In The Thick

By Futuro Media and PRX

What's In The Thick about?

Journalists tell you what you’re missing from the mainstream news. Co-hosted by award-winning journalists Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela, IN THE THICK has the conversations about race, identity and politics few people are discussing or want to discuss.

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Gov. Wes Moore on Redefinin...

09.14.2023

This week, we’re sharing something special from our friends over at TIME. It’s a preview of their first original podcast, Person of the Week. Each week, TIME Senior Correspondent Charlotte Alter hosts candid conversations with the people who shape the ...

In The Thick episodes:

09.14.2023 Gov. Wes Moore on Redefining Patriotism, from TIME’s Person of The Week This week, we’re sharing something special from our friends over at TIME. It’s a preview of their first original podcast, Person of the Week. Each week, TIME Senior Correspondent Charlotte Alter hosts candid conversations with the people who shape the ...
09.13.2023 A Message for Our Listeners Maria checks in with an important update about In The Thick. Your favorite political podcast is taking a break for the rest of 2023. While we won't be releasing any new episodes during this hiatus, all of our previous episodes ...
09.06.2023 AI Is Not What You Think In this episode, we’re unpacking AI. Julio is joined by Karen Hao, contributing writer for The Atlantic focusing on AI, to talk about the human impact of the rapidly evolving technology and what it means to decolonize AI. ITT Staff ...
08.30.2023 A Pivotal Moment in American Labor Futuro Media is taking a short summer break, so we’re sharing an episode from 2022, where Maria and Julio talk with Kim Kelly, labor journalist and author of “Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor,” about the history ...
08.23.2023 The Party of Authoritarianism Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos kick off the show with some of the latest news, including the first Republican 2024 presidential debate, and an update on extreme climate across the globe. In our roundtable, Mike German, fellow with the ...
08.16.2023 Oppenheimer’s Nuclear Colonialism Maria and Julio discuss the indictment of Donald Trump and his allies in Georgia, and the devastating fires in Maui. Then, we share a recent episode of Latino Rebels Radio. Julio talks to Myrriah Gómez, associate professor at the University ...
08.09.2023 All the Other Barbies Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the reelection of Tennessee state Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones and the move by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to relocate migrants seeking shelter. In our roundtable, Dr. Aria S. Halliday, ...
08.02.2023 Hot Labor Summer Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss Gov. Ron DeSantis’ alarming amendments to the Florida school curriculum regarding slavery. They also discuss the newest indictment against former President Donald Trump. In our roundtable, Lauren Kaori Gurley, labor reporter for the ...
07.27.2023 How to Beat the Disinformers, From Say More This week, we’re sharing something special from our friends over at The Boston Globe, it’s a preview of their new show, Say More. On Say More, host Shirley Leung talks to the doers and thinkers behind the BIGGEST ideas and ...
07.26.2023 From Punishment to Torture Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the judicial reforms in Israel and the rebranding of Twitter. In our roundtable, Fernanda is joined by climate reporter Kendra Pierre-Louis and Dr. Amite Dominick, president of the Texas Prison Community Advocates, for ...
07.19.2023 The Political Court Maria and guest co-host Fernanda Santos talk about the ongoing labor strikes and how record heat levels are affecting workers. In our roundtable, Maria and Julio are joined by Elie Mystal, The Nation’s justice correspondent and the host of its ...
07.12.2023 Native Rights Upheld Maria and Julio discuss the record levels of heat in the world and the disappointing dismissal of reparations for survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. In our roundtable, Julio is joined by Rebecca Nagle, a Cherokee writer and host ...
07.05.2023 American Whitelash Maria and Julio are joined by Wesley Lowery, journalist and author, to discuss his new book “American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress.” They get into how the election of Barack Obama in 2008 led to an ...
06.28.2023 Equity, Justice, Love Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the latest Supreme Court decisions and the Wagner Group in Russia. In our roundtable, Karlton Laster, Director of Policy and Organizing at Outfront Minnesota, and Marshall Martinez, Executive Director of Equality New Mexico, ...
06.21.2023 Roots of Cultural Expression Maria and Julio discuss the latest with former President Donald Trump’s indictment, and Hunter Biden’s plea deal on tax-related crimes. In our roundtable, we’re sharing an episode from 2021, where Maria and Julio talk with fiber artist Bisa Butler about ...
06.14.2023 “They Used Us” Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos talk about the indictment of former President Donald Trump. In our roundtable, Daniel Parra, Spanish-language editor and reporter for City Limits, and Claudia Tristán, immigration campaign director with MomsRising, join Julio to discuss challenges ...
06.07.2023 Buckling up for 2024 Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss Mike Pence launching his 2024 bid and the latest with Cop City in Atlanta. In our roundtable, Astead Herndon, national political reporter for The New York Times and host of The Run-Up podcast, ...
05.31.2023 Tension in the American Dream Maria and Julio talk about Uvalde, the fight for gun legislation and what to expect from the Republican presidential race. Then in our roundtable, they’re joined by Imara Jones, founder and CEO of TransLash Media and host of its investigative ...
05.24.2023 Healing in Uvalde Maria and Julio reflect on the one-year anniversary of the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas and the lasting impacts on the community. We go deeper in our roundtable to look at how families of victims– especially mothers, both past and ...
05.17.2023 A Culture of Fear Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the latest with immigration and the abortion ban in North Carolina. Then in our roundtable, Maria is joined by Josie Duffy Rice, journalist and writer, and Adam Serwer, staff writer at The Atlantic, ...
05.10.2023 Cop City Maria and guest co-host Fernanda Santos talk about former President Donald Trump being found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. And they get into two recent tragedies in Texas that left multiple people dead. Then in our ...
05.03.2023 A Moment for Realignment Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King discuss Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reaction to the horrific mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas and the lawsuit between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Then in our roundtable, Maria and Julio are joined by ...
04.26.2023 The Abuse of Migrant Workers Maria and Julio discuss President Biden’s reelection bid, the departures of Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon, and the latest on Uvalde. Then in our roundtable, guest host Fernanda Santos steps in to lead a discussion with Fernanda Echavarri, senior producer ...
04.19.2023 Conservatives Craft Policy Fernanda Santos and Jamilah King step into the co-host chairs to discuss the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl and a New York Times report about migrant child labor in the U.S. Then in our roundtable, Maria and Julio get into ...
