Feet In 2 Worlds

FI2W Podcast: Dual Language Schools

In some New York City public schools, learning English doesn’t mean giving up your native tongue. There are about 90 dual language schools in New York City that aim to make students proficient in two languages. Categorized as bilingual programs, these schools are intended to strengthen students’ native language development while simultaneously teaching them English. 91 percent of the students at P.S. 24 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn are Latino and almost half are designated 'English Language Learners.' The school has won the trust of immigrant families by immersing the students in both English and Spanish, but its D.O.E report card was mixed. While the school struggled to meet D.O.E. standardized test goals, it won accolades for its success in child development. Fi2W reporter Ramaa Reddy Raghavan investigated the school's dual language program and in this podcast episode, she speaks to Fi2W executive producer John Rudolph about the challenges facing the immigrant students and their teachers.

FI2W Podcast: New newspaper seeks to serve Muslim-American community in New York

The Muslim Community Report just launched as both a newspaper and website. FI2w's John Rudolph speaks with the paper's editor, Arao Ameny and publisher Sheikh Moussa Drammeh about the mission and target audience of the new venture.

FI2W Podcast: Opposing Alabama's tough immigration law

The nation’s toughest law against undocumented immigrants is in Alabama.   Now the state is seeing an influx of visitors - people coming from around the country to oppose the law. On Tuesday a group of immigrants who are in the US illegally held a civil disobedience protest at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery.   Feet in Two Worlds reporter Aswini Anburajan spoke to protestors who had been arrested and then released by authorities. On Monday some 10 members of Congress – all Democrats from around the country -will hold a hearing at the Alabama State Capitol to highlight their opposition to the law. It was enacted earlier this year by Alabama’s Republican controlled legislature and signed by Republican Governor Robert Bently. Representative Yvette Clarke expects to be part of the congressional delegation, and she spoke with FI2W's John Rudolph.

FI2W Podcast: OurChinatown.org

Chinatown in lower Manhattan is not just about great dumplings and shopping. A new hyper-local news website aims to provide a fuller picture of the community and its residents. Jeff Yang, one of the creators of OurChinatown.org, joins FI2W's John Rudolph to talk about the project.

FI2W Podcast: A Taste of Little India

A lot of people think of Jackson Heights, Queens, as Little India. But it’s a lot more than that. Within just a few square blocks you can find food from virtually every corner of South Asia. As part of our series Food in Two Worlds, we’re in Jackson Heights where the variety of restaurants and food markets tells the story of South Asian immigrants in New York.   On 73rd and 74th Streets off Roosevelt Avenue you can see and taste how people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries have made their mark and adapted to life in the U.S.

FI2W Podcast: New Leaders in the Immigrant Rights Movement

The immigrant rights movement is changing.  Just a few years ago its main focus was convincing Congress to pass a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s immigration system.   That never happened, and today the emphasis has shifted to the DREAM Act, a bill that would provide a path to legal status for millions of young, undocumented immigrants.  Many of them were brought to the US as young children, and only learned they were in the country illegally when they tried to apply for a drivers license or a college loan.   The movement’s new leadership is drawn from their ranks.  In this podcast, you’ll hear from three of these young activists:

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who decided to reveal his illegal status in the New York Times Magazine.  He created an advocacy group called Define American.

Tanya Matos, a leader of the New York State Youth Leadership Council, a group that is pushing New York to pass a state version of the DREAM Act.   A year and a half ago she decided to publicly announce that she is an undocumented immigrant.

Juan Escalante, the communications director for Dreamactivist.org, who spoke to us by phone from Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he's in his 4th year of study.

FI2W Podcast: Latino Voters not very excited by Presidential candidates so far

Latino voters are just starting to focus on candidates running for President, but so far, they're not very excited by the choices. FI2W's John Rudolph talks to Pilar Marrero of La Opinion about Impremedia's latest poll of Latino voters.

