This week Latino USA shares an episode of The In Thick podcast.Maria is joined by co-host Paola Ramos, author of “Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America,” to examine the growing support for extremism in America and why Latinos can be especially susceptible to far-right ideologies.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

This week, Latino USA shares the conclusion of Futuro Investigates podcast series USA v. García Luna. The day finally arrived. Genaro García Luna, one of Mexico’s former most powerful government officials, has been sentenced to serve more than 38 years in prison by a court in New York. In the last episode of our series, Maria Hinojosa and Peniley Ramírez tell us what happened inside the courthouse and also reveal to us that this isn’t the end of the judicial problems for García Luna in the United States, as he faces other cases in the country.

Ever since he can remember, music has been part of Paquito D’Rivera’s life. The 76-year old jazz pioneer has played on stages across the world and is still winning awards across genres. In 2023, he received Latin Grammys for Best Latin Jazz Album and Best Contemporary Classical Composition.In this conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Paquito talks about the places music has taken him, the people he’s met along the way, and the ways he’s improvising his way into the next chapter of his life.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Argentinian composer and guitarist Jacinta Clusellas didn’t expect that she would end up writing musicals when she moved to the United States to study music. Jacinta is part of the all-female creative team behind “Azul,” a bilingual musical in which the characters sing both in English and Spanish.In this episode of Latino USA, Jacinta tells us about the creative process and the inspiration behind this musical, and her personal connection to it.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

In the U.S., Columbus Day is a federal holiday in honor of the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus—and it’s a day of Italian-American celebration. But not everyone is on board with celebrating Columbus. His colonization led to the bloodshed of Indigenous people and while he did arrive to the Americas, he never set foot in North America. Over the past few decades, there has been a growing movement to officially replace the holiday with a day of recognition for Indigenous people. Latino USA explores the movement to change the holiday, and pays a visit to one of the latest states to make Indigenous Peoples’ Day official: Maine.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. This episode originally aired in 2019.

Being a new parent comes with a series of challenges—one being the decision whether or not to teach your child a second language. Latino USA explores the world of bilingual parenting through the story of two Dominican-American siblings growing up in the South, one who was drawn to Spanish and the other who never wanted to speak it. Both of the siblings are now parents and faced with the question: to teach your kids Spanish or not to teach your kids Spanish?Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. This episode originally aired in 2018.

After Elián’s rescue he was released to relatives in Miami. Just a day later the Cuban government sent a note: the boy’s father and Fidel Castro wanted Elián back. Tensions between the two countries had long been high, and relations were about to be tested to the extreme as the Thanksgiving miracle became an international custody battle. Just over a week after his rescue, on Dec. 6, 1999, Elián turned six years old. That same day Fidel Castro sent an ultimatum to the U.S. to return the boy to his father within 72 hours.“Chess Piece: The Elián González Story” is a new podcast from Futuro Studios and iHeartMedia’s My Cultura Podcast Network, hosted by investigative journalist Peniley Ramírez. More episodes available now on the Chess Piece feed, wherever you get your podcasts.Thanks to These Archival Sources:Miami Dade College's Wolfson ArchivesOriginal Material Appeared In:Miami Dade College's Wolfson Archives, Vanderbilt Archives: ABC, CBS News Report, CNN's "Elián: The Remarkable Story of A Cuban Boy's Journey to America," RTVE Telediario, AP Archive, CBS Early Show, Universal Newsreel / Courtesy National Archives, Accessed via C-SPAN, BBC Panorama, NPR and Action News.

It was Thanksgiving of 1999 when two Florida fishermen rescued a little boy from the sea. His name was Elián González—a Cuban 5-year-old who had survived a journey across the ocean. His mother and others drowned.His survival made global headlines, and soon Elián would be put in the middle of a dramatic battle for his custody between members of his family and two nations: Cuba and the United States.“Chess Piece: The Elián González Story” is a new podcast from Futuro Studios and iHeartMedia’s My Cultura Podcast Network, hosted by investigative journalist Peniley Ramírez. More episodes available now on the Chess Piece feed, wherever you get your podcasts.Thanks to These Archival Sources:Miami Dade College's Wolfson ArchivesOriginal Material Appeared In:AP Archive, Belly of The Beast Cuba, CBS Early Show, CBS Evening News, CNN, CNN's "Elián: The Remarkable Story of A Cuban Boy's Journey to America," C-SPAN, Cubavisión, Good Morning America, ITN Archive, Univision, and 7 News At 5pm.