Podcast
Historias Unknown
Hosted by Carmen & Cristina · EN
Obscure Latin American history, capitalism and corruption. Each week, your hosts (and twins) Carmen and Cristina, will tell each other a story about Latino/Latine history, capitalism or corruption and sometimes all three. Episodes every Thursday.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
27episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Other Side of the Bracero Story with Irvin Ibargüen
1w ago00:53:23Tap to summarizeCaught in the Current: Mexico's Struggle to Regulate Emigration, 1940–1980 is a pioneering analysis of Mexico’s efforts to curb the outflow of its citizens to the United States. It spotlights the miscalculation of Mexican authorities, who believed they could restrain migration at will—particularly when it provoked social chaos, drained the domestic labor pool, or produced egregious cases of migrant abuse. Mexico’s counter-migratory policies, both those based on coercion and incentives, repeatedly collapsed. Mexican migrants resisted restrictions, U.S. authorities refused to cooperate, and Mexican officials ultimately lacked resolve. As the migration swelled, it slipped beyond Mexico’s control. What was once seen as a looming source of disorder, depletion, and disgrace became naturalized as an irreversible fact of national life.Follow Irvin Ibarguen's work and get his book here: https://www.irvinibarguen.com/If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.Follow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →Berta Caceres Part 4
3w ago01:22:42Tap to summarizeBerta Cáceres was a Lenca indigenous leader, an environmental activist, and a human rights defender. But she was also so much more than that: a beauty pageant queen, a revolutionary, and a mother. In part 4, Cristina tells Carmen about the harassment and constant surveillance Berta faced before her murder, her murder, the trial and what the latest GIEI report on her case revealed. If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgSourcesWho Killed Berta Caceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet by Nina Lakhanihttps://archive.ph/BsiZB#selection-3399.94-3399.248https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1cereshttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-02/berta-caceres-and-the-resistance-that-was-born-under-an-oak-tree.htmlhttps://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/04/planeta_futuro/1457113234_162700.htmlhttps://www.gaipe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Represa-de-Violencia-ES-FINAL-.pdfhttps://www.internationalrivers.org/news/remembering-river-defender-berta-caceres/https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/honduras-berta-caceres-killedhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/21/berta-caceres-name-honduran-military-hitlist-former-soldierBerta Caceres Goldman acceptance speech, 2015https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2016/03/honduras-deep-failures-in-investigation-into-activist-s-killing-put-many-at-risk/https://www.oas.org/en/IACHR/https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/human-rights-clinic/projects-and-cases/featured-reports-and-projects/the-giei-honduras-report-on-the-murder-of-berta-caceres/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →Berta Caceres Part 3
Apr 1600:25:35Tap to summarizeBerta Cáceres was a Lenca indigenous leader, an environmental activist, and a human rights defender. But she was also so much more than that: a beauty pageant queen, a revolutionary (she joined the FMLN during the Salvadoran Civil War), and a mother. In part three, Cristina tells Carmen about the conditions that led to the Agua Zarca Dam Project.If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgSourcesWho Killed Berta Caceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet by Nina Lakhani https://archive.ph/BsiZB#selection-3399.94-3399.248https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1cereshttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-02/berta-caceres-and-the-resistance-that-was-born-under-an-oak-tree.htmlhttps://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/04/planeta_futuro/1457113234_162700.htmlhttps://www.gaipe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Represa-de-Violencia-ES-FINAL-.pdfhttps://www.internationalrivers.org/news/remembering-river-defender-berta-caceres/https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/honduras-berta-caceres-killedhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/21/berta-caceres-name-honduran-military-hitlist-former-soldierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Honduran_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat#Zelaya's_detention_and_exilehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porfirio_Lobo_Sosa#U.S._drug_trafficking_case_against_Fabio_Lobohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Orlando_Hern%C3%A1ndezBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →Berta Caceres Part 2
