The Benito Juarez Experience

Juhem y Luciano discuten las razones por las cuales el gobierno de los EEUU cerró y el rol de la política de inmigración en las negociaciones.

Luciano discusses Secular History Month in his first solo episode 

Luciano and Juhem discuss reproductive rights in Latin America with a focus on abortion, in the first of (likely) two episodes.

After an unintended holiday break Luciano and Juhem propose resolutions for the show in 2018.

Juhem and Luciano discuss several aspects about the politics of the Working Class including: (1) why working class POC are not called as such? (2) why upper middle class whites who voted for Trump seem to get a “pass” while the white working class gets all the blame (3) why Democrats are wasting their time trying to convince white working class voters to support them. links: The Nationalist's Delusion (Adam Serwer, The Atlantic) Change and Continuity Among White Voters With No College Degrees (Juhem Navarro-Rivera, PRRI Spotlight)

Luciano and Juhem update their readers on Honduras, The Johnson Amendment, North Carolina Schools, and DACA

Juhem tiene funciones de anfitrión solo y discute lo ocurrido en los EEUU a un año de la sorprendente victoria de Donald Trump en las Elecciones Presidenciales. Este ciclo también incluyó dos episodios dedicados a las elecciones de Honduras.    

Juhem interviews Luciano asking some questions about the electoral and legal processes in Honduras.

Luciano and Juhem preview the Honduras election in the first of a 2-part series on Honduran politics.  Honduran Election 2017: Basic Info & Historical Info (Luciano Gonzalez Sin/God).

Juhem and Luciano check in about the state of the country one year after Donald Trump's Election. 

Juhem y Luciano hablan sobre DACA, participación política y organizaciones políticas latinas.

Luciano and Juhem highlight progressive organizations led by Latinx people and their impact on American and Latinx politics.

Luciano and Juhem discuss being politically engaged Latinos.

Today's episode is the audio of Juhem's talk at the American Humanist Association (Washington, DC) on October 12, 2017. Links: Key facts about unauthorized immigrants enrolled in DACA (Pew Research Center) The Dream Act, DACA, and Other Policies Designed to Protect Dreamers (American Immigration Council) Public Support for Basic Policies of DACA Program Edges Up (PRRI)

En el tercer episodio de La Experiencia de Benito Juárez Juhem y Luciano hablan sobre el secularismo y laicismo hispanos en el mes de la herencia hispana. El primer segmento se trata de una discusión del crecimiento del secularismo entre las comunidades Latinas en los Estados Unidos y el por qué a pesar de ser una quinta parte de la población, no escuchamos más en los medios. El segundo segmento se enfoca en el crecimineto de las comunidades digitales de latinos y latinas sin religión y el crecimiento del secularismo en América Latina. Finalmente cerramos con una discusión de la historia laica y secular en las Américas, España y los Estados Unidos con la politóloga Dra. Yazmín Trejo.

On an episode recorded on International Blasphemy Day Juhem and Luciano talk with Dr. Yazmin Trejo about her project on secular Latinx history and stories. Dr. Trejo talks about the motivations for the project, some of her findings so far, and how to help her document laicismo and secularism in the Greater Latinx community in the U.S. and Latin America. Luciano delves into the history of International Blasphemy Day to start the episode. Links: Latin American History And International Blasphemy Day (Luciano GonzalezSin/God) To share secular Latinx stories with Dr. Trejo please email: secularlaico AT gmail DOT com

Luciano and Juhem continue their discussion of Latinx secularism as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. They mention the importance of online communities in creating a safe space for Latinx people who doubt religion and to meet others with similar doubts. They also discuss how irreligion is spreading in Latin America and why religious identification varies so much across the region. Links: Secular Latino Alliance Hispanic American Freethinkers Religion in Latin America (Pew Research)

En nuestro segundo episodio Juhem y Luciano discuten varios temas. El primer segmento se enfoca en la estrategia de los líderes del partido Demócrata para ganar las elecciones del 2018. El segundo segmento trata de apropiación del término "valores familiares" para el uso de la población no religiosa. El programa cierra con una discusión de los eventos en Charlottesville el mes pasado.

