APB Speaker Maria Hinojosa’s Futuro Media & PRX Wins Pulitzer for Podcast Series

09 Nov 2022

A seven-part podcast series from APB speaker Maria Hinojosa’s Futuro Media and public media organization PRX has won the Pulitzer Prize in the Audio Reporting category. Suave is a series about the criminal justice system that sentences juveniles to life in prison—particularly young men of color—and what happens when, decades later, they’re suddenly granted one more chance at freedom. The story follows David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez from boy to man, exploring incarceration, redemption and the often unusual relationship between a journalist and a source.  

“When I heard the news that Suave won the Pulitzer Prize, I felt like a tectonic shift happened,” said Hinojosa, President and Founder of Futuro Media. “The Pulitzer is an example of American excellence. That our podcast focusing on people that are often forgotten just because they are behind bars is being recognized is an extraordinary feat. This is an incredible moment for American journalism—the choice to recognize a piece going deep into the humanity of not just the source, but also the journalists. This is a testament to never giving up on a story and to trusting your producers. The Suave podcast was always scrappy from the start. Never in my life did I think we could win a Pulitzer. I think that’s the reason we won.”  

The Futuro Studios production team includes Executive Producer Hinojosa, Host and Producer Maggie Freleng, Reporter and Producer Julieta Martinelli, Story Editor Audrey Quinn, Engineer and Sound Designer Stephanie Lebow and Executive Editor Marlon Bishop. The podcast is distributed by PRX and was released free to audiences in February 2021.  

As a reporter who was the first Latina in many newsrooms, Hinojosa dreamt of a space where she could create independent, multimedia journalism that explores and gives a critical voice to the diverse American experience. To that end, in 2010, she created Futuro Media, an independent, nonprofit organization based in Harlem, NYC with the mission to create multimedia content for and about the new American mainstream in the service of empowering people to navigate the complexities of an increasingly diverse and connected world.  

Hinojosa is the Anchor and Executive Producer of the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA, distributed by PRX, as well as Co-Host of In The Thick, Futuro Media’s award-winning political podcast. She has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad. In her new book, Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America, Hinojosa tells the story of immigration in America through her family’s experiences and decades of reporting, painting an unflinching portrait of a country in crisis. She is also a contributor to the long-running, award-winning news program CBS Sunday Morning and a frequent guest on MSNBC.

+View Full Profile, Video, Speech Topics & More