Podcasts about mexico central america

Part 1 of this essay was published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-trumps-huge-venezuela-gamble/20260114.htmPart 2 of this essay was published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-was-maduros-capture-a-warning-shot-to-china/20260124.htmIt is hard to judge whether the US regime-change operation in Venezuela is a stroke of genius or an act of pure recklessness. This is completely orthogonal to the questions of morality and legality involved in such, well, coups, to put it bluntly. The real issue at hand is twofold: why did they do it? And what is the long-term fallout from it?I consider several perspectives below: the moral/legal angle, the alleged oil bonanza, the alleged drug trafficking, geo-politics and geo-economics. In sum, I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure may not be an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness. To someone like me who is deeply supportive of the US (especially in opposition to China, the G2 condominium notwithstanding), this is a disheartening conclusion.The morality and legality angleLet us summarily dispose of the entire morality-legality question. At the end of the day, international relations, despite flowery marketing language, is essentially Chanakyan matsya-nyaya, i.e. the big fish eat the little fish, the law of the jungle. Might is right, and that's just the way realpolitik is, let us accept that and move on. The United Nations and the so-called ‘liberal rules-based international order' are syntactic sugar hiding this bitter fact of life. There are a few implications for the little or medium-sized fish: deter the big fish. 1. Bulk up, build up your military and economic strength, including your ability to produce lots of military hardware, 2. Build your economic leverage, so that you are an indispensable trading partner nobody can afford to alienate, 3. Build a nuclear arsenal.This last is significant. Let us consider all the recent (and near-future) invasions by big fish. Iraq. Libya. Iran. Panama. Vietnam. Afghanistan. Ukraine. And soon, alas, Taiwan. Ok, I may have missed some here, but none of them have nukes. If you have working nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them (such as nuclear-capable missiles, submarines lurking in the ocean depths with nuclear warheads), then it is risky for the invading big fish. No big fish likes body bags, and they certainly don't like mushroom clouds over their cities.In addition, there was the stunning silence from the European Union and Britain, which have been moralizing to everybody about how wicked it was for Russia to invade Ukraine. No clutching pearls this time, eh, Eurocrats in Brussels? In fact, EU leaders were positively ecstatic about Trump's intervention in Venezuela. It is indeed the end of the European century.Ditto with the United Nations, which, by the way, is pretty much on its last legs so far as I can tell: on 7th January President Trump exited 31 UN agencies and a grand total of 66 multilateral entities.This of course hurts the UN's budget, not to mention its relevance.In January the US will formally exit the Paris Climate Agreement and the WHO, and it has already exited the UNHRC, UNESCO, and UNRWA. The newly announced exits include the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN Women's Fund, the UN Population Fund, the International Solar Alliance, the International Renewable Energy Alliance, and so on.All this fits in with the ‘Fortress America' part of the National Security Strategy, which I wrote about at some length recently. In my opinion, it is not in the US' long-term interests. The post-WW II “liberal, rules-based international order” with America as its center was good for the US, and its precipitous end will erode pre-eminence, Manifest Destiny notwithstanding. The problem is that the dollar, sanctions, SWIFT and US Treasury debt are losing their clout. Pax Americana too.Summary: Nobody is bothered about morality or legality.The oil colony: is it for real?It could be argued that the unabashed Trump statements about Venezuela's oil are exactly like the British and other European colonization of many lands in the 19th century. It can be summarized as: “we have the guns, we're going to take your butter”. That may well be true, although it is not discussed in genteel circles, where they pretend the Euros were on an, um… civilizing mission.Trump, to his credit, makes no bones about it: he says in so many words that he will henceforth consider Venezuela's oil to be his, and that it will be used for the benefit of both Venezuelans and Americans. To be honest, there is some rationale behind this: the infamous Resource Curse, where resource-rich countries end up with the riches being grabbed by both foreigners and kleptocratic local elites, and miserable citizens get virtually nothing.I am not quite sure how Arab OPEC countries managed to keep their money, and spend it on their own nationals: possibly because their populations were low, and they were used to authoritarian rulers anyway. The same with Norway. But the Resource Curse is a fairly universal phenomenon. I bet the global money managers are laughing all the way to the bank.When I first went to the US in the late 1970s, I had a graduate student friend, a woman from Venezuela. She was there on a generous scholarship funded by oil revenues, just like the Iranians who had studied with me in India. At least some of the money was going to actual citizens, and wasn't disappearing into tax havens. I guess socialism did Venezuela in over decades, as we have seen in West Bengal and Kerala.The country's finances are an absolute mess, through years of economic collapse, US sanctions, and a sovereign default in 2017. There are enormous debts owed by Venezuela to foreign investors, add up to more than $150 billion, or twice GDP; this includes interest, penalties for default, and arbitration awards for the expropriation (nationalization) of oil infrastructure. Venezuelan assets abroad (e.g. the CITGO oil retailer) are at risk.So far as I can tell, the country owes the following:* Bond default in 2017 (sovereign and state oil company PDVSA bonds): face value $60 billion, now up to $100 billion with accrued interest and penalties. Owed mostly to international asset managers such as Fidelity, Greylock, T Rowe Price (often US based)* Oil-backed loans of about $15 billion, to be paid off in oil shipments (China and Russia)* Arbitration awards often based on nationalization/expropriation of (especially oil-related) assets: around $30 billion (US and Canada based creditors such as ConocoPhillips and Crystallex owed around $8-10 billion)This means there's a lot of issues that needs to be settled before Venezuela becomes a normal and substantial player in the world oil market. Besides, despite the exertions of Chevron, an American oil major that still has