Behind the Bastards / It Could Happen Here Weekly 211 (Dec 6, 2025): Episode Summary

Overview of the Episode

This episode of Behind the Bastards (It Could Happen Here Weekly 211) offers a profoundly intimate and unflinching look at the lives and struggles of migrants, particularly in the context of the current (2025) US political climate. Centering mainly on the story of Primrose, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker, and her daughter Kim, the episode uses first-person accounts, on-the-ground reporting, and expert legal commentary to illustrate both the human and systemic experiences of migration. The hosts contrast deeply reported personal stories with broader trends, shifting political realities under a renewed Trump administration, historical analysis, current news, and community activism.

Main Themes

• The perilous journey and lived trauma of migrants from Africa, South America, and beyond.
• The dehumanizing forces of borders, state violence, and media indifference.
• The collapse of asylum and legal protections in the US under Trump 2.0.
• Community solidarity and the small-scale victories, both legal and personal, migrants and their supporters achieve.
• Historical continuity of anti-migrant violence and erasure, from Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee” to contemporary media.
• Calls for ordinary people to act in solidarity as institutions fail.

Key Discussion Points

1. Primrose and Kim’s Journey: From Zimbabwe to the Border (03:27–35:19, recurring)

• Primrose fled Zimbabwe due to political persecution, violence, and deep economic collapse.
  • "In Zimbabwe, they can even kill you... I lose a lot of friends. Kidnapped, killed me also... They even tortured me." (58:45)
  • Even her daughter's father disappeared amid the violence.
• The journey went through South Africa (with severe xenophobic violence), Brazil, Colombia, Panama (crossing the dangerous Darien Gap), through Central America, and Mexico.
  • "I was scared to stay in Mexico... so they took us under the bridge, I think the sewage. We were walking with our stomach, like, under the bridge... till we get to USA and Mexican border." (04:04–04:41)
  • "The journey was tough, really, really tough... I don't even recommend someone to say, use Darien... I was crying. I was like, God, I don't know my family, and my family, they don't know where I am right now." (24:44–25:28)
• Frequent encounters with kidnapping, sexual assault, extortion by smugglers and Mexican officials, and cartel violence.
  • Kidnapped in Guadalajara: held for $15,000 ransom (26:38–28:17).
  • Kim (daughter) learned Spanish for survival, crucial during their captivity.

Notable Quote

“I want to just put myself in the water. Then I can just go both... I was regretting myself. I was crying. I was like, God, I don't know my family, and my family, they don't know where I am right now.” – Primrose (25:14)

2. Brutality, Erasure, and the Media: Migrants as “Stories” Not People (54:32–56:28)

• Discussion of a viral video: Primrose falling from the border wall, breaking her leg. Media coverage reduces her to “one woman,” omitting her name and story, echoing historic erasure (e.g., 1948 Los Gatos plane crash and Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee”).
  • “I’m not even happy. Yes, I know people, they make money with my video... A lot of people, they even don’t know where I am. But because of that video, they went to disturb my mom... She just moved.” (54:32–55:39)
• The reporting is extractive, for “page views,” failing to capture the reality of trauma, persecution, or humanity.

Notable Quote

“I was running for my life. But people, they just comment whatever they want. That video, even now, I’m not even happy…” – Primrose (54:36)

3. Historical Context: “Deportee,” the Los Gatos Crash, and Migration (36:58–54:32)

• Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee” serves as a thread linking historic and current US neglect, brutality, and erasure of migrant stories.
  • Detailed recounting of the 1948 Los Gatos crash, burial of unnamed migrants, and decades-later memorialization.
  • “Three quarters of a century later, reporting hasn’t got any better… The people who die for the American dream are totally ignored in the coverage of migration.” (52:24)

4. Collapse of Asylum and Legal Protections Under Trump (82:53–117:39)

• The Trump administration signs orders to:
  • Cancel CBP1 appointments and ban most asylum.
  • Resume wall construction, increase enforcement, and mass deportations.
  • Use Section 212(f) and 235 powers to “self-deport” asylum seekers, expedited removals, and circumvent due process.
• Primrose and Kim detained at ICE check-ins, endure bureaucratic hell, GPS tracking, and the threat of indefinite detention or deportation.
  • "Then they took me to Santana. We were just sitting. Not even one ICE officer come talk to me. ... I was crying, to be honest." (96:59–105:00)
• Lawyer Kirsten Zitlau explains legal changes: unprecedented self-deportation orders, hearings stacked against migrants, clock-stopping on work cards, double jeopardy with repeated removals.
  • “Judges are sending out these notices with routine other orders… It’s obvious they’re fighting their case. So it’s one of the things where you just feel very strongly this administration’s influence.” (86:21)

5. Detention and Survival (105:24–117:39)

• Life in ICE detention centers: language isolation, poor food, depression, boredom, psychological harm.
  • "We were just sitting. ... Depression... I think it's depression. So they put me in depression pills till I get it out." (111:40–111:51)
• The threat of “self-deportation” as official policy: forms regularly left in cells, pressure and rudeness from officers.
  • “He said, I don't care. Even if they kill you, I don't even care.” (114:31–115:07)
• Eventually, with massive community and legal support, Primrose and Kim are released, though left in precarious status, unable to work, and haunted by surveillance and instability.

