The Human Cost of Migration

My guest, journalist Jeanne Carstensen uses one devastating 2015 shipwreck to illuminate the global refugee crisis affecting over 100 million displaced people worldwide.In our conversation, she talks of refugees as a self-selecting population—educated professionals like Afghan bankers and Syrian artists who pay smugglers tens of thousands of dollars to escape violence. Their shared dream: reaching safety and rebuilding lives with dignity. Carstensen argues we're witnessing only the beginning of massive global migration, driven by climate change, authoritarianism, and conflict. Contrary to anti-migrant sentiment portraying refugees as society's "dregs," many are middle-class families risking everything for survival. This single story represents countless others in our interconnected world of forced displacement.This post is FREE for everyone. Please spread it far and wide. And please consider becoming a paid subscriber to TalkCocktail. It’s $8 a month or just $80 for the entire year!Also Follow Me on X @jeffs2009 Get full access to Talk Cocktail Podcast at jeffschechtman.substack.com/subscribe