Once the murder capital of the world, El Salvador finds itself grappling with both gang violence and geopolitical shifts. Between 2013 and 2016, murder rates soared due to gang wars and systemic extortion. President Nayib Bukele, emerging from this tumult, removes the safety catches from the government and actually tackles the issue. However, all of this is ... Show More
May 27
131 - Who Controls Eastern Congo?
The last few years have seen a dramatic shift in the balance of power in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with Rwandan-backed militias advancing in North Kivu, Ugandan forces launching cross-border operations, and Western powers quietly increasing their presenc ... Show More
1h 42m
Aug 2023
El Salvador: The rise of the ‘world’s coolest dictator’
Not long ago, the tiny nation of El Salvador had the highest murder rate in the world. Now, it has the highest incarceration rate. President Nayib Bukele – who has described himself as “the world’s coolest dictator” – has detained 70,000 gang suspects without trial. His supporter ... Show More
28m 8s
Jun 2024
I, Claudia: Mexico’s new leader
Claudia Sheinbaum has been elected Mexico’s first female president. Now the real fight begins: crime is rocketing, corruption is rampant and the country is divided. Hurricane season has arrived in the Atlantic, and America’s coastal states are braced for a stormy one—thanks to fo ... Show More
22m 14s
Feb 2024
El Salvador Decimated Gangs. But at What Cost?
El Salvador has experienced a remarkable transformation. What had once been one of the most violent countries in the world has become incredibly safe.Natalie Kitroeff, the New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, discusses the cost of that transf ... Show More
29m 7s
Jun 2024
I, Claudia: Mexico’s new leader
Claudia Sheinbaum has been elected Mexico’s first female president. Now the real fight begins: crime is rocketing, corruption is rampant and the country is divided. Hurricane season has arrived in the Atlantic, and America’s coastal states are braced for a stormy one—thanks to fo ... Show More
22m 14s
Jul 2023
Trading criminality for autocracy: El Salvador
A country that was not long ago gripped by gang violence and crime is slowly emerging from fear, thanks to a brutal roundup of young men by a wildly popular, social-media-savvy president. The streets may be safer, but now it is El Salvador’s democracy that is in danger—and neighb ... Show More
25m 54s
Jul 2023
Trading criminality for autocracy: El Salvador
A country that was not long ago gripped by gang violence and crime is slowly emerging from fear, thanks to a brutal roundup of young men by a wildly popular, social-media-savvy president. The streets may be safer, but now it is El Salvador’s democracy that is in danger—and neighb ... Show More
25m 54s