How Borders Shape Our World

In a special episode of the Here & Now podcast, we consider borders — the dividing lines in our world. Development economist Michael Clemens tells us that easing border restrictions would double world GDP, as workers move to countries where they can be more productive. Also, we learn more about a musical ensemble that couldn't get the recognition it deserved until the Iron Curtain came down: The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices, formerly known as the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir. We discuss the image of borders in literature and film with Arizona State University professor Claudia Sadowski-Smith, and hear from Mary Ann Mendoza, whose son Brandon was killed in 2014 after his police car was hit by an intoxicated driver who was in the U.S. illegally. And we close with another personal story: the opportunity that drove one young man to leave El Salvador and enter the U.S. illegally when he was 15 years old.