The continuing controversy over building a wall between Mexico and the U.S. has gotten so noisy that it’s easy to lose sight of how immigration debates are playing out in other countries. In fact, migration has become the defining political issue for many European countries. It’s overturned governments, fueled the Brexit vote and threatened to split apart the European Union. And the politics are complicated; they don’t always play out along the same left/right split as they often do in the U.S.
For this week’s show, we wanted to hear a lot of different perspectives, so we reached out to people from around the world: a violinist who fled Syria; a German journalist who lives in England; an American artist and activist; an undocumented Mexican writer living in the U.S.; a global strategist born in India who now lives in Singapore; and a British novelist from an immigrant family.
It’s a rich mix of personal stories, political analysis and impassioned arguments. Working on this episode deepened my understanding of immigration and the history of national borders. I hope you enjoy the show!
—Steve