operations in Venezuela, I don't think it will be easy to ramp up production there, which has collapsed due to a variety of factors, including the non-availability of naphtha to make the very viscous, heavy crude from the Orinoco Belt more easily transportable.It is said, however, that a number of US refineries can indeed handle this heavy crude (incidentally Indian refineries such as Reliance's Jamnagar can as well) and so, over time, the oil will begin to flow, although it is going to cost quite a bit to get there. Their production was of the order of 3.5 million barrels per day in the 2010s, but it has fallen to about 1.1 million barrels now, as the result of infrastructure decay, mismanagement, corruption, and US sanctions.I have read estimates that it might take as much as $180 billion in investments over the next 10-15 years to bring Venezuela back online at scale. This means that any dreams of the US tapping Venezuela's vast oil reserves any time soon are unrealistic. Besides, that could lead to an oil glut, depressing global prices even below the current $50-60 levels, which has the side effect of making America's own shale-based oil production unviable.There is one good outcome, though: for neighboring Guyana. Venezuela had been threatening to go to war over Guyana's oil fields. Given that Guyana has a large Indian origin population, I am glad that at least some diaspora people are becoming oil rich. But then again, Trump may feel free to claim their oil too, who knows?All this suggests that, despite all the talk of seizing the largest oil reserves in the world, this is not the real reason behind the regime change.Summary: The oil issue is overblown, and nothing dramatic will happen short-term.What about the drug-running?There was a lot of noise about how Venezuelan gangs pushing drugs in the US was a major threat, and how that needs to be taken care of. However, on closer scrutiny, Venezuela is not a major producer of cocaine (production is almost entirely in Colombia, with smaller amounts from Peru and Bolivia). It serves as a minor transit country for some cocaine, mostly headed to Europe or the Caribbean rather than directly to the streets of America.Data from the UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime) and the US DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) show no significant direct sea routes from Venezuela to the US; the only known direct route is limited air trafficking.DEA reports (including the 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment) and UNODC (World Drug Report 2025) consistently show Colombia as the overwhelming source of cocaine entering the US (around 84%+ of samples). Venezuela ranks low in direct contributions, with most US-bound cocaine transiting through Mexico/Central America via Pacific routes.Fentanyl trafficking into the United States follows a distinct supply chain, very different from plant-based drugs like cocaine. The overwhelming consensus from US authorities is that Mexico is the primary source of finished illicit fentanyl reaching the US, while China remains the main origin for the precursor chemicals needed to produce it.The fentanyl crisis is overwhelmingly a China to Mexico to US southwest border pipeline not linked to Venezuela or South America in any substantial way, per DEA, State Department, and congressional reporting.Summary: The talk about Venezuela's drug-running is a smoke-screen.Is it geopolitics then?The most interesting thing about the extraction of former Venezuelan President Maduro was not the dramatic flair with which it was done, though that was indeed very Youtube-ready. The helicopter gunships, the silenced air defences, the Cuban bodyguard eliminated (by a sonic weapon?): all the elements of a pretty exciting Hollywood film. I'm sure one is coming up soon.What was even more interesting, though, was that a delegation from the Chinese Communist Party had met him just a few hours before. China has been rather chummy with a fellow-socialist, and has been a good customer as an oil buyer. The fact that Maduro was extricated while the Chinese were still in Venezuela was a warning shot: besides, it suggests that they had no clue what was going to happenIn effect, it was a slap on the face of China, and it goes back to my belief that the US is investing in a G2 condominium with them. Stick and carrot, maybe? Collaborate in general in the spheres of influence concept, but hey, you better keep out of my sphere, ok? As I said earlier, China has made serious inroads into Latin America, which the US may now be hinting is simply not ok: stay in your lane, Xi! In simple terms, China will no longer have access to Venezuelan oil.The prognosis is grim: Russia and the EU are mired in the Ukraine mess, China is rampant (certainly in Asia, with their declared intent of invading Taiwan by 2027), the QUAD is more or less defunct. Trump refused to support Japanese premier Takaichi Sanae when she was bullied by the Chinese over her remark that if Taiwan were to be attacked by China, this would create a survival-threatening situation for Japan, which is literally true as Taiwan is only 70 miles away.Parenthetically, India has also realized the same about the US – that it is on its own – after what was quite likely a US-supported regime-change operation in Bangladesh has put the Hindu minority there in real danger of genocide and ethnic cleansing, with daily incidents of burning alive, murder, rape and abduction and threats of capturing Indian territory.The emerging situation in Iran is also likely to be a blow to China: they would lose one more source of cheap oil. But then, they do have buyer power: in other words, major oil producers do have to sell their stuff to somebody, and as China demonstrated in the case of soybeans from the US, its refusal to buy the stuff has severe consequences for the seller.So it is true that the US and China in general have to respect each other and trade with each other. This is perfectly feasible under the G2 condominium, the principal role of which is to give each of them a ‘playpen' if you will, and prevent a new power, e.g. India, from forcing its way into a G3. It appears they both are applying the Thucydides Trap to India.The US is still ahead of China in the geopolitical game, but if it continues to burn its bridges with its erstwhile allies and partners (such as the EU and Quad members) it will accelerate its relative decline. This is hardly the time to alienate potential partners, especially now that a belligerent NATO has pushed a reluctant Russia into the dhritarashtra-alinganam of China.Unfortunately, in geo-politics America is becoming less exceptional, and Henry Kissinger's quip that “it is dangerous to be America's enemy, but fatal to be its friend” is taking on a new urgency. The action in Venezuela (and possibly in Cuba before long) does not encourage other nations to look to the US for