Podcast Episode 76: Trump & Latin America

In Episode 76 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, once again I join forces with the Historias podcast of the Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies (which everyone should check out). I talk with Dustin Walcher, Jeff Taffet, Mary Rose Kubal, and Maggie Commins about the Trump administration's policies toward Latin America.

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me. Subscribe, rate, and keep 6 feet from it.

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Podcast Episode 75: Restrictive Immigration Policies in the Southeast

In Episode 75 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk with Maggie Commins, who is Shelton Professor of Political Science at Queens University of Charlotte, about her forthcoming article on restrictive immigration policy tone in the southeast, which is coming out in the next issue of The Latin Americanist. It's some really interesting research based on coding data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. 

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me. Subscribe, rate, and keep 6 feet from it.

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Podcast Episode 74: Inside The Latin Americanist

In Episode 74 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, we co-produce with Historias, the podcast of the Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies, which you need to check out if you have not already. We talk about The Latin Americanist, the journal owned by SECOLAS. We get into all aspects of academic publishing, including how excited we've been to be published by the University of North Carolina Press.

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me. Subscribe, rate, and keep a safe physical distance!

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Is Aid to Latin American A Total Waste?

If you are at all interested in U.S.-Latin American relations, go listen to Adam Isacson interview Lars Schoultz about his most recent book In Their Own Best Interest (which I reviewed here). The point of the book is to ask why the "altruists" in the U.S. keep on doing what they're doing to "uplift" Latin America when it is clearly not working and might even be harmful.

What it means is a lively critique of WOLA itself, and indeed any other altruists (USAID, you name it). Lars argues that many don't know what they're doing, and their efforts at promoting good governance are not working. If development assistance isn't leading to development, then we need to rethink them entirely. Programs start and aren't ended even if they don't work at all. We can't measure "more harm than good" because such an endeavor is loaded with counterfactuals, but it's a legitimate claim to make, especially in the context of history, where we can see how often we did more harm than good while claiming to be doing whatever it was in their own best interest.

So, for example, does "building state capacity" lead to the funding of a state from which people feel the need to flee? Why keep on doing that? Ultimately he calls for thinking about non-incremental measures, whatever they might be (not revolution, as he makes clear). He uses the historical example of Costa Rica abolishing its military.

Adam disagrees with some of what he argues, and notes that. But some rigorous self-examination is always in order.

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Podcast Episode 73: Serving as an Expert Witness in Immigration Cases

In Episode 73 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk with Jonathan Rosen, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Holy Family University. Jonathan has served as an expert witness in almost 100 immigration cases, most involving Central American migrants fleeing violence and fearful of return. Really interesting stuff, with an insider's view into the process.

Incidentally, I last talked to Jonathan on episode 61 back in December 2018, where the topic was exiting gangs in El Salvador. I recommend that one as well.

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Podcasting Latin American Civil-Military Relations

Over at the Washington Office on Latin America podcast, I talked with Adam Isacson about Latin American civil-military relations. I thought we had a nice, if not exactly uplifting, chat.

One point that came up that in my opinion merits more attention is the use of social media. Latest example: when the U.S. imposed sanctions on Nicolás Maduro and others, there was quickly a tweet of army support. It's just an assumed response at this point.

Also, we recorded on Friday afternoon in our respective homes and had a beer as we talked. I'd never had a beer while podcasting and I recommend it.

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Podcast Episode 72: Nayib Bukele and Other Things

On Episode 72 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk again with Christine Wade, Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Washington College. We start with a discussion of what Nayib Bukele is doing with the military in El Salvador and what that might mean for democracy. Then we shift to the writing of the 7th edition of her co-authored textbook Understanding Central America: Global Forces and Political Change, which just came out.

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Podcast Episode 71: Latin America, the U.S., and China

Episode 71 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast is different, as it's a recording of a talk I gave last night on Latin America, the U.S., and China. This was part of the Great Decisions series, sponsored by the Office of International Programs here at UNC Charlotte.

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Podcast Episode 70: Latin American Civil-Military Relations: What the &%&$?

In Episode 70 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I go it alone to vent about my flashback to the 1990s. The impact of civil-military relations in Latin America has become a major topic in the past year, and it's not good for democracy.

