The Pages of A Passport Have Stories to Tell

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Passports promise adventure. They verify who you are and where you've been. Sometimes they can protect you. Sometimes they cannot. The first passport dates back to Biblical times, and the modern passport as we know it is an invention of the early 20th century. At its core the passport is a request for safe passage, and as author Patrick Bixby notes, “these little books have the capacity to tell stories like few other documents.” In his new book, “License to Travel,” Bixby explores the cultural history of passports and how they have helped define the boundaries of the modern world. We’ll talk to Bixby and other travel writers about passports, what they represent, and the talismanic-like power they hold. What does your passport mean to you? Guests: Patrick Bixby, author, "License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport;" associate professor of English, the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University Peachanan "Pete" Rojwongsuriya, founder and blogger, "Bucketlistly Blog," Rojwongsuriya has visited 85 countries; author, "Traveling the World on a Third World Passport- What It Is Like and How to Overcome It" Lale Arikoglu, articles editor, Conde Nast Traveler; podcast host, Conde Nast Traveler podcast "Women Who Travel" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:43.1	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim. Coming up on forum, passports. They promise adventure. They verify who you are and where you've been. Sometimes they protect you, sometimes they make you a target.
1:13.1	This hour, we explore the power and potential of the passport. Look at its history, which dates back to
1:19.1	biblical times, yet the passport as we know it is an invention of the early 20th century. And we hear the
1:24.7	feelings and memories your passports evoke. So do us a favor.
1:28.7	Grab your passport if you can, but don't go away.
1:32.3	Forum is next.
1:48.4	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
1:52.6	Ever stop to think about what your passport means to you?
1:55.9	What it feels like when you get it or when you lose it?
1:57.8	How old is your passport photo?
1:59.2	What's your first stamp?
2:01.7	Did your passport ever get you out of a sticky situation? Or maybe put you in one? Do you save your expired passports? These little books
2:08.9	tell our stories, and they have a power both real and felt, which we explore today with
	...

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