In The Thick

Maria and Julio reflect on conversations around use of the term Latinx, and highlight what’s missing from political outreach and media coverage when it comes to Latino communities. They also get into the new “West Side Story” remake, and unpack the broader need for more diversified narratives about Puerto Ricans and communities of color in Hollywood. ITT Staff Picks: - For MSNBC, Julio writes abou...

Maria and Julio are joined by Tina Vasquez, senior staff writer for The Counter, and Tanvi Misra, independent immigration reporter. They dive into the latest on immigration, including the Biden administration’s continuation of Trump-era, anti-immigrant policies. They also talk about alarming conditions in ICE detention facilities, and the experiences of immigrant workers. And, they discuss the fig...

If you are a fan of In The Thick, you know that our co-host Julio Ricardo Varela is a big Boston sports fan (even known as "The Bronx Judas"). For this special bonus drop on our feed, Julio and his family are featured in a new 10-part podcast series called The Man in the Arena from Religion of Sports and ESPN that looks at two decades of Tom Brady through the eyes of the fans and the haters, those...

Julio and guest co-host Terrell Jermaine Starr, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and host of the Black Diplomats Podcast, discuss the Michigan high school shooting, Chris Cuomo’s suspension from CNN, and Representative Lauren Boebert’s racist comments against Representative Ilhan Omar. And, they dive into the Supreme Court case about a Mississippi abortion law. ITT Staff Picks: - This piece f...

Maria and Julio are joined by ITT All-Stars Wajahat Ali, columnist for The Daily Beast, and Jamilah King, deputy inequality editor for Buzzfeed News. They dive into the latest on the COVID-19 crisis, including the new omicron variant, and what’s needed to fight global vaccine inequality. They also unpack the trial and conviction of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers, and the state of U.S. democracy as we app...

Maria and Julio are joined by Al Letson, host of Reveal and the new podcast series, “Mississippi Goddamn: The Ballad of Billey Joe.” Billey Joe Johnson Jr. was a Black high school football star who was found dead in Lucedale, Mississippi in 2008 after being pulled over by a white cop. They get into his story, the problematic history of investigations when it comes to suspicious deaths of Black peo...

Maria and Julio are joined by Rowaida Abdelaziz, national reporter for the HuffPost covering immigration and Islamophobia, and Ali Latifi, Kabul correspondent for Al Jazeera English, to talk about the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. They discuss the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the impact on Afghan women and the latest with refugee resettlement. ITT Staff Picks: -...

Maria and Julio react to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, and talk about how white supremacy played out in his trial, the trial against Ahmaud Arbery’s killers, and the case against the organizers of the “Unite the Right'' rally. They also give an update on the Build Back Better bill and Maria’s latest reporting in Latin America. And, they talk about the House vote to censure Rep. Paul Gosar for his...

Julio is joined by Elie Mystal, justice correspondent at The Nation, and Michael Harriot, senior writer at The Root, to talk about white supremacy and anti-Black racism in the criminal justice system. They get into the murder trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and the killers of Ahmaud Arbery. They also discuss the latest with the January 6th investigation, and the ramifications of rising inflation for co...

In this crossover episode, ITT airs the second episode of Nuestro, a new podcast from Chuck Rocha, Democratic strategist and former Bernie Sanders campaign adviser.  Nuestro gives space to Latino artists, advocates, politicians and journalists, to get deep into the moments that have defined and shaped their lives. In this episode, Chuck talks to Jonathan Jayes-Green, vice president of programs at...

Julio and guest co-host Jenni Monet, independent investigative journalist and founder of the newsletter Indigenously, are joined by S. Mitra Kalita, co-founder of URL Media and CEO and publisher of Epicenter-NYC, and Justin Worland, senior correspondent for Time Magazine covering climate change and policy. They reflect on the 2021 election results and unpack the latest with infrastructure spending...

We’re proud to present Re-Imagination Nation, a new series that is part of the We Imagine… Us project by Futuro Unidad Hinojosa, the newest editorial division from Maria Hinojosa and Futuro Media. Re-Imagination Nation features interviews with thought leaders, artists and activists who are members of SCoRE (Solidarity Council on Racial Equity). In this episode, author Heather McGhee talks with Mar...