partnerships.Summary: The geopolitical fallout is not particularly good for America's image as an ally.It may well be economics, and a desperate fin-de-siecle lungeThe final issue is that of economics and economic history. Over the past several centuries, we have seen how those countries that hold the global reserve currency have prospered and have been financial hegemons to begin with, based on some substantial competitive advantage, but then a strange malady (“the Dutch disease”) sets in, and over time their financial clout diminishes, until at one point they become major debtors and then, they become irrelevant.This has happened several times in the past 800 or so years, and the patterns are strikingly similar, so there is a fair chance that it is happening again. The countries in question are:* Spain in the 16th century onwards* The Netherlands in the 17th century onwards* Britain in the 19th century onwards* And alas, the US in the 20th century onwardsNow, I would dearly wish the US could avoid this vicious cycle, partly because it is a continent-sized nation with immense resources, but I believe that economic profligacy, wasting money on unnecessary things like wars, and complacency fostered by easy money is leading to a mountain of debt, which usually is a bad place to be in. In each of these European examples, initial success inevitably led to collapse. I hope the US can avoid this fate, especially as warnings have been sounded for some time by experts such as Ray Dalio.Great economic powers, particularly those issuing the world's primary reserve currency, tend to follow a recurring historical cycle of rise, peak dominance, gradual (or sometimes rapid) decline, loss of competitiveness, mounting debt burdens, and eventual marginalization on the global stage. This pattern has repeated over the last 500+ years.The archetypal cycle often unfolds in phases:* Rise and dominance: Because of strong education, innovation, productivity, trade dominance, military power, and financial innovation create a virtuous cycle (this is the model that I have in mind of the US. But there is a second model: colonial loot. Spain stole trillions from Latin America, Britain from India. This too leads to (unearned) privilege). This leads to the currency becoming the preferred global medium for trade, reserves, and debt denomination.* Peak and overextension: Success breeds complacency, wealth inequality widens, debt accumulates (often to fund wars, welfare, or consumption), and costs rise relative to competitors. Besides, there is a form of the Resource Curse: the colonial loot or digging things out from a hole in a ground is so easy that all other industries wither away and die. We see this in Kerala today: remittances are easy money, so everybody wants to go to the Persian Gulf (skilled and unskilled labor) or Europe (nurses). Maybe the generativeAI bubble falls into the same category: the money is too easy.* Decline in competitiveness: Education and innovation lag, unit labor costs rise, trade shares erode, and emerging rivals catch up or surpass in productivity and technology. Too much by way of wokeness, social justice and related illnesses means the smart ones leave, and the dumb ones keep congratulating each other. Ruchir Sharma just wrote in the Financial Times about how the continuing exodus of skilled Indians is a big negative.* Debt buildup and financial strain: The “exorbitant privilege” of reserve status allows cheap borrowing, encouraging more debt. Deficits grow, and the currency is printed or devalued to manage burdens. Print, baby, print. But one day you have to pay the piper.* Marginalization: Confidence erodes (via inflation, devaluations, defaults, or crises), foreigners reduce holdings, and a new power's currency gains primacy. The reserve status lingers due to network effects and habit, but the issuing power loses geopolitical and economic centrality.Spain had its colonies in the Americas from which it extracted enormous amounts of gold and silver; the Dutch started the Amsterdam stock exchange and stepped into the vacuum of finance when Spain faltered; the British outcompeted the Dutch in colonization and in industrialization and defeated them in wars; and the US took over when Britain lost its colonies and had nowhere to dump its goods, and was in debt for its spending in World Wars I and II.Some of the symptoms of the “Dutch disease” are showing in the US: enormous debt, wars that have no clear benefit to the nation, loss of manufacturing, geopolitical challenges, loss of competitiveness and brand superiority in industry after industry.US investors are quietly moving their funds to other countries, while foreigners are quietly moving their money out of US treasuries (e.g. China has reduced its holdings from a high of $1.3 trillion in 2013 to $688 billion now) and into gold, the BRICS group is creating an alternative currency and a non-SWIFT settlement mechanism, and many countries are trading with each other bilaterally in local currencies. De-dollarization is a little far off but no longer implausible.Now, as a big supporter of the US, I do hope the dollar will continue to be supreme, but I am beginning to have my doubts. I have had faith in the US and its ability to re-invent itself on the brains of its immigrants, but I wonder if a post-MAGA US will be the beacon, the “City on the Hill”, “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. Maybe not any more. Perhaps cyclical decline, and the rot, are already too deep.This, in my opinion, is the real reason for Trump's little adventure in Venezuela: to be relevant in global finance for a little longer. The petrodollar has been the lifeline allowing the US to run substantial deficits for a long time. Because all transactions for oil have traditionally been mandated to be in dollars, there has been constant demand for the dollar, despite the loss of manufacturing (in other words, nobody needs dollars to buy US goods except a few like weapons, aircraft, and Big Tech software). But everybody needs it to buy oil.Trump is ensuring that Venezuela's giant oil reserves (the largest in the world) will now be sold in dollars, contrary to Maduro's plans to trade in yuan. This is deja vu: when Iraq's President Saddam Hussein planned to trade his oil in Euros in 2000, he found himself deposed. When Libya's President Muammar Gaddafi planned to trade his oil in a new currency called the ‘gold dinar' around 2009, he found himself deposed. Coincidence? Perhaps.This is why I have had the feeling that the Venezuela adventure does not show American strength, but rather American weakness. The dollar is in trouble, and thus the US welfare state. This is an attempt to shore it up.Summary: The real rationale behind the Venezuela regime-change is to ensure that de-dollarization is postponed at least for a while.3450 words, Jan 12, 2026. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

