Investigating border deaths in the shadow of US election

In this episode we take you behind the scenes of our latest U.S.-Mexico border investigation, Drownings and Deterrence in the Rio Grande.

The river separating the US and Mexico has become a graveyard for migrants, many of whose deaths are never recorded by authorities on either side of the border. During a year where the border became central to US elections, we collaborated with Washington Post and El Universal to collect and analyse data on drowning deaths, uncovering the human death toll of the militarisation of the border.

In this episode you’ll hear some of the stories of those who drowned along the river. We talked to Lighthouse editor Melissa del Bosque about how we got the data, and what the findings of the investigation say about the reality of the border post-election.

This episode is a collaboration with The Border Chronicle.

You can also listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YoutTube.

Hosts: Beatriz Ramalho da Silva, Tessa Pang
Sound design, mixing and editing: Spoovio – Audiovisual Productions