4/25/14

Latin Pulse: 4.25.2014

Turmoil and violence in Mexico, both past and present provide the themes this week on Latin Pulse.  The program discusses the impact of Mexico's drug cartels on the agricultural sector, including the trade in limes and avocados. The program analyzes the impact of the Knights Templar cartel on the Mexican state of Michoacan and how the government is trying to fight the violence that cartel breeds. The program also includes a retrospective discussion of the Zapatista revolt, 20 years later.  The news segment of the program covers the changes in Brazil this week regarding regulation of the internet.

The program includes in-depth interviews with:

Steven Dudley of InSightCrime.org; and
Jorge Luis Sierra, Mexican journalist.

Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;
Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml; and

Writer: Elyssa Pachico.

(To download or stream this podcast, click here.)


 (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)

 









































4/18/14

Latin Pulse: 4.18.2014

Death and resurrection are the twin themes this week on Latin Pulse.  The theme of resurrection is provided just ahead of the Easter season through an examination of the growth of evangelical Protestantism throughout Latin America.  The program looks at the explosive growth of pentecostal denominations in Brazil, Central America and other parts of the region.  News of the death of Nobel-prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez has cast the region into mourning for this important writer.  The program reflects on the life and legacy of Garcia Marquez and discusses how he made magical realism a key form in literature.

The program includes in-depth interviews with:

Andrew Chesnut of Virginia Commonwealth University; and
Nuria Vilanova of American University

Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;
Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml; and

Writer: Rae Daniel.

(To download or stream this podcast, click here.)


 (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)

 



























4/11/14

Latin Pulse: 4.11.2014

Issues of democratization in Venezuela and Cuba provide the central themes this week on Latin Pulse.  The controversy over whether the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) overstepped its proper functions by sponsoring a secret communications program in Cuba provides one of this week's debatable topics.  Latin Pulse also interviews one of the key leaders of Venezuela's protest movement and debates whether that movement represents free speech or an anti-democratic method to seize power. This week's commentary reviews a landmark case of lesbian rights in Chile and how that might be applied to an upcoming case in the Dominican Republic.

The program includes in-depth interviews with:

Phil Brenner of American University; and
Rodrigo Diamanti of El Mundo Sin Mordaza

Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; and
Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml.

(To download or stream this podcast, click here.)


 (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)

 
































4/4/14

Latin Pulse: 4.04.2014

This week Latin Pulse returns to the issues of human rights and politics in Central America.  The program includes an in-depth look at the human rights abuses attached to the land conflicts in the Bajo Aguan area of Honduras.  The program also looks at this weekend's presidential runoff in Costa Rica.  The discussion revolves around the key issues that will face the next president of Costa Rica.  The news segment of the program looks at revelations that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) secretly was behind the establishment of a Twitter-like text service in Cuba.

The program includes an in-depth interview with:

Ciska Raventos of the Universidad de Costa Rica

The program also includes interviews with:
Nik Steinberg of Human Rights Watch;
Annie Bird of Rights Action; and
Alex Main of the Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR).

Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; 
Reporter: Rachel Baye; and
Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml.

(To download or stream this podcast, click here.)


 (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)