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 about how the debate over the term Latinx distracts from more important issues, including the Biden administration’s promises to Latino communities.  - “It’s not just imperfect, it continues the original’s tradition of advancing a dangerous narrative even as it offers Latinx people some important opportunities,” writes Cristina Escobar, co-creator of LatinaMedia.Co, in this review of “West Side Story” for Latino Rebels.   - For the New Yorker, Graciela Mochkofsky writes about how the Instagram account Nuevayorkinos is redefining the history and identities of New York’s Latinx community. Photo credit: Niko Tavernise/20th Century Studios via AP  

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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 fight for meaningful immigration reform in the Build Back Better bill. ITT Staff Picks: - President Biden is expanding the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy to include anyone from the Western Hemisphere, reports Buzzfeed News Reporter Hamed Aleaziz.  - For The Counter, Tina Vasquez reports about an unidentifiable toxic chemical at a North Carolina poultry plant that is causing harmful symptoms to its immigrant employees.  - From Washington Heights to Staten Island, immigrant women workers in New York City have been organizing and fighting for their rights since the beginning of the pandemic, reports Tanvi Misra for The Fuller Project, in collaboration with THE CITY and Documented.  Photo credit: AP Photo/Veronica G. Cardenas, File  

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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 in the arena and those outside. In 2001, Tom Brady became the Patriots’ savior when he helped the franchise win their first Super Bowl. But why did the city embrace a guy that might not have fit the profile of a blue-collar Boston fan? How did Brady help redefine what it means to be a Boston sports fan? And how much do the players we think of as “ours” really belong to the community that roots for them? Guests: Boston sports fans the Varela family, Seth Wickersham, Playwright and Boston fan Tori Sampson, and a Pats fan who converted to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Brady left. Thanks to Columbus 81 Productions, ICM Partners, Worldwide Pants, CBS, 60 Minutes and Veritone for the clips used in this episode. To subscribe to "The Man in the Arena," click here.  

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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 for The City breaks down an investigation into Andrew Cuomo’s inner circle, including his brother Chris Cuomo, and their efforts discredit the women who’ve accused the former governor of sexual harassment.  - “Kavanaugh can lie to the media and Barrett can lie to women and Roberts can lie to himself, but the lived experience of women, girls, and pregnant people will never fit the self-serving narratives of conservative Supreme Court justices,” writes Elie Mystal on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case for The Nation.  - For Mother Jones, Nathalie Baptiste writes about the context and consequences of Rep. Lauren Boebert’s bigoted comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar. Photo credit: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File  

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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 approach the 2022 midterm elections. ITT Staff Picks: - Early findings of the new coronavirus variant, omicron, show that it might be more transmissible and better able to get around the body’s immune responses, reports Apoorva Mandavilli for The New York Times. - For BuzzFeed News, reporter Jamilah King contributed to a story about a Black man who shot and killed a white teen, which asks whether his self-defense claim will carry the same weight as those made by other defendants. - “We have less than a year to try and save our ailing Republic from an increasingly radicalized and weaponized GOP death cult,” writes Wajahat Ali for The Daily Beast. Photo credit: AP Photo/Ana Brigida  

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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 people in Mississippi, and journalists’ responsibility when covering these tragic stories. ITT Staff Picks: - Listen to the most recent episodes of “Mississippi Goddamn'' here. - The investigation into Billey Joe Johnson Jr. ’s death still haunts his family and many in the Black community because they don’t believe the authorities, reports Margaret Baker for Sun Herald. - For The Conversation, Professor Connie Hassett-Walker lays out the roots of racism in American policing, from slave patrols to Jim Crow laws. Photo credit: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis  

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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: - Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees who were relocated to U.S. military bases are living in limbo with limited access to essentials, reports Rowaida Abdelaziz for HuffPost.  - For Insider, Ali Latifi reports on the situation in Mazar-e-Sharif following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, including murders, a hoax security alert and an overall sense of unease. - Politico interviewed State Department employees, government officials and advocates about the “desperation and disorganization” that followed in the days after Kabul fell, and the mental health impact this had on staff.  Photo credit: AP Photo/Bram Janssen  

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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 violent social media post attacking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. ITT Staff Picks: - The ongoing Unite the Right trial is exposing how some in the white power movement are turning against each other, reports Elle Reeve for CNN.  - For Roll Call, Suzanne Monyak reports that as Democratic efforts to protect undocumented immigrants continue to fall short, there is a chance that Republicans will make further gains with the Latino community. - Rebecca Klar writes about how social media posts like Paul Gosar’s can “dissuade women from participating in politics at all levels,” for The Hill.  Photo credit: Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool  

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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 communities of color.  ITT Staff Picks: - “Kyle Rittenhouse is white, so Kyle Rittenhouse is a hero,” writes Michael Harriot in his latest piece for The Root, which gets into “the values of the white community.”  - “The shapes some white people will twist themselves into in order to justify white violence falls into the uncanny valley,” writes Elie Mystal for The Nation. - Recent emails released by a congressional committee investigating the former Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic show just how far they went to interfere with the CDC, reports Erin Banco for Politico.  Photo credit: Mark Hertzberg /Pool Photo via AP  

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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 the Marguerite Casey Foundation and co-founder of the UndocuBlack Network. They talk about DACA, anti-Blackness in the immigrant rights movement, and how Jonathan’s journey as an Afro-Latinx, undocumented trans person, taught them about solidarity and the intersections of race and immigration.  Subscribe here to Nuestro, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Photo credit: Courtesy of Nuestro Podcast  

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