In The Thick

Maria and Julio talk about the election in California to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. They hear from Jean Guerrero, an opinion columnist for the Los Angeles Times about how this effort was rooted in white supremacy. They also get into the Senate hearing on how FBI agents failed to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against former physician, Larry Nassar. And finally, they debrief the Met Gal...

Maria and guest co-host Jamilah King, deputy inequality editor at BuzzFeed News, are joined by Lina-Maria Murillo, assistant professor of gender, women’s and sexuality studies, and history, at the University of Iowa, and Veronica Martinez, journalist covering gender and immigration for La Verdad, for a conversation about reproductive justice. They unpack the latest on the Texas abortion ban and Me...

Maria and Julio dive deep into the latest news with reproductive rights, including the Texas law that came into effect earlier this month, prohibiting abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, and a recent decision from Mexico’s Supreme Court to decriminalize abortion. They also reflect on the damage from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana and along the Northeast coast.  ITT Staff Picks:  - Elie M...

Maria and Julio are joined by Rose Arce, journalist and executive producer at Soledad O’Brien Productions, and a former colleague of Maria’s, for an intimate conversation about their on-the-ground reporting on 9/11. They get into what it was like to cover these events and how it has impacted their personal lives and journalistic careers 20 year later.  ITT Staff Picks: - In this piece for CNN, Ros...

Maria and Julio are joined by Mansoor Adayfi, a former Guantánamo detainee and author of the new book “Don't Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantánamo.” They talk about Mansoor’s experience being detained for 14 years, without charge or trial, at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba and get an inside look into the place that has tortured detainees and restricted access to the media...

Maria and Julio are joined by Jon Hale, professor at the University of Illinois, and author of the new book, “The Choice We Face: How Segregation, Race and Power Have Shaped America’s Most Controversial Education Reform Movement,” and Leigh Patel, professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, and author of the new book, “No Study Without Struggle: Confronting Settler Colonialism i...

In this rebroadcast episode from earlier this year, Maria and Julio are joined by Charles Blow, columnist for The New York Times and author of "The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto." They talk about Black political power and Charles' call for a reversal of the Great Migration to create Black regionalism in the South. They also discuss how to confront anti-Black violence in this moment of ra...

Julio is joined by Rogelio Sáenz, demographer and professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Hansi Lo Wang, NPR national correspondent reporting on the people, power and money behind the U.S. census, to geek out over the 2020 census results. They dive into the latest race and ethnicity data and discuss how the data will impact policy, funding, and redistricting. ITT Staff Picks: - Ada...

Maria and Julio get into the latest breaking news from Afghanistan and discuss the role of mainstream media and multiple presidential administrations throughout the destructive war. They also hear from Ali Latifi, an Afghan journalist for Al Jazeera English based in Kabul. Finally, they get into the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Haiti and what it means for people who are still reb...

Julio is joined by Dr. Bianka Soria-Olmos, a pediatrician at Cook Children’s Pediatrics, and Dr. Darien Sutton, emergency medicine physician and medical contributor for ABC News, for a conversation about the coronavirus pandemic and vaccine access. They discuss the politicization of the pandemic and the spread of misinformation around vaccines. They also unpack how this latest surge of COVID-19 ha...

Maria and Julio discuss New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation following the state attorney general’s report which corroborated the sexual harassment allegations against him. They also get into the latest with Congress and the Senate’s passing of the 1 trillion dollar infrastructure bill, and give an update on COVID-19 and the Delta variant’s surge in the South. ITT Staff Picks: - “Politicia...

Maria and Julio are joined by Norma Flores López, Chief Programs Officer at Justice for Migrant Women, and Reyna Lopez, Executive Director of Oregon’s largest farmworker union: Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste or PCUN, to talk about the movement for justice and rights for farmworkers. They dive into how the record heat waves are affecting farmworkers, how the history of farming is rooted i...

This is the true story of the young people from Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico and beyond who beat the odds, refused to be quiet and created an irresistible musical culture that has kept the world dancing. Join Ivy Queen, one of the founders of the genre, for an incredible musical story about sex, race, drugs, censorship, and of course, perreo. First: stop Panama. LOUD: The History of Reggaeton is a...

Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King, reporter and host of the Mother Jones podcast, get into the latest with the New York Attorney General’s investigation of sexual harassment allegations against Governor Andrew Cuomo. They also talk about the reactions to homophobic comments made by rapper DaBaby, and what accountability looks like. And, they talk about the Biden administration’s decision to ren...

Julio and guest co-host Jenni Monet, independent investigative journalist and founder of the newsletter Indigenously, are joined by ITT All-Stars Ryan L. Nave, editor-in-chief of Reckon South, and Karen Attiah, opinion columnist at the Washington Post. They dive into the latest on COVID-19, Republican attacks on voting rights and efforts to incorporate immigration reform into the Democrats’ budget...

Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King, reporter and host of the Mother Jones podcast, discuss the emotional testimonies from the first House select committee hearing investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. They also unpack the latest COVID-19 news, including the CDC’s new guidelines for fully vaccinated people, and the looming eviction crisis. And, they talk about Simone Biles’ withdra...

Maria and Julio are joined by Chabeli Carrazana, economy reporter at The 19th, and Valerie Wilson, director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and Economy at the Economic Policy Institute, for a discussion on COVID-19’s impact on women in the workforce. They discuss government efforts to curb the growing “shecession” and the pandemic’s toll on mental health for parents and healthcare workers, the...

Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King, reporter and host of the Mother Jones podcast, discuss the ruling of DACA as unlawful by a Texas-based federal judge. They also talk about the Tokyo Olympics and the health toll it could take on the city and Japan, and the ongoing coal miners strike in Alabama, which first started in April.  ITT Staff Picks: - Thousands of prospective DACA recipients are left...

Julio and Maria are joined by ITT All-Star Jenni Monet, independent investigative journalist and founder of the newsletter Indigenously. They dive deep into the harrowing revelations about former residential schools for Indigenous children in the U.S. and Canada. They also talk about reclaiming Indigenous narratives in the media, and what restorative justice might look like for Indigenous communit...

ITT Sound Off: Imperial Overlord Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King, reporter and host of the Mother Jones podcast, discuss the historic protests in Cuba. We hear from Cuban American journalist Sabrina Rodríguez, an immigration correspondent for Politico, on the Cuban government’s efforts to suppress internet access across the island. They also talk about Texas lawmakers’ battle over voting righ...

Maria is joined by Marcela Hernandez, organizing director with Detention Watch Network, and Mustafa Jumale, co-founder of Black Immigrant Collective, to discuss immigration policy and the intensifying situations in Haiti and Cuba. They unpack the Biden Administration’s immigration proposals, and the ways that anti-Blackness permeates the U.S. immigration system. We also hear from Patrice Lawrence,...

Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King, reporter and host of the Mother Jones podcast, discuss the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse and its global implications. We hear from Dánica Coto, an Associated Press correspondent covering the Caribbean, on Moïse’s presidency and the circumstances preceding his assassination. They also dive into the marginalization of Black athletes, journalis...

In this rebroadcast episode from last summer, Maria and Julio are joined by Pam Campos-Palma, Director of Peace & Security at the Working Families Party, and Gina Peréz, cultural anthropologist and professor at Oberlin College to dig deep into the case of Vanessa Guillén, and the issues of sexual assault, structural racism and a culture of impunity in the U.S. military. They discuss the milita...

While Futuro Media is off for the Fourth of July, Maria and Julio check in with our dearest ITT listeners. They reflect on this past year and what celebrating democracy in this country looks like following the movement for racial justice, the coronavirus pandemic and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol earlier this year. Photo credit: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file   See acast.com/privacy fo...

As Pride Month comes to a close, Maria and Julio are joined by Jorge Gutierrez, an an UndocuQueer activist and executive director of Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, and ITT All-Star Imara Jones, creator of TransLash Media and host of the TransLash podcast. They talk about the corporatization of Pride amidst a barrage of anti-LGBTQ state legislation. And, they dive into the intersection o...