04.12.2023 A Growing Demographic Maria and Julio discuss the ProPublica report about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepting luxury trips from major Republican donor Harlan Crow. They also talk about the Tennessee legislature’s expulsion of two Democratic members. Then in our roundtable, we get ...
04.05.2023 Between Death and Desperation We’re back with a brand new episode and new format! Maria and Julio break down the criminal arraignment of former President Donald Trump and discuss Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ comments on immigration. Then, we dive into President Biden’s immigration ...
03.28.2023 From 2016: Undercover With White Supremacists This next episode of our Best of ITT series takes us back to 2016, and our conversation with Mike German, fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program. Maria and Julio talk to Mike about what ...
03.21.2023 From 2019: Hyper Visible and Invisible Our Best of ITT series continues with this roundtable from 2019. Maria and Julio are joined by Shamira Ibrahim, culture writer on race, identity and politics, and Margari Hill, co-founder and executive director of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, to discuss ...
03.14.2023 From 2017: The Many Accents of Rita Moreno Our Best of ITT series continues with this episode from January 2017. Maria and Julio lead a discussion with legendary actress Rita Moreno about her star-turning role in “West Side Story” and her role in the reboot of Norman Lear’s ...
03.07.2023 From 2019: Ladies First The next episode of our Best of ITT series is from July 2019, and it gets into the significance of Black feminism. Maria and Julio talk with writer and activist Feminista Jones about her book, “Reclaiming Our Space: How Black ...
02.28.2023 From 2018: LIVE From Chicago, Suave’s Story We continue our Best of ITT series with this live episode from May 2018. Maria and Julio take the stage at DePaul University in Chicago with David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez, artist and a former juvenile lifer, to talk about Latinos ...
02.21.2023 From 2020: Ancestral Power Our Best of ITT series continues, as we celebrate our 7th year anniversary! In this episode from July 2020, Maria and Julio are joined by authors and historians Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross to talk about their book ...
02.14.2023 From 2022: Raising Antiracist Leaders We’re continuing our Best of ITT series to celebrate seven years of In The Thick with this episode from June 2022. Maria and Julio are joined by Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, ...
02.07.2023 From 2016: Law and Order, Is It Black and White? To celebrate ITT’s 7th year anniversary, we’re going back into the vault to share some of our best episodes that have helped shape our show. In this episode from our first year in 2016, Maria is joined by ITT all-star ...
02.03.2023 ITT Sound Off: Kevin and the Chaos Kids Julio and guest co-host Renée Graham, opinion columnist and associate editor at The Boston Globe, discuss Tyre Nichols’ funeral and the white supremacy behind the undercounted number of police violence cases in the U.S. They also discuss the College Board’s ...
01.31.2023 The Unapologetic Music of Puerto Rico This week, we’re talking about the second season of “La Brega,” a co-production from WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios. Julio is joined by Alana Casanova-Burgess, co-creator, host and producer of “La Brega,” and Jeanne Montalvo, grammy-nominated audio engineer and radio ...
01.28.2023 ITT Sound Off: The Shades of Gray Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos, editorial director of Futuro Media, discuss the recent mass shootings in California, two of nearly 40 that have happened this year so far. They also unpack the anti-government protests in Peru that have resulted ...
01.24.2023 Urban Refugees A year after the Twin Parks fire in the Bronx, Maria and Julio are joined by Amir Khafagy, a journalist and Report for America corps member with Documented, to discuss the systemic issues exposed by this tragedy, such as the ...
01.24.2023 La Brega Season 2: The Puerto Rican Experience in 8 Songs As the island donde hasta la piedras cantan –“where even the rocks sing”– Puerto Rico is home to a dizzying breadth of musical expression. From the lyrical boleristas of the 1930s, to the electric salseros of the ’70s, to the ...
01.20.2023 ITT Sound Off: The Embrace Julio and guest co-host Renée Graham, opinion columnist and associate editor at The Boston Globe, discuss the latest with the House GOP, including the recent House committee assignments under new Speaker Kevin McCarthy. They also get into the arrest of ...
01.17.2023 A Civil Rights History Lesson In this rebroadcast episode from 2021, Maria and Julio are joined by Jeanne Theoharis, distinguished professor of political science at Brooklyn College, historian, author and co-editor of “Julian Bond’s Time To Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement.” ...
01.13.2023 ITT Sound Off: Bad Optics Julio and guest co-host Renée Graham, opinion columnist and associate editor at The Boston Globe, get into the implications of classified documents found at President Biden’s home and former office. They also talk about the severe storms and flooding that ...
01.11.2023 How Democracy Survives Maria and Julio are joined by Jamil Smith, essayist for the Los Angeles Times, and Sabrina Rodríguez, national political reporter for The Washington Post, to discuss the storming of Brazil’s Congress by far-right Bolsonaro supporters, and the similarities to the ...
01.06.2023 ITT Sound Off: Democracy Destructionists Maria and Julio unpack what’s happening in the House of Representatives and the numerous votes to elect a new House Speaker. They also connect this to the January 6th attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol, which happened two years ago ...
01.03.2023 What Happens to a Lie Empowered? Maria and Julio reflect on the state of our democracy with Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University, and Ese Olumhense, reporter for Reveal. They discuss the takeaways from the 2022 midterm elections, including ...
12.30.2022 A Look Back at 2022 Wrapping up another amazing year at In The Thick, Maria and Julio reflect on some of their favorite moments of 2022, including ITT’s first in-person live show since the pandemic, election coverage in collaboration with Latino USA, and the opportunity ...
12.27.2022 Revolutionary Love In this rebroadcast episode from 2020, Maria and Julio welcome Valarie Kaur, renowned Sikh activist, civil rights lawyer, and author of the book “See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.” They reflect on Valarie’s activist roots and ...
12.23.2022 A 2022 Holiday Message As Futuro Media is off for winter break, Maria and Julio check in with all of you, our dear ITT listeners. We’re sending you lots of love and joy this holiday season. But don’t go away for too long– In ...
12.20.2022 Rafael Reif on Leading — and Leaving — MIT In The Thick is excited to present an episode from our sister podcast, Latino USA. In this episode, Maria talks with Rafael Reif, who is stepping down as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the end of the ...
12.16.2022 Journalism Is Not a Crime In The Thick is excited to share this week’s episode of Latino Rebels Radio. Julio talks to Nelson Rauda, a Salvadoran journalist for El Faro, about a lawsuit he and other journalists at El Faro filed against NSO Group, an ...

