Borders & Belonging

Afleveringen

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  The Link4skills Navigator and Demographic modelling, feat. Sandra Leitner and Michaela Potančoková 30.06.2026 33min

  In this bonus episode, Sandra Leitner and Michaela Potančoková unpack the logic behind labour force modelling and what it reveals about Europe's demographic and migration future. Drawing on the Link4Skills Navigator, a tool built to map labour market data, skills partnerships, and demographic trends across countries, they discuss why migration is not a panacea for population aging, how Germany's long-declining fertility rates are quietly driving one of the EU's most urgent labour s...
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  Anna Triandafyllidou on migration governance, feat. Letizia Palumbo 21.04.2026 40min

  From growing up in a changing Greece to becoming one of the leading voices in migration research, Anna Triandafyllidou reflects on how her work on migration governance, identity and belonging took shape. She is joined by Letizia Palumbo, whose work on labour and exploitation brings into focus how policies shape and often constrain the everyday realities of migrant life. Together, they discuss why migration policies often fail to reflect lived realities, and how labour systems and identity nar...
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  Nina Glick Schiller on transnationalism, feat. Karina Quintanilha 07.04.2026 41min

  What happens when migration can no longer be understood within the borders of a single nation-state? Nina Glick Schiller reflects on the ideas and experiences that shaped her pioneering work on transnationalism and the power structures that shape mobility. She is joined by Karina Quintanilha, whose research explores how law, labour and inequality shape migrant lives across local and global scales. Together, they discuss why migrants are never simply “between” places and how transnational tie...
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  Andreas Pott on spatial reflexivity, feat. Christine Lang 24.03.2026 36min

  From dreaming of Olympic glory on the track to reshaping how migration studies thinks about space and knowledge, sociologist Andreas Pott reflects on the intellectual detours and shifting perspectives that led him to question the very categories migration researchers take for granted. He is joined by Christine Lang, whose work on skilled migration in the health sector illustrates what it looks like to step back from dominant policy framings and study how migration and the spaces around it are...
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  Gracia Liu-Farrer on the social construction of skill, feat. Helena Hof 10.03.2026 35min

  What happens when a visa category becomes a verdict on your worth? Gracia Liu-Farrer reflects on the ideas and experiences that shaped her influential work on migration, labour markets and the social construction of skill. She is joined by Helena Hof, whose research examines how labels like "high-skilled" and "low-skilled" are assigned, contested and recognised across cities, institutions and borders. Together, they discuss why skill is never simply what you know or what you can do, how...
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  John Berry on acculturation theory, feat. Saba Safdar 24.02.2026 40min

  What happens when cultures meet in everyday life? John Berry reflects on the ideas and experiences that shaped his pioneering work on acculturation, integration and belonging. He is joined by Saba Safdar, whose research examines how power, discrimination, policy and even AI shape newcomers’ experiences of adaptation. Together, they discuss how acculturation theory has evolved in an era of super-diversity, why belonging is never neutral and what societies must do to create genuine inclusion. ...
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  Adrian Favell on Eurostars and Eurocities, feat. Sarah Kunz 10.02.2026 32min

  Adrian Favell reflects on the ideas and experiences that shaped his work on mobility, free movement and Europe's so called borderless future. He is joined by Sarah Kunz, whose research examines how privilege, race and postcolonial histories shape who gets to move and how migration labels such as migrant, expat and mobile professional reflect power and inequality. Together, they discuss why studying privileged migration matters, how European mobility has changed over time, and how movement is ...
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  Irene Bloemraad on citizenship as claims making, feat. Amanda Cheong 27.01.2026 42min

  Drawing on a childhood shaped by migration and multilingualism, migration scholar Irene Bloemraad reflects on the ideas and experiences behind her influential work on citizenship as claims-making and the contested nature of belonging. She is joined by Amanda Cheong, whose research on statelessness stems from discovering her own parents were stateless before immigrating to Canada. Together, they explore how citizenship extends beyond legal status into everyday acts of belonging, how birth regi...
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  Nicholas De Genova on the production of illegality and the revolving doors of asylum, feat. Soledad Álvarez Velasco 13.01.2026 37min

  Drawing on a lifetime shaped by activism, art, and encounters with migration, leading migration scholar Nicholas De Genova reflects on the ideas and political commitments behind his influential work on the production of migrant “illegality” and the cyclical nature of asylum. He is joined by Soledad Álvarez Velasco, whose research follows migrants across Latin America and draws on her own experiences migrating from Ecuador. Together, they explore how asylum systems reproduce illegality, how r...
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  Ayşe Çağlar on migration, displacement, and urban transformation, feat. Ana Ćuković 09.12.2025 37min

  Ayşe Çağlar shares how her experiences growing up in Turkey and living in multiple countries shaped her approach to using migrants as an entry point to explore how societies define themselves, draw boundaries, and govern communities. She is joined by Ana Ćuković, whose research looks at how displacement unfolds in cities, including Detroit through urban planning and policy, and how historical and economic contexts shape who is included or pushed out of cities. Guests: Ayşe Çağlar, Professor o...
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  Jørgen Carling on Aspiration, feat. Kerilyn Schewel 25.11.2025 34min

