Six-time Emmy award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker John Carlos Frey shares his unconventional journey from Hollywood actor to investigative reporter covering immigration and border issues — a transition sparked by learning about the horrors that transpired on California's All-American Canal.

He discusses the whitewashing of immigrant stories, the limitations of 90-second news segments, and why ICE and Border Patrol escalate violence instead of diffusing it.

This episode of The Latino Newsletter podcast was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramírez, and Michelle Zacarias. Julio Ricardo Varela edited the conversation. The music is by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of The Latino Newsletter podcast was made possible through individual donations⁠ and ⁠the Latino Media Consortium⁠.

Filmmaker Colette Ghunim discusses her award-winning documentary “Traces of Home.” The film follows Colette and her parents as they return to Mexico and Palestine — the homelands they were forced to leave — to confront intergenerational trauma, displacement, and explore her cultural identity.

Colette shares the nine-year journey of creating this deeply personal documentary, from convincing her hesitant parents to participate to winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best U.S. Documentary at the 2025 Documentary NYC Festival. She opens up about how the filmmaking process became an unexpected tool for healing family wounds, bridging the gap between generations, and understanding the lasting impact of colonization and migration.

The conversation explores the parallels between Mexican and Palestinian diasporic experiences, the challenges of being a woman of color in documentary filmmaking, and how art can serve as medicine for collective trauma.

This episode of The Latino Newsletter Podcast was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela. Music by Cast of Characters via SoundStripe.

Season 2 of the Latino Newsletter Podcast was made possible by individual donations and by the Latino Media Consortium.

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guest, and do not necessarily reflect those held by The Latino Newsletter or its staff.

Investigative reporter Nicole Foy joins the Latino Newsletter Podcast to discuss her groundbreaking ProPublica investigation that uncovered more than 170 U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents as of October 2025 — a number she describes as a "vast undercount."

Foy reveals the systemic failures behind these detentions, from citizens being kicked and dragged during arrests to spending days in federal custody without access to lawyers, phone calls, or basic necessities. Her reporting exposes how heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration has led to unprecedented community resistance and collateral damage, with U.S. citizens — including children and people with cancer — caught in the crossfire.

This episode of the Latino Newsletter Podcast was produced by Joaquín Cotler, Juan Diego Ramirez, and Michelle Zacarias. It was edited by Julio Ricardo Varela. Music by Cast of Characters via Soundstripe.

Season 2 of the Latino Newsletter Podcast was made possible through individual donations and the Latino Media Consortium. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest and host, and don't necessarily reflect those of the Latino Newsletter or its staff.