Ruben In The Center - podcast cover

Ruben In The Center

Cloudcastwww.spreaker.com
The extremes have it all wrong. Naturally. On every issue, they only see half the picture.

The ideologues always lead to a dead-end. You need to travel the middle of the road.

That’s where the action is — in the center.
On the basketball court, the chessboard, or the boxing ring, the center is where you want to be.

Now more than ever, our country needs to be centered. While other journalists lurch to the right or left, nationally syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette keeps it one hundred by writing —
and fighting — in the center.

Here’s your host, Ruben Navarrette

Episodes

Episode 53| Who’s Afraid of American Muslims? | Arsalan Iftikhar

Host Ruben Navarrette interviews his friend, Arsalan Iftikhar, about his new book detailing the history and present-day reality of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry in the U.S. and around the globe. Guest: Arsalan Iftikhar, human rights lawyer, writer and author of “Fear of A Muslim Planet: Global Islamophobia in The New World Order”

Jul 25, 202121 min

Episode 52 | When The Going Gets Tough, A Lot of Cops — Quit

Host Ruben Navarrette, the son of a retired cop who was on the job for 37 years, bemoans the fact that so many police officers are quitting and hanging up their badges amid the low morale in the profession following the murder of George Floyd.

Jul 21, 202119 min

Episode 51 | ESPN’s Diversity Controversy & The Imposter Syndrome

Host Ruben Navarrette delves into the controversy at ESPN, over remarks by host Rachel Nichols who griped about the fact that her colleague, Maria Taylor, got a hosting gig she didn’t. Nichols is White, Taylor is Black. And yet, there is no racism here.

Jul 19, 202120 min

Episode 50 | The Black-Brown Thing, From Left & Right | Tavis Smiley

Host Ruben Navarrette interviews his old friend, and former LA radio co-host, Tavis Smiley about his career, his canceling, his comeback, and his take on the state of Black Americans in the post-George Floyd era. Guest: Tavis Smiley, TV/Radio Host/Author & Media Entrepreneur

Jul 18, 202127 min

Episode 44 | Coronado H.S. Basketball Team Stripped of Championship Title Over Tortilla Toss | Enrique Morones

Host Ruben Navarrette visits with his friend — and compadre -- Enrique Morones, who was at the heart of the public protests and pressure campaign over the recent tortilla tossing incident that led the Coronado High School basketball team to be stripped this week of their championship title. Guest: Enrique Morones, human rights activist, immigrant advocate, and founder/executive director of the organization "Gente Unida."

Jul 06, 202120 min

Episode 43 | The Power, and Value, of Centrists in the Senate

Host Ruben Navarrette applauds two members of the U.S. Senate who refuse to go along with their Democratic colleagues just to get along: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. They’re not the problem. They’re the solution.

Jun 30, 202118 min

Episode 34 | The Current War — Over Democracy

Host Ruben Navarrette looks at the so-called “Democracy Reform” movement, which has been taken up by both Republicans who want to stop their ideological enemies from voting, and Democrats who are hell-bent on stopping Republicans.

Jun 09, 202121 min

Episode 30 | The New Story Of Farming | Chris Valadez

Host Ruben Navarrette speaks with his friend Chris Valadez, CEO of The Grower-Shipper Association of Central California about a new vaccination project aimed at farmworkers and a new California drought as well as old challenges over labor and trade as farming plows through the 21st Century.

May 28, 202123 min

Episode 28 | An Average American’s Take on the Middle East

Host Ruben Navarrette reflects on his own visit to Israel in 2012 and offers his analysis on what’s causing the latest round of Middle East violence — and the one before that. Hint: It’s not land, politics or religion. It’s hate, bigotry, and revenge.

May 25, 202121 min

Episode 27 | California Politics: Where the Pacific Meets the Crazy | Arnold Torres

Topic: “California Politics: Where the Pacific Meets the Crazy” Guest: Arnold Torres Host Ruben Navarrette interviews his longtime friend and foil, Sacramento-based policy analyst and political consultant Arnold Torres about the strange happenings in California politics: including the attempted recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom and whether a Latino Democrat couldn’t be the party’s best chance of keeping the governor’s mansion.

May 22, 202122 min

Episode 26 | "AOC, meet MTG. In Congress, What Goes Around, Comes Around”

Host Ruben Navarrette delves into the hilarious episode of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being harassed and harangued by the GOP’s version of AOC: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who recently chased the Democratic congresswoman through the halls of Congress demanding that she debate her. This sounds familiar. AOC has engaged in her share of theatrics. This is justice.

May 19, 202120 min

Episode 25 | How “Woke” Became a Joke, and Why No One is Laughing

Host Ruben Navarrette unpacks the recent criticism of “woke-ism” by some liberal Democrats — some White liberal Democrats — who fear that it is driving voters away from the Democratic Party. Latinos aren’t fans of the woke movement because it runs afoul of freedom and patriotism. Meanwhile, the GOP gets it wrong by playing the victim against the woke; it has little to worry about.

May 19, 202121 min