Episode 12: Gary Trauner

Episode 18: Etan Nechin on Israeli Politics

Etan Nechin is the New York correspondent for Haaretz.  Born in Israel, he was previously a freelancer whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, Haaretz, Vice, Jacobin, Huffington Post, The Independent, Jewish Currents, Medium, Columbia Journal, and more.  In this episode, Etan talks about the last 30 years in Israeli politics. If you want to know why the assassinaton of Yitzak Rabin had a similar impact to peace in the Middle East as the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, this is the episode for you. Etan’s writing at Haaretz:  https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da5a-d42c-afff-dffa7afc0000 [https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/0000017f-da5a-d42c-afff-dffa7afc0000] Etan on X:  https://x.com/Etanetan23 [https://x.com/Etanetan23] Etan’s personal site: https://www.etannechin.com/ [https://www.etannechin.com/]

Episode 17: Eric Benson of Texas Monthly

Eric Benson began contributing to Texas Monthly in 2014, covering politics, crime, business, and the U.S.-Mexico border and writing cover stories on everything from the supersized gas station chain Buc-ee’s [https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/buc-ees-the-path-to-world-domination/] to the Nobel Prize–winning immunologist James P. Allison [https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/jim-allison-and-the-search-for-the-cure-for-cancer/]. His articles and podcasts have won awards from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and the City and Regional Magazine Association and have been recognized on best-of-the-year lists in The New Yorker and Vulture. He was the host and executive producer of the Apple TV+ podcast series Project Unabom. He lives in Dallas. In this episode, Eric talks with host Dylan Ris about, what else, Talarico and Paxton.  Eric's writing at Texas Monthly:  https://www.texasmonthly.com/contributors/eric-benson/

Personality Crisis Episode 16: Alex González Ormerod / This Century in Mexican Politics

Alex González Ormerod is the editor/creator of the Mexico Political Economist site.  Listeners will note that he’s got an English accent, but he’s born and raised in Mexico with an English mom and a Mexican dad.  He’s written for, edited, and worked at some of the best outlets covering Mexico both in the US and locally, including Whitepaper [https://www.whitepaper.mx/p/el-negocio-de-soho-house], Americas Quarterly [https://americasquarterly.org/aq-author/alex-gonzalez-ormerod/], Time Magazine [https://time.com/author/alex-gonzalez-ormerod/], Rest of World [https://restofworld.org/author/alex-gonzalez-ormerod/], and more. In the second of two episodes, Alex takes a through a short political history of the current century in Mexican politics, from Vincente Fox through the rise of Morena and López Obrador, to Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidency.  He also gives us his take on the recent, controversial Mexican judicial elections.   Alex’s site:  https://www.mxpe.org/ [https://www.mxpe.org/]

Episode 15: Alex González Ormerod

Alex González Ormerod is the editor/creator of the Mexico Political Economist site.  Listeners will note that he’s got an English accent, but he’s born and raised in Mexico with an English mom and a Mexican dad.  He’s written for, edited, and worked at some of the best outlets covering Mexico both in the US and locally, including Whitepaper [https://www.whitepaper.mx/p/el-negocio-de-soho-house], Americas Quarterly [https://americasquarterly.org/aq-author/alex-gonzalez-ormerod/], Time Magazine [https://time.com/author/alex-gonzalez-ormerod/], Rest of World [https://restofworld.org/author/alex-gonzalez-ormerod/], and more. In this episode, he talks about the critical importance of the Mexico-US economic relationship, the history of that relationship, the re-negotiation of the USMCA and how Mexico isn’t a place with cheap labor, but, instead, is great at product assembly. He also talks about current Mexican economic news, including the Mexican trade surplus and Moody’s downgrade of Mexico’s credit rating. Alex’s site:  https://www.mxpe.org/ [https://www.mxpe.org/]

Episode 14: Jay Watts - Mexico Solidarity Part 2

Jay Watts is a photojournalist and editor of the English-language Mexican news site Mexico Solidarity, which also hosts the podcast Soberanía. The site is part of the Mexico Solidary Project, which aims to promote “people-to-people understanding across borders and to concentrate efforts to oppose the US dominance that undermines México’s national sovereignty.” In the second of two episodes, Jay talks with Dylan Ris, standing in for John Cole, who’s getting ready for his twice-yearly relocation.  Jay and Dylan talk about the role of the mañanera, the President’s daily press conference, in Mexican politics.  The conversation then turns to the recent discovery of CIA agents in Mexico and the threat to close Mexican consulates in the US. Here are Jay’s links: Mexico Solidarity Media:  https://mexicosolidarity.com/ [https://mexicosolidarity.com/] Mexico Solidarity Project: https://mexicosolidarityproject.org/ [https://mexicosolidarityproject.org/] Jay’s Site showcasing some of his excellent photography: https://jay-watts.com/ [https://jay-watts.com/]