The new investigative podcast series “Head Down'' explores labor trafficking happening within the U.S. government sponsored H2A visa program. It is sold as a “mutually beneficial” immigration program that allows migrant workers to come to the U.S. as temporary agricultural workers, but a close look into the program reveals a great disparity between how the program is described and what actually happens. 
A recent investigation by Prism, LatinoUSA, and Futuro Investigates found that this program is rife with exploitation and abuse. The two part podcast follows the journey of Mexican farmworkers who soon after arriving in North Carolina with H-2A visas found themselves in a nightmare they were forced to escape.
We speak with one of the podcast cohosts, editor-at-large of Prism News, Tina Vasquez. And while we’re on the topic of North Carolina, we also speak with Tina about the state’s recent move to ban abortion after 12 weeks.
Listen to "Head Down":
Head Down: Part I; Head Down: Part II

'Head Down' to North Carolina: The H2A Visa Program and Abortion Rights

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Our host and our staff have remained dedicated to one thing: bringing you, the listeners, a quality news and information show. 
Unfortunately, in February, The Takeaway staff found out that WNYC executives planned to cancel the show. The last day of the show was June 2nd, 2023. No official press release or external communications from NYPR mentions the end of the show, so in this episode, we address it head on with our former executive producer and current Executive Editor for GBH News, Lee Hill.
Then, to celebrate the end of the show, we heard from the incredible people who have been making the show, both past and present.
We want to say to all of you, thank you for being apart of the conversation and our community. The work of public radio is daunting, challenging, and often unrewarded. So, that's why we want you to remember this podcast as our final farewell. 

One Final Farewell

Rounding out our Producer Appreciation Weeks, intern David Escobar and host Melissa Harris-Perry look back at some of the stories he’s produced for The Takeaway:
Does The Indian Child Welfare Act Hang in Peril?; An Enduring American Pastime: The State Fair; Working Out the Four-Day Work Week; Healing Trauma Through Nature in Wildcat; How A Doll Became a Queer Icon in M3GAN
"David Escobar is a senior at Fordham University, double majoring in Journalism and Digital Technology & Emerging Media. His first memories of public radio started back in his hometown of San Francisco, where he remembers constantly listening to his local NPR-affiliate KQED in the car with his family. David began at WFUV in 2022, anchoring the midday newscasts at the station.
Now David hosts the “Fordham Conversations'' public affairs program, where he taps into the Fordham University community to discuss and uncover issues that impact our world. His passion lies in political and cultural issues around the country, especially in New York City.
David also regularly hosts WFUV’s “What’s What,” the station’s daily news podcast."

Producer Appreciation Weeks: David Escobar

David Gebel spent many years working as a singer and actor, and in between shows would work as a temp at various corporate jobs.
Little did he know that all those acquired office skills would help him end up at WNYC, initially supporting Radiolab, and then expanding his work to also include supporting The Takeaway and the podcast More Perfect.
David focuses on the paperwork, the scheduling and the business support tasks, so that everyone else can focus on making great audio, but David was also incremental in shaping our "Aging While Queer" special series project and a number of other listener-involved segments. We are sending him lots of love and appreciation for all the incredible work he's done on The Takeaway.

Showing Some Appreciation to David Gebel

"Atlanta influences everything." 
As part of our Producer Appreciation Weeks, Host Melissa Harris-Perry talks with the professionals behind the scenes who bring you the stories you love. 
Digital producer Zachary Bynum is a resident of Atlanta who's worked remotely with The Takeaway for the last 2 years. He produces, edits, and publishes all of our social media content, webpages, and podcasts.
Zachary has also produced some enterprising coverage on the show, so today we are revisiting some of his favorite segments he produced:
Cop City; Takeaway Report: A Teen Vogue State of the (Youth)ion; Dragphobia is on The Rise; Exploring Consumer Protection: The Kroger-Albertsons Merger; Black.Queer.Rising.:Moore Kismet (they/them) & George M. Johson (they/them)
You can follow Zachary on Instagram and Twitter: @__zaby (2 underscores)
You can pitch him here: zbynum360@gmail.com 
Subscribe: Linktree: zabywrites 

Producer Appreciation Weeks: Zachary Bynum

As part of our goodbye to The Takeaway, Melissa Harris-Perry sits down with the beautiful folks behind the scenes who make the show happen every day! Today, we're highlighting the work of producer,  Monica Morales-Garcia, by listening back to a few of her favorite segments:
"Black Maternal Health Week Comes to an End""Hospice Care Is Plagued by Exploitation""Brittney Johnson is Spellbinding""Keyla Monterroso Mejia is Taking the Lead""Now, Who Speaks [non-English]?
"
 Monica joined The Takeaway in 2022, after a year-long audio fellowship at the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA, the longest running national Latino news and cultural public radio program. Where she produced long-form narrative stories like, "Chisme: An Ancestral Language,"  and "The Little Black Dress: A Hidden History."
As an independent journalist and producer Monica has worked on, 30 Años: An Oral History of Latino USA, and has produced and fact-checked at Our Body Politic, the public radio show created and hosted Farai Chideya.  
 

'Head Down' to North Carolina: The H2A Visa Program and Abortion Rights

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