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Immigrants at the El Paso Border

Check out WOLA's podcast, where Lisette Alvarez interviews Adam Isacson about his trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. Plenty of food for thought, much of which does not tend to reach the mainstream media.

1. When so many people want to be caught for asylum, the wall is moot.

2. Border Patrol agents don't want resources spent on walls in the desert, where people cross with no problem even with a wall. They want more people to help process families.

3. Migrants forced to stay in Mexico are being kidnapped for ransom in large numbers.

4. Mexican organized crime controls the border, so guardsmen have little impact.

5. AMLO is just as cruel as any other past president with immigrants. Ideology doesn't matter.

6. Cuban migrants are especially targeted because of the perception of their relatives' resources.

7. Once the immigrant suffering is pushed into Mexico (with Remain in Mexico) rather than the U.S., it disappears from almost everyone's view in the U.S.

Go listen to the whole thing.

And incidentally, Adam is typically measured but clearly pissed off about all the callous treatment of suffering. He doesn't use the phrase "cruelty is the point" but it hangs over everything.

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Nicaraguan Revolution Revisited Podcast

I recommend this four-part podcast on the Nicaraguan revolution from the Watson Institute at Brown University. It stemmed from a conference the institute held in May, which included participants. The podcast itself is well-produced and includes the voices of those participants (at the website you can also watch a short video). The basic theme is the cycle from dictatorship to revolution to civil war to democratic elections and then back to dictatorship.

I could easily see using something like this in class. It is not long and it allows a lot of the participants simply to tell their story, so it's engaging.

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Podcast Episode 69: Understanding the Chilean Crisis

In Episode 69 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast I talk with Pablo Rubio, a historian who is currently Visiting Researcher at Georgetown University/Investigador de la Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile. He researches the political transition in Chile and U.S.-Chilean relations. We discussed the long-term impact of the transition, the possibilities of constitutional reform, police violence, and even the right's belief that Venezuela is behind the protests.

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me. Subscribe and rate, even if just to tell me I am a crazed leftist professor.

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Podcast Episode 68: Understanding the Bolivian Crisis

On Episode 68 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk with Miguel Centellas, who is Croft Instructional Associate Professor of Sociology & International Studies at The University of Mississippi. He does research on Bolivian politics, electoral politics, and measuring democracy as well. He was on the podcast way back in December 2016. At that point, Evo Morales had decided to run despite the failed referendum. This time we discuss the current crisis, what the opposition is like, and the state of Bolivian democracy, complete with a Star Wars reference.

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me. Subscribe and rate, even if just to tell me I am a crazed leftist professor.

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Podcast Episode 66: Chilean Terrorism & the Ghosts of Sheridan Circle

In Episode 66 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk with Alan McPherson, Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy at Temple University. He has published a ton on U.S.-Latin American relations, especially as it relates to intervention. In particular, he has a brand new book Ghosts of Sheridan Circle: How a Washington Assassination Brought Pinochet’s Terror State to Justice. That assassination took place September 21, 1976, almost exactly 43 years ago. I highly recommend the book, which reads like a thriller. Here is the review I wrote of it on this blog.

Go order a copy of the book at the University of North Carolina Press or at Amazon.

If you're going to be in DC on October 1, then go see him in person!

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me. Subscribe and rate, even if just to tell me I am wrong about everything.

Update (9/20/19) Go check out his op-ed in The Washington Post.

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Podcast Episode 65: U.S. Policy Toward Cuba

I know it's been a while!

In Episode 65 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk with Arturo López-Levy, who is Visiting Assistant Professor of international Relations at Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota. He has a Ph.D. in international Studies from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies of the University of Denver. He has published articles about Cuba, Latin America, and the U.S. policy towards Latin America. We talked about U.S. policy Cuba, based on an article he recently published in NACLA. We ranged from Trump administration goals to reaction in Cuba, to what economic consequences we might see as a result of U.S. policy.

Link to his NACLA article.

Link to his Análisis Carolina article.

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me. Subscribe and rate, even if just to tell me I am wrong about everything.

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Podcast Episode 64: The U.S. and Juan Guaidó

On Episode 64 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk with Tim Gill, Assistant Professor of Sociology at UNC Wilmington. He has published on an array of topics largely involving U.S. global power, Venezuelan politics and human rights, and sociological theory. His work has been published in several academic outlets, including Sociological Forum, Journal of World-Systems Research, Social Currents, The American Sociologist, and Third World Quarterly.

