Radio Cachimbona

On this episode, Yvette interviews Xenia Orona Co-Executive Director of Fuerte Arts Movement to discuss the various bills that the AZ GOP has passed to disenfranchise marginalized voters. Yvette also interviews Julie Neusner of Human Rights First to discuss Title 42's deployment at the Tijuana/San Ysidro border. Julie shares the differential treatment given to Ukranian refugees and breaks down the...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Brea Baker, the Senior Vice President of Politics and Programming at Inspire Justice and the new host of Disney + Show "Bridging the Gap."  They discuss why representation in art matters, the role that culture shifting plays in social movements, and emphasize the importance of centering reproductive justice in the conversation around Roe v. Wade.  Read...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Irma Garcia, the client services manager who leads abortion access work at Jane's Due Process-- a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring Texas teens have access to abortion care.  Irma explains the lengths people living in Texas must go to obtain abortion care in light of SB 8, criticizes the twisted lack of logic around the restrictions to abortion directed at min...

On this episode, Yvette brings back friend of the podcast Eloísa Lopez, the executive director of Pro-Choice Arizona to discuss Mississippi's approach to oral arguments in Dobbs and what it signals about the future of abortion rights, the extremity of Amy Coney Barrett's views on abortion care, and the physical and mental trauma of pregnancy and childbirth, particularly in places like Mississippi...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Bianca Tylek, the founder and executive director of Worth Rises, a nonprofit aimed at dismantling the prison industry by exposing who grossly profits from incarceration. They discussed how people power will always be the engine of abolition, the relationship between an access to phones campaign and the larger goal of abolition, and encourage people to check out t...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez about her book "For Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts". They discuss why respectability politics don't serve people of color, Prisca's journey through imposter syndrome to landing a major book deal, and why brown girls need each other. 

On this episode, Yvette interviews Pedro Velasco the Director of Education and Advocacy at the Kino Border Initiative about the state of the border under the ongoing horrific deployment of Title 42. They discuss the uncertainties that asylum seekers face under the Title 42 policy, call out the differential treatment given to US citizens allowed to freely travel, and break down how Title 42 violate...

On this episode, Yvette and friend of the podcast Jehan Laner Romero discuss their reactions to the viral Law Twitter tweet advising students to "work every waking moment possible" to succeed in the profession. They shared how they avoided the toxic aspects of legal culture, how they became aware of the tricks students use to perform in class, and demystify law school pedagogy.  Email radioca...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Stephanie Brewer, Executive Director of the Newtown Development Corporation/ Community Land Trust. Stephanie explains the benefits of home ownership, breaks down how community land trusts can help marginalized people build equity, and laments the difficulties of obtaining community land trust properties in competition with large investment firms. 

Happy Black history month! On this episode, Yvette interviews Danielle Parada about Prudencia Ayala--an Afro-Salvadoran woman, and her historic Presidential run that she mounted before women were legally allowed to vote in El Salvador. They tie Ayala's actions to larger Black feminist movements, breakdown the direct outcome of Ayala's bid to to the Supreme Court and her larger impact on El Salvado...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Ana Castillo about her new book of poems "Book of the Dead." They discuss Castillo's process in selecting the poems for this anthology, discuss the term 'Xicanisma' and its context, and address the controversy around Hache Carrillo's Cuban ancestry.  To support Radio Cachimbona. become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/radiocachimbona?fan_landing=true Fol...

*PREVIEW OF PATREON BONUS EPISODE* On this episode, Yvette and friend of the podcast Jehan Laner Romero discuss their reactions to the viral Law Twitter tweet advising students to "work every waking moment possible" to succeed in the profession. They shared how they avoided the toxic aspects of legal culture, how they became aware of the tricks students use to perform in class, and demystify the l...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Ronnie Wollenzier, founder of the Housing Initiative Project of Arizona, about the housing crisis in Arizona and how the eviction moratorium plays out on the ground. Ronnie shares her eviction story, breaks down what a tenant union and rent strikes are, and criticizes the complete lack of due process for Arizonans facing eviction. 

