American Refugee

Sam Graber
  • 4.9 (45)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • SERIES
American Refugee

The official home of the big bold podcast finding the heartwarming, heartbreaking and sometimes hilarious stories of American refugees. People coming into America, people moving out of America, people getting displaced within the country. You’re about to hear remarkable stories rooted in the most pressing human rights challenges of our time. Get ready to be enchanted by the tenacity and beauty of the human spirit! This is American Refugee.

  1. Los Algodones

    EPISODE 1

    Los Algodones

    Los Algodones is the tiny Mexican border town called Molar City. Thousands of US citizens are going there each day to save on dental work that would have cost thousands of dollars more at home. Who are these American dental refugees? And how easy and safe is it to have implants, crowns and extractions done in Mexico? You're not only about to hear wild stories from dental refugees traveling to Los Algodones, you're about to go there, you'll be with me as I cross the border, get work done on my own teeth... And discover in the end why everything isn't always what it seems. This is American Refugee! Written, Engineered & Produced: Sam Graber Music: Rare Medium, New Sound Underground Recorded: Los Algodones, Minneapolis, MN

    29 min
  2. Street Angel

    EPISODE 2

    Street Angel

    She escaped domestic assault, poverty, street crime, and a husband mixed up with a drug cartel. She took her five kids and ran, using every last cent she had to make the journey. When she arrived she was cold and afraid but never without hope, even as she still battled being homeless. Her name is Angel. And you're about to hear her story. In native English. Because Angel's from Chicago. Angel's an American citizen, whose country has turned her into a refugee. Not only are you about to HEAR what it's like to be homeless, you're about to BE homeless, as I take you with me while I try to make it through one winter night on the streets of Minneapolis where the temperature dropped below zero. This is American Refugee! Written, Engineered & Produced: Sam Graber Music: Rare Medium, New Sound Underground Recorded: Minneapolis, MN Original Release: February 2020

    25 min
  3. Immigration Court

    EPISODE 3

    Immigration Court

    Detained immigration court is a place where lawyers aren't provided for the defense, where judges and prosecutors are on the same team, where guilty is presumed and the all-too-often verdict a different kind of death. Who are these immigration judges? What exactly is detained court? And how is it able to get away with operating outside of what we might call normal law? LISTEN to be shocked, enraged and stunned at what's been happening in your country. This is American Refugee. Written, Engineered & Produced: Sam Graber Music: Rare Medium, Purple Funk Metropolis, New Sound Underground Recorded: Minneapolis, MN Original Release: March 2020

    36 min
  4. Truckin'

    EPISODE 4

    Truckin'

    Get ready to meet America's hardworking trucker drivers, the road refugees who today risk their lives not just delivering to the doorsteps of our homes but to grocery store shelves, and hospitals. But not only are you about to hear how hard it is to be a trucker, you'll be along for the ride with a big-hearted, big-muscled 18-wheel truck driving legend named Jimmy. You'll climb aboard and see firsthand the how the global supply chain disruption is shifting everything we thought we knew about our economy. This is American Refugee! Written, Engineered & Produced: Sam Graber Music: Rare Medium, Purple Funk Metropolis, New Sound Underground Recorded: Minneapolis, MN Original Release: April 2020

    30 min
  5. Sherburne County Jail (Part I)

    EPISODE 5

    Sherburne County Jail (Part I)

    Inside a small county jail in central Minnesota, 300 immigrants are caged up to 20 hours a day, never allowed outside, some detained by ICE up to a year. Some endure special treatment: solitary confinement, abuse, medical negligence, sexual assault. What if detained immigrants are being subjected to a kind of torture before they're deported? What if entire families are destroyed by county jails profiting from a federal system criminalizing immigration? What if the lives of immigrants are being forfeited as the coronavirus spreads through those jails? Well get ready, you're going inside to hear about it from the detained immigrants themselves, as well as the activists on the outside trying to free them, the resistance against the authority, all towards an emotional crescendo of love and loss, of family and freedom, and the soul of a nation, all from a place called Sherburne County Jail. This is American Refugee. Written, Engineered & Produced: Sam Graber Music: Rare Medium, Purple Funk Metropolis Recorded: Minneapolis, MN Original Release: May 2020

    39 min
  6. 38th & Chicago

    EPISODE 6

    38th & Chicago

    Minneapolis Police arrive at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in response to a call about a counterfeit $20 bill… You're going into Minneapolis during the week following the murder of George Floyd. You're about to take a unique journey through the heart of a city on fire. You're going to hear anguished voices on the front lines of the protests, voices from the riots as they happen, voices from those who've fought the system of racism, voices from businesses owners whose stores got burnt to the ground, and you'll get it straight from city leaders about their radical plans for ending the police. And ultimately you're going to 38th & Chicago, where the voices say: this is the place that will change our country forever. This is American Refugee. Written, Engineered & Produced: Sam Graber Music: Rare Medium Recorded: Minneapolis, MN Original Release: June 2020

    35 min
  7. Ghosted

    EPISODE 7

    Ghosted

    In 2014 a young woman's murdered body was found on the side of the road in Warren, Ohio. The case went unsolved. Now, 6 years later, the mother for the first time is going to the very spot where her daughter's body was found. She's bringing along one of America's leading paranormal investigation teams to contact the spirit of her daughter, and to learn once and for all what happened. And you'll be there, too. But that's not all. In a nation since ghosted by a deadly pandemic, I'll be taking you around the country to meet those who speak for the dead, to visit ghost towns, to hear about faith and spirits, to go from loss to renewal, and from death to life. This is American Refugee. Written, Engineered & Produced: Sam Graber Music: Ryini Beats, Purple Funk Metropolis Recorded: Minneapolis, MN; Warren, OH Original Release: July 2020

    35 min
  8. Sherburne County Jail (Part II)

    EPISODE 8

    Sherburne County Jail (Part II)

    Gregorio Montejo, a Mexican immigrant, after 25 years of working in the United States is taken to Sherburne County Jail. Now his family is fighting to get him released. Because in this country, anything is possible. Or is it? You're going inside America's criminal justice system, as you follow one immigrant family's journey from central Minnesota to ICE lockup, from federal court to the Mexican border, all to free Gregorio before he gets deported. It's Part II of the story separating the soul of a country, from a place called Sherburne County Jail. This is American Refugee. Written, Engineered & Produced: Sam Graber Music: Purple Funk Metropolis, Ryini Beats Recorded: Minneapolis, MN Original Release: August 2020 https://odaction.com/americanrefugee

    46 min
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4.9
out of 5
45 Ratings

About

The official home of the big bold podcast finding the heartwarming, heartbreaking and sometimes hilarious stories of American refugees. People coming into America, people moving out of America, people getting displaced within the country. You’re about to hear remarkable stories rooted in the most pressing human rights challenges of our time. Get ready to be enchanted by the tenacity and beauty of the human spirit! This is American Refugee.

Information

  • Creator
    Sam Graber
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2020, All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    American Refugee

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