Shows
#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 13: Bonus - 5 steps for a healthy discussionThis bonus episode provides tips on how to have a healthy discussion when speaking about topics that can be polarising, sensitive or with entrenched beliefs, including immigration.The five tips: Ask questions in order to learn and articulate others' point of views. This broadens your perspective and leads to a more fruitful discussion. Nuance and complexity should be the norm. Oversimplifications that put people into "pro" or "against" camps tend to shut the discussion, rather than open it. A fact-based approach is preferable, while applying a critical eye. One single stat never tells the whole story...
2025-03-0207 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 12: On what have you recently changed your mind?Conclusion to this series on immigration. The creator and presenter Jonathan shares his personal journey as he dug deep into the subject and challenged some of his assumptions.Through the voices of immigration officers in the UK - aiming to find a balance between doing their jobs and applying the rules while showing empathy and humanity to fellow humans - Jonathan highlights the need to tap into this humanity to solve the challenges around immigration.The necessity for society and the public to engage on the topic, learn, discuss, deliberate, free of political agendas, misinformation...
2025-02-2407 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 11: "What have immigrants ever done for us?"How would Isabel Allende, with her mixed identities and life experience, answer the question "Where are you from?"?How much of our nationality fits into our identity? Are our identities defined by more than the lottery of where we are born?In a media landscape which often paints immigration as a problem, what if we changed the narrative around immigration and told a different story? Spoke of how mixed we already all are and how much immigration has contributed to enrich rather than impoverish the world?➡️ A thought-provoking episode that will spark a refl...
2025-02-1807 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 10: More integration? Yes, but what kind?Integration is a word often associated with immigrants. If we can agree that more integration is a good thing, we often do not specify what we mean by it.This episode looks more deeply into integration, asking questions of what may be expected of immigrants, but also the role of the state in helping immigrants settle in.The approach has changed over the decades with integration seen today as a two-way street, where immigrant and host communities learn from and adapt to each other.--Presented and produced by Jonathan Ketchell.
2025-02-1308 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 9: "I'm not against immigrants, but [insert negative statement on immigrants]"🛠️ Immigrants come here and take away jobs from locals.🩺 Immigrants abuse the welfare state.🚨 Immigrants are a major source of crime.🏘️ Immigrants increase the cost of housing.You may have heard statements like these before, elevated into the public conscience as fact, scapegoating immigrants for many of society's ills.Is there any truth to these statements? This episode looks at the data and studies available, focusing on the country of France.--Presented and produced by Jonathan KetchellSources for "Immigrants come here and take away jo...
2025-02-1114 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 8: Unbearable NumbersWe often hear politicians speak of "controlling and limiting" immigration.The recent and short lived French Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, in an interview in September 2024, used those words himself, even going as far as saying that the numbers of immigrants coming to France had become "unbearable”.Meanwhile the French Interior, Bruno Retailleau, said in an interview the same month that immigration is "not an opportunity" and wants to have a referendum.🤔 What qualifies as "unbearable numbers"? And who exactly are we speaking of? Asylum seekers? Economic migrants?🤔 What does the Interior Minister...
2025-02-0708 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 7: Nina's StoryEver heard of the passport index? It ranks nationalities by mobility score, the ease of use in travelling to and living in other countries. What passports do you think are the best to possess?
What happens when two passport holders, one at the top of the index and the other towards the middle, meet? We hear of the story of Nina, an immigrant from Ecuador living in Spain, and how her meeting with a Belgian sparked a connection, as well as a will to understand the challenges immigrants have to face.
Nina's story shows us...
2025-02-0505 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 6: "We can't welcome everyone here!"Imagine you're at table with friends or family and you've entered "serious topic time". After talking about the latest headlines, conversation turns to immigration and the refugees coming into the EU. Suddenly, someone says:
"We can't welcome everyone here!"
How would you respond?
This episode breaks this statement down... Do we actually "welcome everyone here"? Listen to find out more about refugee migration flows.
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Presented by Jonathan Ketchell.
Sources:
Figures at a glance (refugees and forcibly displaced). UNHCR.
Global Trends report 2023. UNHCR.
International Migration Outlook 2023...
2025-01-2807 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 5: The sandy beaches of LampedusaDo you know why the Mediterranean Sea has been dubbed "Europe's graveyard"?
Andrea shares her work experience with Sea Watch, a civil search and rescue organization, on the island of Lampedusa. She provides a first hand account of the work they do in saving people in distress in the Mediterranean Sea.
- How is this NGO treated by the EU?
- What are the EU's policies towards people on the move in distress at sea?
- What agreements does the EU have with its neighbours in the Mediterranean?
What are the consequences of the EU's...
2025-01-2807 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 4: Stateless FolkIn the film The Terminal starring Tom Hanks, a man is unable to return to his native country because of a military coup and thus ends up in limbo, stateless, not recognised as a citizen of any country and living in an airport.
Have you ever thought of stateless people, those not associated with any state? They face challenges in accessing basic rights and services such as education or health care, or to be able to marry, vote, open a bank account, get a legal job, own property and travel freely. Basically anything a regular person would...
2025-01-2405 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 3: Azad's StoryHear the gripping story of Azad who was forced by the Taliban insurgents to flee Afghanistan in 2012, making his way to Europe through the known migrant routes. Eventually ending up in Belgium, he lived in the shadow of society for 10 years, working on the black for miserable pay with no access to basic healthcare, while not being able to rent a home legally or even open a bank account.
His perseverance paid off as on his 8th attempt, 10 years after arriving, Belgium provided him with a refugee status. He now works, legally, and enjoys the same rights...
2025-01-2008 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 2: Words MatterHow many times when speaking on the topic of immigration have you used interchangeably migrant and immigrant? What about asylum seeker and refugee?
Many misunderstandings in conversations stem from different comprehensions of a word. Words matter, because they invoke different feelings within us. Think of the words expat and immigrant. Which one, in your view, has a more positive connotation?
We start with words from Yaleeza, a trans woman from Suriname who sought refuge in Belgium, with her thoughts on rigid categorisation.
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Presented by...
2025-01-1704 min#FilterTheNoise Podcast: On ImmigrationEpisode 1: PrologueGently introduces you into the topic... Starting with a flow of negative words often associated with immigration!
If you are a citizen in the EU, according to polls, there's a good chance that your view of immigration is somewhat negative or even hostile, a pale reflection of how immigrants are painted in the media and by politicians.
They can play on the "group-threat theory", the idea that our economies are compromised, our societies less safe and our identity and values threatened by immigrants.
But is this the case? We'll find out more in...
2025-01-1705 min