As El Salvador today backslides into authoritarianism, the LMC looks back on Salvadoran history to find its democratic potential by discussing the forgotten legacy of Prudencia Ayala, the first woman to run for president in Latin America.  So on this episode, the LMC spends the hour with Isabel Castillo, a researcher at the Center for the Study of Political History @ the Adolfo Ibanez University in Santiago, Chile.

March 12th, 2021: The Legend of Prudencia Ayala

How does Bitcoin work in a country ill-prepared to deal with cryptocurrencies?  The LMC tries to find out by speaking with professor Eric Vazquez on the dark side of cryptocurrency as it makes its way into Latin America.  Eric Vazquez is an assistant professor in American Studies & Latinx Studies @ the University of Iowa.

July 23rd, 2021: Bitcoin In El Salvador

Legends in Venezuela.  Comrades of El Salvador.  Giants in La Nueva Cancion Movement.  On this episode, the LMC speaks with Carlos Ron about the musical legacy of Venezuela's Ali Primera and Los Guaraguao, their unique connection to El Salvador, and the revolutionary music that became the soundtrack to Central American resistance in the 80's.  Carlos Ron is the Venezuelan Vice Minister for North America and the President of the Simon Bolivar Institute para la Paz y la Solidaridad entre los Pueblos.

October 29th, 2021: Ali Primera & Los Guaraguao

On this episode, Trans Latinx activist and vlogger Kayley Whalen returns to the LMC to discuss the colonial and white supremist history of tourism in Guatemala and how to travel and respect the Mayan people in a more productive way.

January 28th, 2022: Decolonizing Tourism In Guatemala

As the state of exception continues in El Salvador under the Nayib Bukele administration, the LMC speaks with Yesenia Portillo, the program director for CISPES, on the consequences of El Salvador's backsliding democracy.

December 16th, 2022: El Salvador's State of Exception

The LMC begins 2023 by spending the hour with freelance writer Arturo Dominguez to discuss the phenomenon of Latino toxic masculinity and Machismo in White supremacist movements.

January 6th, 2023: Tackling Machismo

On this episode, the LMC spends the hour with Hilary Goodfriend, a University of California-Riverside postdoctoral fellow at the Latino & Latin American Studies Research Center, to discuss the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and the time US President Jimmy Carter ignored his calls to stop military to the Salvadoran junta in 1980.

March 31st, 2023: Jimmy Carter & Oscar Romero

Joan Flores-Villalobos, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Southern California, joins the LMC to discuss her new book, "The Silver Women: How Black Women's Labor Made the Panama Canal."

The Black Women Who Made The Panama Canal

On this episode, the LMC speaks with Dara Marquez, a volunteer organizer for Cosecha Indiana, to break down the unique challenges in fighting for immigrant rights in the Hoosier state.

May 5th, 2023: Immigrant Rights in Indiana

Following the 2023 Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador, the LMC speaks with professors Ana P Rodriguez and Jorge Cuellar on how the pageant  was used to whitewash Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's authoritarianism.  

Ana P Rodriguez is an Associate Professor in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures @ the University of Maryland in College Park.  Jorge Cuellar is a Assistant Professor, Latin American, Latino & Caribbean Studies @ Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire

November 24th, 2023: Bukele's Beauty Pageant

The LMC begins the new year by spending the hour with freelance media producer Michael Fox to discuss the one-year anniversary of the Brazilian insurrection by right-wing supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.  Michael Fox is the producer of the podcast, Brazil on Fire.

January 12th, 2024: The Brazilian Insurrection

After an election victory by leftist Bernando Arevalo in Guatemala's presidential election last year, the LMC speaks with professor Marco Fonseca about this historic moment in Guatemalan history and how the right-wing tried to stop it.

Marco Fonseca is an Instructor in Latin American and International Studies, in the Department of International Studies at Glendon College, York University in Canada.

January 26th, 2024: Guatemala's New Spring

Following two failed attempts at rewriting the Pinochet-era constitution in Chile, the LMC speaks with freelance writer Nyki Duda about what happens next in the administration of Chilean president Gabriel Boric and its turn to the right.

March 1st, 2024: Chile's Constitutional Future

As the militarization of the border in Texas continues to increase under governor Greg Abbott, the LMC spends the hour with Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate & Extremism, about how continuing militarization has become a magnet for armed hate groups.

March 15th, 2024: Growing Extremism on the Border

Often overlooked in Central American history, the struggle for social justice in Honduras in the 80s is given a deserved spotlight in this episode from the LMC as we spend the hour with Michael Fox on Honduras' forgotten history of social resistance.

Michael Fox is a freelance writer and the host of the new podcast, "Under the Shadow."

March 22nd, 2024: Honduras in the 80s

Following the conviction of former Honduran coup president Juan Orlando Hernandez in a US court on drug-trafficking charges, the LMC speaks with both Adrienne Pine and Karen Spring about how JOH turned Honduras into a narco-state.

Adrienne Pine is an anthropologist & co-coordinator of the Intl Coalition to Stop Genocide in Palestine.  Karen Spring is a researcher, host of the Honduras Now podcast, and co-coordinator of the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN).

March 29th, 2024: JOH Guilty

In recent week, the Republican led anti-CRT movement has extended itself to attack and defund historically black colleges and universities.  So on this episode, the LMC speaks with professors Will Guzman and Nolan Cabrera to discuss how these recent attacks parallel the banning of ethnic studies in Arizona during the mid 2000s.

Will Guzman is the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Intl. Programs & Community Engagement @ North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC.

Nolan Cabrera is a Professor of Educational Policy Studies and Practice @ the University of Arizona in Tucson.