  From his notable research on migration aspirations and the factors that shape whether people move or stay, Jørgen Carling reflects on how his early experiences in Oslo and fieldwork in West Africa shaped his approach to understanding mobility. He is joined by Kerilyn Schewel, whose work examines why people remain in place and how life goals, family ties and social constraints influence those decisions. Guests: Jørgen Carling, Professor in Migration and Transnationalism studies, Peace Re...
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  Steven Vertovec and superdiversity, feat. Maria Schiller 11.11.2025 33min

  From growing up in suburban Chicago to studying cultural encounters in Trinidad, influential migration studies scholar Steven Vertovec reflects on how those experiences shaped the concept of superdiversity and its enduring relevance nearly two decades later. He is joined by Maria Schiller, who draws on her own research inside European city governments to show how public officials interpret and manage diversity in practice, and why policy trends often struggle to keep pace with social realitie...
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  Janine Dahinden on demigrantization, feat. Maissam Nimer 28.10.2025 40min

  To kick off season 4 of Borders & Belonging, host Maggie Perzyna explores the concept of "demigranticization" in migration research with Janine Dahinden and Maissam Nimer. They discuss how the label "migrant" is not objective but rather a political construct rooted in nation-state logic that can reinforce harmful power structures and exclusion. Both scholars argue that migration research should step back from treating migration as an isolated phenomenon and instead examine how socie...
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  Borders & Belonging: Season 4 Trailer 21.10.2025 1min

  What happens when established voices in migration studies sit down with the rising scholars shaping the field's future? This season of Borders & Belonging explores reflexivity: the practice of turning research back on itself to examine how we know what we know. Season 4 draws on the lived experiences of pioneering scholars whose work has transformed how we understand human movement across borders. We then ask each scholar to nominate an up-and-coming scholar they admire, whose research bu...
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  What Trump’s Foreign Aid Cuts Mean for Development and Migration 12.09.2025 42min

  How are the Trump administration's cuts to foreign aid impacting global health and development, and what challenges or opportunities is it creating? The third episode of In Conversation discusses how reduced aid is forcing countries to look inward, rethink policy frameworks, and reflects on the impacts on youth and migration, the role of corruption, and how the global focus on growth is overshadowing sustainable development. Guests: Linda Oucho (Executive Director, African Migration and...
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  Unpacking Canada's Strong Borders Act: What Bill C-2 Means for Refugees in Canada 15.07.2025 37min

  In June 2025, the Canadian Government introduced Bill C-2 as a way to strengthen border security and modernize Canada’s asylum and immigration system. However, the bill is being criticized by legal experts and human rights advocates for introducing sweeping discretionary powers for officials and arbitrary measures, including a one-year deadline to apply for refugee status. In the second episode of In Conversation, experts explain what the bill proposes, why these provisions raise serious conc...
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  Is Trump's anti-DEI rhetoric an opportunity for Canada? 16.06.2025 40min

  As the U.S. rolls back diversity initiatives and academic freedoms, could Canada become a magnet for top global talent – or will systemic blind spots hold us back? In the first episode of our In Conversation series, expert guests explore how Trump-era policies are rippling north, what Canada must do to stay competitive, and why it’s time to rethink how we talk about immigration, equity and inclusion. In Conversation is the brand new segment of the Borders & Belonging podcast where leading...
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  The violence of uncertainty: Everyday impacts of precarious immigration status 08.04.2025 58min

  Imagine this: at age three, your family relocates to a new country. You grow up normally—school, sports teams, friends. In Grade 12, you discover you lack immigration status, preventing university applications. Suddenly, you're not like your peers, and a life of hidden struggles and uncertainty unfolds. In the final episode of the season, Maggie Perzyna explores what it means to live with precarious immigration status. Researchers unpack the idea of “the violence of uncertainty”—how shifting ...
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  Beyond the Big City 25.03.2025 42min

  Not everything happens in big cities. This episode explores how small and mid-sized cities in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are attracting and retaining immigrants. Researchers unpack regional migration policies, what helps newcomers settle, and how to build communities that thrive beyond the skyline. Guests: Sarah Wiseman, Canada Branch Director, Shapiro Foundation; Melissa Kelly, Senior Research Associate at CERC Migration, TMU; and Aude Bernard, Senior Lecturer at the School of the En...
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  Skills shortages, AI and the future of work 11.03.2025 51min

  AI, aging populations, and the energy transition: how are these forces reshaping the job market and global migration? In this episode, distinguished guests walk us through how automation is transforming industries, influencing hiring, and impacting migrant workers. Are we creating new opportunities or just making it harder for them to find decent jobs? Guests: Mateusz Żydek, Communication Team Lead at Randstad Polska; Teseseltje De Lange, professor at Radboud University and principal investig...