In The Thick

Maria and guest co-host Fernanda Santos talk about former President Donald Trump being found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. And they get into two recent tragedies in Texas that left multiple people dead. Then in our roundtable, Julio is joined by Kamau Franklin, the founder of Community Movement Builders, and Jacqueline Echols, board president of the South River Watershed Alliance in Georgia, to discuss the movement to stop the building of a massive police training facility in Atlanta, dubbed “Cop City.” ITT Staff Picks: Lawyer Corey Rayburn Yung explains to Slate why Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, but not rape. “An average 6th grader can look at those facts and determine that while we all have mental illness in our societies the reason only America is awash is gun violence is because we are awash in guns,” writes Heather Digby Parton in this column for Salon. Micah Herskind writes, “the struggle to Stop Cop City is a battle for the future of Atlanta,” in this pr

Julio and guest co-host Jamilah King discuss Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reaction to the horrific mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas and the lawsuit between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Then in our roundtable, Maria and Julio are joined by Danielle Moodie, host of the podcast Woke AF Daily and co-host of The New Abnormal and Democracy-ish podcasts, to talk about the 2024 presidential election, the impact of Twitter on the media, and the legal battle over access to the abortion pill, mifepristone. ITT Staff Picks: Eugene Robinson talks about Greg Abbott’s inappropriate response to the massacre in Texas and how the U.S. having more guns than people and a lack of gun control is what ultimately leads to mass shootings, in this opinion piece for The Washington Post. Norman Eisen and Josh Stanton analyze the lawsuit between Disney and DeSantis in this opinion piece for MSNBC. “Although emergency orders in time-sensitive cases had long been a part of the high court’s work, in recent years the volume, breadth

Maria and Julio discuss President Biden’s reelection bid, the departures of Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon, and the latest on Uvalde. Then in our roundtable, guest host Fernanda Santos steps in to lead a discussion with Fernanda Echavarri, senior producer for Futuro Studios, and Tina Vasquez, editor-at-large for Prism, about their explosive two-part investigation, “Head Down,” which examines the abuse of migrant workers under the H-2A visa program.  You can listen to the “Head Down” investigation here.  ITT Staff Picks:  “Finding someone willing to spread manufactured white fury for an hour every weeknight on Fox won’t be difficult,” writes Renée Graham, in her analysis of Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News, for The Boston Globe. “He was, in his way, a people person. He understood how to reach, teach and challenge them, how to keep them honest, how to dedicate his fame to a politics of accountability, more tenaciously than any star of the civil rights era or in its wake,” writes Wesley Morris on the l

Fernanda Santos and Jamilah King step into the co-host chairs to discuss the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl and a New York Times report about migrant child labor in the U.S. Then in our roundtable, Maria and Julio get into the latest attacks on reproductive rights and the state of the Supreme Court with Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of Rewire News Group, and co-host of the podcast Boom! Lawyered. ITT Staff Picks:  “A white man shot an unarmed Black teen and remained free for days. When community leaders and activists say Ralph and his family deserve better, clearly the bungled arrest of the perpetrator is evidence that justice is being served slowly,” writes Toriano Porter in this opinion piece for the Kansas City Star. “Certain antisocial forces are trying their darndest to prevent all of our children from growing up and maturing into the kind of people who can make this democracy functional. And people keep putting them in power,” writes Imani Perry for The Atlantic

Maria and Julio discuss the ProPublica report about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepting luxury trips from major Republican donor Harlan Crow. They also talk about the Tennessee legislature’s expulsion of two Democratic members. Then in our roundtable, we get into the nuances of the Latino Muslim community with Rahim Ocasio, co-founder of the Latino Muslim organization Alianza Islamica, and Hazel Gómez, board member and faith-based community organizer with Dream of Detroit. ITT Staff Picks:  Read the full ProPublica report detailing the extent of the luxury vacations Justice Clarence Thomas received as a gift from billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. “I wasn’t elected to be pushed to the back of the room and silenced. We who were elected to represent all Tennesseans — Black, white, brown, immigrant, female, male, poor, young, transgender and queer — are routinely silenced when we try to speak on their behalf. Last week, the world was allowed to see it in broad daylight,” writes Justin J. Pe

