Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

Listen to author and columnist for the Financial Times, Simon Kuper, as he explains the history and politics of sports and their role in building communities. He also reveals his top three sports movies of all time.

As an alumni from both Oxford and Harvard, Simon is known for taking an anthropologic perspective to writing about sports. However, he has also written on all manner of topics including: currencies, politics, books, and cities for the Financial Times, The Observer, and the Guardian. He won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 1994 for his book Football Against the Enemy—later released in the United States as Soccer Against the Enemy. He published Ajax, The Dutch, the War: Football in Europe during the Second World War in 2003 and co-authored Soccernomics in 2009. He is currently writing a book on the history of Barcelona. 

Twitter: @KuperSimon

This will be the final episode of Two Gringos with Questions however you will be able to find additional content and future episodes from both the Canadian Council for the Americas and The Global Americans as they launch their own podcasts.

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Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

In this episode prolific author, Jay Parini, talks about his new book, BORGES AND ME: An Encounter, which recounts his time with with literary genius Jorge Luis Borges. He also shares a trove of stories including producing a feature film adaptation of his Gore Vidal biography with Michael Hoffman and Kevin Spacey.

Jay Parini has written six books of poetry and eight novels including New and Collected Poems, 1975-2015, The Art of Subtraction, Benjamin’s Crossing, The Damascus Road, The Apprentice Lover, The Passages of H.M., and The Last Station—the latter of which was translated into over thirty languages and made into an Academy Award-nominated film.

However, he is probably best known for his biographies which range from John Steinbeck, Robert Frost, and William Faulkner to Jesus. Other nonfiction works include The Art of Teaching, Why Poetry Matters, Promised Land: Thirteen Books that Changed America, and The Way of Jesus. 

He is the recipient of honorary degrees from Lafayette College, the University of Scranton, and Sewanee: The University of the South, and has received numerous fellowships and awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Chicago Tribune-Heartland Award.  He was the Fowler Hamilton Fellow at Oxford University as well as a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of London in 2005-2006.

Additionally, Parini writes articles and op-eds for various publications including The Guardian and The Chronicle of Higher Education, CNN, Salon, and The Daily Beast.

Beyond adapting his Gore Vidal biography into a feature film with director Michael Hoffman, starring Kevin Spacey and Michael Stuhlbarg, adaptations of Benjamin’s Crossing, The Damascus Road, and Borges and Me are also in production.

Parini currently lives in Weybridge, Vermont where he serves on the faculty of Middlebury College.

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Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

Award-winning Mexican journalist, author, and news anchor León Krauze shares his views with our Two Gringos regarding the lead up to the current political landscape, the relationship between AMLO and Trump, and the hope for a new generation of Mexican politicians.

León Krauze anchors for Univision’s, the nation’s premier Spanish-language station. He also hosts “En Boca de Leon”, a podcast that airs throughout the country, and as a columnist for the newspaper “El Universal de Mexico.”

Mr. Krauze is also the author of six books and has been published in The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, and many other publications in the United States and Mexico.

He has received various awards for his work, including six Emmy awards, two Golden Mics, two Edward R. Murrow awards, and a Los Angeles Press Club award. In 2011, Krauze was named Mexico’s “Journalist of the Year” by GQ magazine.

León Krauze tweets at @LeonKrauze.

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Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

Listen to Danielle Goldfarb discuss how Real-time Interactive Worldwide Intelligence (RIWI) was able to call the 2016 Presidential Election and Brexit results when most conventional pollsters got them wrong.

As Head of Global Research, Danielle Goldfarb analyzes RIWI’s predictive data feeds and develops new economic and analytics applications for RIWI technology across all global markets. Danielle’s research expertise is in global trade, emerging technologies, and the global digital economy. Before joining RIWI, Danielle held senior roles at several economic policy think tanks. She directed the Conference Board of Canada’s research centre on global commerce, and led trade and trade policy research at the C.D. Howe Institute. Maclean’s magazine has called Danielle one of Canada’s top trade experts. Danielle has an M.Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge University and a B.Comm. in Honours Economics from McGill University. (https://riwi.com/leadership-team/)  

See also her TEDx Toronto Talk on “The smartest way to predict the future.” https://riwi.com/research/tedxtoronto-the-smartest-way-to-predict-the-future/

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Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

Sascha Priewe joins Chris and Ken to discuss rethinking and reorienting our institutions to promote cultural diplomacy as critical practice. Priewe notes that an appreciation for cultural nuances can further foreign policy objectives and is all the more important in times of crisis, including during a pandemic.

