Latin American Perspectives

Alexander Scott
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Social Sciences
  • Updated Monthly

A podcast for discussion and debate on the political economy of capitalism, imperialism, and socialism in the Americas. For more than forty years Latin American Perspectives has served as the leading academic journal in Latin American Studies, publishing timely, progressive analyses of the social forces shaping contemporary Latin America. We currently produce two podcasts: Latin American Perspectives & Editors' Choice: Latin American Perspectives' Book Conversations. Latin American Perspectives features interviews with LAP issue editors, academics, and activists where participants discuss current research, political-economic issues, and social movements in Latin America. The podcast is hosted by sociologist and LAP coordinating editor Alexander Scott. Editors' Choice features interviews with authors of exciting new books in the fields of Latin American and Latino studies. The series is intended to share critical educational resources and information on a variety of topics and issues in Latin America and provide detailed and in-depth political and theoretical analysis of the texts covered. Editors Choice is hosted by LAP coordinating editors Alexander Scott and Tomas Crowder-Taraborrelli.

  1. Jul 9

    Editor's Choice Ep. 13: P FKN R: Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican Resistance w/ Vanessa Díaz and Petra R. Rivera-Rideau

    Hosts Alexander Scott and Tomás Crowder-Taraborrelli speak with Vanessa Díaz and Petra R. Rivera-Rideau about their new book P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance (Duke University Press, 2026). Díaz and Rivera-Rideau — creators of the "Bad Bunny Syllabus" — situate Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio within more than a century of Puerto Rican history and a much longer tradition of music as resistance. The conversation traces the political and economic conditions that shaped Bad Bunny's formative years: the end of Section 936, the debt crisis and the imposition of the fiscal oversight board Puerto Ricans call La Junta, the gentrification and displacement accelerated by Acts 20/22, and the devastation and abandonment of Hurricane María. Vanessa shares her family's own experience of the storm and its aftermath, and both authors discuss the summer 2019 uprising that forced Governor Ricardo Rosselló's resignation — with particular attention to the Black feminist organizing of Colectiva Feminista en Construcción and the deep genealogy connecting bomba and plena to reggaetón and perreo as forms of communal protest. They close with Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance, the politics of a Spanish-language anti-colonial statement on one of the most-watched stages in the world, and why, in Puerto Rico, the party is the protest. Vanessa Díaz is associate professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at Loyola Marymount University and author of Manufacturing Celebrity: Latino Paparazzi and Women Reporters in Hollywood (Duke University Press, 2020). Petra R. Rivera-Rideau is associate professor of American Studies at Wellesley College and author of Remixing Reggaetón: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico (Duke University Press, 2015) and Fitness Fiesta!: Selling Latinx Culture through Zumba (Duke University Press, 2024). Get the book: P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance is available now from Duke University Press: https://www.dukeupress.edu/p-fkn-r (also available in Spanish) Explore the Bad Bunny Syllabus: https://www.badbunnysyllabus.com/ Support Latin American Perspectives: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, and Bluesky to stay up to date on new issues, articles, and episodes. Subscribe and rate the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your preferred listening app. Annual print subscriptions to the journal start at $74, with discounted rates for students and LASA members. Your subscription helps sustain a critical space for internationalist, anti-capitalist, and decolonial scholarship.

  2. Jul 3

    US Imperialism and Cuban Development w/ Andrew Smolski

    Alexander Scott speaks with rural sociologist Andrew Smolski about U.S. imperialism and the long history of empire in Cuban development.  Drawing on Smolski's archival research and his work on Cuban agriculture, the conversation traces how imperialism has shaped Cuba's capacity to develop across five centuries — from Spanish colonialism, the Haitian Revolution, and the rise of the sugar-slavery complex, through U.S. occupation and the Platt Amendment era, to a blockade now in its seventh decade — and asks what it would mean for development research to treat imperialism as a condition of development rather than mere background. Andrew Smolski is an assistant professor of rural sociology in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education at The Pennsylvania State University, and a member of the Latin American Perspectives editorial collective. Further reading from our guest: "Interrogating Structural Conditions for Agricultural Production: A Comparative-Historical Study of Cuban Incorporation, Delinking, and Exile," Journal of World-Systems Research 28(2), 2022 (open access): https://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/jwsr/article/view/1117 The Agrarian Question as an Ecological Question in Latin America, special issue of Latin American Perspectives (January 2024), co-edited with Daniela García Grandón and Joana Salém Vasconcelos: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0094582X241252111 Violence, Capital Accumulation, and Resistance in Contemporary Latin America, special issue of Latin American Perspectives (January 2021), co-edited with Matthew Lorenzen: https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X20975005 "Class Struggle and Violence in Latin American Cities," Latin American Perspectives 48(1): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0094582X19860470 For more information about Latin American Perspectives, our podcasts, and guests, please contact lap.outreach@gmail.com. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your preferred listening platform.

