Best Rice University S Baker Institute Podcasts (2024)

1
Episode 77: Claudia Sheinbaum and AMLO’s Looming Shadow (Guest: Tony Payan) 30:42

12h ago30:42

30:42

Late last month, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced a “pause” in relations with the U.S. embassy. These latest tensions between the two countries came after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar criticized López Obrador’s proposed judicial reforms, which include electing judges by popular vote. Salazar called this measure “a ma…

1
Episode 76: Voter Attitudes in Mexico and the US (Guest: Carlos Moreno Jaimes) 19:56

3M ago19:56

19:56

In this month's episode of Mexico Centered, Tony Payan sits down with Carlos Moreno Jaimes, professor and researcher at ITESO Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara, about voter attitudes in the Mexican and U.S. electorates and a recent survey he conducted to look at this issue. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States a…

1
Episode 75: Mexico's Elections: The Results (Guest: Lorena Becerra) 20:16

4M ago20:16

20:16

Tony Payan sits down with Lorena Becerra, political analyst and CEO of Lorena Becerra Encuestas, to analyze the results of Mexico’s presidential election on June 2, 2024. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website, and follow us on X/Twitter and LinkedIn. To join our mailing list, please su…

1
Episode 74: Mexico's Post-Presidential Election Scenarios (Guest: Javier Martin Reyes) 25:22

4M ago25:22

25:22

In this episode we sit down with Javier Martin Reyes, researcher at the Institute for Legal Research at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) for a conversation on Mexico's post-presidential election scenarios and their possible legal consequences. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit ou…

1
Episode 73: Mexico's Presidential Elections, the Candidates, Continuity and the Binational Relation (Guest: Carlos Bravo Regidor) 22:18

5M ago22:18

22:18

As Mexico's current presidential administration approaches its final days, key questions about the country’s future arise. Some of the critical challenges facing Mexico range from political to democratic principles, such as the growing poverty rate, the state of public safety, and the U.S.–Mexico binational relationship. How will the next president…

1
Episode 72: The 2024 Presidential Elections in Mexico (Guests: Tony Payan, Ivan Rodriguez Sanchez; Edward M. Emmett) 23:24

6M ago23:24

23:24

We're back! After a hiatus of almost 2 years the Mexico Centered podcast returns...and just in time for Mexico's 2024 presidential elections. In this episode, a crossover with the Baker Institute's Baker Briefing podcast, host and Baker Institute fellow Edward M. Emmett sits down with Tony Payan, director, and Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez, scholar, …

1
Episode 71: Hosting Mexico Centered (Guests: Tony Payan and Enrique Quezada) 33:25

2y ago33:25

33:25

In his final episode as host, Enrique Quezada sits down with Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico, to look back at how the podcast started and the role it has played at the Center. Enrique talks about preparing for interviews and the behind-the-scenes work to produce Mexico Centered. For more information on the…

1
Episode 70: Trans-border Collaboration Across the Rio Grande (Guests: Bob Krumenaker, superintendent of Big Bend National Park, and Javier Ochoa, subdirector of the protected areas Maderas del Carmen and ... 41:44

2y ago41:44

41:44

Bob Krumenaker, superintendent of Big Bend National Park, and Javier Ochoa, subdirector of the protected areas Maderas del Carmen and Ocampo, talk about the different models of conservation the U.S. and Mexico have, their day-to-day activities, and the numerous ways in which they collaborate across the border to the benefit of the ecosystem they sh…

1
Episode 69: The Significance of Mexico's 2022 Local Elections (Guest: Alejandro Cruz, director of special studies at BGC Ulises Beltrán y Asociados) 33:35

2y ago33:35

33:35

Alejandro Cruz, director of special studies at BGC Ulises Beltrán y Asociados and an expert in local elections in Mexico, discusses the results of the June 2022 local elections in Mexico and their significance for the López Obrador administration and the president’s party. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and…

1
Episode 68: The Dream of a Binational Park (Guest: Francisco Cantú, writer, translator, and author) 32:48

2+ y ago32:48

32:48

Francisco Cantú, author of The Line Becomes a River, discusses his recent article for Audubon Magazine where he wrote about a grand dream for an international park encompassing Big Bend on the U.S side and Santa Elena and Maderas del Carmen on the Mexican side. Cantú talks about what he learned during his visit about the different approaches of the…

1
Episode 67: Mexico's National Guard and Public Safety (Guest: Richard Kilroy) 21:52

2+ y ago21:52

21:52

Richard J. Kilroy, nonresident scholar at the Center for the United States and Mexico and associate professor of politics at Coastal Carolina University, discusses the role of Mexico’s National Guard in President López Obrador’s public safety strategy. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our web…

1
Episode 66: The Dangers of Being a Journalist in Mexico (Guest: Peniley Ramírez) 29:38

2+ y ago29:38

29:38

Peniley Ramírez, investigative journalist and columnist for the newspaper Reforma, talks about the dangers of being a journalist in Mexico, the mechanisms in place to protect journalists, and the relationship between Lopez Obrador and the media. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website, a…

1
Episode 65: 2021 Annual Roundup (Guest: Tony Payan) 32:27

3y ago32:27

32:27

Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico, discusses what happened in 2021 to Mexico’s economy, politics, public health, and to the binational relationship with the United States. He also sets out expectations for 2022. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visi…

1
Episode 64: Binational Healthcare: A conversation with Houston Methodist Hospital (Jose Nuñez, VP, Global Development at Houston Methodist’s Global Health Care Services) 20:00

3y ago20:00

20:00

José Núñez, the vice president for Global Development at Houston Methodist’s Global Health Care Services, talks about how Mexican patients access healthcare services in the United States, what Houston Methodist’s partnerships with the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey and Mexico City’s ABC Medical Center entail, and how the coronavirus pandemic af…

1
Episode 63: A Conversation with Consul General Alicia Kerber Palma 30:11

3y ago30:11

30:11

Alicia Kerber Palma, consul general of Mexico in Houston since 2019, talks about her time in the Mexican Foreign Service, the programs and services provided by Mexico’s Consulate General in Houston, feminist foreign policy, and the binational relationship. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our…

1
Episode 62: El Problema del Crimen Organizado en México (Guest: Eduardo Guerrero) 27:15

3y ago27:15

27:15

This podcast is in Spanish. Eduardo Guerrero, socio fundador y director de Lantia Consultores y Lantia Intelligence, habla sobre la complicada situación de seguridad nacional y el incremento en la violencia relacionada al crimen organizado en México. Para mayor información sobre el Centro para Estados Unidos y México del Instituto Baker, visite nue…

1
Episode 61: The Aftermath of Mexico's 2021 Midterm Elections (Guest: Tony Payan) 25:09

3+ y ago25:09

25:09

Tony Payan, the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and director of the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University, discusses the implications of the 2021 midterm elections for Mexico’s president, the president's party, the opposition, and electoral institutions. For more information on the Baker…

1
Why Did Consumer Credit Scores Go Up during the Covid-19 Pandemic? 13:53

3+ y ago13:53

13:53

The Covid-19 pandemic caused huge economic disruption for millions of Americans. Unemployment rose sharply. Many businesses – especially small ones – struggled to stay open. Yet consumer credit scores actually increased during the course of the pandemic. What explains this surprising result? What role did reduced household consumption play? How did…

1
What Does the Mexico City Subway Disaster Tell Us about Infrastructure in Mexico? 9:24

3+ y ago9:24

9:24

On May 3, a subway collapse in Mexico City killed 26 people and injured scores of others. The collapse is a heart-breaking human tragedy. But it also raises important questions about Mexico’s approach to infrastructure. What does this disaster tell us about what could be called the culture of maintenance in Mexico? How is it related to budgetary au…

1
Episode 60: Mexico's 2021 Midterm Elections (Guest: Javier Martin Reyes) 37:03

3+ y ago37:03

37:03

On June 6, Mexico will hold its midterm elections. A total of 21,368 elected positions will be on the ballot, making this the largest single-day election in Mexico’s history. The results will define Mexico’s political landscape through at least 2024, and may also determine whether President López Obrador and his political party, MORENA, will contin…

1
How to Understand the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan 13:36

3+ y ago13:36

13:36

In mid-April, President Joe Biden announced that there would be a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan by the symbolic date of September 11, 2021—twenty years after the 9/11 terror attacks. Though troop numbers in Afghanistan have declined in recent years, a complete withdrawal of the type described by Biden would be a notable new develo…

1
Episode 59: Data for U.S.-Mexico Border Studies: Challenges in Data Collection and Distribution (Guests: James Gerber and Jorge Eduardo Mendoza Cota) 24:57

3+ y ago24:57

24:57

James Gerber, professor emeritus of economics at San Diego State University, and Eduardo Mendoza, professor in the Department of Economic Studies at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, discuss the challenges in making comparisons between sub-national units across the U.S.-Mexico border with existing data. They offer recommendations for future data col…

1
Is There a Migrant Crisis at the Border? 12:35

3+ y ago12:35

12:35

Growing numbers of undocumented migrants crossing the Mexico-U.S. border have raised a political firestorm in the United States, with some – particularly Republicans – calling the situation a “crisis.” Polling suggests that handling migration may be a weak spot in President Biden’s otherwise popular agenda. What are the numbers when it comes to und…

1
Episode 58: The Path to Permanent Residency for DREAMers (Guest: Catherine Glazer) 22:28

3+ y ago22:28

22:28

Catherine Glazer, U.S. immigration attorney, discusses what the current path to permanent residency is, the obstacles for DACA recipients, and potential avenues the current administration could pursue to grant permanent legal status to Dreamers. Glazer is the author of the recently published research paper "The Materialization of a Dream: Creating …

