I started thinking about this website before Donald Trump became president and, at the time, asking people to be better seemed like a more reasonable request, but Trump happened and now I feel like I’m just trying to keep up with all the nonsense he’s doing every day. It’s hard to choose one issue to post about when practically everything feels urgent and in need of betterness.
For now, let’s talk about immigration (and the border wall).
If you just want to read all the deets, the Skimm has summarized basically everything here. And NPR has a great article on How America’s Idea Of Illegal Immigration Doesn’t Always Match Reality.
And if you want to get some facts from podcasts, I suggest:
- Planet Money: When The Boats Arrive
- Stuff You Missed in History Class: Bracero Program
- Hidden Brain: The Huddled Masses and the Myth of America
- Science Vs: Immigration
“Overall, people who come to the U.S. from other countries ultimately make their new home a more prosperous place.” – Science Vs. host, Wendy Zukerman
But just knowing facts doesn’t do much for our perceptions or worldviews. Personal stories and empathy are much more effective for that. So here are some podcasts that share these types of individual stories relating to immigration.
- Strangers: The People Next Door
- Radio Diaries: The Border Wall
- Death, Sex, & Money: Diane Guerrero on Debt & Deportation
- 99% Invisible: Sanctuary Church & State
- Maeve in America: The Dan-el Episode – Odyssey of the Undocumented
- StoryCorps: Being Human, There or Here
- Another Round: Immigrant Stories
- This American Life: Will I Know Anyone At This Party?
- Code Switch: Who Is A Good Immigrant, Anyway?
All of these podcasts have the highest production quality and I definitely recommend them, regardless of the subject. These are podcasts I listen to on a semi-regular to very consistent (weekly) basis. In some ways, that means the list is less biased because I didn’t just search for podcasts that talk about immigration and confirm my preconceived opinion (which, if you haven’t guessed, is that Trump needs to back the heck off and stop making false claims that these restrictions and deportations are in the interest of national security). On the other hand, I’ve already selected them as worth listening to (in general) based on the filter of my worldview. Regardless, please listen.
And go forth and be better.
Just Be Better 