The best way to become rich overnight is to move away from your dying Western country and into a place like Latin America, which is so diverse, it literally has something for everyone.  98-100% of your fears about moving there are stupid and wrong.  We take a break from finance and shoot the warm breeze about what to expect should you decide to do the obvious and move here.  We'll cover cost, lifestyle, and women in the northern half of LATAM, in a long-form Episode 197.   Recommended Crypto Trading Platform (And Bonus Eligibility) - https://nononsenseforex.com/cryptocurrencies/best-crypto-trading-platform/   For Decentralized Crypto Trading (US Citizens Can Join) - https://nononsenseforex.com/decentralized-trading-platform/   Blueberry Markets Blog (Top FX Broker) - https://nononsenseforex.com/uncategorized/blueberry-markets-review-my-top-broker-for-2019/   Follow VP on Twitter https://twitter.com/This_Is_VP4X   Check out my Forex trading material too! https://nononsenseforex.com/   The host of this podcast is not a licensed financial advisor, and nothing heard on this podcast should be taken as financial advice.  Do your own research and understand all financial decisions and the results therein are yours and yours alone.  The host is not responsible for the actions of their sponsors and/or affiliates.  Conversely, views expressed on this podcast are that of the host only and may not reflect the views of any companies mentioned. Trading Forex involves risk.  Losses can exceed deposits. We are not taking requests for episode topics at this time.  Thank you for understanding.  

