Episode 80: Can Puerto Rico's Economy Survive Independence?
If Puerto Rico became independent, what would happen to its economy? Some fear Puerto Rico would self-destruct, but author Javier A. Hernández has a different take. In this episode, we sit down with Javier to discuss how a sovereign Puerto Rico could potentially be economically sustainable.
Episode 74: Are More Young Puerto Ricans Favoring Puerto Rico Independence?
How are young Puerto Ricans changing in their views on Puerto Rico's status? Are they leaning toward independence, statehood or keeping the current common wealth status? And - across age groups - where do the demographics fall or rise in support for PR's political parties? Insider Senior Reporter Gwen Aviles joins the show to discuss her recent reporting on this topic and researcher/MIT Undergrad Francisco Proskauer Valerio breaks down the available data to give us insight into the ideologic shifts occurring on La Isla.
Episode 64: Puerto Rican & Palestinian Solidarity w/ Dr. Sara Awartani
On today’s show we welcome Dr. Sara Awartani. We're going to talk about settler colonialism and armed struggle within the context of Puerto Rico and Palestine, examples of Puerto Rican and Palestinian solidarity, and hear some of her literary suggestions on where people can begin to educate themselves on Puerto Rico and Palestine independence. She is a Global American Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University’s Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. An interdisciplinary U.S. social movement historian, her research, publications, and teaching interrogate twentieth century Latinx and Arab American radicalism, interracial solidarities, policing, and American global power.
Episode 54: The Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act
For this week’s episode, we’re sharing 2 separate, but related, interviews. We speak to Federico A. de Jesús, Senior Advisor for Power 4 Puerto Rico and a Former Obama-Biden Official, about the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, including misconceptions of the bill, how it came to be, how it seeks to address Puerto Rico’s status, and how it compares to the The Puerto Rico Statehood Admissions Act.
We also speak to Giovanni Pagan Velez & Andrésb Rodriguez Brauer, members of the research team responsible for a recent study released by Data for Progress on Puerto Rican Status Preferences. They polled likely voters in Puerto Rico to see what their preferences were on Puerto Rico’s status by simulating a ranked choice voting scenario. We’ll learn about their findings, what status questions they asked Puerto Ricans, and more when we take the deep dive into their research.