In part one, we talk about Soleil's new restaurant Bonito Kitchen in Puerto Vallarta and Zahir's hard hitting investigative journalism about Portland's best shawarma. In part two, Soleil interviews Bani Amor, a queer travel writer, photographer and activist from Brooklyn by way of Ecuador. Amor explores diasporic identities, the decolonization of travel culture, and the intersections of race, place, and power. 

It was bound to happen someday. Our killer founding producer and editor, Alan Montecillo, is leaving us (and Portland) to work as a producer on the 21st, a news and culture talk show from Illinois Public Media. We always knew his talents and Hufflepuffiness would take him somewhere great, and we're so excited to watch his career progress from afar. 

In this episode, we say goodbye to Alan and introduce our new producer and editor, Juan Ramirez. Like Alan, Juan is an Oregon Public Broadcasting alum, and we first encountered his work through a piece he did for Think Out Loud. Called, "DACA Now: Returning To Mexico For The First Time In 17 Years," the gorgeous segment features Juan recalling a visit to his birthplace in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, to visit his relatives and ailing father. All of this is colored by the fact that Juan is a DACA grantee: an undocumented immigrant granted administrative relief from deportation because he was brought to the US as a child. Think Out Loud was generous enough to allow us to replay that segment on our show, and we think you'll love it just like we did.

One more thing: this didn't make it into the episode, but we're excited to announce that we've been nominated for a Digital Media: Culinary Audio Series award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP)! Woohoo!