BORDERS & RIVERS EPISODES

The waters of the Rio Grande form the entire 1,254-mile border between the state of Texas and Mexico. Some portions of that border are open, with no physical barrier and monitored primarily by surveillance. Other sections have a full wall, with others are slated for new construction. One long stretch through Big Bend is defined by deep, rugged canyons that seem to function as a natural barrier. And it is here that survey crews are working toward the possibility of building a wall. This region is...

Dr. Adriana Martinez grew up in Eagle Pass, Texas, swimming and playing in the Rio Grande as a part of daily life. 10 years after getting her Ph.D and teaching university classes in fluvial geomorphology, her Texas hometown and home river became the iconic center of the modern immigration debate and the setting for the controversial river buoy border fence. In this episode she tells us about the research she is conducting to learn how the buoy fence in the Rio Grande is impacting this river, and...

This is the 3rd and last episode about the Tijuana River. The Tijuana River is a story of trade, immigration and international borders. This is a river that flows across the US Mexico border and carries pollution and sewage. Our guest is Dr Maria-Elana Giner; she served as commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission and upon request of President Trump, she resigned from this position in April of 2025. In this 3rd episode we look for solutions to this epic challenge for the US...

The Tijuana Rivers courses through the City of Tijuana Mexico where 2 million people live. Several hundred thousand homes in Tijuana are not connected to the city sewage system and this leads to significant pollution of the Tijuana River. And because the city of Tijuana butts right up to the US Mexico border, the path of the river sewage and the responsibility for managing is not always clear. This episode goes into Tijuana to learn more about why the pollution exists, where it comes from and th...

This episode is on site where a beautiful desert mountain river flows through an estuary and into the Pacific Ocean. Before the Tijuana River meets the ocean, it navigates through a dense urban border region with 5 million people. The outcome is a river that is carrying toxic sewage and pollution to the ocean, closing beaches and creating illness in the river and beach communities. This is the first episode in a series about this beautiful place, the epic pollution, and the incredible people who...