We are Martin Brown and Lucas Sastre, graduate students at Florida International University and co-founders of Southern Signals, a podcast of FIU’s Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC). Southern Signals grew out of a simple idea: bringing valuable conversations about Latin America and the Caribbean into a casual setting. Our guests are policymakers and interdisciplinary scholars working in the region, and with us, they aren’t presenting; they’re sharing their thoughts with people who share their passion for the region. We keep these conversations as informal as possible so guests have space to explain how they came to their work and what they see for the region ahead. We want Southern Signals to be an entry point that helps students engage with the region through casual conversations.
Martin is pursuing a Master of Arts in Global Affairs and works as a research coordinator at FIU’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, where he researches security and strategic competition in Latin America. Lucas is pursuing a Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and works as a graduate researcher for the Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center, where he assists with local economic and social projects. Though we came to this project from different directions, we share a desire to promote a region we hold dear, known for its political and sociocultural uniqueness.
We hope Southern Signals will become a lasting LACC initiative with its own identity, carried forward by each new group of students dedicated to bringing the region to light. As we add to the Center’s growing digital library, which keeps students informed about the region, we hope Southern Signals is only the beginning of student scholars’ involvement in championing Latin America and the Caribbean. We are grateful to LACC for giving this idea a home, and we invite you to listen and tell us what topics you'd like to hear about next!
If you are an FIU student interested in joining the team, feel free to reach out!