
The radio program This American Life has ventured outside the US to look at stories that happen around bridges and other passage-ways around the world. There's a bridge in China that's famous for its massive size and its high suicide rate. One takes it upon himself to patrol the bridge, looking for jumpers. You can read entries from the watchman's blog here. This and other stories where we stop before getting to the other side.
The second segment is about the tunnels between Gaza and Egypt. There are lots of great details, including how much Hamas requires tunnel operators to pay the families of workers who are killed by collapses (or by gas pumped in by the Egyptians); the fact that profits from tunnels decreased (from $10,000 to $1,500 a month) as more and more people got into the business; and the smuggler's claim that most weapon smuggling takes place from Gaza to Egypt.
HT Ursula Lindsey




Leave a comment