1
“Assessing the Crisis in Yemen: Six Years On” 17:00

3+ y ago17:00

17:00

For the past six years, Yemen has been the center of a heated armed conflict between its Saudi and UAE-backed government and the rebel group “Ansar Allah,” more commonly known as the Houthis, leading to countless deaths and internally displaced persons. On top of the global challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic, Yemenis are continuing to face dire hea…

1
What Should the Biden Administration Do about U.S. Drug Policy? 14:13

3+ y ago14:13

14:13

“The times they are a’changing,” however slowly, when it comes to drug policy in the United States. Across the nation, states and municipalities are reassessing often punitive laws governing the use of illicit substances. What has been the human cost of the “war on drugs?” How has it impacted disadvantaged communities? What has been the effect of t…

1
Episode 57: The Growth of Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship in Mexico (Guest: Vincent Speranza) 24:59

3+ y ago24:59

24:59

Vincent Speranza, Managing Director of Endeavor Mexico, discusses the growth of venture capital and entrepreneurship in Mexico, the role of Endeavor in supporting entrepreneurs, and the challenges and opportunities during the pandemic. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United States and Mexico visit our website at https://w…

1
The February Electrical Power Disaster in Texas: What Can Be Done to Avoid a Repeat 18:13

3+ y ago18:13

18:13

In mid-February, a cold weather storm swept much of the United States. In Texas, the result was catastrophic, as skyrocketing electrical demand and plummeting supply led to massive, protracted blackouts across the state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates most of the state’s electrical grid, has received an avalanche …

1
Books That Shaped My World 1:02:53

3+ y ago1:02:53

1:02:53

In May 2020, Dr. Caleb McDaniel, the Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Humanities and current chair of Rice University's History Department, became the first Rice professor to be honored with the Pulitzer Prize. His award-winning book, Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America, chronicles the life of Henrietta Wood, a f…

1
What Can We Expect of the Biden Administration When It Comes to Immigration? 14:46

3+ y ago14:46

14:46

President Joe Biden is committed to reversing his predecessor’s restrictive, often punitive approach to immigration. In general terms, how will his policies differ from those of President Donald Trump? What has Biden already done on the immigration front? What are likely new initiatives, particularly as they affect migration from Mexico and Central…

1
Covid-19 and the Transition to a Cashless Economy 17:48

3+ y ago17:48

17:48

The Covid-19 pandemic in the United States has led to a sharp increase in cashless transactions. This is part of a broader trend toward electronic payments. What are the advantages of cashless transactions? How will their rise affect poorer households, particularly those which do not use banks and/or rely on alternative financial services? What sec…

1
Episode 56: Expectations for Mexico in 2021 (Guest: Tony Payan) 28:50

3+ y ago28:50

28:50

Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute’s Center for the United States and Mexico, discusses the expectations for Mexico in 2021 in regard to the country's economy, politics, public health, and the binational relationship with the United States under the Biden administration. For more information on the Baker Institute Center for the United Sta…

1
Covid-19, Vaccines, and Prospects for a Return to Normalcy 16:17

3+ y ago16:17

16:17

We are at a dramatic moment in the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States. Even as infections and deaths reach horrifying highs, vaccines are becoming available. What is Operation Warp Speed? How successful has it been in developing vaccines? What vaccines are currently available in the United States? What others are in the pipeline? How is the rol…

1
Federal Debt, Covid-19 and Wealth Inequality 15:41

3+ y ago15:41

15:41

U.S. Federal debt, already at the highest level since World War II, has grown dramatically as Washington has expended huge sums to address plummeting output caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. How sustainable is this debt? What explains the long-term trend toward lower interest rates? What was the picture of wealth and income inequality in the United …

1
Covid-19: Is the End in Sight? 17:18

4y ago17:18

17:18

Covid-19 has reached global pandemic proportions and has altered our way of life significantly. Starting in China and spreading all across the world, it has exacted an enormous human and financial price. The United States is now facing a health and economic crisis without close parallel in our history. What is the current status of the pandemic in …

1
Episode 55: El Tercer País (Guest: Michael S. Malone) 24:29

4y ago24:29

24:29

Michael S. Malone, high-technology/business journalist, producer of the award-winning PBS miniseries The New Heroes, editor of Forbes ASAP magazine, and Dean’s Executive Professor at Santa Clara University, talks about his recent book, "El Tercer País", where he explores the connections between San Diego and Tijuana, the history of the border regio…

1
Holding the Line Against China 16:36

4y ago16:36

16:36

Managing its relationship with China is surely the most acute geopolitical challenge facing the United States today. How should we assess the Chinese threat to US interests? Is it likely to increase or decrease with time? What can the United States, by itself and in concert with allies, do to counter China’s play for hegemony in Asia and the Pacifi…

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Rice University S Baker Institute Podcasts

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