Apr 200:33:45Tap to summarizeBerta Cáceres was a Lenca indigenous leader, an environmental activist, and a human rights defender. But she was also so much more than that: a beauty pageant queen, a revolutionary (she joined the FMLN during the Salvadoran Civil War), and a mother. In part two, Cristina talks about Berta Cáceres' early activity with COPINH, leading up to the PPP plan, which would ultimately be their most dangerous fight. If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgSourcesWho Killed Berta Caceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet by Nina Lakhani https://archive.ph/BsiZB#selection-3399.94-3399.248https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1cereshttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-02/berta-caceres-and-the-resistance-that-was-born-under-an-oak-tree.htmlhttps://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/04/planeta_futuro/1457113234_162700.htmlhttps://www.gaipe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Represa-de-Violencia-ES-FINAL-.pdfhttps://www.internationalrivers.org/news/remembering-river-defender-berta-caceres/https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/honduras-berta-caceres-killedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_and_Tribal_Peoples_Convention,_1989https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lempira_(Lenca_ruler)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Mirandahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerica_Projecthttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/21/berta-caceres-name-honduran-military-hitlist-former-soldierBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →Berta Caceres Part One
Mar 2600:30:40Tap to summarizeBerta Cáceres was a Lenca indigenous leader, an environmental activist, and a human rights defender. But she was also so much more than that: a beauty pageant queen, a revolutionary (she joined the FMLN during the Salvadoran Civil War), and a mother. In part one, Cristina talks about Berta Cáceres' family, early life, her time with the FMLN, and her work leading up to the cofounding of COPINH in 1993.If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgSourcesWho Killed Berta Caceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet by Nina Lakhani https://archive.ph/BsiZB#selection-3399.94-3399.248https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1cereshttps://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-02/berta-caceres-and-the-resistance-that-was-born-under-an-oak-tree.htmlhttps://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/04/planeta_futuro/1457113234_162700.htmlhttps://www.gaipe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Represa-de-Violencia-ES-FINAL-.pdfhttps://www.internationalrivers.org/news/remembering-river-defender-berta-caceres/https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/honduras-berta-caceres-killedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Honduras_(1932%E2%80%931982)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →The Birth Control Trials and Dr Helen Rodriguez Trias
Mar 1900:44:33Tap to summarizeThe birth control pill revolutionized women’s independence in the US and so many places, but came at the cost of Puerto Rican women, who were experimented on without consent in the birth control trials of the 1950’s. One third of the island’s women were sterilized during these trials. And one woman stood out in the fight against this injustice, she was Dr Helen Rodriguez TriasIf you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgSourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Tr%C3%ADashttps://massivesci.com/articles/helen-rodriguez-trias-science-heroes/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1447119/https://web.archive.org/web/20031016140115/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_273.htmlhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1122157/https://archive.ph/qzv60https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/9/28/the-bitter-pill/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-puerto-rico-pill-trials/https://medium.com/the-lily/how-puerto-rican-women-were-used-to-test-the-birth-control-pill-7453a3b6ab73 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/gregory-pincus-1903-1967/ https://womanisrational.uchicago.edu/2022/09/21/margaret-sanger-the-duality-of-a-ambitious-feminist-and-racist-eugenicist/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-dr-john-rock-1890-1984/ https://remezcla.com/culture/birth-control-testing-puerto-rico/ https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/05/24/oral-contraceptives-history-puerto-rico-testing-massachusetts-ethics https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/10/10029088/puerto-rico-sterilization-abortion-reproductive-rights-historyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →Chipita Rodriguez
Mar 1200:44:44Tap to summarizeFor years, she was considered to be the only woman to have been legally hanged in the state of Texas, but today, this is not the case. And yes, she was Mexican. Her name was Josefa (Chipita) Rodriguez. Cristina tells Carmen about Chipita and then they do an update about El Salvador. If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgSourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipita_Rodriguezhttps://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/rodriguez-josefa-chipitahttps://www.caller.com/story/news/columnists/2017/10/16/chipita-rodriguezs-unjust-hanging-haunts-texas/769883001/https://www.tshaonline.org/texas-day-by-day/entry/1035https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/san-patricio-txhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean-tohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuevo_Santanderhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Alamohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Revolutionhttps://www.southtexasnews.com/san_patricio_county/news/entertainment_and_society/chipita-s-ghost-lingers-on-in-san-patricio-on-156th-anniversary-of-hanging/article_82f2857c-0722-11ea-8bd4-13166f2a723d.htmlhttp://www.americancowboychronicles.com/2020/02/josefa-chipita-rodriguez-texas-bandit.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shield_of_the_Americashttps://beta.elfaro.net/el-salvador/hermanos-bukele-compran-tres-nuevas-propiedades-en-el-centro-historico-por-1-25-millonesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →Joe Arpaio: Behind the Bastardos
