Podcast
Ruben In The Center
Hosted by Cloudcast · EN
The extremes have it all wrong. Naturally. On every issue, they only see half the picture.
The ideologues always lead to a dead-end. You need to travel the middle of the road.
That’s where the action is — in the center.
On the basketball court, the chessboard, or the boxing ring, the center is where you want to be.
Now more than ever, our country needs to be centered. While other journalists lurch to the right or left, nationally syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette keeps it one hundred by writing —
and fighting — in the center.
Here’s your host, Ruben Navarrette
The ideologues always lead to a dead-end. You need to travel the middle of the road.
That’s where the action is — in the center.
On the basketball court, the chessboard, or the boxing ring, the center is where you want to be.
Now more than ever, our country needs to be centered. While other journalists lurch to the right or left, nationally syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette keeps it one hundred by writing —
and fighting — in the center.
Here’s your host, Ruben Navarrette
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
EP 157 | Arnold Torres, Policy Analyst, Political Commentator & Spanish-language Radio Host
Feb 1101:23:12Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette has a timely and critically important conversation with his old friend of nearly 40 years, Arnold Torres, a Sacramento CA-based policy analyst, political commentator & Spanish-language radio host. As a lifelong observer of politics and immigration -- and the politics of the immigration debate -- Torres is horrified by what he is seeing take place in Minnesota, which has been invaded by federal ICE agents. He has three things he desperately wants to talk about with his old friend: the fact that the federal government is abusing its power in Minnesota and other places; the necessary conversation that he thinks needs to take place about state's rights and the 10th Amendment provides the mechanism to push back against federal overreach; and the pathetic lack of leadership being served up by Latino elected officials, who are busy hiding from this crisis impacting the community they claim to represent. Navarrette agrees with Torres, except where he doesn't. Then, as usual with these two, sparks fly.
Transcribe →EP 156 | Roman Navarrette, son of Ruben G. Navarrette Sr.
Feb 200:42:05Tap to summarizeIn this special episode, host Ruben Navarrette has a very personal and heartfelt conversation with his brother, entertainment marketing specialist Roman Navarrette. The two talk about their father, Ruben G. Navarrette Sr., who passed away on Dec. 7 at the age of 84. They dissect a life that unfolded in three acts: childhood and adolescence and enlistment in the U.S. Army; a long career in law enforcement; and retirement, becoming a grandfather and caregiver. Totally unscripted, and straight from the heart, the brothers put together a very special tribute to a good man, not a perfect man but a good man and a great dad who had a life well-lived.
Transcribe →EP 155 | Mark Madrid, CEO & Founder of Breakthrough Mavens, LLC & former Associate Administrator of U.S. Small Business Administration
Jan 2600:55:21Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette has an interesting and wide-ranging conversation with Mark Madrid, an Austin TX-based author, consultant and expert on business excellence, entrepreneurship, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. The two talk about the challenges and opportunities facing Latino-owned small businesses, what entrepreneurship means to Latinos, and what U.S. companies do right or wrong in term of attracting Latino customers. They also discuss the media, and the ways in which the coverage of Latinos in the United States seems to be inaccurate or incomplete.
Transcribe →EP 154 | Rene Alegria, media executive, cultural innovator and digital media entrepreneur
Jan 2101:11:05Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette has a great conversation with Rene Alegria, the Atlanta-based Chief Innovation Officer at Neuvo Network. The former president and CEO of MundoNow, and founding CEO of Mamiverse Media, Alegria also guided the launch of the groundbreaking Latino podcast network, Oyenos Audio. Before all that, the Tucson native founded and served as publisher of the book imprint Rayo/HarperCollins. Today, he continues to look for new ways to connect with and inspire Latino audiences with compelling stories. The two media pioneers talk about where Latinos fit into the modern media landscape, and what the world of digital media gets wrong and right about America's largest minority.
