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Home Security

Words: Laicie Heeley
Pictures: Holson House
Date:

“To all the beautiful countries filled with culture, diversity and thousands of years of history. You are not a shithole. You are beautiful. And lastly, on behalf of those who fight for equality in a world that is not equal, not just and not ready for the change we are here to bring. I say unto you bring us your tired, your poor, and any immigrant who seeks refuge. For together we can build not just a better country, but a world that is destined to be united.”

During the final performance of Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, Logic paused to tell El Salvador, Haiti, and others that, “You are not a shithole.”

The speech was a reaction to a moment in America that contains echoes of the past.

Today on Things That Go Boom, we dive deeper into white nationalism, the Haitian revolution, and the impacts of nuclear weapons production on the Navajo Nation – and we go all the way back to America’s founding to ask, “What is this thing we call national security? And who does it protect?”

Turns out, there’s no easy answer.

Download episode two, “Home Security,” on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts today.

+ Read more about Haiti and the impacts of Trump’s comments from our editorial board member Johanna Mendelson Forman.

++ For more on the impact of nuclear weapons production on indigenous communities, head over to my piece on PRI’s site.

Laicie Heeley

Editor in Chief

Laicie Heeley is the founding CEO of Inkstick Media, where she serves as Editor in Chief of the foreign policy magazine Inkstick and Executive Producer and Host of the PRX- and Inkstick-produced podcast, Things That Go Boom. Heeley’s reporting has appeared on public radio stations across America and the BBC, where she’s explored global security issues including domestic terrorism, disinformation, nuclear weapons, and climate change. Prior to launching Inkstick, Heeley was a Fellow with the Stimson Center’s Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense program and Policy Director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Her publications include work on sanctions, diplomacy, and nuclear arms control and nonproliferation, along with the first full accounting of US counterterrorism spending after 9/11.

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