Podcast

Greg talks with Dinorah Azpuru, Associate Professor of Political Science at Wichita State University, about public opinion in Latin America. How do people feel about democracy? How about Guatemala in particular? And how do Latin Americans feel about the influence of the United States?

Greg talks with Luis Schenoni, a PhD student in the Political Science Department at the University of Notre Dame. He specializes in IR Theory, International Political Economy and Foreign Policy Analysis with a focus on Latin America. The topic is the role of China in Latin America. What is the Chinese state doing? Is this a problem for the US? What is the Latin American reaction?

Greg talks with demographer (and father) John Weeks, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography at San Diego State University, about how demography affects Latin American politics and immigration. In particular we discuss Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela.

Greg talks with Francisco “Quico” Toro, Executive Editor at Caracas Chronicles (http://www.caracaschronicles.com), about Venezuela, especially the state of the dialogue between the opposition and the government. What can it accomplish? What is the opposition doing? What are the alternatives? The only question we can’t answer is why Nicolás Maduro is dancing salsa while the country falls apart. That one seems to be impossible to figure out.

Greg talks with Chris Sabatini, the editor of www.LatinAmericaGoesGlobal.org and Executive Director of Global Americans as well as a lecturer at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. The topic is speculation on the Trump administration’s policy toward Latin America. As he speaks, Chris is in Canada but that is entirely coincidental.

Greg talks with Christine Wade, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Washington College, about the recent Nicaraguan presidential election. Part of that discussion revolves around how you even define democracy in the first place. A small part of it also speculates on how a Trump administration will deal with Nicaragua.

Greg talks with Tim Gill, who is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research at Tulane University, and who finished his Ph.D. in Sociology in 2016. The topic is Venezuela, particularly the international factors involved in Venezuelan politics. The discussion ranges from the Venezuelan government’s view of foreign NGOs to the likely policies of the Trump administration to the possible outcomes of the dialogue between the government and the opposition.

Greg talks with John Polga-Hecimovich, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the U.S. Naval Academy, about the political crisis in Venezuela. Among other things, he says to make sure and keep your eyes on Vladimir Padrino-López. We also discuss whether targeted U.S. sanctions will likely work and whether Latin America will take a more active role.

Greg talks with Ali Stoyan, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Kansas State University, about how executives with ambitious reform agendas have used constituent assemblies to achieve them. We chat in particular about Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, with a dash of Honduras.

Greg talks with Steven Taylor, Professor of Political Science and Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Troy University. They try to figure out directions the peace process in Colombia might take, which really means informed speculation. But that’s what academics do.