Luciano and Juhem recap the tragic events in Charlottesville, Virginia last month. They argue about what to do with Confederate monuments and disagree about what's the best way of contextualizing those artifacts. They also discuss President Trump's response. The show closes with observations about weaponizing vehicles and the GOP enablers of this practice. Links: After Charlottesville Rally Ends in Violence, Alt-Right Vows to Return (Sarah Posner, Rolling Stone) Update: US President Trump's Response to Charlottesville Events (Human Rights Watch) Legislation, Cars, And Protesters: How Laws Can Be Affected By Tragedy (Luciano GonzalezSin/God) Be Not Constrained: James Croft on Humanists' Responsibility to Fight Oppression (Point of Inquiry)

In this belated episode Luciano and Juhem discuss ways of appropriating the term "family values" from the Christian Right. They explain what they mean by family values and why they think these are issues that progressive secularists can lead on.   Links: Modern Family Values Could And Should Define Future Democrats (Luciano Gonzalez Sin/God) Democrats Need To Stop Considering Backing Anti-Choice Politicians (Luciano Gonzalez Sin/God) Representing Secular Family Values (Juhem Navarro-Rivera The LatiNone) Anti-abortion Democrats fading from the scene (Reid Wilson The Hill)

In this episode Juhem and Luciano discuss the Democrat's reboot, also known as "A Better Deal." They focus on three articles with different takes on the future of the Democratic Party. Links: Everything That's Wrong with the Democratic ‘Reboot' in One Lousy Op-Ed (Ian Haney López, Moyers & Company) The Democratic Party Is in Worse Shape Than You Thought (Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times) Democrats Are Trying to Win the 2018 Midterms in All the Wrong Ways (Steve Phillips, The Nation) America Has a Long and Storied Socialist Tradition. DSA Is Reviving It (John Nichols, The Nation)

En este primer episodio de "La experiencia de Benito Juárez" los coanfitriones Luciano Gonzalez y el Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera hablan de sus metas para esta versión en español de su podcast The Benito Juárez Experience. También hablan sobre los temas discutidos en la versión en inglés del podcast.

This week Luciano and Juhem reflect on the first 16 weeks of the show. They discuss their favorite moments and argue about what can be improved. They also announce some changes in format.

This week Luciano and Juhem discuss the recently decided SCOTUS case Trinity Lutheran v. Comer. We debate the merits of the case, discuss the nuanced differences in opinion between justices, and wonder what's next in church-state jurisprudence with Utica College political science professor Daniel Tagliarina. Links Trinity Lutheran v. Comer A Major Church-State Ruling That Shouldn't Have Happened (Garrett Epstein, The Atlantic) Written by Professor Tagliarina Free Exercise on the Playground How Roberts Blurs Church and State in Trinity Lutheran Case Various Interpretations of First Amendment in Trinity Lutheran Case

This week Luciano discusses how the world view's America in the Trump era looking at a recent Pew Global poll conducted around the G20 meeting where Trump ranks last among the 4 main leaders of the G20 (China, Germany, Russia) in terms of confidence. Juhem analyzes some of the global public opinion while also finding time to discuss global First Ladies. Related Links U.S. Image Suffers as Publics Around World Question Trump's Leadership (Pew Global Attitudes & Trends) Tracking U.S. favorability and confidence in the U.S. president, 2002 to 2017 (Interactive Chart by Pew Global) First Lady Incidents Poland (Vanity Fair) Japan (The Hill) USA (Boston Globe)

Juhem and Luciano explore Latinx identity with Dr. Arlene Sanchez-Walsh, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Asuza Pacific University. Toptic include: navigating identity as an ethnic minority in the country and a religious minority in the community, "reverse" missions from Latin America to the USA, sociological explanations of Pentecostal conversion. About the guest Arlene M. Sánchez-Walsh, Ph.D., is associate professor of religious studies and the author of the award-winning book Latino Pentecostal Identity: Evangelical Faith, Self, and Society (Columbia University Press, 2003). She has authored more than a dozen articles and book chapters on the subject of Latino/a Pentecostalism, and has served as a media expert for outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and “On Being” with Krista Tippett, and served as an expert on Latino/a religious history for the PBS series “God in America.” Sánchez-Walsh's current writing projects include a textbook on Pentecostalism in America, and a monograph on Latinos/as and the prosperity gospel. Her current research is on the rise of nonbelief among Latinos/as.