AP correspondent Norman Hall reports on an extreme climate event impacting Mexico, Central America and parts of the U.S. South.

The following article of the health industry is: “Continuous Data Exchange: The Key to Industry Decarbonization” by Alejandro Preinfalk, CEO & President of Siemens Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean

The following article of the tech industry is: “Nearshoring Accelerates Industrial Sector Transformation, Growth” by Alejandro Preinfalk, CEO of Siemens Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean

Carlos Medina is a Medical Doctor who works with health technology professionals to help them make the best technology for patient care available across Latin America. Carlos has witnessed the many benefits and risks that come with applying technology to solve health problems and is dedicated to helping others follow the best practices available and avoid the missteps that can derail their health technology problems. He has had the privilege to work with local and international companies across most countries in Latin America, helping them to achieve multi-million sales results and establish lasting and efficient global-local collaborations. He is a Licensed Medical Doctor in Mexico City. He is working on finishing his Master's degree in Information Technology for Healthcare while leading the Medical Devices workgroup of the Mexican HealthTech Association.

The following article of the health industry is: “Cybersecurity: a Holistic and Continuous Process” by Alejandro Preinfalk, President, CEO and Senior Vice President, Digital Industries Siemens Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean of Siemens AG

It feels like the right time to share with you all a bit about my experience over the last 6 months - in-flight, from the air somewhere between Central America and Canada on my way back home - for now.I have been getting a lot of questions and curiosity around what the fuck I am doing with my life, how I decided to embark on this type of journey and what the experience was like - so here you go!I also share my #1 piece of advice on how to create a meaningful travel or digital nomad experience of your own!Episode 19 is reflecting on the past 6 months abroad - personally, professionally and spiritually. My take on what it's like to work online and live in Mexico/Central America for an extended period - alone - and how that ended up being my reality when that was NOT the initial plan!Find me on Instagram @rileyannem or www.rileymurtha.com

Today's guests are Rodrigo Plancarte, Regional Sales Manager (Mexico and Central America) at Yakima Chief Hops, and Marko Guevara, Commercial Director at BeerMex. They share the current landscape of craft brewing, challenges and hurdles that brewers face, regional beer styles, and hot spots for craft beer in Mexico and Central America. Have suggestions or questions for future episodes? Email us at thebrewdeck@countrymalt.com! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thebrewdeck/message

Seasoned Healthcare Executive with proven skills for people development, organizational transformation, and motivation with 15 years delivering above and beyond financial results. Mr. Pastor has an exemplary external focus and is highly collaborative with customers and a wide range of stakeholders to match the company with customers' needs. He is very adaptive and able to connect strategy to purpose in a way that fosters commitment, Javier has the imagination to innovate and the courage to implement organizational changes and go to market strategies highly inclusive and able to build great teams.

En este episodio, Alejandro Paolini, comparte cómo inició su trayectoria profesional, pasando por una de las big four que le permitió tener una perspectiva más grande de hacia dónde quería orientar su carrera. Actualmente, es Director General en Siemens Healthineers México, Centroamérica y el Caribe. La compañía tiene más de 120 años de experiencia en el área de salud y es una empresa que apuesta por la innovación constante de su portafolio de productos y soluciones. Alejandro comparte su visión sobre el futuro de healthcare y la importancia del uso de recursos como la digitalización y la IA para el desarrollo de tecnologías que agreguen valor a los profesionales de la salud y a los pacientes. Lo que más lo apasiona de su trabajo es poder ver de manera tangible el impacto de su trabajo en la vida de las personas.

  Matt Wilson is Co-founder and CEO of Under30Experiences, and the author of The Millennial Travel Guidebook. Today Matt shares his experience traveling the world for the last decade in MTP20: Solo Travel Destinations in Mexico, Central America, & the Caribbean. Matt lived in Central America between 2012 and 2019. Read the full article: https://www.under30experiences.com/blog/solo-travel-destinations-in-mexico-central-america-the-caribbean Follow Matt on Instagram @mattwilsontv  

Matt Wilson is Co-founder and CEO of Under30Experiences, and the author of The Millennial Travel Guidebook. Today Matt shares his experience traveling the world for the last decade in MTP21: Solo Travel Destinations in Mexico, Central America, & the Caribbean. Matt lived in Central America between 2012 and 2019. Read the full article: https://www.under30experiences.com/blog/solo-travel-destinations-in-mexico-central-america-the-caribbean Follow Matt on Instagram @mattwilsontv

Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean represent arguably some of the most misunderstood regions to Americans. This episode, we will explore rebellions against common colonial narratives, as well as the first slave-led rebellion in the New World. Much of this episode’s discussion will be centered on the island of Hispaniola, which will gain much more significance as we move forward.

This episode, we will look at how rebellion takes place in the modern political and economic realms: through reggae music, the story of Pancho Villa, Banana Republics in Central America, and the Cuban Revolution. We build upon the idea that rebellion is a multifaceted form of place-making and place-destruction, involving not just political ideologies, but also culture and economics.

