Borderline

Economic collapse, political chaos, wildfires, protests, pandemic and then a devastating explosion. Lebanese journalist and expat Lynn Chouman talks about how she and her countrymen are dealing with it all, why resilience is a double-edged sword, and how one relates to a country that keeps pushing you away, yet calling you home.  ★ Support this podcast ★

Welcome to a new series of intimate conversations with global citizens, who talk about their identity, their choices and what home even means. This week, Janet Matta, an American working mom from Seattle, talks about leaving the United States and continuing a long American tradition – leaving your country to make a better life for the next generation.  ★ Support this podcast ★

What does the mishandling of the covid-19 crisis reveal of the United States? Canadian anthropologist, author, and National Geographic explorer Wade Davis wrote a blockbuster essay this summer, " The unraveling of America ," and hit a raw nerve.  He joins Borderline to discuss the grandeur and decadence of the United States, and what comes next if America is no longer a superpower. ★ Support this...

Australians abroad are stranded: 23,000 have registered their desire to come home urgently, but they can't. Ostensibly to reduce the spread of covid-19 and the burden on the country's quarantine system, the federal government has instituted flight caps that reduce international arrivals to a trickle. Only 4,000 people may enter the country every week, less than two hours' worth of inbound internat...

If we can work from home now, why not work from the road? A laptop and decent wifi is all many of us need. "To be able to work and live wherever you feel happiest and most productive," that's the digital nomad lifestyle as explained to me by Mandy Fransz . She started on that road herself a couple years ago and has become an advocate for remote work. On this week's episode, she explains how she ma...

How did a concept meant for counterterrorism become an immigration policy? Over the last decade, the UK set out to build a hostile environment that makes daily life a battle for many migrants and pushes even lawful ones into illegality.  Colin Yeo lifts the curtain on the British immigration system in his book "Welcome to Britain." He's my guest this week. We talked about the UK, and a bit about t...

The Trump administration has reinstated the rule that forbids international students from staying in the US if they are taking online classes only. The rule had been relaxed in the spring because of the covid-19 pandemic. Now despite institutions such as Harvard planning to go entirely online in 2020-21, the US government is telling students they must be in the classroom or back in their country....

The great divide between nationalists and globalists is the political story of our times. But are they that far apart? "What would a united world look like other than people feeling, on a global level, something like what they do about their countrymen?" asks Hassan Damluji , deputy director at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and author of " The Responsible Globalist: What Citizens of the Wo...

Universities have been battling it out to woo international students. Can they survive without them? Schools in the US and UK, but also now China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea... have been racing to attract international students from Asia, Eastern Europe or Africa, and cash in on a $300 billion market. Then Covid-19 came on the scene. I discuss the new normal with Jamie Kanki , who spent years...

Zach Honig, editor at large at The Points Guy and ultimate frequent flyer, shares how he plans to stay safe on planes, how airlines have abused customers during the pandemic and why you might want to stay local. "Those of us who are used to enjoying the journey as much as the destination are going to have to keep an open mind." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/borderlinepod/message ★...

A podcast for those whose lives straddle borders, with host Isabelle Roughol. Coming soon on all your favorite podcasting apps. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/borderlinepod/message ★ Support this podcast ★