We’re doing something different! Today, Maria Hinojosa joins listeners for a special message announcing something new from Futuro. Been dreaming of immediate full season access, and behind the scenes chisme from your favorite shows at Futuro? We have too! Listen to hear more about what’s next for Futuro. To help us grow the future of journalism go to: futuromediagroup.org/joinplus

The Futuro Plus team includes producer Sam J Leeds, production managers Francis Poon and Jessica Ellis, marketing manager Luis Luna, development manager Danetsy Len, and engineers Gabriela Baez and Stephanie Lebow.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

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You can leave prison, but does the lingering trauma of prison ever leave you?

The Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast from Futuro Studios returns for its second season! “Suave” Gonzalez was one of thousands of juvenile lifers granted a second chance at life. Season 2 is his story about life after incarceration—and the search for the true meaning of freedom. You can hear the full season of Suave: Season 2 now.

Selected as an Apple Podcasts Series Essential.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

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Here's a new series that we think you'll love: "Chess Piece: The Elián González Story," from Futuro Studios, in collaboration with iHeartRadio's My Cultura Podcast Network.

In 1999, two Florida fishermen found a cherub of a boy named Elián González in the sea on Thanksgiving. The boy had floated alone for days. His mother managed to save her son’s life by strapping him to an inner tube before she drowned. Elián's father in Cuba desperately tried to get his son back.

Our host, investigative journalist Peniley Ramírez, was also separated from her family by the Florida Straits. When Peni was 11 years old her dad told her a dangerous secret before he left on an official trip on behalf of the Cuban government — he would not be returning.

Relating to Elián in many ways, Peniley seeks to unearth his story with the clarity of history, nearly a quarter century later. Looking beyond the mythology around Elián saga, from the miracle rescue to dolphins, Peni uncovers a more layered story, even dark at times. This season on Chess Piece, we tell you the Elián story unlike you've heard before.

You can find and subscribe to "Chess Piece" on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow it on Instagram and Tiktok.

Futuro Studios presents Stars and Stars with Isa in collaboration with Stitcher Studios. Each week our host and astrologer, Isa Nakazawa, sits down with some of the most talented stars and thinkers of our time, to find what their birth chart reveals about them and their purpose. You’ll laugh, you might cry, and you’ll definitely connect with your favorites. And who knows, maybe, you’ll learn a little bit more about yourself. 

In this episode, Isa speaks with standup comedian, host, director, and producer, W. Kamau Bell. Together, they discuss how his Aquarius Sun, Scorpio Moon, and Taurus Rising inform his ability to ask the right questions of people who should be held accountable.

You can find and subscribe to Stars and Stars with Isa wherever you listen to podcasts, and follow us on Instagram and Tiktok @starsandstarswithisa.

Introducing "My Divo"

For host Maria Garcia, Mexican megastar Juan Gabriel has always held a singular allure. He was a prolific composer and one of the world’s greatest showmen. There was a lightness and a bigness to him—a big queer exuberance. And now, as the first openly gay woman in her family line, Maria looks to Juan Gabriel as a key to reconcile her queerness with her Mexican heritage.

"My Divo" is an Apple Original podcast produced by Futuro Studios.

Follow and listen: Apple Podcasts 

“There's no winners in this. You’re a victim so you victimize other people because you’re hurt. It's a circle and it goes on and on.”

Suave reckons with the last three decades of his life and begins to deal with the traumas of his childhood and incarceration that he’s long buried. Maria and Maggie discuss how the Supreme Court decision has played out differently across the country, leaving some other juvenile lifers still behind bars. Maria worries about the lasting effects of lifetime parole on Suave and comforts him through some tough disappointments. And Suave ponders what it truly means to be free.

Please note that this episode contains a brief description of violence and sexual abuse. You can avoid it by skipping between 4:45-6:45.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

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“That little place right here changed my whole life. December 6, 1986. 15 seconds. 15 seconds changed my whole life.”

Suave has been cleared from all accusations and is free once again. He returns with Maria to the corner of 8th and Somerset in the Badlands—the place where his victim’s young life ended and the place that changed the course of Suave’s life. And Suave reveals to Maria a shocking story she’s never heard before about the night of the murder in 1986.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

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“Doesn’t matter if you doing good, if you got a job, it doesn't matter—it could be snatched up in a heartbeat and there's nothing you could do about it.”

Suave returns to prison and goes silent for weeks. Maria tries to figure out why and finds herself torn between her faith in Suave’s innocence and her responsibility to believe his accuser. Suave finds it impossible to adjust to being back in prison. Maria questions the entire parole system of and whether Suave will ever be truly free. Suave finally goes before a judge and again finds himself fighting for his freedom.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

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“I never dreamed that it would be this good. Even the worst day that I have is good. I'm going up… and I know everything that goes up must come down.”

Suave kicks off his first day of freedom by checking things off his bucket list, including a long overdue conversation with his brother and an apology to students at a school in his old neighborhood in the Badlands. We follow Suave in his first year of freedom as he experiences the excitement of many firsts and as he tries to adjust to his new life on the outside…. until an unexpected revelation puts Suave’s future into doubt.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

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“We had a secret, unspoken bond. We’re all dying in here. And I felt like I was breaking that bond. I feel like I'm leaving my brothers behind.”

Suave moves to a transitional housing unit at Graterford and begins to prepare for his release. But as he readies for life on the outside, his excitement gives way to a “never-ending list of fears” about life outside of prison. Suave also reckons with some complicated emotions—both the unparalleled joys of his upcoming release and the guilt of leaving behind the men he’s considered his brothers for nearly three decades. Maria ponders how her relationship with Suave will change now that they have a chance to explore their connection beyond a journalist-source relationship, as she travels to Graterford on his release day to bring him home.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.