Join our conversation with Joanna Williams, Director of Education and Advocacy at the Kino Border Initiative, where we discuss the current situation at the US/Mexico border and some of the recent immigration policies that are putting many migrant families in significant danger.

Religious groups have been very active in the discussion about the physical distancing rules after the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have been opposed to the social limitations and their effects on their religious practices while others have resorted to technology-based services as a new way of practicing their rituals. In this episode, we are having a conversation with Sociology professor Sam Stabler, PhD about the influence of religion in the response to the physical distancing rules using several sociological perspectives.

Encounters with police often present very different characteristics and outcomes based on the racial profile of the person being detained. In this episode, we analyze this issue by looking at what the data says using the Critical Race Theory to drive the discussion.

References:

Prison Policy Initiative data:

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2018/10/12/policing/

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2012/05/10/frisking/

Books:

Pulled Over: How Police Stops Define Race and Citizenship 

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Article:

Policing Different Racial Groups in the United States

How did we end up with a President that cares more about ratings than people and that has a cult of followers that support even his most absurd claims? In this episode, we try to find answers using a sociological approach with the help of C. Wright Mills' book The Power Elite.

In this episode, I talk with a very special guest about the differences between high and low context cultures and how that is connected to our social experiences. Of course, we are using the Puerto Rico vs New York example!

In an era of a constant flow of information, creative content is being thrown at us all the time. It is used to entertain us, inform us and sell us goods through multiple media platforms. However, we rarely stop to think about the implications for the people who work non-stop to satisfy the need for new content.

Xenophobia is explicitly displayed in the current anti-immigrant discourse. However, it becomes even more problematic when it is hidden under a progressive, pro-immigrant disguise. Letting immigrants come in is just the first step. But, even some of those pushing for lesser immigration regulations can become an obstacle in the path of immigrants' social integration.

In this episode, we talk about Alexa, a trans woman that was murdered after a post about her went viral on social media. We also discuss the concept of mental illness and the social construction of insanity throughout history.

This episode introduces the series by talking about the meaning of being Puerto Rican in New York City and analyzes the relationship between the USA and Puerto Rico from a historical and social perspective.