Why Europe turned its back on migrants

Jenn, Zack, and recurring guest Alex Ward discuss Europe’s political meltdown over migration, which Zack got a firsthand look at during a trip to Hungary last week funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. They start by airing Zack’s interview with Ibrar Hussein Mirzai, a young migrant who made the harrowing journey to Hungary from Pakistan, and zoom out to explain how the anti-migration sentiment that made Ibrar’s journey miserable is fueling the biggest challenge to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government yet. On Elsewhere, they talk about Mexico’s election of a new president — the leftist anti-corruption crusader Andrés Manuel López Obrador (or AMLO, for short). Zack recounts a visit to the heavily policed Hungarian border fence, Jenn pronounces AMLO’s full name correctly, and Alex does his best Thomas Friedman impression. Links: The man we heard from in this episode, Ibrar, was also featured on NPR. You can hear more from him and see a picture of him in that story. An in-depth look at Merkel’s migrant deal from the New York Times. For more context on the Hungary-Germany relationship, Zack recommends this piece. A piece written for Vox about AMLO’s election and what it might mean. You can also hear more about AMLO on Today, Explained. They devoted a whole episode to him and to the Mexican election this week.