Mar 500:57:21Tap to summarizeJoe Arpaio was the Maricopa County Sheriff from 1993 to 2017. During his tenure, he enacted the worst racial profiling against Latinos, ruled over the county jails with abuse, misused funds, which led to numerous lawsuits, cost taxpayers millions of dollars and eventually led him to be convicted of criminal contempt of court. This is a behind the bastardos episode, Carmentells Cristina about her biggest opp and a true terror to the Latine community in AZ, Joe Arpaio.If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgSourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaiohttps://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-arpaio-timeline-20170801-story.html https://web.archive.org/web/20150117161910/http://www.mcso.org/JailInformation/TentCity.aspx https://web.archive.org/web/20121023032303/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1997-09-18/news/human-plights/2/https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/chain-gangs/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Seagalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Ferrigno https://www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/25/blind-refugee-abandoned-by-border-patrol-is-dead/ https://www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/26/timeline-burmese-refugees-arrest-to-death/ https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/27/nurul_amin_shah_alam https://web.archive.org/web/20120505072757/http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/12/sheriff_arpaio_oversaw_worst_r.php https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/348061-trump-pardons-arpaio/https://www.aclu.org/cases/ortega-melendres-et-al-v-arpaio-et-alBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →The NYC School Boycott
Feb 2600:38:53Tap to summarizeOne of the largest school boycotts took place in NYC on Feb 3, 1964, almost half a million participated, calling for quality schools for Black and Latino students. It was called freedom day and despite being one of the largest civil rights protests of the 1960s, it has been left out of our history books.If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity. This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgsourceshttps://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/nyc-school-children-boycott-school/https://nyccivilrightshistory.org/topics/boycotting-ny-schools/1964-boycotts/why-the-school-boycott/https://www.salon.com/2016/02/03/jim_crow_must_go_thousands_of_new_york_city_students_staged_a_one_day_boycott_to_protest_segregation_and_it_barely_made_the_history_books/https://www.gilderlehrman.org/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/black-organizing-twentieth-century/boycott-cripples-city-schools-1964https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_school_boycotthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Galamison#Activismhttps://observer.com/2018/06/new-york-city-public-school-segregation/https://themetropole.blog/2017/11/29/the-new-york-times-and-the-movement-for-integrated-education-in-new-york-city/https://www.civilrightsteaching.org/resource/1964-nyc-school-boycotthttps://rethinkingschools.org/articles/the-largest-civil-rights-protest-you-ve-never-heard-of/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Migration_(African_American)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Ricans_in_New_York_City#World_War_II_and_The_Great_MigrationBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →Now I Surrender With Alvaro Engrigue
Feb 1900:48:09Tap to summarizeNow I Surrender radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” In the contested borderlands between Mexico and the United States, a woman flees into the desert after a devastating raid on her dead husband’s ranch. A lieutenant colonel in service to the fledgling Republic, sent in pursuit of cattle rustlers, discovers he’s on the trail of a more dramatic abduction. Decades later, with political ambitions on the line, the American and Mexican militaries try to maneuver Geronimo, the most legendary of Apache warriors, into surrender. In our own day, a family travels through the region in search of a truer version of the past.Part epic, part alt-Western, Now I Surrender is Álvaro Enrigue’s most expansive and impassioned novel yet. It weaves past and present, myth and history into a searing elegy for a way of life that was an incarnation of true liberty—and an homage to the spark in us that still thrills to its memory.Preorder the book now, it releases March 3, 2026!Carmen and Cristina had the opportunity to read Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrigue and talk with him about his new book. If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email Historiasunknownpodcast@gmail.com or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcastBy joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity. This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagramFollow on social media:Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknownSubstack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknownHistorias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bgBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.
Transcribe →