Older episodes

In The Thick

What's In The Thick about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

In The Thick episodes:

Gov. Wes Moore on Redefining Patriotism, from TIME’s Person of The Week

A Message for Our Listeners

AI Is Not What You Think

A Pivotal Moment in American Labor

The Party of Authoritarianism

Oppenheimer’s Nuclear Colonialism

All the Other Barbies

Hot Labor Summer

How to Beat the Disinformers, From Say More

From Punishment to Torture

The Political Court

Native Rights Upheld

American Whitelash

Equity, Justice, Love

Roots of Cultural Expression

“They Used Us”

Buckling up for 2024

Tension in the American Dream

Healing in Uvalde

A Culture of Fear

Cop City

A Moment for Realignment

The Abuse of Migrant Workers

Conservatives Craft Policy

A Growing Demographic

Between Death and Desperation

From 2016: Undercover With White Supremacists

From 2019: Hyper Visible and Invisible

From 2017: The Many Accents of Rita Moreno

From 2019: Ladies First

From 2018: LIVE From Chicago, Suave’s Story

From 2020: Ancestral Power

From 2022: Raising Antiracist Leaders

From 2016: Law and Order, Is It Black and White?

ITT Sound Off: Kevin and the Chaos Kids

The Unapologetic Music of Puerto Rico

ITT Sound Off: The Shades of Gray

Urban Refugees

La Brega Season 2: The Puerto Rican Experience in 8 Songs

ITT Sound Off: The Embrace

A Civil Rights History Lesson

ITT Sound Off: Bad Optics

How Democracy Survives

ITT Sound Off: Democracy Destructionists

What Happens to a Lie Empowered?

A Look Back at 2022

Revolutionary Love

A 2022 Holiday Message

Rafael Reif on Leading — and Leaving — MIT

Journalism Is Not a Crime

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