Recorded Saturday, November 7, 2020 in Santa Monica, California. Introduced by Avalon Purdy and narrated by the author, William C. Purdy. Ph.D.

This week, we will look at how rebellion takes place in the modern political and economic realms:  through reggae music, the story of Pancho Villa, Banana Republics in Central America, and the Cuban Revolution.  We build upon the idea that rebellion is a multifaceted form of place-making and place-destruction, involving not just political ideologies, but also culture and economics.

Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean represent arguably some of the most misunderstood regions to Americans.  This week, we will explore rebellions against common colonial narratives, as well as the first slave-led rebellion in the New World.  Much of this week’s discussion will be centered on the island of Hispaniola, which will gain much more significance as we move forward.

Profiling Mexicans as terrorist this is something that is going down in the trump administration to offset the drug cartels or is that really the objective? If the governments really wanted to get rid of the drug cartels they could have and would have already done it.....we could have gotten control over this a long time ago.....however it is in the best interests of the government and the government's best interests to destabilize these countries by having those drug cartels in place to keep the government and the economy and the people and the neighboring country of Mexico weak so the U.S. can take a advantage of the resources in Mexico Central America and South America just as it does in the Middle Eastern countries Destabilize is the key word Destabilize...... destabilize..... that is what america does to countries so they can exploit their resources and their people and their country and anything and everything they have of value --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chicano/message

Amanda and Jenn discuss PNW stories, YA-friendly non-fiction, spare prose and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked. This episode is sponsored by All the Books and Cari Mora by Thomas Harris. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher.   Feedback Priceless by Robert K. Whittman (rec’d by Megan) Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm (rec’d by Sibyl) The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (rec’d by Sibyl)   Questions 1. I am leaving for a two week trip to a small town in Italy on June 9th and I’m looking for a book (or series!) that will keep me hooked in a town with very little WiFi. I tend towards non-fiction over fiction, but I have recently gotten into queer YA fiction and if I read adult fiction it is either historical fiction or crime/suspense. For reference, I have read and loved almost every Nelson DeMille and Dan Brown book. I am not a fan of more traditional literature (think Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice etc) and my eyes tend to glaze over if an author takes two pages to describe a chair. Otherwise, I am pretty open and trust your recommendation! All the best, -Renee   2. Hello! I’m moving from Texas to Washington state in late August and would love recommendations for audiobooks to listen to during those 35 (!!!) hours of driving! I’d love something set in the Pacific Northwest, or on a cross country road trip. Fantasy (especially with folkloric elements) tends to be my favorite, but I also like mystery, horror, sci-fi, romance and post-apocalyptic. I’m a sucker for beautiful or descriptive prose, competent and clever protagonists, and weird magical people (or creatures). Bonus points for queer characters! Here is a link to my goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9756176-rachel Thank you! -Rachel   3. I would love to find reading recommendation on books that talk about nutrition for those not on a diet. I don’t need to diet but i would like to know more about what is best to be putting in my body. Do you have any recommendations on where to start? Thank you!! I have found so many great books to read through your podcast! -Whitney   4. YA Non Fiction Needed! Rioters! I am in a quandary… Summer is sliding in and so too is the opportunity for brain drain if I don’t stack up some books for our rising Sophomore who has found respite from studies in scrolling, Tik-Toking, picture editing and other time burglaring activities. She’s got walls of books, all read, some re-read and most of which are fiction. She likes realistic fiction, suspense thrill, social justice, psychological thrillers, a lil true crime, maybe some romance, and doesn’t prefer to linger in long prose. Books that have moved from her shelf to nightstand lately are: Mosquitoland, You by Caroline Kepnes, Dumplin, Neverworld Wake, Home by Toni Morrison, This Is Where It Ends, Eleanor and Park and others. She likes scary movies, is a great playlist maker (I follow all her Spotify lists—they’re awesome). Nothing rattles or grosses her out. She’s a wicked artist and her caricatures are requested on TikTok all the time. She plays tennis and loves to win . I am hoping you can throw all this in your mix master and pour out some great Non Fiction that can grab a Sophomore’s attention. For this I’m infinitely grateful. Thank you soooooo much!! -Wynne   5. Hi, I love the podcast and I’m hoping you can help me. I’m a teacher looking forward to my summer vacation in a few weeks and I would love plenty of book recommendations for over the summer. I don’t really know a good way of defining what I liked to read other than I typically like relatively recent literary fiction, though I like plenty of lighter fare, too. I think I tend to like authors that write very plainly, as I seem to have little patience for overly wrought phrasing and writing that, to me, sounds too pretentious. I’m currently reading Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney and I could barely put it down to write this e-mail. Some books and authors I’ve particularly enjoyed are Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Sourdough and Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, all of Jhumpa Lahiri’s books, and Less by Andrew Sean Greer. I also enjoy some mysteries, especially the Dublin Murder Squad Series by Tana French. The problem is I am kind of a picky reader and there are plenty of books that I thought I would like that I end up quitting on after a hundred pages or so. Authors and books that haven’t clicked with me recently are The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead, What’s Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi, Purity by Jonathan Franzen, The Wangs Versus the World by Jade Chang, and The Wife by Meg Wolitzer .I also tend to not love long books (anything over 450 pages). 350 pages seems to be the perfect amount for my attention span. What are your thoughts, based on what I’ve described about Ottessa Moshfegh’s books? I’ve read a few pages of both Eileen and My Year of Rest and Relaxation at bookstores and I was interested but I also wondered if I might end up hating them 5 chapters in. Maybe you can help me with my pickiness! Thank you for any recommendations. Best, -Kellie   6. Hello ladies! I’m working my way through the Read Harder Challenge and trying to find romance novels for as many of the prompts as possible – which has been really fun! Currently, I am looking for an #ownvoices romance novel from Mexico/Central America. I prefer queer, historical/fantastic themes to modern day settings, but Read Harder is all about getting out of your comfort zone so I’m open to anything. Thanks for your help

