In The Thick

The Futuro Media Group

Journalists of color 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.

  • 30 minutes 55 seconds
    The Fight for Trans Futures

    Maria Hinojosa is joined by two trailblazers in the fight for trans rights: Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project, and Raquel Willis, journalist and co-founder of the Gender Liberation Movement. Chase recently made history as the first openly trans attorney to argue before the Supreme Court, challenging Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Raquel was recently arrested after staging a sit-in in a Capitol Hill bathroom to protest a bill aimed at banning trans people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Together, they discuss the fight for trans rights in the face of escalating attacks by the right, the powerful history of trans resistance, and what a future of gender liberation could look like.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage

    12 December 2024, 11:20 pm
  • 29 minutes 47 seconds
    An All-American Tragedy

    ITT hosts Maria Hinojosa and Paola Ramos are joined by NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff for a deep dive into the devastating consequences of Donald Trump’s first term immigration policy. They discuss the upcoming film “Separated,” based on Soboroff’s 2020 book by the same name, Trump’s child separation policy, and what a repeat of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. immigration history could look like.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage

    5 December 2024, 10:48 pm
  • 32 minutes 53 seconds
    The Elián Effect: How One Boy’s Story Reshaped Latino Politics

    Maria Hinojosa is joined by investigative journalist Peniley Ramírez and Producer Tasha Sandoval as they commemorate the 25 year anniversary of the case of Elián González — the six-year-old boy found floating in an inner tube off the coast of Florida after his mother died attempting to flee from Cuba. The custody battle that ensued led to a media firestorm and an international controversy that changed the course of history. Maria, Peniley and Tasha talk about what this case can teach us about today’s political landscape, the rightward shift in Miami-Dade, and the Republican party’s strategy to pull Latinos to the right.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage

    27 November 2024, 11:50 pm
  • 26 minutes 24 seconds
    Trump vs. Life on Earth

    ITT co-hosts Maria Hinojosa and Dr. Christina Greer are joined by the renowned environmental justice lawyer and executive director of UPROSE, Elizabeth Yeampierre. They dig into the future of the environmental justice movement, Trump’s cabinet picks and the global implications of a deregulated fossil fuel industry.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage

    21 November 2024, 11:10 pm
  • 31 minutes 12 seconds
    Unpacking American Extremism

    A week after the re-election of Donald Trump, Maria Hinojosa is joined by ITT all-stars Imara Jones, journalist and founder of Translash Media, and Karen Attiah, Washington Post Opinion columnist. They dive into the far-reaching implications of Trump’s victory for our communities and what it means for the future of American democracy.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage

    14 November 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 50 minutes 22 seconds
    Trump Is Back, Now What?

    In The Thick teamed up with Futuro Media’s Latino USA to bring you a special episode, as part of its ongoing 2024 election coverage “The Latino Factor: How We Vote” series. 

    In the election that many Americans said was “the most important of their lifetimes,” Maria Hinojosa spends the day speaking to voters, students, journalists and movement leaders across the country. Later Maria is joined by journalists Paola Ramos, Jean Guerrero and Jamil Smith to unpack key updates and trends in the election. Later Maria is joined by journalists Paola Ramos, Jean Guerrero and Jamil Smith to unpack why Trump won the elections—including the popular vote—with increased support from Latinos.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage


    8 November 2024, 7:00 am
  • 32 minutes 28 seconds
    Nobody's Garbage

    With less than a week until Election Day, ITT hosts Maria Hinojosa, Judy Reyes, Paola Ramos and Dr. Christina Greer analyze everything from the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden that drew comparisons to an American Nazi Party rally, to the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post's refusal to endorse a Presidential candidate for the first time in decades. They talk about the Latino community’s response to Puerto Rico being called “a floating island of garbage” at the Trump rally, the meaning behind the poll numbers, and what’s at stake for democracy.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage

    30 October 2024, 9:49 pm
  • 56 minutes 18 seconds
    In The Thick Presents: The Misinformation Web

    This week In The Thick shares an episode of Latino USA.

    The 2024 presidential election has seen a rise in Spanish-language misinformation and in the content creators making a living by pushing out false content. For months, Futuro Investigates in collaboration with Latino USA, tracked how lies and conspiracies about the election and the candidates that originated in English soon found their way to Spanish-speaking audiences, amid the expanded monetization of tech platforms and the rise of technologies like AI. We meet face to face with social media influencers pushing out misinformation in Spanish, and with the experts combating it.

    This story is part of our ongoing election coverage “The Latino Factor: How We Vote.”

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage

    28 October 2024, 9:00 pm
  • 28 minutes 40 seconds
    Abortion, Beyond the Ballot

    ITT hosts Maria Hinojosa and Judy Reyes are tacking the critical issue of abortion and how it’s shaping the 2024 election. They are joined by Imani Gandy of Rewire News Group and Monica Simpson of SisterSong to discuss the future of the reproductive justice movement and the fight for bodily autonomy.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage

    24 October 2024, 11:15 pm
  • 28 minutes 43 seconds
    The Voter Suppression Playbook

    ITT hosts Maria Hinojosa and Paola Ramos are joined by LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter and Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation to discuss voter suppression in Black and Latino communities. They break down the legal, social and political methods being used by the far-right and reveal how these misunderstood voting blocs could decide the outcome of the 2024 election.

    Follow us on TikTok and Instagram.  

    Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage


    17 October 2024, 10:14 pm
  • 32 minutes 25 seconds
    In The Thick Presents: Chess Piece: The Elián González Story

    Introducing 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.

    15 October 2024, 11:00 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App
© MoonFM 2024. All rights reserved.