Incarceration, Immigration & Humanity with Julieta Martinelli

Mental Pleasure

What better way to ring in the first Mental Pleasure episode, than with a riveting conversation with reporter, Julieta Martinelli ?Julieta or known as “Juju”, is an award-winning, investigative reporter and currently the Senior Producer at Futuro Media. She writes about humanity and particularly the way human rights intersect with the criminal legal system and immigration - specifically, for Latino USA, Futuro Studios and Futuro Investigates.
Last year, Juju wrote and co-produced Suave, a narrative podcast series about juvenile life without parole. Suave was recognized by the International Documentary Association as 2021’s best audio documentary series. Just last year, 2022, her work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting. Juju’s writing and reporting has helped lead to the release of two incarcerated men in two separate cases, one of which had spent nearly two decades wrongfully convicted, in prison.
Over the years her work has taken her all over the world. She has spent many months alone in big and small border towns, in Mexico, documenting the stories of asylum seekers who are forced to live in dangerous conditions. She has visited overcrowded shelters, prisons and detention centers across the South – to be more specific, in the jungle at the Darien Gap, which straddles between Colombia and Panama, all the way to the soccer fields of Argentina; to begin to understand how something as simple as the game of soccer, helps shape the sense of belonging and identity for those living in such communities.
As you can already see, Juju is far from simple and those who know her would describe her as “simply, THE best.” She definitely is a force to be reckoned with and you’ll just have to listen to see for yourself. Happy listening!
Julieta’s Work:
http://julietamartinelli.com/
(http://julietamartinelli.com/)Latino USA, Futuro Studios and Futuro Investig
ates.
Instagram:
@jujuxwrites