We’re back with a brand new episode and new format! Maria and Julio break down the criminal arraignment of former President Donald Trump and discuss Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ comments on immigration. Then, we dive into President Biden’s immigration policy with Erika Pinheiro, executive director of Al Otro Lado, and Silky Shah, executive director of the Detention Watch Network. ITT Staff Picks: Dhruv Mehrotra writes about the potentially illegal tool that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is using to gather data from abortion clinics, elementary schools, and news organizations, in this article for WIRED. Alex Samuels talks about Biden’s move to a more right-wing stance on immigration, in this article for FiveThirtyEight. “Although blanket coverage of Trump exposes viewers to his more unfavorable qualities, his political messages get through loud and clear. He gets to define the debate, his opponents, and even the people covering him. And both Trump and his staff are aware of thi

This next episode of our Best of ITT series takes us back to 2016, and our conversation with  Mike German, fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program. Maria and Julio talk to Mike about what he learned about the white supremacist movement  during his time as an undercover FBI agent, and how the media is missing the real story. ITT Staff Picks: Nazgol Ghandnoosh writes about white supremacy’s hold on legal institutions and how it disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous communities, in this article for The Sentencing Project. “Concerns intensified after law enforcement failed to stop multiple incidents of white supremacist violence committed at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a leaked FBI report revealed it had created a new domestic terrorism category called “Black Identity Extremists” that labeled Black activists protesting racist police violence as threats” writes Michael German in this article for Brennan Center. More than

Our Best of ITT series continues with this roundtable from 2019. Maria and Julio are joined by Shamira Ibrahim, culture writer on race, identity and politics, and Margari Hill, co-founder and executive director of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, to discuss how the intersecting identities of being a Black Muslim woman lead to anti-Blackness both within the Muslim community and in the United States at large. ITT Staff Picks: Shamira Ibrahim writes about the power of photography and photo archives in preserving the rich culture and story of the Black community and rejecting negative stereotypes assigned to them, in this article published in Harper’s Bazaar. Maram Ahmed highlights some of the talented Black Muslim women behind the rise of British Hip-Hop, in this article for Refinery29. “Speaking to CNN about McCarthy’s proposal, Omar suggested that her religion played a role. She said of her colleagues that “many of these members don’t believe a Muslim refugee, an African, should even be in Congress, le

Our Best of ITT series continues with this episode from January 2017. Maria and Julio lead a discussion with legendary actress Rita Moreno about her star-turning role in “West Side Story” and her role in the reboot of Norman Lear’s classic television series, “One Day at a Time.” As they go behind the scenes of many of her most recognizable roles, both old and new, they get into issues of representation, accents, and race. ITT Staff Picks:  Frances Negrón-Muntaner writes about Rita Moreno’s impact on the Puerto Rican community and on American culture as a whole, in this article for PBS.  Actor Antonio Banderas writes about his experience voicing the “Puss in Boots” character for almost two decades and how it changed his career and the industry as a whole, in this column for The Hollywood Reporter.  Raul A. Reyes writes about Raquel Welch’s complicated relationship with her Latina identity throughout her life and career as a Hollywood star in 1960s America, in this article for NBC News.  

The next episode of our Best of ITT series is from July 2019, and it gets into the significance of Black feminism. Maria and Julio talk with writer and activist Feminista Jones about her book, “Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World From the Tweets to the Streets.” They also discuss the influence of hip-hop on women's sexual liberation, the importance of mental and spiritual health, and Black women speaking out on their experiences with sexual abuse in the #MeToo era. ITT Staff Picks: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor writes about the Black feminists of the Combahee River Collective and the divisions within the feminist movement, in this article for The New Yorker.  “Dorothy Pitman Hughes passed away at the age of 84 after a long, active life spent advocating for equality and human rights for all people. Known as a pioneering feminist activist, Hughes devoted her time and resources to serving people with the greatest needs,” writes Feminista Jones in this article for InStyle. Kaitlyn Greeni