On this *LIT REVIEW PREVIEW* Yvette interviews Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez about her book "For Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts". They discussed why respectability politics don't serve people of color, Prisca's journey through imposter syndrome to landing a major book deal, and why brown girls need each other.  To hear the full interview and get access to more patron-exclusiv...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Yesenia Portillo of CISPES: the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, to critique Biden's plan for Central America. They break down how the private-public partnerships proposed in Biden's plan do not address the root causes of migration, emphasize the history of Salvadorans advocating for themselves and calling on international solidarity that r...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Eloísa López, Executive Director of Pro Choice Arizona about Governor Ducey joining an amicus brief asking SCOTUS to overturn Roe v. Wade and the sweeping anti-abortion bill passed by the Arizona legislature this spring. Eloísa breaks down the contradictions of the GOP anti-abortion agenda, criticizes the current barrier to abortion care in Arizona, and expresses...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Roxy Valenzuela: community organizer and affordable housing advocate with the Casa Maria Catholic Worker Community. They discuss the mental health toll that the eviction threats take on tenants, the bureaucratic red tape that is causing backlogs for people seeking eviction relief from government agencies, and why community land trusts can be beneficial as a tool...

On this episode, Yvette interviews founder of "Hermanas in the Law" and visiting law professor Paulina Vera about the article "Silent Screams from Within the Academy: Let My People Grow" by Peter Alexander and her experiences as a Latina woman in academia. They discuss the soul-sucking aspect of abiding by respectability politics, how Paulina handles students who challenge her authority, and how f...

On this episode, Yvette and fellow Salvi lawtina Yessenia Medrano discuss Farabundo Martí's biography "Farabundo Martí : Rebelión En El Patio Trasero." They discuss the devolution of the FMLN from guerilla resistance group to corrupt political party, celebrate the revitalization of government obscured Salvadoran history and note the larger failings of the Central American left in incorporating ind...

*PREVIEW* On this #litreview, Yvette interviews deportation defense attorney Sophia Gurúle about Harsha Walia's new book "Border and Rule." They discuss the intertwined histories of indigenous land theft and anti-Black slavery, applaud Walia's clear-eyed analysis about the difference between honoring the right to move and gentrification, and explain why "no borders" is preferable to "open borders....

On this episode, Yvette and Meg pick up their #litreview conversation about David Graeber's "Bullshit Jobs" and give an update on vaccine distribution in India. They discuss the gendered dimension of the bullshitization of jobs, share which aspects of lawyering are bullshit, and shine a light on those profiteering from COVID-19. To hear the rest of the #litreview conversation, become a patron: htt...

On this *UNLOCKED* patreon episode, Yvette interviews UCLA Professor of Chicano/a Studies Leisy Abrego to discuss her book “Sacrificing Families: Navigating Laws, Labor, and Love Across Borders," where she unpacks emotional and economic inequalities between transnational families. As a Salvadoreña herself, Leisy shares how focusing on Salvadoran migration disrupts the narrative of single men cycli...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Hollie Webb, supervising attorney for Al Otro Lado's Border Rights project about Title 42 and its effect on asylum seekers. They discuss the long-standing barriers to asylum prior to the enactment of Title 42, point out the disingenuousness of the law's alleged purpose of preventing spread of COVID-19, and criticize Biden for being nearly as bad as Trump on immig...

On this episode, Yvette interviews Kat Jutras of the Arizona Advocacy Network about her work creating a holistic approach towards increasing voter enfranchisement for people who have lost the right to vote after a felony conviction. They discuss the gaps in the recent SCOTUS Brnovich decision, extralegal barriers marginalized people face to voting, and how restitution fees play a huge role in stop...

On this *UNLOCKED* #litreview from Season 3, Maria Jiménez-Zepeda, fellow first-gen Yale Latina alumna and Omega Phi Beta Sorority sister, comes back onto the podcast to discuss the second half of Nicaraguan revolutionary Gioconda Belli’s memoir “El Pais Bajo Mi Piel.” They discuss the series of macktivists* within the Sandinista/other Latin American lefitst movements encountered by Belli, analyze...