The Velvet Hammer

The Velvet Hammer Episode 20: In the season 1 finale we invite our special guest from California to join us during her first-ever vacation to Buenos Aires. How did she like it? Did she feel safe? How does she feel about her children living there? Find out in our discussion as we recount stories from her visit. In the good news, an LA zoo sea otter is moving to Argentina to help repopulate the enda...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 19: Welcome to our second to last episode of season 1! We start looking at inflation in Argentina slowly decreasing (despite still being highest in the world) while the government began circulation of new 10,000 peso bills. We jump to immigration around the world, with New York State spending record amounts on migrants while the UK has made a deal to deport people to Rwan...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 18: Strike! Strike! Strike! A national protest was called during this episode, with most public transport, trash collection, hospitals, and more being shut down to bring awareness to Argentina’s economy. We begin with that before moving getting into national news as the economic output of the country hits pandemic-level lows and grocery spending massively contracts. As we...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 17: Our wildest episode yet! You’ll want to stay to the end for this one! As Argentinian Labor Day passes, we mourn the end of summer and the gorgeous weather while celebrating a hopeful end to the mosquitos. Covering a bit of word news, we have apple orchards being chopped down by Heineken and some angry environmentalists. Then the shock of Tesla’s supercharger team bein...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 16: This week gets off to a worrying start when we realized that most of our bottled water is straight from the tap. And the plastic is getting not just in the fish but our bodies as well. That leads us to wonder how much radiation is in our environment and even what’s in the chemical waste they use for fracking. Somehow we begin to wonder whether we’re living in a simula...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 15: Wine starts us off this week with a quick discussion of Argentine wine serving culture, this being the land of luscious Malbecs and crisp Torrontés. That quickly segues to the shocking news that the University of Buenos Aires has seen such massive cuts to their budget that they can’t keep operating. While this seems counter to president Milei’s push for education, his...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 14: This week begins with an anecdote about college parties in a US private university that morphed into talking about drinking and driving law. In some states you could drive with a beer in hand? While on travel, we shared a little of what we know about the Argentine train system, bringing in news from our friend who works there. Transitioning to politics, we wonder what...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 13: This week begins with the shocking news that Argentine president Milei laid off 70,000 government employees with only three days notice. As that reverberates through the country, retirees are suffering with minimum pension payments amid increasing inflation – even as Milei devalues the currency yet again. But amidst the turmoil, the country posted another fiscal &...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 12: We get off to a quirky start this week by sharing the nuances of mate tea drinking culture in Argentina. It’s an acquired taste, but definitely worth the effort for expats. In response to US president Biden’s poor performance at a latino vote rally, we discuss the effect we as expats have on Argentina. We end up agreeing we’re worthy ambassadors, embracing the country...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 11: You’re joining us this week after a massive deluge swamped the city with water in record-breaking storms. After we get over the storm, we consider what has happened to the State of the Union Address: why is it more of a campaign speech than checkup on the country? We wonder about the wars going on and whether they’re going to spread to South America. There’s a heated...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 10: We begin this week with a celebration of the D-Line subway returning to service. There was significant construction, now finished, so if you’re traveling, the main line is ready for the commute. In other news, Argentina is considering reinstating mandatory military service for young people. Also, Milei’s currency devaluations close the gap in the black market exchange...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 9: This week, we jump into a convo about why many politicians seem to be so unfit for the job amidst their health problems. And why are so many people voting or considering themselves “uncommitted” in recent polls? In Argentina, soup kitchens are getting slammed in the wake of Milei’s shock therapy and the head of the “welfare” ministry seems to refuse to give government...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 8: This week starts with a deep dive into who actually brews the beers we drink around the world – and it turns out to be one giant corporation! We quickly cover Argentine happenings, one of which being another strike – this time all the trains in the country stopped. Being emigrants, we had something to say about the US immigration “problem” and the practice of bussing i...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 7: We’re back this week starting with a quick look at Argentine president Milei’s new policies. The tough austerity measures are being praised by many other countries, including the USA, and even other economics professors in South America. We look at the other side of the arguments, though, finding that many of the most in need are suffering and many can’t afford food. N...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 6: We barely made it to the studio this week after an enormous storm hit the city and left streets surging with rivers of water. With storm drains overflowing, it was akin to the atmospheric river over California. In expat news, we discuss the local nickname for US citizens, “yankees” from “yankeelandia” before an update about Milei’s omnibus law and his visit to Israel....

The Velvet Hammer Episode 5: This week we’re obviously missing the USA! After some expat news info, we spent most of the episode reminiscing about our lives in the states. During the sweltering Buenos Aires heatwave, we consider the need for water tanks above buildings in the city and wonder if they’re made of asbestos. There’s an update about the omnibus going through Argentine congress, the perc...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 4: [sensitive content warning] This week after a small change in libations, we discuss a country-wide protest in Argentina against the new president’s sweeping austerity measures. We break it down further analyzing the elimination of public transit subsidies which massively increases the cost of getting to and from work (almost 3x)! The worst topic? Pumping fresh water aq...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 3: On this third episode we open with news about new measures being taken in Argentina to improve the economy. We cover China’s new tariff rates to increase exports and how that might affect our life. We take a spot of inspiration from wild elephant life and their similarity to humans. There’s a bit about the harmful chemical DDT and its availability here in Buenos Aires,...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 2: Thank you everyone who tuned in with us for the first episode and we’re back with more. This week we respond to the final GOP debate and make fun of the whole process. And shock ourselves with Trump’s last day of testimony. We share some local info about trips from Buenos Aires to Colonia, Uruguay. While on local topics, we gross ourselves out about the mosquito proble...

The Velvet Hammer Episode 1 : welcome to the first ever episode of The Velvet Hammer. In this pilot, we open with world news and lifestyle as expats living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We gripe about the mosquitos swarming the city and a nuclear option scientists are using to combat them. We comment about the local policies of new president Milei and the effect he's having on the local economy....