It Could Happen Here

Episode: Darién Gap: One Year Later | Part Four: When Someone Needs Help

Date: December 4, 2025
Network: Cool Zone Media / iHeartPodcasts
Host(s): Not directly named in the transcript; central narrative voice is the show's main writer/reporter.

Episode Overview

This emotionally charged episode serves as the culmination of a multi-part series revisiting the Darién Gap and the lives of migrants one year after crossing it, with a focus on the power and necessity of community-based aid. The host highlights stories of everyday people who stepped up to support migrants—especially Primrose and her daughter Kim—against the backdrop of systemic indifference, state violence, and bureaucratic cruelty. The theme is clear: "When someone needs help, you help them." Through personal anecdotes, listener stories, and firsthand accounts from migrants themselves, the episode offers a moving reflection on solidarity, personal responsibility, and the limitations of institutional support in the U.S. immigration system.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bearing Witness and Remembrance

• Opening Story: The host describes a somber ritual—erecting a cross for Graciela Suncion Gomez Hernandez, a migrant who perished just yards from the border wall, underscoring migrant invisibility and the deadly consequences of deterrence policies.
  • “She died in September in the heat wave, the same month a year before I’d had to call 911 for several migrants with heatstroke I’d come across. She died ... with her clothes folded next to her, sheltering under a bush.” (03:27)
• Sentiment: The act of remembrance is framed as both a tribute and a protest, standing in contrast to the ongoing militarization and expansion of border infrastructure.

2. The Shift from Hopelessness to Solidarity

• From Grief to Action: The host emphasizes the dangers and sadness inherent in caring, yet insists that politics should be driven by love, not anger.
  • “It could be easy to look at everything I’ve laid out in this series and feel hopeless. But I don’t want you to... our politics shouldn’t be about anger. It should be about love.” (05:59)
• Community Care: Everyday people—not officials—stepped in with direct action: feeding, sheltering, and aiding migrants when the state left them exposed.
• Inclusivity in Care: Aid came from people of many backgrounds—church groups, Sikh and Quaker communities, anarchists, “crust punks,” and “just desert people.”

3. Matt’s Story: Ordinary People Stepping Up

a. Catalyst for Action

• Impact of the Podcast: Matt, an everyday listener, describes the wake-up call he received from the Darién Gap series:
  • “I got into that mode where I was just like, I couldn’t not finish it... I was just really, really moved by the whole thing.” (09:43)
• Realization: For the first time, Matt internalizes that U.S. border “security” policies are intentionally deadly deterrents.
  • “I didn’t realize that that was, like, intentional...we’re going to intentionally put up this kind of life or death obstacle course.” (10:39)

b. Participating in Mutual Aid

• Hands-On Aid: Moved by what he learned, Matt used vacation time to travel and help leave water in the desert—a direct way to save lives.
  • “Getting together with people to just do something useful... made me not feel so... like the world is descending into fascism...There are a lot of people who want to help.” (12:31)

c. Extending Hospitality

• Personal Risk, Personal Responsibility: When Primrose and Kim feared for their safety in LA, Matt and his wife decided to take them in, even though it meant risk.
  • “We had to acknowledge, like, it might mean that, like, these in masks show up at our house... I don’t know, I just feel like you gotta do something.” (15:17)
  • Wife’s quick support: “It was a lot easier because my wife was actually just like, 100%, let’s do it.” (15:54)

4. Enduring Bureaucratic Cruelty & Finding Ways Around It

• The Reality for Asylum-Seekers: Matt details the labyrinthine, dehumanizing asylum system: no work permit, no practical medical care, and ever-shifting regulations.
  • “You come here, they put you in jail, you stay in jail, which is fucking jail. Or they let you out of jail...and now you’re homeless...no ability to legally work.” (23:35–24:03)
• Medical Inaccessibility: The only health care option for Primrose is an ICE-linked provider 1hr 20min away; instead, Matt pays out-of-pocket and relies on personal contacts to access care.
  • “There’s no way to get her to the doctor…Let’s get this done for as little money as possible. Because in the United States, if you don’t have insurance, it is going to cost you.” (25:12–26:00)

