Latino USA

Ernesto Londoño is a national correspondent with The New York Times, where he covers the U.S. midwest. He’s also the author of a new book named “Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics.”In this episode of Latino USA, Ernesto talks about his healing —and journalistic— journey with psychedelics and discusses the hopes and concerns the therapeutic use and industry of these substances generate.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latino USA brings you the launch of In The Thick’s new popup season—to help you break down this unprecedented political moment and what it means for our communities and our futures. In this episode Maria Hinojosa is joined by her fellow co-hosts political scientist Dr. Christina Greer, journalist Paola Ramos and actress Judy Reyes. Together they help you decode this week’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.You can subscribe to In The Thick on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recent years, rising grocery prices have shocked many of us, changing how we discuss inflation. For economists, inflation measures how quickly prices increase over a set period, but for most consumers, it’s a matter of affordability. We all have prices we track, like milk, pizza, and tacos. For our host Maria Hinojosa, a good taco tops that list. In San Diego, one of the U.S. cities hit hardest by inflation, she spoke with local taqueros and families about the rising cost of goods, and its implications for the upcoming election.Editorial note: Interviews were recorded in late April and May. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Irene Vallejo never imagined she would become a global literary sensation. In 2019, the Spanish author and academic published an essay about a somewhat obscure topic: the ancient history of books. After a short literary career, she thought it would be the last book she published. Instead, “Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World” has become an international bestseller since then. It was translated into 38 languages, connecting Irene with millions of readers across the world.In this episode, Irene opens up about the difficult circumstances in which she wrote this book, the ways she managed to make ancient history come to life, and the unwelcome consequences of global success for a female author.Follow us on TikTok and YouTube.Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Part 2 of The Moving Border, we visit Tapachula, Mexico in search of a young man whose life is in danger and we find a new frontier where refugees trying to make it to the U.S. are increasingly stuck thanks to an international effort to make Mexico a destination state for asylum. The Moving Border series was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center, with additional support provided by the Ford Foundation.This episode originally aired in 2020.Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making Movies is a band based out of Kansas City, Missouri that mixes Afro-Latino rhythms and psychedelic rock’n'roll. The group members have roots in Panama and Mexico. It’s composed by two sets of brothers, lead singer and guitarist Enrique Chi and bassist Diego, and Juan-Carlos and Andres Chaurand on percussion and drums.In this edition of our series “How I Made It," Latino USA sits down with Enrique and Juan-Carlos to discuss, "Locura Colectiva," one of the band’s most ambitious tracks. They discuss how the track came to be and why they felt the album at one point was cursed.This episode originally aired in 2019.Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this 2-part investigation, The Moving Border from Latino USA delves into the increasing pressure put on refugees seeking safety in the United States via its southern border. It reveals the surprising support the Trump administration has received to create an impenetrable policy wall that pushes asylum seekers south, away from the U.S. In episode one, The North, we visit Juarez and tell the story of a mother and daughter who are mired in a web of changing policy and subjected to ongoing violence. And we find evidence of how Mexican authorities are working hand-in-hand with the U.S. at the border.The Moving Border series was produced by Julieta Martinelli, Fernanda Camarena, and Maria Hinojosa, and edited by Marlon Bishop. The Executive Producer is Diane Sylvester. It was made possible by a partnership with the Pulitzer Center, with additional support provided by the Ford Foundation.This episode originally aired in 2020.Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was only a few years ago that Erik Rodriguez was attending medical school in his native Cuba, following his family of careerists’ footsteps. But then, when he heard James Brown’s "I feel good," he realized that he was meant for a different path. In this segment of “How I Made It,” Erik takes us through his transformation into Afro-Cuban artist Cimafunk—a Billboard’s “Top 10 Latin Artists to Watch”—and explains how someone who had never studied music before found the confidence to listen to himself and be listened to by others.This episode originally aired in 2020.Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gun violence is a top voting issue for Latinos and Latinas this election cycle. So to explore how Latines are thinking about the topic, we traveled to Texas. The Lone Star State has more registered guns than any other state in the country, and it’s also home to some of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history — many of them directly targeting Latinos and Latinas.On this episode of Latino USA, producer Reynaldo Leaños Jr. travels to El Paso, Texas to speak with Latinx activists and gun owners about gun reform and safety ahead of the November presidential election. Maria Hinojosa returns to Uvalde, Texas to catch up with a survivor of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary and see how the community has been mobilizing around gun reform.This story is part of our ongoing political coverage “The Latino Factor: How We Vote."You can read more about the episode here. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Draco Rosa just released a new album, "Monte Sagrado," after several years without sharing a new collection of work, and after battling cancer. Born Robert Edward Rosa Suárez in New York, Rosa is a Grammy-winning artist, and a member of the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is behind hits including “Livin’ la Vida Loca.”Draco Rosa talks about his career, his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hurricane María, and the creation of "Monte Sagrado."This episode originally aired in 2018.Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.