Julio and guest co-host Imara Jones, founder and CEO of TransLash Media, are joined by Akela Lacy, politics reporter at The Intercept, and Renée Graham, associate editor and columnist for The Boston Globe’s Op-Ed section. They talk about the World Series games in Atlanta, and the racism behind the Tomahawk Chop. They also get into the latest with the investigation into January 6, and they hear fro...

Maria and Julio talk about what’s happening with President Biden’s spending bill and the issues within the Democratic Party. They also discuss the upcoming trial of Kyle Rittenhouse and the ongoing investigation into the January 6 Capitol insurrection.  ITT Staff Picks:  - As negotiations on Biden’s Build Back Better plan continue, reporters Amanda Becker and Candice Norwood write about how the fa...

Maria and Julio are joined by Luis Feliz Leon, writer and educator with Labor Notes, and Lauren Kaori Gurley, labor reporter for Vice Magazine’s Motherboard to talk about the labor strikes happening across the country, from farm equipment workers to undocumented immigrant workers. They also talk about how the pandemic has fueled the calls for better working conditions. Staff Picks:  - Luis Feliz L...

Maria and Julio get into the Senate confirmation hearing for Chris Magnus, President Biden’s pick to lead Customs and Border Protection. They also debrief the latest developments from the House committee investigating the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. And, they talk about a Senate committee investigation in Brazil to hold President Jair Bolsonaro accountable for the failures in his...

Maria and Julio are joined by ITT All-Star Imara Jones, creator and producer at TransLash Media, and Kate Sosin, LGBTQ+ reporter at The 19th News, for a conversation about the latest headlines. They talk about former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s death, the Biden administration's actions around immigration, and the recent anti-trans bill out of Texas. And, they discuss the latest controve...

Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King, deputy inequality editor at Buzzfeed News, give an immigration update, including Maria Hinojosa’s reporting in Mississippi for Latino USA which followed up on the massive ICE workplace raid in 2019. They also talk about NFL coach Jon Gruden’s resignation in light of emails revealing misogynistic, racist and homophobic comments. And, they debrief the controvers...

Maria and Julio are joined by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, historian and author of the new book “Not A ‘Nation of Immigrants’: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion.” They dive into a conversation about U.S. imperialism and colonialism, immigration and dismantling the myth around Christopher Columbus.  This episode was mixed by Rosana Cabán. ITT Staff Picks:  - Teen...

Maria and Julio give a brief update on the latest in Congress. Then they get into the outage across Facebook’s platforms this week and the congressional testimony from whistleblower, Frances Haugen. They also talk about the scandals emerging around Ozy Media, and the Pandora Papers leak. ITT Staff Picks:  - Billy Perrigo reports for Time Magazine about Facebook’s decision to shut down its civic-in...

For this special 500th episode of In The Thick, Maria and Julio reflect on this milestone of centering POC voices. Then, Julio and guest co-host Wajahat Ali are joined by ITT All-Stars Terrell Jermaine Starr, foreign affairs reporter and host of the Black Diplomats podcast, and Jenni Monet, independent investigative journalist and founder of the weekly newsletter Indigenously. They get into what i...

Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King, deputy inequality editor at Buzzfeed News, talk about the latest in Congress, including Thursday’s vote to temporarily stop a government shutdown, and the infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills. They hear from Representative Jamaal Bowman, of New York’s 16th Congressional District, about the frustrating delay in passing immigration reform. And, they di...

Maria and Julio are joined by Dr. Rashad Richey, political analyst and host of “Indisputable” on The Young Turks Network and Zerlina Maxwell, host of “Zerlina” on Peacock, for a conversation on the latest news. They discuss the media coverage surrounding Gabby Petito’s death, and disparities when it comes to the same coverage for people of color. They also talk about the Biden administration’s han...

In this week’s sound off, Maria and Julio dive deep into the violent border enforcement we witnessed in Del Rio, Texas where thousands of Haitian refugees were being held and turned away. They discuss the horrifying images of Border Patrol agents attacking Haitian immigrants and the media’s responsibility to push back against the Biden administration’s narrative. ITT Staff Picks:  - Felipe De La H...

Maria and Julio get into the ongoing climate crisis with Kendra Pierre-Louis, producer and senior climate reporter with the Gimlet-Spotify podcast How to Save a Planet, and Dallas Goldtooth, organizer with the Keep It in the Ground Campaign for the Indigenous Environmental Network. They discuss how communities of color are the most impacted by climate disasters globally, and also how they are at t...