Sascha Priewe is the Royal Ontario Museum’s (ROM) Associate Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships. In this role, he works on cross-departmental programs and projects that support the ROM’s strategic vision, and develops and manages new institutional partnerships with other cultural and academic institutions.

Previously, Sascha was the Managing Director – Culture Centres at the ROM and charged with sharing and making relevant the riches of the museum’s art and culture collections and curatorial research in archaeology, art history, anthropology and conservation. Before joining the ROM, he was the Curator of Chinese and Korean collections at the British Museum and served as a diplomat in the German Foreign Office. With a PhD in archaeology from the University of Oxford, his research has focused on Chinese art and archaeology, Korean art, museum studies and cultural diplomacy.

Sascha is a Co-Founder of the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI). He is also currently cross-appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of the History of Art at the University of Toronto, and is an Adjunct Associate Professor in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University. Sascha also serves on the Board of Directors of ICOM (International Council of Museums) Canada, and is a Senior Fellow of Massey College.

The post An interview with Sascha Priewe, Co-Founder of the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative appeared first on Global Americans.

Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

In this episode, Elizabeth J. Zechmeister, Director of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt University. Zechmeister talks to hosts Chris and Ken about public opinion in Latin America, polling during COVID-19 and more.

Dr. Elizabeth Zechmeister is a Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science and Director of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on comparative political behavior and public opinion, particularly in Latin America.

She has published articles in the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies, and Political Behavior, among other outlets. Dr. Zechmeister is co-author of Democracy at Risk: How Terrorist Threats Affect the Public (University of Chicago Press, 2009) and Latin American Party Systems (Cambridge University Press, 2010). She is co-editor of The Latin American Voter: Pursuing Representation and Accountability in Challenging Contexts (University of Michigan Press, 2015). 

In 2012, she was the recipient of the Vanderbilt A&S Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and in 2015 she received the Vanderbilt Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.

Professor Zechmeister received her B.A. from Loyola University Chicago, M.A. from University of Chicago in 1996, and her Ph.D. from Duke University in 2003. 

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Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

In this episode Valerie Steele, Director and Chief Curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, joins the Two Gringos podcast to talk about fashion in the time of COVID-19, the need for more diversity in the industry, the gatekeepers of the fashion world and more. 

Valerie Steele is an American fashion historian. She is the Director and Chief Curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and has held that position since 2003. As author, curator, and editor, she has been instrumental in creating the modern field of fashion studies and in raising awareness of the cultural significance of fashion. 

Steele is author or co-author of more than two dozen books, including Paris Fashion: A Cultural History, Women of Fashion, Fetish: Fashion, Sex and Power, and Fashion Designers A-Z: The Collection of The Museum at FIT. Her articles have been published in a range of periodicals from Vogue to the Yale Journal of Criticism.

She has appeared on many television programs, including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Undressed: The Story of Fashion. Described in The Washington Post as one of fashion’s brainiest women and by Suzy Menkes as The Freud of Fashion, she is listed as one of The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry in the Business of Fashion 500 (2014-present).

In 2002, Dr. Steele received the Iris Foundation Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Decorative Arts from the Bard Graduate Center. She was honored by the American Apparel and Footwear Association with its 2003 Artistry of Fashion Award, and served on a number of boards, including the Costume Society of America and the International Association for Costume. From 1985 to 1997, Dr. Steele taught fashion history in FIT’s School of Graduate Studies.

Dr. Steele earned her BA in History from Dartmouth University and her PhD in Modern European Cultural and Intellectual History from Yale University.

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Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

In this episode, your hosts Chris and Ken speak to Marsia Taha and Bertil Tøttenborg of Gustu, the Bolivian restaurant founded by Danish gastronomic entrepreneur Claus Meyer. The four talk about Bolivian wine, the restaurant missions to connect with rural communities and producers, and more. 

In 2012, Claus Meyer established his Melting Pot Foundation as a non-profit organization in Bolivia. Its main objective is exploring, revitalizing and promoting awareness of the cultural, natural and productive richness of Bolivia and the potential of its food heritage and gastronomic culture to make them a source for sustainable progress. 

Marsia Taha

Since 2017, Marsia Taha has been the Head Chef at Gustu, where she has pushed for the recreation of traditional Bolivian flavors with native products and a mix of modern and ancestral techniques. At Gustu, Taha combines her talent with a social objective: to make Bolivian gastronomy an engine of national socio-economic development. She joined the Gustu team in 2013.

Prior to her time at Gustu, Taha worked in several kitchens around Europe, and interned in Danish restaurants such as Studio and Geist. She participated in culinary competitions such as the Azteca Culinary Competition and the eliminatory phase for the Bocuse d’Or. Taha was regional semifinalist of the San Pellegrino Young Chef 2018.

Taha graduated from the First School of Hospitality and Tourism of Bolivia and the Canary Islands Center for Hotel Studies in Spain.

Bertil Tøttenborg

Bertil Tøttenborg is the Restaurant Manager and Beverage Director at Gustu. He joined the team in 2015. At Gustu, Tøttenborg developed a deep knowledge of the wines, distillates, craft beers and coffees that are produced in Bolivia. He has helped Gustu build greater partnerships with small producers and support the production of organic and biodynamic wines. Tøttenborg has experience working in prestigious Danish restaurants such as Geist, where he held the position of Head Sommelier. Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, he is a Certified Sommelier from the Copenhagen Wine Academy. 

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Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

In this episode, Wade Davis, Canadian anthropologist and ethnobotanist, joins the Two Gringos with Questions podcast. Davis talks to hosts Chris and Ken about logging and culture in Latin America, being the architect of your life, his upcoming book Magdalena: River of Dreams, and more.

Wade Davis is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker, most known for his work on indigenous cultures, and more specifically those in North and South America. He is currently Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. His latest book, Magdalena: River of Dreams will be out in September, 2020.

Davis was Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society (NGS) from 2000 to 2013. In recent years his work has taken him to East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Australia, Colombia, Vanuatu, Mongolia and the high Arctic of Nunuvut and Greenland.

Through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent over three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among fifteen indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations. Author of 22 books, including One River, The Wayfinders and Into the Silence, winner of the 2012 Samuel Johnson prize, the top nonfiction prize in the English language. His many film credits include Light at the Edge of the World, an eight-hour documentary series written and produced for the NGS.

Davis, one of 20 Honorary Members of the Explorers Club, is the recipient of 11 honorary degrees, as well as the 2009 Gold Medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the 2011 Explorers Medal, the 2012 David Fairchild Medal for botanical exploration, the 2015 Centennial Medal of Harvard University, the 2017 Roy Chapman Andrews Society’s Distinguished Explorer Award, the 2017 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration, and the 2018 Mungo Park Medal from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. In 2016, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2018 he became an Honorary Citizen of Colombia.

He has published over 200 scientific and popular articles on subjects ranging from Haitian vodoun and Amazonian myth and religion to the global biodiversity crisis, the traditional use of psychotropic drugs, and the ethnobotany of South American Indians. Davis has written for National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveler, The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and numerous other international publications.

Davis has worked as a logger, forestry engineer, white water guide, park ranger and hunting guide. He holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University.

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Global Americans and the Canadian Council for the Americas present “Two Gringos with Questions,” an interview series featuring political and cultural leaders from across the Americas.

In this episode, Daniel Coronell, President of Univision News, joins the Two Gringos with Questions podcast. Coronell talks to hosts Chris and Ken about the need to inform and provide critical analysis to an underrepresented population, what Univision is doing to get latinos to go out and vote, and more…

Daniel Coronell is President of Univision Noticias, the award-winning news division of Univision Communications Inc., the leading Hispanic media company in the United States and owner of the No. 1 Spanish-language network for 27 consecutive broadcast seasons. In this role, Coronell leads Univision’s news division, which is committed to informing one of the country’s youngest and fastest growing demographic across all media platforms, including TV, Radio, and digital.

Prior to joining Univision, Coronell served as editor-in-chief of the national newscast Noticias Uno, as well as News Director for the NTC and RCNTV national newscasts in Colombia. For over 15 years he was a columnist for Semana magazine in Colombia, from which he was fired on April 1, 2020— via Whatsapp message. This wasn’t the first time Coronell had been fired from the magazine. In May, 2019, his column was cancelled for what he says was retaliation over an opinion piece criticizing the magazine for failing to publish a report on policies by Colombia’s Defense Ministry that could have restarted extrajudicial killings in the country. Two weeks later, Coronell was rehired. 

Coronell was a professor at Universidad Javeriana, Universidad Externado de Colombia and at the Universidad de los Andes post-graduate school of journalism. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at Stanford University as well as researcher and Senior Visiting Scholar at University of California, Berkeley.

Coronell has been recognized with the Colombian Simon Bolivar journalism award on six occasions and, in 2009 was granted the highest award for a TV investigative report by the Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano—Cemex, for “Un Crímen casi perfecto” (An Almost Perfect Crime) together with a team of journalists from Noticias Uno.

He was named one of the ten top leaders in Colombia by the Leadership and Democracy Foundation. Coronell is recognized as one of Colombia’s most influential columnists during the past decade.

He has a degree in journalism from Universidad Externado de Colombia and has completed several post graduate studies in Switzerland and Spain.

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