Latino USA Futuro Media and PRX

This week, Latino USA brings you an episode of The Burden podcast.In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname.Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers (who all say they are innocent!) turned jailhouse-lawyers. In prison they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away. They set out to turn the tables on Scarcella while still in prison. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they would succeed.Thirty years later, more than 20 people Scarcella helped put away have walked free. In the media he’s the “disgraced detective,” the rogue cop who hoodwinked an entire system. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast ... where justice is done (and undone).You can subscribe to the podcast here. 

This is a special episode by Futuro Investigates, in collaboration with The Center For Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. In the absence of federal or state data showing how many disaster restoration workers get sick every year because of their labor, we document for the first time how prolonged exposure to dangerous toxins affects the health of workers who clean and rebuild American cities after natural disasters. 

When Mireya Ramos found herself subject to scrutiny and machismo as the only woman mariachi singer in the male-dominated mariachi circles, she decided to do something about it. So she founded Flor De Toloache in 2008, the first all-female mariachi in New York City. The Latin Grammy winning group's new album, 'Indestructible' features beautiful harmonies and creative fusions that go beyond traditional mariachi. Today, we hear from core members of the group who describe how they came to be and how the sisterhood they have formed, made them.This episode originally aired in October of 2019.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones rose to instant recognition when she published the 1619 Project in 2019. Since then she’s received countless praise, awards and recognition, but the project also engulfed her into a media firestorm with many on the far-right going after her and her work, with some states even banning the teaching of the 1619 Project.In this conversation with Maria Hinojosa, Nikole Hannah-Jones reflects on how she’s pushed ahead despite controversy, talks about trying to fit in at predominately white institutions and the importance of intersectionality. We also take a trip to her 1619 Freedom School in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa.This story originally aired in 2023.

For the past decade, Armando Perez has worked as a wildland firefighter with the Eldorado, California, Hotshot crew — an elite group that works in the hottest portions of wildfires. For Armando that has meant weeks away from his family, dealing with some of the worst fires in U.S. history. Still, there’s nothing else he would rather be doing.In this episode of Latino USA, Armando recreates what a typical day is like for him and his crew to understand why, along with thousands of other wildland firefighters, they continue to risk their lives under increasingly difficult and record-breaking fires.This episode originally aired in September of 2022. 

What and who do you include in a national Latino museum?That’s a question that many have been asking since late 2020, when Congress green-lit the creation of The National Museum of the American Latino. It’s a new addition to the Smithsonian Institution’s roster of national museums, many of which intend to preserve the history and culture of the United States.The fight to create The National Museum of the American Latino spans across decades. The idea was sparked by a damning 1994 report, commissioned by the Smithsonian itself, which concluded that the institution had a pattern of systematically excluding Latinos and Latinas from its programming and its staff. One of its top recommendations? To create a museum highlighting Latinos and Latinas in this country.Now, in 2022, the museum is making moves. Even though there’s no building to house it yet, the National Museum of the American Latino has appointed a board, hired an inaugural director, and has even debuted its first show in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. In the midst of all this, many are beginning to wonder what the vision of this museum will be, and how it plans to capture the wide diversity of Latino history and culture in the United States.This episode originally aired in September 2022.