Luciano and Juhem discuss the recent special elections to replace GOP congress persons who have joined Donald Trump's cabinet. While Democrats have come close to winning, given the partisan leaning of those districts, they have yet to light a cigar. Our co-hosts debate how important these "special elections" are, and whether the Democrats need a leadership change. Related Links Where Can Democrats Win? By Nate Silver in FiveThirtyEight

Juhem and Luciano revisit a topic from their very first episode. The New York Times recently revived discussion of the religious left with a long and in-depth piece about the problems getting the movement going. Juhem and Luciano discuss the article and some other pieces reacting to it. They also offer their opinion about the limits of the religious left, and why those limitations can help the secular left carve its own political space.   Links: NY Times Article Mark Silk blog post Friendly Atheist Podcast The LatiNone on evangelicals for Trump The LatiNone on secular political representation The LatiNone on why candidates ignore secular voters

In the second part of our Paris Accord episode Luciano explains why Nicaragua was not among the countries that signed the agreement and why the USA leaving is not a comparable action. Juhem discusses Latinx public opinion on climate change and theorizes about how transnational ties influence Latinx perspectives on this issue.   Related links: Juhem's piece: "Latino/as are Key to the Future of Climate Change Policies" Juhem & Dan Cox piece: "Are Transnational Ties Leading Latinos to Express Greater Concern about Climate Change?" North Korea blasts Trump as 'silly,' 'ignorant' over Paris Accord withdrawal US joins only Syria and Nicaragua on climate accord 'no' list Cover image source: NASA

President Trump got the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord(s) earlier this month. This week, in the first of two episodes dedicated to analyze this event, Luciano explains what is the Paris Climate Accord, why it is important, and the limits of this international agreement. Juhem discusses the public opinion on climate change and introduces the concept of "Trumpslating": the art of translating the President's statements into something that makes sense. Related links: PRRI/AAR Religion, Values and Climate Change Survey Yale Program on Climate Change Communication President Trump's speech on Paris Climate Agreement (annotated by NPR) Cover image source: NASA

 This week Juhem and Luciano discuss two articles exploring the same piece of research: Are atheists undercounted in the United States? Juhem focuses on the different ways surveys measure non-belief while Luciano questions whether people who do not use the word atheist should be identified as such. The discussion, naturally, later revolves about politics and whether an openly atheist politician can have a long and successful career. Links: Is one American in Four an Atheist? (Tom Jacobs, Pacific Standard) Way More Americans May Be Atheists Than We Thought (Daniel Cox, Fivethirtyeight.com)  Other links: 'American Nones' ISSSC Report (2009) 'Nones on the Rise' Pew Report (2012) 'Exodus' PRRI Report (2016) Secular Nation podcast on the Freethought Equality PAC Image source: Religion News Service

Recently, the Republican-controlled legislature in North Carolina removed funding for schools in districts represented by Democratic Party legislators. Luciano discusses the politics behind this move and the consequences of these actions while Juhem places these events in the larger national contexts of partisan polarization and the role of public education in society. Links Luciano on "North Carolina's Highly Problematic General Assembly Republicans." News Observer article Image source: North Carolina GOP

In April the Pew Research Center released a report exploring the educational attainment statistics of various religious groups.    All Americans PRRI 2014: http://ava.prri.org/#demographics/2014/States/education/1,2,3,4   All Religions PEW 2014: http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/educational-distribution/   Atheists PEW 2014: http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-family/atheist/#educational-distribution   Agnostics PEW 2014: http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-family/agnostic/#educational-distribution   Education Report http://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/26/in-america-does-more-education-equal-less-religion/ Nones PEW 2014: http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-family/nothing-in-particular/#educational-distribution   DEGREES CONFERRED: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1czOtcCViQKY0E0tCkGKur0_p5Ctaax9I8BfTeNtrAT8/edit?usp=sharing   LATINO NONES HS Grads http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-family/nothing-in-particular/racial-and-ethnic-composition/latino/educational-distribution/high-school-or-less/

