The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode 1378: “poem where no one is deported” by José Olivarez
Host: Maggie Smith
Air Date: October 21, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode of The Slowdown, host Maggie Smith explores the dual nature of gossip—its common negative associations and its power as a tool for survival and community protection. The episode centers on José Olivarez’s poem, “poem where no one is deported,” which recounts an act of resistance by a community of immigrant women who use the “God of gossip” to outmaneuver an immigration raid. Smith grapples with the ethics and utility of gossip before sharing Olivarez’s work, ultimately reflecting on how small acts and shared information can protect families and transform fear into hope.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Gossip

Timestamp: 00:53 – 03:04

• Maggie Smith opens with a candid reflection on the word "gossip," recounting how she was raised to resist it, its typical association with secrets and the thrill of the forbidden.
• She admits, “Gossip has a negative connotation because we associate it with prying and with taking pleasure in knowing the salacious details of someone else's life. That dopamine hit from hearing a juicy tidbit and whispering about it to someone else. Can you believe that she did that? Can you believe he said that?” (02:04)
• Smith confesses to occasional enjoyment in gossip (“have I taken pleasure in a little tidbit now and then... yes, I can admit that,” 02:30) but draws an important distinction—gossip isn't always “trash talking:” it can serve a crucial communal and protective function.

2. The Power and Protection of Whisper Networks

Timestamp: 03:05 – 03:40

• Maggie introduces the concept of “whisper networks”—informal social channels used to share information vital to community safety, like news about impending ICE raids.
• She stresses that these networks can be “life saving,” positioning gossip as a form of grassroots resistance and mutual care.

3. Introduction to Olivarez’s Poem & Context

Timestamp: 03:40 – 04:13

• Smith prefaces the reading by summarizing the poem’s premise: “Today’s poem recounts a story of women outsmarting immigration officials who raid their factory thanks to Dios del chisme, meaning the God of gossip.”
• She notes the repeated Spanish phrase “si Dios quiere” (“God willing”), setting the poem’s spiritual and cultural tone.

Featured Poem & Key Moments

4. “poem where no one is deported” by José Olivarez

Timestamp: 04:13 – 06:02

• The host reads Olivarez’s poem in full.
• The poem imagines “la Migra running into the sock factory where my mom and her friends worked. It was all women who worked there, women who braided each other's hair during breaks, women who wore rosaries and never had a hair out of place, women who were ready for cameras or for God, who ended all their sentences with si Dios quiere.” (04:25)
• The poem details how rumors of a raid were “passed around like bread and the women made plans si Dios quiere. So when the immigration officers arrived, they found boxes of socks and all the women absent safe at home. Those officers thought no one was working. They were wrong. The women would say it was God working and it was God. But the God my mom taught us to fear was vengeful.” (05:00)
• A powerful closing confession: “I never asked my mom where the food came from, but she told me anyway. Gracias a Dios, gracias a Dios del chisme, who heard all la Migra’s plans and whispered them into the right ears to keep our families safe.” (05:50)

Notable Quotes

• On the utility and ethics of gossip:
  “Gossip isn’t just trash talking though. It can help us make important decisions. Whisper networks can even be life saving.” — Maggie Smith (03:10)

• On mothers, faith, and survival:
  “Those officers thought no one was working. They were wrong. The women would say it was God working and it was God.” — José Olivarez (05:10)

• Reframing the divine:
  “Gracias a Dios, gracias a Dios del chisme, who heard all la Migra’s plans and whispered them into the right ears to keep our families safe.” — José Olivarez (05:50)

Memorable Moments

• Maggie’s personal admission about occasional indulgence in gossip sets a confessional, intimate tone and underscores the episode's central tension—when gossip shifts from entertainment to moral necessity.
• The poem’s depiction of brave women collectively using information to resist deportation serves as both a celebration of community ingenuity and a quiet indictment of the structures forcing such resistance.

Main Themes & Takeaways

• Gossip, often maligned, can serve as a subversive, protective force: It can be the difference between tragedy and safety, especially for marginalized communities.
• Community solidarity and whisper networks: The informal ways marginalized people shield each other, passing on necessary information, are highlighted as acts of everyday heroism.
• Reimagining faith: Olivarez invokes both a traditional, vengeful God, and a new “God of gossip” who is, ultimately, protector and provider.

Essential Timestamps

• 00:53 — Maggie Smith’s opening reflection on gossip
• 03:05 — The idea of whisper networks and their significance
• 04:13 — Reading of “poem where no one is deported” by José Olivarez
• 05:50 — Poem’s conclusion and central message

Summary:
This episode of The Slowdown gracefully intertwines the personal and the political, inviting listeners to reconsider gossip—not as idle chatter but as a lifeline. Through Maggie Smith’s reflection and José Olivarez’s evocative poetry, listeners glimpse the courage and confidentiality that sustain communities facing real danger. The episode ultimately affirms the value of attentiveness, compassion, and using whatever tools are at hand—even gossip—to protect one another.