Mary Mendoza: Deadly Divide

Mary Mendoza: Deadly Divide

In this week’s episode of Writing Latinos, we talk with Mary E. Mendoza about her new book Deadly Divide: How Insects, Pathogens, and People Defied the US-Mexico Border, published by The University of North Carolina Press. Mendoza teaches history at The Pennsylvania State University. In Deadly Divide, she blurs the boundary between humans and animals, and borderlands history and environmental history. We talk about the similar ways that humans, ticks, cattle, and lice were racialized. I didn’t even know animals could have racial identities! We also discuss how the US and Mexican governments, and ranchers on both sides of the border, took the same approach to restricting immigration and stopping the spread of animal-borne diseases. This is the rare episode where listeners interested in Latino history and identity can also satisfy their inner science nerd. Thanks for listening!

Xochitl Gonzalez: Last Night in Brooklyn

In this week’s episode of Writing Latinos, we spoke with bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez about her new novel, Last Night in Brooklyn, a magnificent book about gentrification, attachment to place, upward social and economic mobility, and what Gonzalez describes as the “insuperiority complex” many nonwhite Americans experience in predominantly white spaces. She wrote a 21st-century Great Gatsby set in a majority Black and Brown community in Brooklyn. Last Night in Brooklyn is Gonzalez’s third novel, following the widely acclaimed Anita de Monte Laughs Last and Olga Dies Dreaming. We had a blast talking with Gonzalez, and we hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did. Thanks for listening!

Jaquira Díaz: This is the Only Kingdom

Our guest this week on Writing Latinos is Jaquira Díaz, discussing her new novel This Is the Only Kingdom, published by Algonquin Books. This Is the Only Kingdom was named one of the best books of 2025 by The New York Times and was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. A professor of writing at Columbia University, Díaz is also the author of an award-winning memoir, Ordinary Girls. When we caught up with her, we talked about the intergenerational traumas caused by violence, displacement, racism, and homophobia. We also talked about salsa-fueled nights out-on-the-town and the many ways that music inspires her writing. You’ll want to listen to our episode, and then go read this fast-paced story that’s tough to put down.

Mirta Ojito: Deeper Than the Ocean

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mirta Ojito, who has written two non-fiction books, has now written her first novel. Deeper Than the Ocean (published by Union Square & Co.) is a family drama that moves between Spain, Cuba, and the United States. In this episode of Writing Latinos, we talk with Ojito about the meaning of “Spain” for Latinos and the desire to return. We also discuss mothers and daughters, the obligations of love, the sinking of the S.S. Valbanera, and our shared fear of swimming in open bodies of water. Thanks so much for listening!

Álvaro Enrigue: Now I Surrender

In this latest episode of Writing Latinos, we talk with Álvaro Enrigue about the first-ever English translation of his novel Now I Surrender, published by Riverhead Books. Enrigue is the author of many other books, including the widely acclaimed You Dreamed of Empires, set in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Conquest. Now I Surrender is also set mainly in the past, during the Apache Wars in Arizona that led to Geronimo’s capture. It was great to hear Enrigue’s thoughts about Geronimo’s legacy in Mexico, desert borderlands, road trips through the Southwest, and how Latino identity gets shaped through the experience of diaspora. Thank you for tuning in!