The Rational Middle

Donald Trump may have lost re-election, but that's not stopping him from using his final weeks to further restrict legal immigration and make it harder on President Elect Joe Biden and a new Congress…

Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center examines the process of repairing damage to the immigration system and the hope for a renewal o…

Now that President Elect Joe Biden is hammering out his cabinet and agenda, Stan Marek, business owner and Rational Middle benefactor lays out his hopes on immigration reform leadership from the new …

Join co-hosts Gregory Kallenberg, Chris Lyon, and Loren Steffy as they discuss the outcome of the election and the precarious path forward for a Biden transition team and eventual administration. The…

Join host Gregory Kallenberg and guest Tony Payan of the Mexico Center at Rice University's James A. Baker, III Institute for Public Policy as they discuss the legislative and administrative ramifica…

In the second episode of this two-part series, host Chris Lyon continues the conversation with immigrant and employer Rodrigo Mondragon of Shreveport, Louisiana about his experience coming to the Uni…

Rodrigo Mondragon and his family came to the United States in the new millennium seeking a better life. He was reluctant to leave his home in Mexico, but what transpired in America would bring the tw…

Benjamin F. Jones, Faculty Director at Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative (KIEI), speaks with host Loren Steffy about his new study on the relationship between immigration and the job…

Jeremy Robbins, executive director of New American Economy (NAE), joins host Loren Steffy to explore how communities can create a more welcoming community through services and infrastructure like Off…

Join the hosts for a 2020 roundup during the 50th episode. We look back at the first 50 episodes of The Rational Middle Podcast, kicking off season 2 of The Rational Middle Documentary Series, the pa…

Loren C. Steffy, an author and the executive producer of The Rational Middle of Immigration documentary series, speaks with host Chris Lyon about the release of his new book "Deconstructed: An Inside…

Dr. Ruth Ellen Wasem has just completed a major study of Trump's asylum policies. In her findings, she breaks down the kinds of actions his administration takes into three distinct categories which h…

Children are the future of our country and our world. How we welcome immigrant children and children of immigrant parents will define the course our nation takes. Dr. Robert Sanborn, President and CE…

This morning we are announcing the premiere episode of season 2 of our documentary video series on immigration in association with Children at Risk, an organization which serves as a catalyst for cha…

Dr. Linda Lopez, former Chief of the Office of Immigrant Affairs in Los Angeles under Mayor Eric Garcetti. She talks about her experience in cultivating a more welcoming community through creation of…

It is often easy to forget how integrated into American society undocumented immigrants are, but Carlos Aguilar's journey is proof positive that they can have a positive economic and cultural impact …

As the administration continues to push hard against immigration, esteemed professor Dr. Michael E. Webber of the University of Texas at Austin recounts his experience with immigrants in academia and…

Randy Capps is Director of Research for U.S. Programs at the Migration Policy Institute and he sits down with us to discuss the varying perspectives on costs of the undocumented population in America…

Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) talks with Rational Middle's Gregory Kallenberg about the opportunity that immigration brings to our country and…

Today we talk about the wall on the southern border of the United States — its efficacy and impact — with Dr. Luz Maria Garcini, a scholar at the Center for the United States and Mexico and an Assist…