Re-Imagination Nation with Maria Hinojosa: is a companion series to The Long Way Around and delves more deeply into the issues raised in the fiction series. It features interviews with thought leaders, artists, and activists who are members of SCoRE (Solidarity Council on Racial Equity) including Michelle Alexander, Ava DuVernay, Saru Jayaraman, Heather McGhee, Linda Sarsour, and others. Listen to all the episodes below.

The Long Way Around: Futuro Media’s first fiction podcast series tells the story of a Black American father and his Black Vietnamese American daughter who set out across the United States in hope of rebuilding their lives. From the impact of incarceration on parents and children to issues of immigration, environmental racism, and the fight for fair wages, this audio drama written by Emmy winning screenwriter Trey Ellis offers a moving and clear-eyed look at our contemporary struggles and how, through solidarity, we can make a change. With a focus on representation and centering voices of color, this series presents an expansive multicultural cast and creative team, including Emmy Award-winner Karrueche Tran.

In addition, an animated shorts series titled The We Imagine…. Us Animation Series: features characters from The Long Way Around with insights from Michelle Alexander, John Legend, and Heather McGhee. The powerful visual works were directed and written by Trey Ellis and created with The Animation Lounge.

We Imagine…. Us, Episode 3 features Mercy Watkins, the beloved daughter of Albert ‘Bumpy’ Watkins, a Black widower who was formerly incarcerated and the late Audrey Watkins, a Vietnamese-American nursing student. Mercy and Bumpy star in the 6-part companion podcast, The Long Way Around. It’s the year 2037, and Mercy is a 31-year-old, single mother reminiscing about a fateful journey she took as a 16-year-old with her father

Episode 2 features Claressa Brown, a Black environmental justice activist and college student who appears in the 6-part companion podcast, The Long Way Around. Claressa envisions a world that reflects environmental and racial justice as she travels to Lake Charles, Louisiana while listening to a podcast interview featuring the author of “The Sum of Us” and Board Chair of the racial justice organization, Color of Change, Heather McGhee.

Episode 1 features Anahí Echevarría Gutiérrez Barrios, a Guatemalan-American union organizer who appears in the 6-part companion podcast, The Long Way Around. As she travels to Houston, Texas to buy an engagement ring for her beloved Lucille, Anahí envisions a more equitable society as she listens to a ‘Re-Imagination Nation Podcast’ interview with award-winning journalist and Futuro Media Group Founder, Maria Hinojosa, and the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award-winning musician and activist, John Legend.