  3. May 13

    Editor's Choice Ep. 12: Emergent Quilombos: Black Life and Hip-Hop in Brazil w/ Bryce Henson

    Bryce Henson joins the pod to discuss his book Emergent Quilombos: Black Life and Hip Hop in Brazil (University of Texas Press, 2023). Drawing on ethnographic research in Salvador da Bahia, Henson explores Brazilian hip hop as a diasporic cultural and political movement rooted in Black radical traditions, anti-racist struggle, and collective community formation. Throughout the conversation, the group discusses the historical significance of quilombos in Brazil, the relationship between Blackness and political struggle, the role of hip hop as a form of "quilombismo," and the intersections of race, class, gender, and diaspora in contemporary Brazil. Bryce Henson is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Texas A&M University, with affiliations in Africana Studies and the Race and Ethnic Studies Institute. He is also an affiliated researcher with the Pós-Afro Program at the Universidade Federal da Bahia and serves as Associate Editor for Transforming Anthropology. Emergent Quilombos: Black Life and Hip Hop in Brazil can be purchased here: https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477327986/ Spotify Playlist Curated by Bryce Henson: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3KnR3IBULZ9aAesr8pY3Ov?si=wp_fX5SwSnigAXai5nWT6Q    Subscribe to Latin American Perspectives A journal for discussion and debate on the political economy of capitalism, imperialism, and socialism in the Americas. https://latinamericanperspectives.com/

  4. May 8

    U.S. Imperialism Enters a New Stage w/ Steve Ellner

    In this episode of the Latin American Perspectives Podcast, Alexander Scott speaks with historian and political scientist Steve Ellner about the changing nature of U.S. imperialism and the escalating political crisis in Venezuela. Drawing on Ellner's recent work, the conversation examines sanctions, economic warfare, "hyper-imperialism," the Venezuelan opposition, and the broader geopolitical tensions shaping Latin America today. Topics discussed include: Sanctions as a form of warfare Economic coercion and financial blockades U.S. policy toward Venezuela María Corina Machado and the Venezuelan far right Debates on the left surrounding anti-imperialism and democracy The global implications of a new phase of U.S. power Steve Ellner is a historian and political scientist who taught for over two decades at the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela. He is Associate Managing Editor of Latin American Perspectives and the author of numerous books and articles on Venezuelan politics, the Latin American left, and the Chávez era. Further Reading from Steve Ellner CounterPunch — "U.S. Imperialism Enters a New Stage" https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/04/21/u-s-imperialism-enters-a-new-stage/ Jacobin — "Trump, Latin America, and the Left Opposition" https://jacobin.com/2025/11/trump-latin-america-left-opposition Venezuelanalysis Author Page https://venezuelanalysis.com/guest-author/steve-ellner/ Venezuela Solidarity Network — María Corina Machado & Venezuela https://www.venezuelasolidaritynetwork.org/mcm_venezuela

  5. Apr 30

    Political Ecology, Gender, and the Environment in Latin America con Mayarí Castillo

    En este episodio del podcast de Latin American Perspectives, conversamos con Mayarí Castillo, socióloga de la Universidad Mayor y coeditora del número de enero de 2026, sobre los principales ejes que estructuran este nuevo dossier. A lo largo de la conversación, abordamos la ecología política como un marco para comprender la relación entre sociedad, naturaleza y poder en América Latina, y exploramos las raíces históricas de los conflictos socioambientales contemporáneos—desde el colonialismo y la formación de los Estados hasta el extractivismo y las crisis climáticas actuales. También discutimos el papel central del género y de la ecología política feminista para repensar cómo estas luchas se viven, se disputan y se transforman. Este episodio ofrece una puerta de entrada accesible al número, al tiempo que destaca su relevancia para entender las dinámicas actuales de desigualdad, territorio y conflicto ambiental en la región. 🎧 Escucha el episodio 📖 Explora el número de enero de 2026 aquí: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/lapa/53/1

  6. Apr 23

    Amazon Rainforest and Socio-Ecological Alternatives in Latin America w/ Claudia Horn

