In The Thick

Hate crimes have been on the rise in the United States since the election of Donald Trump, in particular hate that targets people of color, religious minorities and the LGBT community. For this LIVE In The Thick show at DePaul University, Maria and Julio are joined by two guests who organize against this very hate, Isabella Gomez, actress from Netflix's One Day at a Time and LGBT ally, and Ugo Okere, former alderman candidate for the 40th Ward in Chicago and organizer with Chicago DSA.

A new DHS report revealed dangerous overcrowding at a detention center in El Paso, Texas. But for immigration reporters who have been following the issue closely, this wasn’t really a surprise. Julio and guest co-host Tina Vasquez, senior immigration reporter for Rewire.News, are joined by Tanvi Misra, immigration reporter for CQ-Roll Call, and Fernanda Echavarri, immigration reporter for Mother Jones, to discuss the latest with immigration and the border.

The documentary “Some Girls” tackles the issue of mental health in young Latinas in America. Maria and Julio talk to ITT All-Star Raquel Cepeda, author and documentarian, about her film and how mental health is connected to beauty standards and cultural identity. This episode was mixed by Jeanne Montalvo. 

The debate around the specialized high school admissions test in New York City only reflects a greater issue about inclusion and diversity in schools nationwide. Maria and Julio are joined by Reema Amin, reporter at Chalkbeat NY, and Maria Bautista, campaigns director at the Alliance for Quality Education, to discuss how schools are leaving out POC students and the role access plays in education. This episode was mixed by Jeanne Montalvo. 

Julio is joined by guest co-host Antonia Cereijido of Latino USA to discuss the tragedy and horror of six migrant children who have died in U.S. custody in the last eight months. Meanwhile, most 2020 presidential candidates have no comprehensive immigration reform plan with the exception of Julián Castro. This week, Castro went on Late Night With Seth Meyers to talk about his plan and to call out Democrats' lack of action on this issue.

We’re talking elections! Whether it’s the 2020 candidates or the series finale of Game of Thrones, white males seem to be at the forefront. Maria and Julio are joined by Astead Herndon, national political reporter with The New York Times, and Brittany Packnett, activist and co-host of Pod Save The People, to discuss how the candidates approach POC voters, the notion of electability, and how similar issues of race, gender, and politics played out in the final season of Game of Thrones.

Maria and Julio discuss Trump’s push for a merit-based immigration plan, after claiming our current legal immigration system is broken. They also talk about Alabama banning abortion outright, following the recent wave of anti-abortion legislation in the country, racial profiling in policing and the dangers of facial recognition technology.

Amidst the Mueller saga, Trump finds himself facing a number of subpoenas from Congress. Meanwhile in foreign policy, tensions with Iran are escalating, and Trump is going all-in on the trade war with China, after raising U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. This is happening while one million Uighur Muslims are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang. Julio is joined by Melissa Etehad, foreign affairs reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and All-Star Vann Newkirk, staff writer at The Atlantic, to discuss.

Another week of the Mueller saga ended with Trump yet again refusing to cooperate with Congress’ investigations on the report. Maria and Julio discuss the congressional hearing held on Wednesday, plus Trump’s repeated lies about Puerto Rico and another tragic school shooting in Colorado.

This week in immigration, Trump announced his plans to appoint Mark Morgan to head ICE, while former White House chief-of-staff John Kelly joined the board of a company that runs detention centers for migrant children. Maria and Julio are joined by Andrea González-Ramírez, senior news and politics writer with Refinery29, and All-Star Terrell Jermaine Starr, senior reporter with The Root, to discuss. Plus, they talk Trump’s phone call with Putin, and the latest 2020 update.

Protests in Venezuela have erupted after opposition leader Juan Guaidó called for the support of armed forces to overthrow Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Attorney General William Barr testified in front of the Senate about his handling of the Mueller report, and the Trump administration’s immigration policies left two more migrant children dead this week. Maria and guest co-host All-Star Imara Jones sound off on the latest news of the week. 

Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for whether the Trump administration should add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census, effectively changing the way people in the United States would be counted. Maria and Julio are joined by Dorian Warren, president of the Center for Community Change, and Hansi Lo Wang, NPR national correspondent, to discuss the Supreme Court case and how this question would impact POC and immigrant communities.

Well he finally did it. Joe Biden announced he was running for president on Thursday, just a day after She the People hosted the first ever policy forum dedicated to women of color in Houston, TX, where many of the 2020 candidates spoke. Maria and Julio discuss the latest with the campaign trail, plus what stories they can't let go of this week.

The Mueller report dropped last week and left everyone wondering what's next? Maria and Julio are joined by Tanya Ballard Brown, 2019 Nieman fellow at Harvard University, and Adam Serwer, staff writer at The Atlantic, to unpack the reactions to the report. They also delve into the deep roots of white supremacy in the U.S., and the arrest of the leader of an armed right-wing militia group that’s accused of detaining migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In this special Mueller report ITT edition, Maria and Julio give their takeaways on the 448-page redacted document by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election. They discuss Attorney General William Barr’s defense of Trump, the obstruction of justice during the investigation, and whether Russian interference will influence future elections in the United States.