Puerto Rico Speaker of the House Carlos "Johnny" Méndez led 40 days of prayer and fasting to "help" the island get out of its current crises despite obvious legal concerns regarding church-state separation (and the fact that prayer doesn't solve anything). Luciano tells the story of what happened and who opposed the government-led religious activity. Juhem provides some historical and anecdotal evidence of why these acts by politicians are commonplace in Puerto Rico.   Resources: Luciano's blog post "Secular Humanists Of Puerto Rico Move To Challenge Carlos “Johnny” Mendez." at Sin/God. Fox News article India.com article Pasquines.us article IHEU article Metro Puerto Rico article (en español)   Johnny Mendez image source: Twitter

This week Juhem and Luciano continue their conversation with Dr. Melixa Abad-Izquierdo about Telenovelas, the Latin American cultural phenomenon. In part 2 Dr. Abad-Izquierdo discusses telenovelas outside of Mexico, Non-Catholic representations of religion, and the future of telenovelas in the era of streaming media.   About the guest Dr. Melixa Abad-Izquierdo is an Assistant Professor of History at Farmingdale State College. She is also the author of “A Melodramatic Miracle: The Cultural and Political Economy of the Mexican Telenovela, 1950-1980” an essay in Soap Operas and Telenovelas in the Digital Age: Global Industries, Hybrid Content, and New Audience,edited by Diana I. Rios and Mari Castañeda. Also by her, “A Lachrymose Heroine For the Masses: The Origins of the Cinderella Plotline in Mexican Telenovelas, 1968-1973.” In Modernization, Nation-Building, and Television History. Edited by Melissa Chakars and Stewart Anderson. New York: Routledge, 2014. Her research interests are Latin American popular culture and its connections to politics.  

This week Juhem and Luciano talk to Dr. Melixa Abad-Izquierdo about Telenovelas, the Latin American cultural phenomenon in the first of two episodes exploring the concept. In part 1 Dr. Abad-Izquierdo looks at the history of telenovelas in Mexico and how interest groups helped shape the religious content in the genre.   About the guest Dr. Melixa Abad-Izquierdo is an Assistant Professor of History at Farmingdale State College. She is also the author of “A Melodramatic Miracle: The Cultural and Political Economy of the Mexican Telenovela, 1950-1980” an essay in Soap Operas and Telenovelas in the Digital Age: Global Industries, Hybrid Content, and New Audience,edited by Diana I. Rios and Mari Castañeda. Also by her, “A Lachrymose Heroine For the Masses: The Origins of the Cinderella Plotline in Mexican Telenovelas, 1968-1973.” In Modernization, Nation-Building, and Television History. Edited by Melissa Chakars and Stewart Anderson. New York: Routledge, 2014. Her research interests are Latin American popular culture and its connections to politics.  

Luciano and Juhem talk about the Johnson Amendment, the law regulating political spending by churches and other nonprofit organizations. President Trump promised to "destroy" the law to please his religious conservative base. In Part 2, Luciano and Juhem discuss how churches get involved in other countries and views about separation of church and state.   Links of interest: Survey about support of Johnson Amendment NPR pimer on Johnson Amendment Trump vows to destroy Johnson Amendment Luciano on the Johnson Amendment at Sin/God.

Luciano and Juhem talk about the Johnson Amendment, the law regulating political spending by churches and other nonprofit organizations. President Trump promised to "destroy" the law to please his religious conservative base. In Part 1, Luciano and Juhem focus on what is the Johnson Amendment and its role in the separation of church and state.   Links of interest: Survey about support of Johnson Amendment NPR pimer on Johnson Amendment Trump vows to destroy Johnson Amendment

In the first episode of The Benito Juárez Experience Juhem and Luciano discuss their paths to atheism and activism, why we named the podcast "The Benito Juárez Experience." We also talk about how the American religious left gets too much attention compared to the nascent secular left, and the racial bias in the discussion of the religious left. Links of interest: 'Religious left' emerging as U.S. political force in Trump era (Scott Malone, Reuters.com) Pew Religious Landscape Survey Benito Juárez Bio