Ruben In The Center

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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

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Episodes

Episode 24 | Is There Really Jihad on the U.S.-Mexico border? | Todd Bensman

Host Ruben Navarrette interviews his friend, Todd Bensman -- an ex-journalist and now senior fellow at the Washington DC-based anti-immigrant group The Center for Immigration Studies -- about the refugee border crisis and his new book on how Islamic radicals infiltrate the U.S.-Mexico border. Guest: Todd Bensman, Author of “America’s Covert Border War: The Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration” and Texas-based Senior Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies....

May 14, 2021•22 min

Episode 23 | California is not dying. It’s not even sick. It’s just mismanaged, and it’s still home to way too many people.

Host Ruben Navarrette debunks the rumored demise of the Golden State, which is still home to 40 million people, controls 10% of the U.S. economy, and holds 20% of the electoral votes necessary to elect the president of the United States. California is the state of second chances, and those never go out of style.

May 13, 2021•19 min

Episode 22 | Is it true that Americans don’t want to work anymore?

Host Ruben Navarrette explains the real takeaway from a depressing April jobs report that came in at only about a quarter of what economists had predicted. The problem is not that U.S. workers don’t want to work. I suspect it's that they don’t want to work for U.S. employers. Whose fault is that? U.S. employers.

May 11, 2021•21 min

Episode 21 | 2020 Census: Why are so many Latinos -- who are now 1/5 of US Population — "Otherizing" Themselves? | Laura Gomez

Guest: Laura Gomez Host Ruben Navarrette has a conversation with author and UCLA Law Professor Laura Gomez about the 2020 Census and what it’s likely to tell us about 60M Latinos and the “other.”

May 08, 2021•26 min

Episode 20 | Biden’s First 100 Days Has Him Dancing In Circles

Host Ruben Navarrette gives a fair, honest, down-the-middle assessment of President Joe Biden’s first 100 days — the good, the bad, and the indefensible.

May 05, 2021•20 min

Episode 19 | Tim Scott, Liberal Racism and The Real Racial Tokenism

Host Ruben Navarrette discusses the attack by White liberals on Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, as a sellout, an Uncle Tom, and an “oreo” for daring to think for himself.

May 04, 2021•20 min

Episode 18 | What The Hell Is Happening on the U.S.-Mexico Border? | Jean Guerrero

Host Ruben Navarrette speaks with San Diego author/journalist Jean Guerrero about the hottest story in the country, which also happens to be the most divisive issue since slavery: immigration.

Apr 30, 2021•20 min

Episode 17 | AMLO’s Migration Plan: Good for Mexico & Environment. But Is It Good for the U.S.?

Host Ruben Navarrette breaks down a plan offered up by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that intends to solve two problems at once: climate change and the refugee crisis.

Apr 28, 2021•19 min

Episode 16 | Another Look at Killing of Adam Toledo, and Why Media Didn’t Dwell On It

Host Ruben Navarrette hammers the media for not covering the killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo by Chicago police like they have the killing of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant by police in Columbus, OH.

Apr 27, 2021•20 min

Episode 15 | Ex-Minneapolis Cop Derek Chauvin Convicted of Murder. But What Was The Verdict On Policing? | Bob Harrison

Host Ruben Navarrette speaks with Bob Harrison, director of California Command College, a three-time former chief of police and co-host — with Ruben — of the podcast “Comm4Cops.”

Apr 23, 2021•20 min

Episode 13 | Newsom Recall Is Not Blue & Red. It’s Gray, and In The Center

Host Ruben Navarrette unpacks the likely recall election for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and why Newsom — master politician but a lousy leader — is likely to win the battle but lose the war.

Apr 20, 2021•19 min

Episode 12 | Who’s Afraid to Acknowledge Anti-Asian Racism? Just about Everyone! | Lee Ann Kim

Host Ruben Navarrette speaks with Lee Ann Kim, a first-generation Korean American, former award-winning television journalist, and founder of the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Apr 17, 2021•20 min

Episode 11| You Build A Wall! You Build A Wall! Every President Builds A Wall

Host Ruben Navarrette digs into the deliciously ironic story about how President Biden — who once campaigned against Donald Trump’s border wall — may just now finish it.

Apr 14, 2021•20 min

Episode 10 | Is Covering Derek Chauvin’s Trial Hazardous Duty For Black Journalists?

Host Ruben Navarrette talks about the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and whether the details might be triggering PTSD among black journalists covering it.

Apr 13, 2021•20 min

Episode 9 | The She-Cession: How The Pandemic Crushed Working Moms | Cathy Areu, The Liberal Sherpa

Guest: Cathy Areu, Cuban-American writer, publisher of Catalina Magazine, TV commentator, and Host of the Podcast, “The Liberal Sherpa.” Host Ruben Navarrette has an engaging conversation with Cathy Areu, Cuban-American writer, publisher of Catalina Magazine, TV commentator, and host of the podcast, “The Liberal Sherpa.”

Apr 12, 2021•20 min

Episode 8 | Why Are Public School Teachers in San Diego Teaching Refugee Kids?

Host Ruben Navarrette steers into the intersection of two explosive topics: the refugee crisis involving children and teens & the teacher-union orchestrated lockdown of CA’s public schools.

Apr 07, 2021•19 min

Episode 7 | Baseball & Voting Rights — From the Center

Host Ruben Navarrette uses centrist common sense to explain why Major League Baseball is pulling the All-Star Game out of Georgia over a voter restriction law.

Apr 06, 2021•20 min

Episode 6 | Immigration & The Border: Americans Have Seen This Movie Before | Angela Kocherga, El Paso Public Radio

Guest: Angela Korcherga, News Director of KTEP — El Paso Public Radio Host Ruben Navarrette speaks with his good friend, fellow journalist Angela Kocherga, who — like the host — has covered immigration for 30 years. Angela is the News Director of KTEP, El Paso Public Radio and has a front-row seat to the latest flare up in the border immigration challenge.