Feet In Two Worlds

Your zip code can tell a lot about your health. Studies show that historically redlined neighborhoods can overlap with areas that flood the most, have the worst air quality, and experience the warmest temperatures. Our story takes us to California’s San Fernando Valley and to Newark, NJ, where immigrant families live in or near zones that have been redlined and experience health issues due to extreme heat and pollution.

In 2023, Illinois’ governor signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act to phase out fossil fuels by 2050 and renovate the state with green infrastructure. Chicago is one of the cities offering communities of color and those most impacted by pollution the chance to lead this energy revolution. Reporter Wendy Wei speaks with Ghanaian American Senyo Ador about how he is bringing his insights from working on energy projects in Ghana to make Chicago a more energy-equitable city for communities of color.

Across New York City, workers are tearing out concrete and asphalt from schoolyards and  replacing them with rain-absorbing surfaces that are more climate resilient. The redesigning of playgrounds in immigrant neighborhoods offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rethink how kids in the city relate to the outdoors.  Producer Aria Young, an immigrant journalist from China, explores the recent transformation of New York City playgrounds in response to the climate crisis and what it means for children’s play.

In America’s agricultural heartland, a small group of immigrant farmers look to ancient methods to help modern farming respond to the climate crisis. Producer Anja Nilsson reports from Nebraska on Maya farmers from Latin America who employ farming methods that conserve water, increase biodiversity, and reduce carbon emissions.

In July of 2023, Efraín López García died picking fruit on a farm in Homestead, Florida. According to his family, extreme heat caused his death. At the same time, the Florida legislature was considering a bill banning local governments from enacting safety regulations to protect farmworkers. About 75 percent of farmworkers in the United States are immigrants. Allison Salerno reports on community organizations and scientists who are working to protect farmworkers from extreme heat in the absence of government protections.

Over 100,000 people live in New York City basement apartments – most are immigrants. It’s an open secret that, while basement apartments offer cheap rent, they are potential death traps in a city experiencing more frequent and severe flooding due to climate change. Government programs to address the problem have largely failed. Producer Emmy Brett asks where people go when there is nowhere safe or affordable to call home. More info at: fi2w.org

When Hurricane Otis devastated the resort city of Acapulco in October 2023, Mexican authorities struggled to respond to the disaster. Producer Greta Díaz González Vázquez reports on how families divided by the US-Mexico border faced challenges in surviving Otis.

Feet in 2 Worlds is back with our newest podcast series called Home, Interrupted. The series explores how the climate crisis affects immigrants across the U.S., and how immigrant communities are finding new ways to deal with a warming planet. You’ll hear voices that are often overlooked in the climate crisis, including those who have been forced to make wrenching choices, as well as those who are leading the way to a more sustainable planet.  The series premieres on April 2, 2024.

Through The Fake Green Cards Project, Philadelphia-based artists Xuan Liu and Youkun Zhou invite us to imagine a world where getting “papers” is not the nerve-wracking process it has become for many immigrants in the U.S. Producer Danya AbdelHameid reports on how their whimsical hand-drawn cards explore the meaning of the green card, spark conversations about the challenges of navigating the immigration system, and raise questions about what it means to belong in America.   Visit abetterlifepodcast.com for a complete list of credits for this episode.

Writer and producer Boen Wang and his Chinese-born mom disagree on almost every political issue. Each suspects that the other has been “brainwashed”, because how else could they have such extreme views? In this personal piece, Boen unpacks the epistemology and history of the term brainwashing, and goes on an intimate exploration of his mom’s childhood and experiences in the U.S. to figure out what has actually shaped her political beliefs—and his own.   Visit abetterlifepodcast.com for a complete list of credits for this episode.  

In this podcast we examine the rhetoric and the reality of Latino voting in the U.S. Are Latinos themselves to blame for not voting at the same rate as other groups? Or have the political parties created systems that keep Latino voters on the margins, and discourage them from participating in American democracy? Our guests - Latino analysts, organizers and journalists from around the country - reflect on lessons from the 2022 midterm elections, dive into polling research, and offer suggestions for election reform.  Carolina González in New York City moderates this conversation with Maritza Félix in Arizona, Daniel Garza in Texas, Leo Murrieta in Nevada, Gabriel Sanchez in New Mexico and Virginia Lora in Florida.

A Better Life? presents four stories from a workshop that Feet in 2 Worlds hosted earlier this year for bilingual journalists. The stories focus on a casino worker in New Hampshire, a chef in Mexico, a radio host in Kansas, and high school students in Arizona. These four audio vignettes were produced in a mixture of English and Spanish, a reflection of how the two languages live side-by-side in communities—and many households—across the U.S.

Feet in 2 Worlds recently hosted a live conversation about the unique role of immigrant journalists in covering the news. It featured Maritza Felix, Von Diaz, and Catalina Jaramillo. The conversation was recorded at Feet in 2 Worlds’ Celebration of Immigrants in Journalism on January 31st, 2022.

In Los Angeles Chinatown, local shops and restaurants eagerly welcome back customers as they return to business after the height of the pandemic shutdown. But the neighborhood’s rebound from Covid has been uneven.  The pandemic has shone a light on the divide separating the successful and the struggling, as well as concerns about anti-Asian violence. A Better Life? executive producer Quincy Surasmith explores the starkly different visions for the future of L.A. Chinatown and the organizations promoting these competing ideas. 

A Better Life? speaks with Catalina Jaramillo of FactCheck.org and Nicolás Ríos of Documented about combating Covid misinformation directed at Latinos and Spanish-speaking immigrants, and to Daniel Le of Boat People SOS about his group’s successful efforts to get Vietnamese Americans on the Gulf Coast to get the Covid vaccine.  

Covid-19 shut down or shortened most professional sports seasons in 2020 and even postponed the Olympics. What happened to all the people working behind the scenes at sports stadiums? Producer Khari Thompson explores how the pandemic affected their livelihoods.

After a year of holding classes on Zoom, schools across the country have returned to in-person learning this fall. Producer Katelynn Laws visits the rural town of Monroe, North Carolina, a community with a large Latino population, to learn how students are making up for what many say was a lost year.

Mohammed Ahsanul is an international student at the University of Wyoming about to complete his Ph.D. in applied mathematics. Once he finishes his degree, he expects to return home to Dhaka, Bangladesh—but not before his family reunites with him for the first time since the pandemic began. Producer Naina Rao joins Mohammed and his family for a trip to see America as she examines the ways a better life in the U.S. doesn’t always mean a permanent stay.

When indoor dining shut down during the pandemic, food delivery apps thrived. But the people delivering the food – workers celebrated as essential – faced risks to their safety and unfair working conditions. Producer Oscar Durand tells the story of Cesar, a delivery worker from Mexico who found a cause and a community while organizing his fellow delivery workers in New York. We also speak with Hildalyn Colón Hernández from Los Deliveristas Unidos, a group that advocates for delivery workers in New York City.

Jasmine Jiwani is part of Atlanta’s large Ismaili Muslim community. Covid restrictions prevented the community from gathering for the funeral of her husband, who died of Covid. Producer Zulekha Nathoo reports on how the pandemic has created unique challenges for Jiwani and other Ismaili Muslims.