Visit GHToverland.com/podcasts for all our Overland Podcasts with comprehensive notes for each episode.Richard and Ashley with Desk to Glory joined us live at the NW Overland Rally in Plain, WA. USA. Our first live, in-person interview, and what fun! Learning about their decision to make a life change, selling most of their belongings in October of 2013 and hitting the road five months later. They explained a number of realities in going from idea, to taking the physical actions and doing it. You don’t absolutely need every question answered; you don’t need every piece of gear purchased, or vehicle upgrades done; it’s a matter of getting the big items taken care of and going.Something we hear often rang true with Richard and Ashley, “you’ll figure it out” and “everything will work out and be fine”. Their two part interview is packed with value and inspiration! They mention several great resources and books by other experienced overland travelers (see notes below for links). You should immediately follow @DesktoGlory on social media to keep up with these two amazing overlanders. For more information on their overlanding travels, check out their blog at http://desktoglory.com/blog/ you will find SO much information from British Columbia to Ushuaia (the most southern city in the world).Overland Podcast - Show NotesWebsite: http://desktoglory.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desktoglory/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeskToGlory/Vehicle (Little Red): 1990 Toyota Pickup 22RE / 5 SpeedFuel Capacity : 16 gallons providing an approximate range of 400 kilometers (248 miles).An extra 5 gallons for extra long stretches of road.Water Capacity - 5 gallon container with extra 1+ gallon jugs used on long stretches of road. Clothes Washing: Laundromats and Hand WashingShower: Solar Shower and wet wipesSolar: 85 watt solar panel / NEW Toyota Tundra will have +/- 200 watts of solarBatteries: 55 ah house battery / NEW Toyota Tundra 115 ah Fullriver batteryRefrigerator: 37 liter Dometic / NEW Toyota Tundra 50 Liter DometicTop Pieces of Gear: Dometic fridgeGear Removed: Annex for the roof-top tent and a Dutch Oven Favorite Places: Baja Mexico, Bolivia and Patagonia El Chaltén in the Fitzroy RangeStove: PrimusFavorite Recipes: changed based on location, lot’s of variety (Mangos in Mexico)Reference: Home on the Highway James and LaurenLife Remotely eBook: Don’t Go There. It’s Not Safe. You’ll Die Rational advice for overlanding Mexico & Central America

