Podcast Episodes

The Sellout | 5: How Downtown Was Won

Season 3 Episode 5

No man is an island. Huizar couldn’t have pulled off the alleged corruption scheme without help. Host Mariah Castañeda tells the story of how Huizar allegedly built the criminal enterprise the FBI wo…

Published on 4 years, 1 month ago

The Sellout | 4. Progress Over People

Season 3 Episode 4

When fancy new developments like The Gold Line expansion get proposed, residents of Boyle Heights wonder if it’s actually for them, or if these new new things are meant to attract future residents...…

Published on 4 years, 1 month ago

The Sellout | 3. Red Flags

Season 3 Episode 3

Alvin Parra worked for Huizar when he first got elected. He saw early warning signs that Huizar wasn’t the man of the people he made himself out to be. Parra tried to warn people about what he saw be…

Published on 4 years, 1 month ago

The Sellout | 2. Gentrification is Warfare

Season 3 Episode 2

A militant organization called Defend Boyle Heights protests encroaching gentrification, by any means necessary. We dig into two origin stories: how Huizar emigrated at the age of 4 and ended up at B…

Published on 4 years, 1 month ago

The Sellout | 1. The Gem of Boyle Heights

Season 3 Episode 1

As a working-class Latinx neighborhood in Los Angeles faces gentrification, residents are ready to fight to defend their turf. Mariachis lead a rent strike and ask their councilman Jose Huizar for he…

Published on 4 years, 1 month ago

Introducing The Sellout and Smoke Screen Plus

Jonathan Hirsch, Neon Hum CEO and host of I Am Rama, introduces this season of Smoke Screen (it's called The Sellout!) and our new paid subscription service, Smoke Screen Plus.

If you buy a paid sub…

Published on 4 years, 2 months ago

Coming Soon: The Sellout

Jose Huizar grew up in Boyle Heights – a working-class Latinx neighborhood in L.A. Eventually, he became their councilperson.

And, for the most part, people trusted Huizar... until the day the FBI r…

Published on 4 years, 2 months ago

Introducing Bad Blood: The Final Chapter

She was once the world's youngest self-made female billionaire. Now Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the blood-testing startup Theranos, stands accused of leading a massive fraud, and lying to investors,…

Published on 4 years, 3 months ago

I Am Rama | 10. Legacy

Season 2 Episode 10

In this episode, we explore all that Rama left behind: students, a charitable foundation, music, books, and a complicated legacy.

A Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment production.

Subscribe…

Published on 4 years, 4 months ago

I Am Rama | 9. Conscience Bay

Season 2 Episode 9

Power trips to paradise and never-before shared knowledge -- were these golden times, or Rama’s way of saying goodbye? This episode explores the final years leading of Rama's life. 

A Neon Hum Media…

Published on 4 years, 4 months ago