FI2W Podcast: Yoni Ki Baat

South Asian women are taking to the stage and publicly talking about their sexuality in Yoni Ki Baat.  Inspired by Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monolgues, Yoni Ki Baat, is a grassroots movement of everyday women writing and performing stories about their relationships with sexuality in relation to their bodies, their culture and their lives.  In this podcast, Feet In Two Worlds reporter Aswini Anburajan is joined by Vandana Makker, who has helped write and produce Yoni Ki Baat performances for the past eight years out of San Francisco.

FI2W Podcast: Indian Americans take to the streets to protest corruption in India.

A modern day Mahatma Gandhi, Anna Hazare, has inspired a movement and led hunger strikes and mass protests to pressure the Indian government to pass a powerful anti-corruption bill. Joining FI2W reporter Aswini Anburajan to talk about the India Against Corruption movement is S. Mitra Kalita, a journalist and author, and Atul Kumar, who helped organize the first protests in support of the anti-corruption movement here in New York.

FI2W Podcast: A Visit to Maharlika Filipino Moderno

In this podcast, FI2W's John Rudolph and Cristina Pastor, founder and publisher of The FilAm.net, stop by the East Village to speak with Nicole Ponseca, general manager of Maharlika. Maharlika is a new Filipino pop-up restaurant whose mission is to showcase the national cuisine and culture of the Philippines.

FI2W Podcast: A Tale of Two Dairy Farms

A number of states have recently enacted tough news laws aimed at cracking down on undocumented immigrants.  Many of these measures were inspired by Arizona’s SB 1070, a law that makes it a state crime to be in Arizona without proper documents.  The courts have yet to make a final ruling on SB 1070, which was signed into law in April 2010.   But Arizona continues to be at the center of the immigration debate. In this podcast we take you back to the pre-SB 1070 era.  While the lines separating Arizona’s pro and anti immigrant advocates seemed to be hardening, reporter Valeria Fernandez, who is based in Phoenix, decided to look for common ground on immigration.  She found it in the state’s large dairy industry.  Here’s a story she produced in September 2009 for our radio partner, Latino USA.

FI2W Podcast: Getting to know Gov. Rick Perry and His Position on Immigration

In Texas, Rick Perry is a household name.  Now the rest of the country is getting to know the Texas governor as he runs for president. Perry’s record on immigration is more moderate than a number of his conservative rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.  So who is Rick Perry, and what has been his relationship with Latinos in Texas? Marisa Treviño, writer and publisher of the blog Latina Lista, has been following Rick Perry and the 2012 presidential race. She joins FI2W's John Rudolph on this week's podcast.

FI2W Podcast: NY Immigrant Communities 10 years after 9/11

So much is different in New York, in America, and around the world since the attacks of September 11, 2001.  And yet, the striving for a better life by immigrants continues. FI2W's John Rudolph is joined by three colleagues from New York’s immigrant and ethnic media to take a look over the past decade – what has changed for immigrants and what has remained the same.

FI2W Podcast: Bringing classical music and star power to inner city kids in Los Angeles

The Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles is getting a lot of attention these days.  Maybe you saw them on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno or performing with Stevie Wonder at the Hollywood Bowl. A few years ago the orchestra got a boost from classical music superstar Gustavo Dudamel.  He’s the dynamic young conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Dudamel got his start in Venezuela’s innovative youth music program called El Systema, which was also the inspiration for the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles. In this edition of the podcast we’re going back into the archives to bring you a story from February 2009, when Gustavo Dudamel and the members of the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles first met.  The reporter is Pilar Marrero, who, like Dudamel is from Venezuela.  Pilar writes for the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion.  Here’s the story she produced for our radio partner, Studio 360.

FI2W Podcast: Young Haitians under TPS find it harder to pursue their education in the US.

After last year’s earthquake, the Obama administration granted citizens of Haiti temporary permission to stay in the US while their country rebuilds.  But young Haitian immigrants soon discovered the reprieve has actually made it harder to pursue their dreams of success in the US. On this podcast, Martha St. Jean, a Feet in Two Worlds education reporting fellow, and Christina Bonne-Annee, who is an attorney working with young Haitians under TPS, speak with FI2W's John Rudolph about this issue.