5. Systemic Inertia and the Necessity of Grassroots Support

• The Limits of Party Politics: Matt is frank about the failures of both parties, noting “the Democrats don’t have a great answer for this either,” even as he continues to support them over more anti-immigrant options. (26:59–27:23)
• Community is Everything: The host and Matt both underscore that systemic change is slow, but everyday acts of care make tangible differences now.
  • “From Obama to today, it’s been up to us to welcome migrants. Obama set records for deportation. Biden beat them…In the meantime, it’s up to regular people to help one another.” (32:25)

6. The Multiply Shared Burden—and Its Unexpected Rewards

• Reciprocal Hope: Listeners like Matt find hope and meaning in mutual aid. It not only supports migrants but builds community and resilience for helpers, too.
  • “The doing it with other people was so powerful…doing it with other people was just surprisingly good. Made me feel much more optimistic about our ability to get through this collectively.” (33:43)
• Practical Advice: Helping sounds daunting but is often logistically simple (e.g., filling out a residency form to host a migrant), with the hardest part being trust and meeting people in need.
  • “It’s not as hard as you might think to help folks like Primrose. Like, it sounds insurmountable...but it’s not that complicated.” (34:42)

7. Universal Lessons & Call to Action

• The Moral Imperative: The host offers a universal principle: “When someone needs help, you help them. And if we all do that, then when we need help, someone will help us.” (35:34)
• You Don’t Have to Wait: Practical support can take many forms—feeding the hungry, helping with school pickups, fixing cars, or offering a ride—care for migrants blends into caring for the community at large.
• Hope for Change: The more Americans personally know migrants, the more they see the system’s failures, fueling future transformation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On “Deterrence”:
  “That’s how deterrence works. That’s how it’s supposed to work.” – Host (10:20)
• On Political Love:
  “Our politics shouldn’t be about anger. It should be about love.” – Host (06:11)
• On the Value of Collective Action:
  “Doing stuff with them is like, is good.” – Matt (12:31)
• On the Decision to Welcome Migrants into the Home:
  “We had to acknowledge, like, it might mean that...these in masks show up at our house...” – Matt (15:17)
• On Helping:
  “It’s not as hard as you might think...it’s not that complicated.” – Matt (34:42)
• On Reciprocal Care:
  “When someone needs help, you help them. And if we all do that, then when we need help, someone will help us.” – Host (35:34)
• Words from the Jungle:
  “We are all children of God…we are not that different, we are all brothers.” – Senor Bonillo, Panamanian villager (37:43)
• Primrose’s Gratitude:
  “I thought maybe I’m alone, but I realize I’m not alone here. I have also people who helped me.” (38:13)
  “My life is like changing now.” (39:50)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Memorial for Graciela Hernandez – the cost of border deterrence | 02:41–04:51| | Reflections: Why politics must be about love, not anger | 05:59–08:45| | Matt’s awakening via podcast/story and action | 09:34–13:15| | Matt and his wife welcome Primrose and Kim | 15:17–16:17| | Matt describes battling the asylum bureaucracy | 22:46–24:47| | Medical inaccessibility for migrants | 25:12–26:33| | Grassroots community as key to hope and change | 33:43–35:09| | Practical advice for potential helpers | 34:42–35:34| | Wisdom from Senor Bonillo in Panama | 37:29–38:04| | Primrose shares her gratitude | 38:13–39:52|

Conclusion & Final Reflections

The episode closes with Primrose’s voice, powerfully summarizing what collective aid can offer: a real chance at a new life, dignity, and hope. Her story—and the hundreds of others like hers—remind listeners that both the suffering and the solutions are distributed across ordinary people. The host calls for listeners to see mutual aid not only as emergency response, but as a form of personal and national healing, and a blueprint for future change.