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Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast

The power of passports

Jul 18, 2024
Professor Patrick Bixby discusses the complexity of passports, from freedom to surveillance. Topics cover indigenous passports, literary references, and rankings. The conversation explores passport history, personal tales, international relations, and surveillance. It also touches on contemporary issues like race, citizenship, and challenges for marginalized communities in obtaining travel documents.
32:12

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Quick takeaways

  • Passports represent both freedom and state surveillance, highlighting paradoxes in passport power.
  • Passports are symbolic of personal identity, political allegiance, and global inequalities, shaping individuals' mobility and privilege.

Deep dives

Evolution of Passports through History

Passports have evolved over centuries from the days of the Old Testament's descriptions of travel permits to the mid-14th BCE's Amarna tablets, the precursor to modern passports. They tell personal stories of travelers and reflect grand narratives of nation-states and international relations. The shift to digital marks for tracking movements has altered the traditional passport experience by removing physical stamps and creating a more automated process.

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