Angela Alvarez is a natural-born storyteller, her latest venture of the podcast: "When Home is a Foreign Word" is testament to this. In fact, there's no way we can keep on topic - is there ever one? - and we enjoy a far-reaching conversation, a great deal of laughs about life and death in Colombia (the funny side), the origins of the word syphilis,…

How did Mexico get here? While all eyes are on the growing civil war within the Sinaloa Cartel, between those loyal to Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who was arrested on July 25, and the Chapitos, accused of betraying him, in order to understand current events in Mexico's fluid drugs trade, it's necessary to step back and take all of the information in …

As the United States prepares for its pivotal presidential election on November 5, 2024, we join our friends at Colombia Risk Analysis to discuss their new report: "The Future of U.S.-Colombia Partnership: Impact of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election" which delves into how the election results—whether a second term for former President Donald Trum…

With a hypnotising mix of charming coastal cities, world-class cuisine, and lush landscapes hiding immense biodiversity have made the bicoastal country of Colombia one of the most sought-after destinations in the Americas. We speak to Simon Faulkner, Lecturer in International Tourism Management at University College Birmingham about regenerative to…

Bolivians go to the polls on 1 December 2024 in a referendum to decide on the removal of fuel subsidies and to define whether to admit continuous or discontinuous presidential re-election. As if this weren't enough, on the same date, there are also judicial elections and another challenge to be clarified in the referendum is the shortage of dollars…

Nadya Ortiz is Colombia's first woman chess grandmaster. Hailing from humble origins in Ibague, chess became a conduit for her success. By succeeding in the chess world, she won a scholarship to study at university in Texas, later another one to go to Purdue and then by virtue of her excellence in computer science now works for Apple in San Francis…

Hallo and welcome to another episode of Colombia Calling - I’m Emily Hart and this week I’ll be chatting to Nubia Rojas about journalism at war – how journalists fell victim to, but also took part in, Colombia’s civil conflict. Nubia is a journalist and researcher who has worked on conflicts across the world both as a correspondent and an analyst, …

In theory, sanctions are designed to force governments to defend business interests, restore or seek democracy, respect human rights, protect the environment, fight corruption and tackle international crime and Latin America - according to a new report - is disproportionately targeted. "Sanctions in Latin America: the Regrettable Rise of a World of…

"From Ambition to Stagnation: the road ahead for Petro's administration," is the title of a new report by Eitan Casaverde and Sergio Guzman of Colombia Risk Analysis and this is what we are discussing this week on the podcast. There are questions that abound: Is the Colombian system structured for radical change? What have been the success stories …

The Latin American Review of Books – LatAmRoB – has been publishing online continuously since 2005 as a small, independent website based in the UK that reviews books and films. And we are very fortunate to have founder Gavin O'Toole here on the Colombia Calling podcast this week. The Latin American Review of Books is commercially and politically in…

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we look at what is being done to resolve the long standing conflict between the Chilean government and the Mapuche indigenous people, inhabitants of parts of south-central Chile, who have suffered from a policy of "pacification" which resulted in a tragic history of exterminations and displacement. Tracing its ro…

I’m Emily Hart and today, I’ll be speaking to two experts and campaigners on Colombia’s San Agustín Statues – getting into what they might mean and why they matter, as well as how so many of them ended up not in Colombia, and how important it is to get them back here. In San Agustín, Huila, hundreds of ancient megalithic statues have been found, th…

Venezuela will vote for a new president on 28 July in what will not be free and fair elections, that much is certain. But, which way will it go? On The LatinNews Podcast this week we explore some of the worst case scenarios facing Venezuela including the possibility of increased repression and massive voter fraud. Or, will Nicolas Maduro seek a neg…

“Petro.” Watch the documentary by Sean Mattison and Trevor Martin following Gustavo Petro during his run for the presidency of Colombia in 2022. "Petro" begins in September 2021 at the launch event of Gustavo Petro's campaign. The documentary makers enjoy unprecedented access to Colombia's most charismatic and polarizing politician, the film follow…

From the author of El Narco, Ioan Grillo presents us with a searing investigation into the enormous black market for firearms, essential to cartels and gangs in the drug trade and contributing to the epidemic of mass shootings. The gun control debate is revived with every mass shooting. But far more people die from gun deaths on the street corners …

