The border isn’t a line on the periphery of the country, says Leah Cowan, author of Border Nation. It is a fog that covers all of society and can descend upon you at any time if you’re an immigrant or racialized as “other.” It wasn’t always thus and it can be ended, she insists. 

00:43 Intro

02:06 What are borders for?

04:12 Borders, capitalism and racism

08:41 Did borders ever truly disappear?

10:15 The border isn't on the periphery, it's everywhere

13:07 Immigration enforcement is invisible to the rest of society

19:25 How the border breeds crime and violence

23:38 Do borders do any good?

24:43 Immigrants don't owe you a thing

29:11 The case for abolishing borders

34:20 "The pandemic is a portal"

36:14 Outro

👀 The pandemic is a portal, by Arundhati Roy. The Financial Times. 2020. (free to read)

📚 Border Nation: A Story of Migration, by Leah Cowan. Pluto Press. 2021.

★ Support this podcast ★