We continue our Best of ITT series with this live episode from May 2018. Maria and Julio take the stage at DePaul University in Chicago with David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez, artist and a former juvenile lifer, to talk about Latinos and mass incarceration. Along with hearing Suave's story, Julio also interviews Maria, who at the time had been covering Suave's story for more than 25 years.   ITT Staff Picks:  In this bonus episode of the Suave podcast, Maria and Suave reflect on everything that has happened in the year after their podcast was released, including the fact that they won a Pulitzer.  Tamar Sarai writes about how prison policies have increasingly limited extended family visits and how that also limits the relationships and access to intimacy for incarcerated people, in this article for Prism Reports.  “In its premiere, Inside Story travels to Louisiana, where we find a community group protesting the state’s decision to move some youth to Angola, a notorious prison for adults,” write Lawrence Bartley

Our Best of ITT series continues, as we celebrate our 7th year anniversary! In this episode from July 2020, Maria and Julio are joined by authors and historians Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross to talk about their book “A Black Women's History of the United States.” They analyze the history of Black women in America and their legacy of activism, resistance and entrepreneurship. ITT Staff Picks:  Olivia Lapeyrolerie writes about the incredible life’s work of Marvel Cooke, a Black reporter and union organizer, who inspired Black women activists such as Angela Davis and spent her life fighting systemic inequities and the exploitation of Black people, in this article for Teen Vogue.  “The challenge of solving the Black wealth gap is informed by another time in our past when Black people were the wealth of this nation,” writes Daina Ramey Berry in this piece for The Boston Globe.  The Free Black Women’s Library features a collection of four thousand books written by Black women and Black non-binary autho

We’re continuing our Best of ITT series to celebrate seven years of In The Thick with this episode from June 2022. Maria and Julio are joined by Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, for a conversation about his book “How to Raise an Antiracist.” They discuss the evolution of his antiracist scholarship, the rise in mass shootings and white supremacist attacks, and how Black and brown communities can work together in solidarity. ITT Staff Picks:  Kathryn Joyce writes about New College in Florida, a once liberal arts college that is being transformed into a right-leaning institution by DeSantis, who wants to replicate this motion across the country, in this article for Vanity Fair.  “What I found in How to Be A (Young) Antiracist was a kind of meditation on the ways that the personal is, as they say, political,” writes Janell Ross in this interview with author Ibram X. Kendi, for Time Magazine.  “The maintenance of racism has required the public’s ignoranc

To celebrate ITT’s 7th year anniversary, we’re going back into the vault to share some of our best episodes that have helped shape our show. In this episode from our first year in 2016, Maria is joined by ITT all-star Terrell Jermaine Starr, host of the Black Diplomats podcast, Zak Cheney-Rice, a features writer for New York Magazine, and Tracey Meares, the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law at Yale University, to discuss policing in America, and whether reform is possible.  ITT Staff Picks:  Gothamist shared ways to help victims of the deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which left over 7,000 people dead so far. Find out how you can help here.  Jonathan Ben-Menachem writes about new research that shows how heavily policed communities are more likely to withdraw from civic life, in this piece for Bolts magazine.  “In interviews, Nichols’s relatives have attempted to ensure that he is remembered as a man beyond the gruesome video of his beating. One piece of information from these interviews stood out

Julio and guest co-host Renée Graham, opinion columnist and associate editor at The Boston Globe, discuss Tyre Nichols’ funeral and the white supremacy behind the undercounted number of police violence cases in the U.S. They also discuss the College Board’s amendments to its AP African American Studies course, which were made shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected the course in the state of Florida. And, they unpack the recent vote to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Republican Nikki Haley’s run for presidency.  ITT Staff Picks:  “With the police killing of Nichols, the wash-rinse-repeat cycle has begun anew. There have been protests, though nowhere near as large or diverse as those in 2020. Black people, as usual, are doing the heavy lifting. There are talks again about reviving the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that previously stalled in the Senate. But it’ll never get through House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s extremist puppet masters,” writes Renée Graham in this