On the Colombia Calling podcast this week, we welcome back both Ervin Liz and Simon Winograd and discuss Native Root, their coffee-growing company based in rural Colombia. Check out the page: www.nativerootcoffee.com Colombia, the land of coffee...but which coffee should you choose? My advice - completely uncalled for and unwarranted - is to do a l…

Colombia’s cluster of armed conflicts seem interminable on the surface but President Gustavo Petro, the country’s first leftwing premier and a former guerrilla himself, has made Total Peace (Paz Total) a cornerstone policy of his government in an attempt to pull the nation from continual asymmetrical conflicts scattered all about the territory. And…

On the Colombia Calling podcast this week we discuss Pablo Escobar's influence on Colombian football in the early 1990's with David Arrowamith, author of a new book: "Narcoball: Love, Death and Football in Escobar's Colombia." In a far-reaching conversation David and I discuss Pablo Escobar, his role in politics, the reality of Colombia in the 1990…

Where is Matavén, you may well ask? So, this week on the Colombia Calling podcast, we discuss an award-winning community tourism project with people of the Piaroa indigenous community and the Colombian Project. Joining us on the podcast is Camilo Ortega, product manager of the Colombian Project. The Matavén Jungle is the fourth largest Indigenous R…

The Mexican electorate made history on 2 June by electing the country's first woman president in Claudia Sheinbaum, former Mexico City mayor, scientist, academic and protege of outgoing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). Much has been reported about Sheinbaum's possible difficulty in distancing herself from AMLO's influence, but ironical…

We are incredibly fortunate to speak to Jenny Pearce, Research Professor at the Latin America and Caribbean Centre (LACC) at LSE about her current research which focuses particularly on the role of Elites and Violence in Latin America. She worked with young researchers in Colombia, led by Juan David Velasco (Lecturer, Pontificia Universidad Javeria…

The aim of "Colombia at a Crossroads" is designed not only to focus on Colombia’s politics and history, but also to celebrate her culture and society and this is the reason it’s divided into several parts and includes contributed essays by experts in their fields. This is not a guide book, nor a travelogue and nor is it a list of dry facts, but it …

On this week's LatinNews Podcast, we discuss the reach and main characteristics of the Tren de Aragua criminal group, from its beginnings in the Tocorón prison in Venezuela, to its spread through South America. We speak to Chris Dalby, director of the World of Crime media company and publishing and expert on organized crime, about the reasons for t…

This week on the Colombia Calling podcast we enjoy a frank and flowing conversation with author Linda Moore about her latest novel, "Five Days in Bogotá." We talk about the book, her time in Bogotá and Colombia, what inspired the book and the charming anecdote of when she met the famed Colombian writer, Gabriel García Márquez. Hear how Linda Moore,…

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we take a look at how Jamaica has turned its economy around to start enjoying strong growth, low unemployment, reductions in debt burdens and attracting investors. Marla Dukharan, a renowned economist and advisor on the Caribbean provides us with an impartial analysis of Jamaica's success story. And, while we can…

On Episode 520 of the Colombia Calling podcast, we revisit episode 396 and once again get to discuss the disease of leishmaniasis in the context of the Colombian armed conflict and post conflict period with post doctoral fellow Lina Beatriz Pinto-Garcia. Pinto Garcia's ethnographic monograph explores how the Colombian armed conflict and a vector-bo…

Venezuelans go to the polls to vote for a president on 28 July 2024, in what will not be free and fair elections, this much is certain. Here on the Colombia Calling podcast, we understand the necessity and importance of informing our listeners further about what is taking place and is in the news from sister and neighbouring countries to Colombia, …

On this week's episode we speak to Mario Pinzón in the studio and discuss his views on Colombia and Colombian politics from the perspective of a citizen living overseas in Canada. We discuss why Pinzón left Colombia (under duress), what it meant to leave his country behind and how he came to understand the value of being Colombian. Emily Hart repor…

Murder rates in Brazil have fallen under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but surveys show that people believe violence to have increased in the country. There is little trust in the police and judicial system, 64,2 million live in households with food insecurity, there have been more than 4 million cases of dengue in the first four months of 2…

This week your host, Richard McColl moves over to the role of interviewee as friend and fellow immigrant to Colombia, Eric Tabone switches up responsibilities and fires questions at your friendly Briton. This is your chance to learn a little bit more about journalist, hotelier and writer Richard McColl. Tabone leaves no stone unturned as he delves …