Danny and Derek welcome Helen Benedict, novelist, author, and professor at the Columbia Journalism School, to discuss refugees in European camps and the refugee crisis in general. They get into the genesis of the book she co-authored, Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece
Apr 12, 2023·edited Apr 12, 2023Liked by Daniel Bessner
As troubling as the accounts by and about refugees are, there is another thread in this episode that I found disturbing. When Danny pressed Benedict about the political ineffectiveness of humanist stories, citing Anne Frank as an example, not only did she not have a good answer, but she later closed the interview by reading a passage that sounded like it could have BEEN FROM Anne Frank's diary--inadvertently (but also I think inevitably) supporting the critique expressed in Danny's question.
Along this vein, I really recommend Mathieu Aikins' "The Naked Don't Fear the Water". You get a more immersive, well-rounded understanding by collecting accounts in the camps like Benedict or doing Aikins' gonzo approach than we see in other reporting.
As troubling as the accounts by and about refugees are, there is another thread in this episode that I found disturbing. When Danny pressed Benedict about the political ineffectiveness of humanist stories, citing Anne Frank as an example, not only did she not have a good answer, but she later closed the interview by reading a passage that sounded like it could have BEEN FROM Anne Frank's diary--inadvertently (but also I think inevitably) supporting the critique expressed in Danny's question.
Look forward to reading this one, thanks fellas.
Along this vein, I really recommend Mathieu Aikins' "The Naked Don't Fear the Water". You get a more immersive, well-rounded understanding by collecting accounts in the camps like Benedict or doing Aikins' gonzo approach than we see in other reporting.