Julio Ricardo Varela began his journalism career working alongside sportswriters like Bob Ryan, Leigh Montville, and Bud Collins but returned to the field years later as a news reporter and multi-media journalist. A Puerto Rico native, Varela was an early adopter of social media platforms and remembers that period as his version of J-school. After founding LatinoRebels.com, he began working with award-winning journalist, author, and PBS host Maria Hinojosa, for Latina USA and Futuro Media. Varela and Hinojosa are also cohosts of the In the Thick podcast, which he calls the "people of color complement to Pod Save America." He has written for the New York Times, ESPN, and The Guardian, among other outlets.

During our conversation, Varela talked about his evolution as a journalist, including such topics as sports reporting for the Boston Globe as a Harvard student (1:30); being an early adopter of Facebook and Twitter (6:45); starting the Latino Rebels news blog (10:00); the new journalism model (15:30); being acquired by Futuro Media (21:00); and a preview of Part 2, when Varela talks about Hurricane Maria and Junot Diaz (27:00).