April 5th, 2024: HBCUs Under Attack

On this episode, the LMC speaks with Maximillian Alvarez and Clara Longo de Freitas to spotlight Baltimore's Latino community following the Key Bridge collapse that killed six migrant construction workers.

Maximillian Alvarez is the Editor-in-Chief of the Real News Network in Baltimore, MD.

Clara Longo de Freitas is a community reporter for the Baltimore Banner.

April 12th, 2024: Baltimore's Latino Community

With growing support on college campuses for Palestine as the Israeli military assault on Gaza continues, the LMC spends the hour with Mark Lewis Taylor, Professor of Theology and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, to discuss the history of Israeli involvement in the Mayan Genocide in Guatemala and why it should serve as a crucial frame of reference today.

April 26th, 2024: Israel & the Guatemalan Genocide

As protests on college campuses by students in solidarity with Gaza continue nationwide, the LMC spends the hour with freelance writer Arturo Dominguez about the hypocrisy of Texas governor Greg Abbott's authoritarian response to demonstrators in the Lone Star state.

May 3rd, 2024: Greg Abbott vs Peaceful Protestors

Following last year's landmark labor victories by United Auto Workers, the momentum has extended to Tennessee where workers voted last month to unionize.  So the LMC spends the hour with Luis Feliz Leon, staff writer for Labor Notes, to discuss the importance of this latest labor victory and the frontline workers who led the way.

May 10th, 2024: Tennessee Auto Workers

What does it mean to be black & beautiful in Ecuador? How has the rise of Afro-Latinos in Ecuadoran society changed the countries national identity. The LMC asks these questions with Prof Hugo Benavides.  He is a professor and the chair of the Anthropology department at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY.

Dec 8th 2017: Black is Beautiful in Ecuador

The LMC starts 2018 by asking who is Nayib Bukele?  Is he friend or foe?  Is he a populist for the people or just another neoliberal politician?  Is he the future president of El Salvador or a capitalist step backwards?  Find out when we speak with freelance writer Hilary Goodfriend.

Jan 12th 2018: Who is Nayib Bukele?

Why does it seem that Paraguay is so isolated to the rest of Latin America?  The answer may lie in a genocidal war that almost destroyed the country and the Guarani language that united it during reconstruction.  The LMC speaks with Paraguayan writer Benjamin Fernandez Bogado to learn more about the extraordinary Guarani language.  Benjamin Fernandez Bogado is also the program director for Radio Libre and a columnist for 5dias del Paraguay.

April 20th, 2018: The Guarani Language in Paraguay

Much like MS-13, Los Zetas of Mexico are a creation of US foreign policy, military support of the Mexican government, and a reflection of the failed "war on drugs."  But while MS-13 is a violent street gang, Los Zetas are an organized syndicate that rises to the level of multinational corporations.  So the LMC speaks with Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, the author of, "Los Zetas Inc.: Criminal Corporations,Energy, & Civil War in Mexico."  She is also an assoc professor at the Schar School of Policy & Government @ George Mason Univ in Fairfax, VA.

July 13th, 2018: Los Zetas

In less than nine years, the number of Haitian immigrants going to Chile has gone from almost non-existent to over 100,000 and growing.  The LMC speaks with Cristian Dona-Reveco about this growing community in Chile and their struggles against institutional racism and xenophobia.  Cristian Dona-Reveco is an associate professor of Sociology and the director of the Latino/Latin American Studies Program at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

April 5th, 2019: Haitian Migration to Chile

Corporate media focuses so much on the doom and gloom in El Salvador that it almost erases the beauty and the artistic identity of the Salvadoran people.  So the LMC decided to take back the narrative by dedicating this episode to the artistic legacy of El Salvador's greatest artist, Fernando Llort.  For this show, we speak with Salvadoran artist Veronica Melendez and Kimberly Benavides.  They are the co-creators of La Horchata Zine, a seasonal publication dedicated to Salvadoran artists and poets in Washington DC.

July 5th, 2019: The Artistic Legacy of Fernando Llort

The tragic shooting that took place in El Paso Texas this month was not an isolated incident.  It is a tragedy that recalls the racism, xenophobia, and paranoia more than a century ago.  On this episode, the LMC speaks with David Dorado Romo about the legacy of the 1917 Bath Riots and how it lends itself to help us understand the racism and xenophobia we see in today's political landscape.  David Dorado Romo is the author of, "Ringside Seat To A Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso And Juarez."

August 23rd, 2019: El Paso Bath Riots of 1917

On this episode, LMC co-producer Abby Roberts takes the lead and spends the hour with Never Again Action organizer Sonya Mendoza about the continued importance of defeating the for-profit migrant detention system in a time of police violence and a health pandemic. Never Again Action is a movement of Jewish people and allies fighting back by taking nonviolent direct action to end the United States' cruel immigration policies.

June 5th, 2020: Never Again Action

On this episode, the LMC speaks with Pamela Cunningham about how the Black Lives Matter movement deconstructs the myth of Costa Rica as the "Switzerland" of Latin America and how it forces Costa Rica to re-examine important figures in its history.  Pamela Cunningham is an Afro Costa Rican activist and co-founder of Costa Rica Afro.

July 10th, 2020: Black Lives Matter in Costa Rica

Who is Anton de Kom?  Who is Eddie Bruma?  What can Suriname, one of the least examined countries in Latin America, teach us about the Black Lives Matter movement?  The LMC seeks to find that out by speaking with Sam Battistoli, a freelance journalist based in Suriname.

September 18th, 2020: Black Lives Matter In Suriname

The Latino Media Collective is a grassroots Latino public-affairs program that airs on Pacifica station WPFW 89.3fm on Fridays @ 1pm EST in Washington DC.  

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