    LAP coordinating editor Claudia Horn (King's College London) joins the pod to discuss the September 2025 issue: Amazon Rainforest and Socio-Ecological Alternatives in Latin America. What is the Amazon—and how should we understand it beyond dominant environmental, state-centered, or extractivist narratives? Our conversation explores the concept of multiplicity as a way of rethinking the Amazon as a space of diverse social worlds, political struggles, and ways of life. We also examine the forces threatening these worlds, while highlighting the forms of resistance, collective action, and alternative socio-ecological futures emerging across the region. Drawing on contributions from across the issue, this episode situates the Amazon within broader debates on global capitalism, environmental crisis, and the possibilities for more just and sustainable futures. Access the issue here: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/lapa/52/5?_gl=1*2tnc8d*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTU2OTAyODIzMi4xNzc3MDQwMjQ4*_ga_60R758KFDG*czE3NzcwNDAyNDckbzEkZzEkdDE3NzcwNDAyNTckajUwJGwwJGg2Mjg3NzUxMjA.  For additional information about contacting the journal, podcast host, or guests, please contact latampodcasts@gmail.com

  7. Feb 22

    Editor's Choice Ep. 11 (Part 2): Dependency and Crisis in Brazil and Argentina w/ Felipe Antunes de Oliveira

    Part 2 of our interview with Felipe Antunes de Oliveira on his recent book Dependency and Crisis in Brazil and Argentina: A Critique of Market and State Utopias (2024).   In this timely and theoretically rigorous work, Antunes de Oliveira examines why the two largest countries in South America fail to materialize the development they continually promise to achieve. Instead of approaching the topic from a policy-failure perspective, he focuses on what public debates reveal about "development" itself. Building on this, Antunes de Oliveira offers a theoretical and empirical critique of neoliberal and neodevelopmentalist ideas surrounding cycles of structural reform in Brazil and Argentina, drawing on dependency theory to propose an alternative political economic framework for analyzing development challenges. Felipe Antunes de Oliveira is a senior lecturer in International Relations at Queen Mary University of London and a coordinating editor at Latin American Perspectives. Outside the academy, he has served as a diplomat for the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as General Coordinator of International Financial Affairs at the Brazilian Ministry of Finance in 2024, and, since December 2024, as an Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund. Dependency and Crisis in Brazil and Argentina is available for purchase through the University of Pittsburgh Press: https://upittpress.org/books/9780822948100/  For more information about Latin American Perspectives, our podcasts, and guests, please contact latampodcasts@gmail.com

  8. 12/19/2025

    Editor's Choice Ep. 11: Dependency and Crisis in Brazil and Argentina w/ Felipe Antunes de Oliveira (Part 1)

    In this special two-part edition of Editors' Choice, Felipe Antunes de Oliveira, joins us to discuss his recent book Dependency and Crisis in Brazil and Argentina: A Critique of Market and State Utopias (2024).   In this timely and theoretically rigorous work, Antunes de Oliveira examines why the two largest countries in South America fail to materialize the development they continually promise to achieve. Instead of approaching the topic from a policy-failure perspective, he focuses on what public debates reveal about "development" itself. Building on this, Antunes de Oliveira offers a theoretical and empirical critique of neoliberal and neodevelopmentalist ideas surrounding cycles of structural reform in Brazil and Argentina, drawing on dependency theory to propose an alternative political economic framework for analyzing development challenges. Felipe Antunes de Oliveira is a senior lecturer in International Relations at Queen Mary University of London and a coordinating editor at Latin American Perspectives. Outside the academy, he has served as a diplomat for the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as General Coordinator of International Financial Affairs at the Brazilian Ministry of Finance in 2024, and, since December 2024, as an Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund. Dependency and Crisis in Brazil and Argentina is available for purchase through the University of Pittsburgh Press: https://upittpress.org/books/9780822948100/  For more information about Latin American Perspectives, our podcasts, and guests, please contact latampodcasts@gmail.com

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About

A podcast for discussion and debate on the political economy of capitalism, imperialism, and socialism in the Americas. For more than forty years Latin American Perspectives has served as the leading academic journal in Latin American Studies, publishing timely, progressive analyses of the social forces shaping contemporary Latin America. We currently produce two podcasts: Latin American Perspectives & Editors' Choice: Latin American Perspectives' Book Conversations. Latin American Perspectives features interviews with LAP issue editors, academics, and activists where participants discuss current research, political-economic issues, and social movements in Latin America. The podcast is hosted by sociologist and LAP coordinating editor Alexander Scott. Editors' Choice features interviews with authors of exciting new books in the fields of Latin American and Latino studies. The series is intended to share critical educational resources and information on a variety of topics and issues in Latin America and provide detailed and in-depth political and theoretical analysis of the texts covered. Editors Choice is hosted by LAP coordinating editors Alexander Scott and Tomas Crowder-Taraborrelli.

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