Podcasts
Stories of Transformation: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail with Anthropologist and Author Jason De León
In this episode of Stories of Transformation, we (Baktash Ahadi) discuss Jason De León's latest book, "Land of Open Graves" - the "culmination of six years of research" by De León to uncover the reality on the ground at the United States-Mexico border. Jason shares some of the countless artifacts that he found in his research mission through the Sonoran Desert. We also discuss the current situation unfolding on the border of Mexico and the United States - the sobering reality of the human trafficking "industry". Finally, Jason shares his outlook on the future of the issue of clandestine migration, and what we can do to help make the world a better, more welcoming place for all. May 10, 2021.
Latin[ish], Ep. #61: The Land of Open Graves (Jason De León)
Jason is a professor of anthropology and Chicana, Chicano & Central American Studies at UCLA. He is also executive director of the Undocumented Migration Project, as well as the author of 'The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail.' September 3, 2020.
The Radical Zone, S. 1, Ep. #7:
Electoral Politics & Immigration Rights with Jason De León
The COVID-19 pandemic has made things complicated around the world, and America has been equally affected by this global health crisis and the impact it has had on society. The radical Zone Podcast brought back professor Jason De Leon to help us understand and decipher immigration rights and electoral politics in America. In this episode, we dive deep into issues of diversity and differences between various minority groups in America in context of the political build up towards the upcoming national election. Jason De Leon also provides his professional thoughts and opinions about the re-opening of universities and other academic institutions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. August 4, 2020.
Immigration & Democracy, S. 1, Ep. #3:
Hostile Terrain: Missing on the Migrant Trail
We know that more than 3,200 people have gone missing since the 1990's to the present day in the Sonora Desert, Arizona alone – but what does that mean? And how do you document atrocities happening to people who are, by the very nature of their plight, undocumented? In today’s conversation, we talk to archaeologist turned anthropologist Professor Jason De León, from UCLA, about what it looks like to cross a border, and what kind of traces people leave behind in the past and present. We also introduce you to a new global exhibition, Hostile Terrain 94. July 22, 2020.
The Radical Zone, S. 1, Ep. #3:
Migration & US/Mexico Border conversations with Jason De León
In this Episode, TRZ is so excited to tap into great wisdom of Jason De Leon on issues Immigration and Migration. Jason De León is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana, Chicano, and Central American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, a 501 (c)(3) committed to documenting and raising awareness about the violent social process of clandestine migration through a combination of anthropological research, education, arts initiatives, and public outreach. De León is Head Curator of Hostile Terrain 94, a global participatory exhibition focused on memorializing those who have lost their lives while migrating to the United States through the Sonoran Desert of Arizona that will take place in 130 locations on six continents through the fall of 2021. July 8, 2020
Ohio Habla, Ep. 108: Hostile Terrain 94
Dr. Jason de León, professor of Anthropology at UCLA, talks to us about the Undocumented Migration Project (UMP), a long-term study of clandestine border crossing that uses a combination of ethnographic, archaeological, visual, and forensic approaches to understand this phenomenon in a variety of geographic contexts including the Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona, Northern Mexican border towns, and the southern Mexico/Guatemala border. Within the UMP, we discussed Hostile Terrain 94 (HT94), a participatory art project. April 26, 2020.
Why No One Understands Immigration, and Why We Need To with Jason De León
UCLA Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Undocumented Migration Project joins Adam Conover to uncover the truth about immigration across our southern border, how border militarization has been counterproductive and why it’s so critical to develop a full understanding of who the people crossing the border truly are. March 25, 2020.
Conversations in Anthropology, Ep. #29: Jason De León and Teresa Mares
We’ve got a roving mic on the loose. In this episode, that mic is in the hands of David Giles, as he roamed the halls of the 2019 joint meeting of the American Anthropological Association and Canadian Anthropology Society in Tkaronto/Toronto. There, David caught up with two bright minds of migration studies, namely Jason De León and Teresa Mares. What does an anthropological framework bring to the study of borders? How do you do an ethnography of borders? This episode covers some big contemporary questions. Jason is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies at UCLA, and Director of the Undocumented Migration Project (UMP), a long-term study of clandestine border crossing on the Mexico-USA border. Teresa is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont, and has conducted extensive ethnographic research on food access and food security among Latino/a in the United States. March 9, 2020.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Live podcast recording from Los Angeles at UCLA. February 1, 2020.
Between a Wall and a Hard Place: Jason De León
For the first episode of their new border series, Ali talks to Jason De León, a MacArthur Genius Fellow and author of The Land of Open Graves. Jason has explored the human consequences of deterrence policies through an in-depth anthropological study of crossings through the Sonoran desert — and how deterrence has failed to turn away border-crossers for two decades. His current project, Hostile Terrain 94, is a global exhibition that displays thousands of toe tags of people who have died or gone missing while traveling through the desert.Jason told Ali about the journeys of people who unsuccessfully made dozens of attempts to cross the border — and the objects and bodies left behind. January 15, 2020.
This Anthro Life, Ep. #127: Backpacks and Toe Tags: Life and Death on the US-Mexico Border w/ Jason De León
In this special interview, TAL’s Ryan Collins talks with scholar, activist and artist Jason De León about the ongoing humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border. In addition to these roles, de Leon is a MacArthur Fellow and National Geographic Explorer. He uses his platforms to create public dialogue, exhibitions, and media about undocumented migration, the human costs of the US immigration policy known as ‘deterrence through force.’ This very human conversation reveals the emotional toll, and sometimes trauma, that comes with precarious work on the border with undocumented migrants, smugglers, shady legality and deadly terrain as well as deep questions and reflections about privilege, position, and power.
August 28, 2019.
Heritage Voices, Ep. #32: Anthropology of the US-Mexico Border
On today’s episode Jessica hosts Dr. Jason De León, professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. De León talks about how he found himself at a cross roads with traditional archaeology and completely changed his career to better match his values. We discuss his work with the Undocumented Migration Project, conducting archaeological, ethnographic, and forensic anthropology methods to better understand the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as his Hostile Terrain exhibition. We talk about the complicated ethics involved, civil disobedience in the face of injustice, representation, and what we can all do in the face of this structural violence. A fascinating look into how to use anthropology to address current issues in a new way. August 20, 2019.
Cultures of Energy, Ep. #156:
Jason De León
Dominic and Cymene wonder whether there isn’t some way to make the academic job market experience slightly less spirit-killing on this week’s podcast. Then (14:36) we are most fortunate to get U Michigan anthropologist Jason De León (http://undocumentedmigrationproject.com) on the phone to talk about his book The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail (U California Press 2015) and its exploration of “desert necroviolence” in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. We talk about the long-standing U.S. “prevention through deterrence” border policy, its use of landscape as weapon, how multispecies relations and nonhuman forces factored so significantly into the story of migration he wanted to tell, and whether the Trump regime has altered previous patterns of necroviolence. We discuss governmental discourse on the desert as killer, the materiality and industry of undocumented border migration, the phenomenology of migration and why migrants often say it’s impossible to go back. We ask Jason how climate change is figuring into his current comparative work on undocumented migration and he explains how the film Sleep Dealer may be more than science fiction. We close by talking about his new photoessay project on Honduran smugglers and hypermasculinity and why working with artistic collaborators is such an important strategy for reaching a wider public. December 13, 2018.