A Year of People Getting Taken - Izzy Ramirez

For over a year, LA Taco staff reporter Izzy Ramirez has been on the ground documenting ICE and Border Patrol raids across Southern California — logging arrests, archiving footage, and standing between agents and the communities they're targeting. In this deeply personal follow-up conversation, host John Carlos Frey asks the question most interviews skip: what has doing this work actually done to you? Izzy opens up about the drinking, the public "crash outs" on social media, the nights he can't stop scrolling, and the death of a teenager whose story hit painfully close to home. He and Frey talk honestly about burnout, the absence of any real support system for reporters covering trauma in real time, the guilt of stepping away even for a moment, and the "savior complex" that keeps so many activists and journalists from resting. It's a raw look at what it costs to bear witness — and why Izzy says he isn't planning to stop.  This episode covers heavy material, including grief, substance use, and a young man's death. Listener discretion advised.  https://lataco.com/author/izzy-ramirez  https://theraidpodcast.org/ Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates").  The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.