We last talked in Episode 10, which was November 2016 after Trump’s election. Times have changed a bit.

For our discussion, he also co-authored an article with Rebecca Hanson (she came on the podcast two weeks ago) about U.S. policy toward Venezuela in The Nation (click here for the link) and people are all up in arms. Specifically, it is about the U.S. government’s relationship with Juan Guaidó. It generated some heat so we discuss the argument, the responses to it, and where Venezuela may be heading now.

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me. Subscribe and rate, even if just to tell me I am a moronic leftist academic.

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Podcast Episode 63: Nayib Bukele Wins in El Salvador

In Episode 63 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast I talk about the Salvadoran presidential election with Christine Wade, Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Washington College. We talk about why Nayib Bukele won, the problems with the two dominant parties, the role of ideology, and much more. We end on a more optimistic note than normal!

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anyplace I've missed, please contact me.

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Listen to Some Latin America Podcasts

The reason I have my own podcast is that I enjoy listening to them in general, in the car and while exercising. Here are some I've listened to recently related to Latin American politics you might be interested in checking out.

• Two Gringos With Questions Podcast Chris Sabatini and Kenneth Frankel talk to Tom Shannon, a retired diplomat who played a major role in U.S.-Latin American relations for years. Ever the diplomat, he gives a nice overview of how Latin America views Venezuela without being overly critical of the Trump administration. He covers all sorts of things, including the fact that he's a NASCAR fan.
• Intelligence Matters Podcast A former Acting CIA Director chats with Vicki Huddleston, who served as the top diplomat in Cuba from 1999-2002. She seems particularly happy to trash John Bolton.
• Skullduggery Podcast: Yahoo News reporters talk about a new story on Operation Cobra, where a CIA operative clued U.S. officials onto the fact that there were nuclear weapons in Cuba. Great history, though it falls apart when they force a comparison to current day Venezuela, which just does not work.
• The most recent episode of The Brazil Report with journalist Gilberto Ribeiro goes into the favela militias in Rio. They are dangerous and Jair Bolsonaro loves them. They talk about the history (dating back to the 1950s) and the threats they pose.
• Off and on I listen to the Revolutions Podcast, which has episode after episode on the Mexican Revolution. Straightforward narrative history and well paced, though at times his pronunciations will make you wince. I just love the fact that this topic is popular to an English-language audience.

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Podcast Episode 62: Understanding the Venezuelan Crisis

In Episode 62 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk with Rebecca Hanson, who is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida and affiliated with the Center for Latin American Studies. Her current book project Citizen (In)Security, Policing, and Violent Pluralism in Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution uses 27 months of ethnographic, interview, and survey data conducted in Venezuela to explain why key tenets of democratic police reform do not make sense to many on the ground, and how these reforms can entrench support for the beliefs and practices that reformers set out to change.

She also is the author of a recent article co-authored with Tim Gill (way back in episode 10) in NACLA providing context for the Venezuelan crisis. We discuss how the crisis is unfolding, recognizing that everything might change not long after we talk.

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anything I've missed, please contact me.

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Podcast Episode 61: Exiting Gangs in El Salvador

In Episode 61 of Understanding Latin American Politics: The Podcast, I talk with Jonathan Rosen,

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Holy Family University. He does research on drug trafficking and also gangs in Latin America, especially Central America. Notably, he’s gone into prisons in El Salvador to do interviews. We discuss his new article, ““Rethinking the Mechanisms of Gang Desistance in a Developing Country,” which is based on a survey of nearly 1,200 gang members and 24 in depth interviews. Super interesting conversation.

Here is the link to the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01639625.2018.1519130

If you do not have access to that journal, I encourage you to contact Jonathan directly, as he can give you the PDF. His info is here: https://holyfamily.academia.edu/JonathanRosen/CurriculumVitae

In the episode I mention my Open Access textbook Understanding Latin American Politics. You can find it here: https://omp.uncc.edu/library/catalog/book/7

You can find this podcast at iTunes, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts can be found. If there is anything I've missed, please contact me.

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