This week, we’re talking about the second season of “La Brega,” a co-production from WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios. Julio is joined by Alana Casanova-Burgess, co-creator, host and producer of “La Brega,” and Jeanne Montalvo, grammy-nominated audio engineer and radio producer with Futuro Studios, to talk about the series, which takes us through the Puerto Rican experience in eight songs. They discuss how Puerto Rican artists, like Bad Bunny, have raised awareness for political and social issues on the island, and also get into the cultural and musical exchange between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.  Subscribe here to La Brega so you don’t miss any new episodes! ITT Staff Picks:  In this episode of Code Switch, find out how Bad Bunny has become a megaphone for Puerto Rican politics and issues, which have been a major influence in his music career. Alana Casanova-Burgess discusses Bad Bunny’s activism and love for his island in comparison to the song Preciosa, one of Puerto Rico’s unofficial anthe

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos, editorial director of Futuro Media, discuss the recent mass shootings in California, two of nearly 40 that have happened this year so far. They also unpack the anti-government protests in Peru that have resulted in a nationwide state of emergency, and they get into Meta’s decision to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts after two years of being banned. ITT Staff Picks: “Mass shootings — where four or more people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed — have averaged more than one per day in 2023. Every week has had at least six mass shootings,” writes Júlia Ledur in this article for Washington Post. “While the United States may have a ways to go before it reaches the crisis level that Peru reached, the seeds are all there,” writes Julio in his latest opinion piece for MSNBC. Wajahat Ali writes about how Meta’s decision exemplifies the GOP’s influence on American institutions, in this article for Medium. Photo credit

A year after the Twin Parks fire in the Bronx, Maria and Julio are joined by Amir Khafagy, a journalist and Report for America corps member with Documented, to discuss the systemic issues exposed by this tragedy, such as the ongoing housing crisis. They also talk about what the victims and families are still owed one year later, and get into the intersections between labor issues and immigration policy within immigrant communities. ITT Staff Picks:  Amir Khafagy writes about what the victims of the Twin Parks fire are still owed one year later, in this article for Documented.  “For more than 50 years, the Twin Parks North West high-rise defined the Fordham Heights skyline. But now, on the first anniversary of New York City’s deadliest fire since 1990, the building is also the neighborhood’s tallest tombstone, standing 19 stories high,” write Camille Botello, Aliya Schneider, and Robbie Sequeira in this article for Bronx Times.  Ngozi Cole talks to some of the residents of the Twin Parks building and expose

Julio and guest co-host Renée Graham, opinion columnist and associate editor at The Boston Globe, discuss the latest with the House GOP, including the recent House committee assignments under new Speaker Kevin McCarthy. They also get into the arrest of Republican ex-candidate Solomon Peña in New Mexico and the response to the new sculpture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King in Boston.  ITT Staff Picks:  Eric Cortellessa writes about why Congressional Republicans are comparing their select committee to investigate the Biden administration to the Church Committee of the mid-1970s in this piece for Time Magazine.  “The scale of the conspiracy makes this case unusual — this was not a lone wolf, but someone seeking elected office who engaged multiple people over several weeks in planning targeted attacks on Democrats,” writes Nicole Narea about the attacks on New Mexico Democrats in this piece for Vox.  “‘The Embrace’ is majestic, standing 22 feet high, but also more intimate than I imagined i

In this rebroadcast episode from 2021, Maria and Julio are joined by Jeanne Theoharis, distinguished professor of political science at Brooklyn College, historian, author and co-editor of “Julian Bond’s Time To Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement.” They talk about the legacy of activist, politician and educator Julian Bond and the lessons from his lectures - compiled in the new book - on the civil rights movement and what it teaches us about the fight for racial justice and radical change. ITT Staff Picks:  “Critics of Black Lives Matter have held up King as a foil to the movement’s criticisms of law enforcement, but those are views that King himself shared,” writes Jeanne Theoharis in this 2021 essay for The Atlantic.  Patrick Darrington spoke to the authors of “Prophet of Discontent: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Critique of Racial Capitalism,” about why Dr. King should be firmly situated within the Black radical tradition, for Teen Vogue.  “We cannot all those who continue to harm ou