Visit GHToverland.com/podcasts for all our Overland Podcasts with comprehensive notes for each episode.Richard and Ashley with Desk to Glory joined us live at the NW Overland Rally in Plain, WA. USA. Our first live, in-person interview, and what fun! Learning about their decision to make a life change, selling most of their belongings in October of 2013 and hitting the road five months later. They explained a number of realities in going from idea, to taking the physical actions and doing it. You don’t absolutely need every question answered; you don’t need every piece of gear purchased, or vehicle upgrades done; it’s a matter of getting the big items taken care of and going.Something we hear often rang true with Richard and Ashley, “you’ll figure it out” and “everything will work out and be fine”. Their two part interview is packed with value and inspiration! They mention several great resources and books by other experienced overland travelers (see notes below for links). You should immediately follow @DesktoGlory on social media to keep up with these two amazing overlanders. For more information on their overlanding travels, check out their blog at http://desktoglory.com/blog/ you will find SO much information from British Columbia to Ushuaia (the most southern city in the world).Overland Podcast - Show NotesWebsite: http://desktoglory.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desktoglory/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeskToGlory/Vehicle (Little Red): 1990 Toyota Pickup 22RE / 5 SpeedFuel Capacity : 16 gallons providing an approximate range of 400 kilometers (248 miles).An extra 5 gallons for extra long stretches of road.Water Capacity - 5 gallon container with extra 1+ gallon jugs used on long stretches of road. Clothes Washing: Laundromats and Hand WashingShower: Solar Shower and wet wipesSolar: 85 watt solar panel / NEW Toyota Tundra will have +/- 200 watts of solarBatteries: 55 ah house battery / NEW Toyota Tundra 115 ah Fullriver batteryRefrigerator: 37 liter Dometic / NEW Toyota Tundra 50 Liter DometicTop Pieces of Gear: Dometic fridgeGear Removed: Annex for the roof-top tent and a Dutch Oven Favorite Places: Baja Mexico, Bolivia and Patagonia El Chaltén in the Fitzroy RangeStove: PrimusFavorite Recipes: changed based on location, lot’s of variety (Mangos in Mexico)Reference: Home on the Highway James and LaurenLife Remotely eBook: Don’t Go There. It’s Not Safe. You’ll Die Rational advice for overlanding Mexico & Central America

Will Grant is one of the UK’s leading broadcast journalists on Latin American affairs. He has been the BBC’s Correspondent in Cuba since late 2014, shortly before the announcement of the re-establishment of diplomatic ties with the United States. In that time he has covered such historic moments as President Obama’s ground-breaking visit to Cuba and the death of the founder of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro. Before taking up his role in Cuba, he was the BBC Correspondent in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez and Mexico / Central America during some of the most violent years of the drug war. Will was previously the Americas Editor at the BBC World Service Radio, based in London and Miami and has covered the region extensively for over twenty years. In this podcast, Grant will discuss being a journalist in Venezuela, Mexico and Cuba, three of the countries that have forged the biggest headlines in Latin America over the past decade. Each country is different. Yet for reporters, there are certain similarities that can help us to produce informed, objective and balanced journalism in these fascinating nations. Whether dealing with political pressure from hostile authorities or having an awareness of personal security issues, understanding how to operate in the region can only strengthen the rich tradition of storytelling from Latin America as a whole. Will Grant graduated with First Class Honours from Edinburgh University and gained his Masters degree from the University of London’s Institute of Latin American Studies. Watch our interview with Will in the studio: https://youtu.be/F8GFNxzlv4o Watch Will's talk: https://youtu.be/VDrAocdvARQ Want to listen to this interview a different way? Find us wherever you get your podcasts: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demy%E2%80%A6ia/id1369395906 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/university-of-oregon-school-of-journalism-and-communication/demystifying-media-podcast?refid=stpr Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Och6Oxpkhyo1nC7D6psHI Find more Demystifying Media talks on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiELNjgZJJI&list=PLoqXTlv_f5zEJifP55GP1ghtQjY3tzoI0 Watch our Q&As with media experts on fake news, data journalism, privacy in the age of Google, indigenous media, technology trends, Facebook algorithms, and so much more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTiuV9h-MKA&list=PLoqXTlv_f5zGu5TJeuL1SMBVCXlM4ViyL Read the transcript for this episode: https://www.scribd.com/document/463717769/Demystifying-Media-12-Reporting-in-Cuba-Mexico-and-Venezuela-with-Will-Grant

Host Nico Johnson and SolaireDirect Managing Director for Mexico & Central America, Lamberto Camacho.  Join in as Nico and Lamberto discuss the similarities of International development between Africa and Latin America, and go deep on how Lamberto positioned SolaireDirect to win the Panama Solar PV Tender last year.  Lamberto has been involved in solar development for a decade, and has personally developed >200MW of projects on 3 continents.  Nico pulls a lot of tips and insights out of Lamberto to share with the SunCast audience, so listen carefully and probably multiple times, as they discuss Mexico, Central America and the regional differences that a good developer has to consider in market development. We really hope you get massive value from this next episode of SunCast!

Host Nico Johnson and SolaireDirect Managing Director for Mexico & Central America, Lamberto Camacho.  Join in as Nico and Lamberto discuss the similarities of International development between Africa and Latin America, and go deep on how Lamberto positioned SolaireDirect to win the Panama Solar PV Tender last year.  Lamberto has been involved in solar development for a decade, and has personally developed >200MW of projects on 3 continents.  Nico pulls a lot of tips and insights out of Lamberto to share with the SunCast audience, so listen carefully and probably multiple times, as they discuss Mexico, Central America and the regional differences that a good developer has to consider in market development. We really hope you get massive value from this next episode of SunCast!