How Bad Bunny Fuses Activism and Global Superstardom

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 6 February 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

One week ahead of his much-anticipated Super Bowl performance, Bad Bunny made history when he won the first Grammy for album of the year for a Spanish-language record. He used his acceptance remarks to admonish cruel immigration enforcement, uplift immigrants and shout out his native Puerto Rico. As scholars Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau, point out in their new book, “P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance,” the reggaetonero has never shied away from infusing politics into his musical career. Díaz and Rivera-Rideau, also creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus,” join us to break down Bad Bunny’s music and activism. Guests: Vanessa Díaz, associate professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, Loyola Marymount University; co-founder, Bad Bunny Syllabus; co-author, "P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance" Petra Rivera-Rideau, associate professor and chair of the American Studies Department, Wellesley College; co-founder, Bad Bunny Syllabus; co-author, "P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from Star One Credit Union. Give your savings account the love it deserves.
0:07.9	When you keep your money with Star One, you keep more of your money. Star One Credit Union in your best interest.
0:15.8	From KQED. Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. I had a problem with this show. As I was getting ready yesterday, I kept putting on bad bunny tracks. First, in the car, picking up the kids, put on Titi Me Periganto, of course, which the middle schoolers love. As I was trying to listen and think, suddenly everyone was dancing in their seats and I was too
0:37.6	and we're all kind of singing sort of, which I'd know of you.
0:40.5	Like who could focus?
0:42.1	Then at home later after dinner, I was like, okay, I got to finish up.
0:46.0	But then we put on DTMF and the plane I hit and instantly my whole family was dancing.
0:51.5	My daughter cleared all the chairs from the table and was literally
0:54.5	dancing on it and around it and with it. What a musician. What a memory. And everywhere I've ever
1:01.0	heard Bad Bunny, things like this have happened. His music is irresistible. And even the right-wing
1:07.2	coated NFL Super Bowl needed the man who was probably the most popular musician in the world. But that's not all that Bad Bunny is. Our two guests today are academics who
1:17.9	have studied the phenomenon of Bad Bunny. We can't say the title of their book on the air, though
1:22.8	it's a very good title, but the subtitle is an argument, How Bad Bunny became the global voice of Puerto Rican
1:29.2	Resistance. Please welcome Petra Rivera-Riddo, who's an associate professor and chair of the
1:34.5	American Studies Department at Wellesley College. Welcome. Hi. And we've got Vanessa Diaz,
1:40.1	who is associate professor of Chicana, Chicano, and Latina Latino Studies at Loyola Merrimount University.
1:47.0	Welcome.
1:47.9	Thank you so much.
1:49.7	Okay, so we need to start the show with a little music.
1:54.2	What better way than to play the title track off the album, Debbie Tiradmas Photos, which is called DTMF.
2:00.2	Oh, joha my nonca's moan. the album debatered my photos which is called d t m f so all right this, I just want to hear about some of the kind of like
2:22.8	musicology of this song and this kind of folk music that has been incorporated, this
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.