6. Grassroots Solidarity: Ordinary People vs. Institutional Violence (127:04–149:08)

• Community members raise funds, offer housing (notably “Matt,” a podcast listener), buy books, give rides, form mutual aid.
  • "I'm just a normal person who listens to a lot of podcasts... I got into that mode where I couldn't not finish it. I was absolutely hooked and just needed to get all the way to the end, and was just really, really moved by the whole thing." – Matt (129:04)
  • Matt takes in Primrose and Kim, reflects on risks and rewards, the reality of action: "It's not as hard as you might think to help folks like Primrose..." (148:41)
• Emphasis that solidarity isn’t limited to “saviors” but woven through mutual acts—rides, food, legal aid, companionship, direct action at ICE raids.

Notable Quote

“There are millions of people who are mad right now, but anger alone is not going to help us take care of people. That's what the priority should be right now.” (147:01)

7. Comparative Migrant Stories (65:42–76:43)

• Testimonies from Anouk, Nepalese migrant (“We need to be kind”) and Rose, Bolivian (“There are children, and they are really the ones who suffer the most on this journey. ... I have a dream to go there...")
• Sharp, empathetic contrast between their dreams and the denial of those dreams through policy.

8. Policy, News, and Current Events Segment (155:15–209:45)

• Rapid-fire updates and explainer on:
  • US drone strikes, drone “fog of war” claims (185:26–189:49)
  • National Guard shooting, attacks on Afghan migrants, and new restrictions on asylum from “high-risk countries.” (175:10–183:54)
  • Sanctuary law nuances, “170 serious crimes” list, ICE detainers in NYC, and how National Guard might be utilized for deportation raids (191:05–205:36)
  • Chilling speech/freedom of religion discourse: Oklahoma University instructor online pile-on after grading a non-cited essay (208:14–219:45)
  • The rise of prediction/betting markets in media coverage (220:11–224:18)
  • Repeated emphasis on the need for clarity, transparency, and public organizing versus government power.

9. Closing Reflections and a Call to Care (125:29–150:00; 152:12–155:15)

• Returning to the work of memorializing the lost, acting in the face of cruelty, not letting migrants be invisible.
  • “Our politics shouldn’t be about anger. It should be about love. Now more than ever, it’s important to remember that we don’t act on our love and our solidarity with angry tweets. We act on it by taking care of people.” (125:29)
• Final word to Primrose, expressing gratitude for community support and hope for Kim’s future:
  • “Even if I say I can me myself, I can say thank you. I don’t even know how to say thank you, But I’m just. God knows God. Please bless those people who put hands on me and Kim. I thought maybe I’m alone, but I realized I’m not alone here. … My life is like changing now.” (152:12)

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• “That’s what strong borders means. It means brave little girls disappearing, so a politician who knows nothing of their struggles can point to a statistic.” – James (13:10)
• “We can come from a broad range of perspectives and still get to the same place. When someone needs help, you help them. And if we all do that, then when we need help, someone will help us.” (150:16)
• “…what is asylum for if not for that?” – Matt, on Primrose’s case (139:11)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:27–26:19: The journey from Zimbabwe, border crossing narratives
• 26:38–34:59: Kidnapping in Mexico; survival, resistance, and community
• 36:58–54:32: “Deportee” and historical context of migrant erasure
• 54:32–56:28: Media exploitation of migrant trauma (viral video)
• 58:14–64:50: Primrose on root causes (Zimbabwe, South Africa)
• 82:53–117:39: US asylum policy collapse and ICE detention experience
• 127:04–149:08: Community solidarity, mutual aid, and the “Matt” story
• 152:12–154:31: Primrose’s gratitude and hope
• 155:15–209:45: Weekly news (sanctuary laws, ICE raids, drone strikes, prediction markets, campus free speech)

Tone and Language

The tone is both compassionate and urgent, blending personal testimony, investigative reporting, and direct calls for action. The language balances analytical clarity with raw, emotional honesty, honoring the voices and agency of migrants like Primrose while indicting state and media complicity.

Summary Takeaway

This episode is a searing portrait of forced migration and survival in an era of resurgent authoritarianism and border violence. Yet, at its core, it is a testament to the enduring possibility of human solidarity—reminding listeners that the fight for justice, dignity, and the American Dream is won and lost not in courtrooms or legislative chambers, but in daily acts of care, resistance, and mutual aid.