Episode 60 - Drawn Apart

Invisible, but they define our world. Borders are the lines that limit us as we live our lives and as we increasingly feel the frictions they cause, it brought us to wonder: where did these things comes from anyway? A look back through history shows that what we take for granted may in fact be ridiculous, that lines on a map can be a world changing invention, and that things that feel as old as civilization may have surprisingly recent origins. Join us this week as we draw a line in the sand and begin working towards tearing down the myths, preconceptions, and assumptions we share about the lines that divide us.

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Chapters

  • 06:58 Evolution of Border Concepts
  • 37:38 Modern Map Origins
  • 44:52 The Question of National Identity
  • 57:44 Freeports and Free Flowing Capital
  • 1:04:13 UK Home Office Incompetence
  • 1:17:48 Indigenous People on the Margins
  • 1:24:58 Who moves anyway?
  • 1:29:09 The C Word
  • 1:32:12 No Man's Land

Music

Imidiwan MaTenam from Tassili (2011) by Tinariwen

Lyrics

What have you got to say, my friends

About this painful time we're living through?

You've left this desert where you say you were born,

You've gone and abandoned it

We live in ignorance and it holds all the power

The desert is jealous and its men are strong

While it's drying up, green lands exist elsewhere

We live in ignorance

And it holds all the power

Maps

Sources

Journal article on mapping and borders: Mapping the Sovereign State: Technology, Authority, and Systemic Change

Wikipedia entries:

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Zweig

@book{blaeu_1665, title={Atlas Maior}, publisher={Joan Blaeu}, author={Blaeu, Joan}, year={1665}}

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Published 07-02-2019 01:11