Transcribe →EP 153 | Pedro Rios, Director of the U.S.-Mexico Border Program for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
Dec 2301:02:39Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette has a great conversation with Pedro Rios, who -- like him -- has been intimately acquainted with the immigration issue for more than 30 years. The San Diego native, and graduate of the University of San Diego, is the director of the U.S.-Mexico Border Program for the American Friends Service Committee. He is also an op-ed contributor to the online publication, Cal Matters. The two of them talk about how the root causes of the flow of immigrants into the United States, whether ICE should be defunded, and whether the left went too far in accommodating the undocumented -- and thus enabled the right. They also talk about why racism controls the Republican Party, how profoundly the Democratic Party failed Latinos, and what a real immigration solution would look like.
Transcribe →EP 152 | Esther Valdez Clayton, San Diego-based Immigration Attorney
Dec 700:50:05Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette has a great conversation with Esther Valdez Clayton, a San Diego-based Mexican American immigration attorney and evangelical Christian who is also a pro-Trump Republican. The two discuss the ICE raids and the reasons for the drop in Latino support for President Trump. They unpack the complexities of the immigration debate and address the personal responsibility that immigrants have to get right with the law. They also talk about the pervasiveness of racism toward immigrants, and where Democrats went wrong with Latino voters. Finally, they talk about what the Bible says about welcoming the stranger and whether or not Jesus Christ was really a lawbreaker.
Transcribe →EP 151 | Elsa Sevilla, documentary filmmaker, host of public television "Historic Places w/Elsa Sevilla" and author
Oct 600:53:27Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette has a great conversation with Elsa Sevilla, Tijuana-born television journalist and host of the KPBS documentary series, “Historic Places w/ Elsa Sevilla.” She is also a San Diego-based filmmaker, professional speaker and author of the recently published book “Camera Ready: From Hardship To The Spotlight.” The two talk about Sevilla's personal and professional journey. They also delve into the power of history, geography, filmmaking, journalism and storytelling. Finally, they unpack the Mexican/Mexican-American experience unfolding on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Transcribe →EP 150 | Alfredo Estrada, Publisher of Austin TX-based Latino Magazine. Lawyer and Novelist.
Aug 1700:57:45Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette has a candid and far-reaching conversation with his old friend, Alfredo Estrada, the Harvard-educated trailblazing magazine publisher and chronicler of the experience of U.S. Latinos over the last four decades. They talk about how President Donald Trump's war on immigrants is actually a war against Latinos, and the degreee to which Trump has united the different factions of the Latino community. They also discuss whether future generations will still seek to migrate to the United States, or perhaps decide to go elsewhere. And finally, they unpack where Latinos are politically -- and whether Trump's immigration raids are changing things.
Transcribe →EP 149 | Mike Madrid -- Republican Political Consultant, Co-Host of "The Latino Vote" Podcast & Author
Jul 1001:19:05Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette has a spirited conversation with Sacramento CA-based GOP Political Consultant Mike Madrid, Co-Founder of The Lincoln Project, Co-Host of "The Latino Vote" Podcast & Author of "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy." The two Mexican American Californians talk about politics, the Latino vote, changing demographics and white resistance, new digital media, Generation Z and the intricacies of the immigration debate. They also discuss what Democrats and Republicans are doing right in going after Latino voters, and what they're doing wrong. Finally, they dive into what's behind what some political observers consider a real headscratcher: the fact that nearly half of Latino voters support Donald Trump.
Transcribe →EP 148 | Dr. Jose Angel Gutierrez, JD/PhD
May 25, 202500:43:13Tap to summarizeHost Ruben Navarrette interviews his old friend, Dr. Jose Angel Gutierrez, a retired professor of political science at University of Texas at Arlington, a former civil rights attorney, and the author of more than 30 books on history, politics, race and culture. Gutierrez was a young activist in his native Texas who left his mark on the Chicano Civil Rights Movement of the early 1970's through his involvement in the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO) and later as the founder of the La Raza Unida Party. Born of frustration at how poorly Latinos were served by both Republicans and Democrats, La Raza Unida reached the height of its power and influence in 1972 when it managed to run a candidate for president of the United States.
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