump administration’s attacks on the First Amendment and what this means for the rights of all Americans. In this episode, Gomez sits down with host Maria Hinojosa to talk about how the federal government is pressuring media companies to bend to its will, how growing up in Colombia sh...

When Andrés tried translating Colombian slang to his American boyfriend, he stumbled into a deeper question: what do these words really mean?  In this episode, Andrés traces the roots of everyday slang in Colombian Spanish used not only by the queer community, but by the public at large.  What he finds reveals more about his queerness and culture than he thought. In this st...

Candido was working at a car wash when ICE agents pulled up in white vans, blocked all the entrances, and took him and his coworkers. The agents collected their phones but didn’t notice Candido’s Apple Watch right away. He used it to call his family, who otherwise wouldn't have known what happened to him.  We hear his story, and then, Maria Hinojosa speaks with Cal Matters investi...

In this episode, our Executive Editor Maria Garcia reflects on the legacy of Soraya Montenegro, her favorite telenovela villain of all time. Maria explores what Soraya’s legacy reveals about being labeled an evil woman, and even, human evolution.  Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning j...

The Trump administration is facing more than 300 legal challenges, many of which are being litigated by the American Civil Liberties Union led by Anthony Romero. The executive director has been at the helm through historic legal battles—from voter supression and “muslim” bans, to exposing torture in military detention and defending immigrant and reproductive rights. Romero sits d...

Latino USA returns in partnership with iHeart's My Cultura Podcast Network. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Democrats confront declining Latino support across three consecutive presidential elections, a fierce debate is unfolding within the party: Are Latino advocacy groups and polling firms helping or hurting the Democratic cause? Critics argue that a flawed messaging strategy —and a complacent advocacy infrastructure— have led to Latino voters drifting right, even toward Donald Trump. But advocates...

In 1948, a plane crashed near Fresno. On that flight there were 28 Mexican citizens who were being deported from the United States. Everyone on board died. The American crew members had their bodies sent home to their families for a proper burial, but the 28 farmworkers were buried in a mass grave—nameless. Today, we’re bringing back the story of the man who made it his life mission to identify th...

For decades, there’s been a persistent story about Mexican immigrants crossing the border for a better life in the United States. But there’s a new trend emerging: Mexicans and Mexican Americans, disillusioned with American politics, moving to Mexico for a more fulfilling life. In the second episode of a three-part collaboration with the Imperfect Paradise podcast, Imperfect Paradise host Antonia...

What happens when your musical partner is also your life partner and you’re raising a child together? We hear the answer in Buscabulla’s new album Se Amba Así , which takes us through the trials of modern love. From arriving at a crossroads in their relationship, to celebrating the breaking of learned patterns, the Puerto Rican couple lets listeners in as they grapple with the challenges of long t...

During a flurry of election-related anxiety, Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido re-downloaded TikTok and fell down a very specific rabbit hole: Latina trad wife content. Videos of women waking up at three in the morning, making “lonche” for their husbands and espousing traditional lifestyles have gone viral on social media.  In the first episode of a three-part collaboration with the Imperf...

California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference on June 12. We’ve seen the Trump administration go after activists, students, universities, journalists and now, in the latest escalation, elected officials, including members of Congress.  On today’s Latino USA episode, host Maria Hinojosa sits down with Senator Padilla to talk about this recent incident and what it reve...

We go behind the scenes with The Network’s hosts Victoria Estrada and Marta Martinez. In conversation with Maria Hinojosa, they share anecdotes and reflections on their reporting in Latin America for the 3-episode series produced in collaboration with NPR’s Embedded podcast. From what sparked their interest in telling this story to the challenges of trying to reconstruct something that happened 40...

This week, we’re presenting the third of “The Network,” a new series that Latino USA co-produced with NPR’s Embedded podcast.  The network and its method took off in countries where women didn’t have a legal option for abortion. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, many Americans have found themselves in that very situation. We travel to the US to see how the network is responding to exploding demand...

Today, we're presenting episode 2 of “The Network,” a new series that Latino USA co-produced with NPR’s Embedded podcast.  The network had developed a method that had the potential to get women widespread access to safe abortions. But to make that happen, a whisper network wasn’t enough.  Hosts Marta and Victoria travel across Latin America to trace how the network entered a new era. Women spoke u...

This week we’re presenting the first episode of “The Network,” a new series that Latino USA co-produced with NPR’s Embedded podcast.  In the mid-1980s, an OBGYN in Brazil noticed that far fewer pregnant women at his hospital were dying from abortion complications.  It wasn’t a coincidence.  Brazilian women had made a discovery that allowed them to safely have abortions at home, despite the country...

In the news this week: On June 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began a series of raids in Los Angeles, and their actions were the boiling point after months of violent apprehensions.  Protests grew and the federal government sent unsolicited troops as a response, which only heightened tensions. We speak with Cal Matters reporter Sergio Olmos about the administration’s excessive crack...