Here is a selection of versions of Americas Decoded episodes from 2025, including the original commentary that was the basis for each.
Bad Bunny: Superbowl language hypocrisy
Original Digital Commentary: The Bad Bunny brawl exposes English-only hypocrisy — and Spanish-only hypocrisy
Full YouTube Horizontal 'Flagship' Video
Example of Long Vertical / Social Media Version - TikTok
@wlrnnews Tim Padgett: The hysteria over Bad Bunny's Super Bowl gig that we’re hearing from English-only militants shows a disregard for America's historical reality — but so does a Spanish-only mindset that many immigrants here still embrace. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett argues that that the controversy over giving the coveted half-time show to an artist who sings only in Spanish is not because America Firsters think not enough Americans speak Spanish - it’s because they are terrified that more than enough do. But he says he is just as tired of watching Spanish-only immigrants act like there’s nothing wrong with not speaking a word of English in the U.S. You can watch the full video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN’s YouTube channel on youtube.com/@WLRN or on WLRN.org/Decoded. You can read Tim’s digital commentary along with WLRN’s coverage of Americas news on WLRN.org/americas. Sign up for the Americas Report newsletter on WLRN.org/newsletters. WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station. #BadBunny #SuperBowl #SuperBowlLX #Trump #Latino #BilingualAmerica #politicalnews #USpolitics #NewsCommentary ♬ original sound - WLRN-News
Example of Short Clip for Social Media - Instagram Reel
View this post on Instagram A post shared by WLRN Public Media (@wlrn)
Example of Second Short Clip for Social Media - YouTube Shorts
'Venvasion': Will drugs be Trump’s Venezuela WMD?
Original Digital Commentary: Yes, everybody hates Maduro — but Trump should not turn drugs into Venezuela's WMD
Full YouTube Horizontal 'Flagship' Video
Example of Long Social Media Version - Instagram Reel
View this post on Instagram A post shared by WLRN Public Media (@wlrn)
Example of Short Clip for Social Media - TikTok
@wlrnnews OPINION: The U.S. military strike on a suspected Venezuelan narco-boat raises a troubling question: is Trump looking to use drugs as his version of weapons of mass destruction? On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, his online commentary series, Padgett worries that small victories like the recent military strike on an alleged Venezuelan boat could create bigger, Iraq-style temptations for Trump – with drugs as the reason he eventually seizes on to take an ill-fated regime-change leap. You can watch the full video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN.org/Decoded or on WLRN’s YouTube channel on youtube.com/@WLRN. You can read WLRN's Americas coverage on wlrn.org/Americas. WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.
♬ original sound - WLRN-News
Can Haiti’s historic World Cup win help end gang rule?
Original Digital Commentary: Grenadye Alaso! World Cup win showcases Haiti's real face — not the gang face
Full YouTube Horizontal 'Flagship' Video
Example of Long Social Media Version - TikTok
Example of Short Clip for Social Media - TikTok
@wlrnnews This is a clip from the latest episode of Americas Decoded, WLRN’s Americas Editor Tim Padgett’s online commentary series - you can watch the full video at WLRN.org/Decoded. This week: “Haiti's remarkable qualification for the 2026 soccer World Cup won't rescue it from the country's gangs — but it reminds us that Haiti undoubtedly is worth saving from that monstrous evil.” You can read WLRN's Americas coverage on wlrn.org/Americas. Sign up for Tim Padgett’s weekly newsletter Americas Report at wlrn.org/Newsletters. WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.
♬ original sound - WLRN-News
Economy: Milei triumphs, Trump fumbles
Original Digital Commentary: Milei shows Trump that populist bullies can triumph without tariffs
Example of Short Clip for Social Media - TikTok
@wlrnnews OPINION: Donald Trump admires Argentine President Javier Milei — so why is Trump pushing tariffs and economic policies so divorced from the ‘Milei Miracle’? WLRN’s Americas editor Tim Padgett continues to grimace at Milei’s vulgar and reactionary demagoguery, but admits that “his economic orthodoxy crusade has brought welcome order to Argentina’s fiscal chaos” and shows Trump that populist bullies can triumph without tariffs. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, his online commentary series, Padgett asks, “Why is our president pursuing an economic strategy so divorced from what’s made his Argentine amigo so successful?” You can watch the full video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN.org/Decoded or on WLRN’s YouTube channel on youtube.com/@WLRN. You can read WLRN's Americas coverage on wlrn.org/Americas. WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.
♬ original sound - WLRN-News
Bolsonaro's trial, Trump's Brazil tariffs
Original Digital Commentary: What spooks Trump in Brazil isn't the look into Bolsonaro's past — but his own
Example of Social Media Clip - TikTok
@wlrnnews OPINION. President Donald Trump is threatening to slap a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil unless that country’s Supreme Court stops what he calls the “witch hunt” ex-president Jair Bolsonaro is undergoing. The Trump ally is on trial in Brazil, accused of leading a coup plot to overturn the election he lost in 2022. On the latest episode of Americas Decoded, his online commentary series, WLRN’s Americas Editor Tim Padgett says the real reason for Trump’s “bullying” is that, should Bolsonaro be convicted, “it’ll only remind the world of the seditious behavior he was imitating: that’s Trump’s own alleged - and indicted - attempts to overthrow democracy.” You can watch the full video for this and other Americas Decoded commentaries on WLRN.org/Decoded or on WLRN’s YouTube channel on youtube.com/@WLRN. WLRN is South Florida’s NPR member station.
♬ original sound - WLRN-News
