American Colony | The Latino Newsletter Podcast

Six-time Emmy award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker John Carlos Frey shares his unconventional journey from Hollywood actor to investigative reporter covering immigration and border issues — a transition sparked by learning about the horrors that transpired on California's All-American Canal.

He discusses the whitewashing of immigrant stories, the limitations of 90-second news segments, and why ICE and Border Patrol escalate violence instead of diffusing it.

This episode of The Latino Newsletter podcast was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramírez, and Michelle Zacarias. Julio Ricardo Varela edited the conversation. The music is by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations⁠ and ⁠the Latino Media Consortium⁠.

Filmmaker Colette Ghunim discusses her award-winning documentary “Traces of Home.” The film follows Colette and her parents as they return to Mexico and Palestine — the homelands they were forced to leave — to confront intergenerational trauma, displacement, and explore her cultural identity.

Colette shares the nine-year journey of creating this deeply personal documentary, from convincing her hesitant parents to participate to winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best U.S. Documentary at the 2025 Documentary NYC Festival. She opens up about how the filmmaking process became an unexpected tool for healing family wounds, bridging the gap between generations, and understanding the lasting impact of colonization and migration.

The conversation explores the parallels between Mexican and Palestinian diasporic experiences, the challenges of being a woman of color in documentary filmmaking, and how art can serve as medicine for collective trauma.

This episode of The Latino Newsletter Podcast was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela. Music by Cast of Characters via SoundStripe.

Season 2 of the Latino Newsletter Podcast was made possible by individual donations and by the Latino Media Consortium.

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guest, and do not necessarily reflect those held by The Latino Newsletter or its staff.

Investigative reporter Nicole Foy joins the Latino Newsletter Podcast to discuss her groundbreaking ProPublica investigation that uncovered more than 170 U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents as of October 2025 — a number she describes as a "vast undercount."

Foy reveals the systemic failures behind these detentions, from citizens being kicked and dragged during arrests to spending days in federal custody without access to lawyers, phone calls, or basic necessities. Her reporting exposes how heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration has led to unprecedented community resistance and collateral damage, with U.S. citizens — including children and people with cancer — caught in the crossfire.

This episode of the Latino Newsletter Podcast was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela. Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of the Latino Newsletter Podcast was made possible through individual donations and the Latino Media Consortium. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest and host, and don't necessarily reflect those of the Latino Newsletter or its staff.

The first weekend of 2026 started with the news that the United States had captured Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro. For this episode of The Latino Newsletter podcast, host Michelle Zacarias welcomes Juan Escalante, an immigrant rights advocate, digital strategist, and storyteller who was born in Venezuela and is now a U.S. citizen.

Juan has been actively writing and creating videos this week about the country’s uncertain path, and he also shares his thoughts on the ICE killing of Renée Nicole Good.

This episode was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela. Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations and the ⁠⁠⁠Latino Media Consortium⁠⁠⁠.

Featured image: Venezuelans in Buenos Aires, Argentina, celebrating the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, January 3, 2026 (Photo by Roberto Fiadone, CC BY 4.0)

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and hosts, and don't necessarily reflect those of The Latino Newsletter or its staff.

In this episode, Andrea Flores reflects on her journey as an immigration lawyer and policy advocate, sharing firsthand insights from her work in both the Obama and Biden administrations.

She discusses the challenges of navigating a broken immigration system, the creation of DACA, and how the Biden administration may have paved the way for deportations under Trump. The conversation explores the evolving landscape at the U.S. border, the political complexities facing lawmakers, and the power of local communities to drive change when national leadership falls short.

For more about Andrea's work, visit her America’s Promise Substack.

This episode was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela. Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations and the ⁠⁠Latino Media Consortium⁠⁠.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and hosts, and don't necessarily reflect those of The Latino Newsletter or its staff.

For our latest episode, The Latino Newsletter and El Planeta teams interview Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey about Latino communities in the state and what they are experiencing in 2025. This episode marks the start of a new bilingual partnership between the two outlets. Reporters Rosanna Marinelli and Liza Martin Carfi, along with The Latino Newsletter founder Julio Ricardo Varela, share their thoughts about the interview.

Read the full story at The Latino Newsletter. Para la versión en español, visita El Planeta.

This episode was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Julio Ricardo Varela, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela.Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe and Joaquín Cotler.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations and the ⁠Latino Media Consortium⁠.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and hosts, and don't necessarily reflect those of The Latino Newsletter or its staff.

Host Michelle Zacarias talks with legendary labor leader and activist Dolores Huerta about the ongoing fight for workers’ rights, the power of organizing, and the challenges facing the Latino community today. Dolores shares insights from her decades of activism, reflects on the evolution of social movements, and offers advice for the next generation of changemakers.

This episode was produced by Joaquin Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela.

Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations and the Latino Media Consortium.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and hosts, and don't necessarily reflect those of The Latino Newsletter or its staff.

Chicano activist and political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz on growing up in a border town, politics in comic strips, and AI in the art world. From the controversial comic strips “La Cucaracha” to his latest project, a musical compilation called “Contra ICE,” Lalo’s work is thought-provoking, iconoclastic, and at times hilarious. He says the job of a cartoonist is to make people think — not necessarily always make them laugh.

This episode was produced by Joaquin Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela.

Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations and the Latino Media Consortium.

Multi-faceted artist and reggaeton historian Katelina Eccleston, known as La Gata, on becoming the first queer, Black femme with a platform discussing the roots and reverberations of Reggaeton.

From her online course Perreo 101 to lecturing at Harvard to her international college-level course, La Gata has become an essential voice in the Reggaeton community. And she has some hot takes on Bad Bunny too!

This episode was produced by Joaquin Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela.

Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe and La Gata & Jaby Vibes.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through ⁠individual donations⁠ and ⁠the Latino Media Consortium⁠.

Now that we're planning to drop a new episode of The Latino Newsletter every two weeks, we have some big news.

Award-winning journalist Michelle Zacarias takes over the chair as our new host, but not before she talks to her first guest: former host, Julio Ricardo Varela.

This episode was produced by Joaquin Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela.

Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations and the Latino Media Consortium.