An award-winning journalist's deeply reported exploration of how race, identity and political trauma have influenced the
rise in far-right sentiment among Latinos, and how this
group can shape American politics.

Democrats have historically assumed they can rely on the Latino vote, but recent elections have called that loyalty into question. Now, journalist Paola Ramos pulls back the curtain on these voters, traveling around the country to uncover what motivates them to vote for and support issues that seem so at odds with their self-interest.

Ramos joins us at the bookstore to share what she has uncovered.
Defectors introduces readers to underdog GOP candidates, January 6th insurrectionists, Evangelical pastors and culture war crusaders, aiming to identify the influences at the heart of this rightward shift.

Ramos will be in conversation with Editorial Director at WUSF, Julio Ochoa to discuss how one of America's most powerful and misunderstood electorates may come to define the future of American politics.

Let us know we will see you there! Please RSVP HERE!

Paola Ramos is an author and Emmy-Award winning journalist. She is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC, where she is the host of “Field Report.” Ramos is a former Correspondent for Vice News. Prior to her career in journalism, Ramos was the Deputy Director of Hispanic Media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, a political appointee during the Obama Administration, and served in President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. She is also a former Hauser Leader in the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, where she received her Master’s in Public Policy, and recently joined the board of trustees of her alma mater, Barnard College. She is the author of Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity. Ramos was born in Miami to Cuban and Mexican parents, grew up in Madrid, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Julio Ochoa is Editorial Director of WUSF, the NPR station for the greater Tampa Bay region. He oversees the day-to-day newsroom operations, working with an award-winning staff of reporters and editors. He joined the station in 2016 as editor of Health News Florida, a statewide news project based in Tampa. In that role, he oversaw projects that exposed inequities in the health care system, including Florida’s unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. He was also a member of a Kaiser Health News/NPR healthcare reporting partnership, where he brought local stories to a national audience. Before joining WUSF, Julio spent 15 years reporting and editing at newspapers in Florida and Colorado, including the Naples Daily News and the Tampa Tribune, where he served as deputy metro editor. Julio graduated from Florida State University and received a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado.