As someone who cares deeply about the Caribbean, I’ve been consuming news about Venezuela non-stop for the past two weeks. I now know more about terms like “heavy crude” and Venezuela’s oil industry than I ever thought I would. Between the play-by-play of the U.S. military operation and the scramble for the country’s resources, there’s something missing. What’s the emotional temperature in Venezuela right now, as its people face this latest crisis?
Cue the music… and this recent Alt.Latino episode. Hosts Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre team up with NPR’s Isabella Gomez Sarmiento to tell that story: the one that chronicles the hopes and scars of a society that has long been pushed to the brink. The episode offers an intimate portrait in seven songs. Think local hits, a theme song from a telenovela, hip hop, a pop ballad — this playlist captures what it’s felt like to live through three decades of turmoil.
The track list kicks off with a couple of upbeat tropical tunes that became well known in the 90s and early aughts. It’s the musical backdrop to the rise of socialist leader Hugo Chávez and his drive for reforms in a society racked by inequality. The music turns dark after that. Iconic rapper Canserbero ushers in a gritty new sound as Chavez’s self-styled revolution slides into increasing poverty, the dismantling of democracy and mass exodus.
The final track comes from an album released by expat band Rawayana just a couple of days before Chavez’s successor, Nicolás Maduro, was captured. The album title, “¿Dónde es el after?” asks where the after-party is. After decades of struggle, it lands as a hip-shaking plea for a dance floor free from oppression
Enjoy the playlist and sink into the history,
❤️🩹 Luis
P.S. If you’re looking for more of Isabella’s reporting on the power of music, she also went on It’s Been a Minute to discuss a new wave of protest songs on TikTok.
The week’s best episodes
…to share with that friend who obsesses over playlists.
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Two masters of confessional podcasting connect in this Wild Cardepisode. Jonathan Goldstein from Heavyweight sits down with Rachel Martin to discuss crying in airplanes and talking to strangers (at the same time), and how you’re never really too old to change.
👁️🗨️ Redefining the right to bear arms The Sunday Story challenges the notion that gun owners are exclusively white, rural, and Republican. National Correspondent Frank Langfitt reports on the growing number of people of color and LGBTQ folks turning to firearms to reclaim a sense of safety.
🎹 Who — or what — will be making our next favorite song?
From the synthetic voices flooding Spotify to the high-tech tools employed by flesh-and-blood musicians, KQED’s The Bay dives deep into the AI debate in the music industry.
➕The call of the wild (and the living room)
In this TED Radio Hour bonus episode, dog-loving host Manoush Zomorodi talks with linguist Jeffrey Reed about wolf howls. What can they teach us about our own pups — and maybe, just maybe, about human language as well?To get sponsor-free listening, sign up for NPR+
One to Watch
NPR’s Books We Love digs into Anthony Bourdain’s debut Kitchen Confidential. Critic-At-Large Eric Deggans and host B.A. Parker read between the lines on what may have been going on behind the kitchen doors.
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