Immigration. Right now in America that’s a loaded word that can inspire anger and frustration, as well as compassion...and frustration.
There is a national debate going on about who’s in this country illegally and what we are going to do with them.
And unless Lou Dobbs is lying to me, it’s a pretty big deal.

But what if we could just step back from the debate for a second?

Tonight the Space Gallery is presenting a collection of stories on people whose lives are outside the current buzzwords and talking points on immigration. “This Land Is My Land, That Land Is Your Land,” is a listening event beginning at 7 p.m. Entry is $6.

The night will feature radio pieces about the struggles of a legal U.S. resident who is deported to El Salvador; a Sierra Leonean girl in the U.S. who wants to apply to college, but cannot because of her immigration status; and the efforts of one vigilante group to guard the U.S./Mexico boarder.
Along with the stories, the band Tempera will provide music for the evening.

Local independent radio producer Josh Gleason said immigration dominates national politics and the media landscape right now, but to really understand it you have to move past the big headlines.
"The idea was to take a big banner issue, a buzzword issue, and humanize it and see stories about people struggling in real-life situations," he said.
A graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, Gleason – who is hosting tonight - has produced pieces for National Public Radio and programs such as "This American Life."

The idea for listening parties came to life through Gleason and people at Space, the alternative arts venue known to host everything from hip-hop to blue grass, poetry readings and tight-rope walkers. They plan to host several more listening events in the future.

The actual radio pieces themselves come from the Public Radio Exchange, an online clearinghouse of radio stories for distribution and licensing that also allows producers, stations and listeners find ways to collaborate.

Earlier this year they held the first listening party, which included stories on the Iraq war and the overall consequences of any armed conflict.

Gleason says that people need not worry about any sort of advocacy or ideological slant to the programs, and that the focus is on telling stories people may not hear elsewhere.

I asked Gleason how it works, specifically, how do you sell people on the idea of coming to an event just to listen to something they may ordinarily listen to on the radio, by themselves.

He said he’s been told by more than one friend that "It’s awkward 'cause you don’t know where to look."

Gleason said it is a bit of an experiment figuring out how it all works, but that the act of storytelling itself is what draws people in. Listening to these stories in a group, following and being a part of the audience reaction also changes things.

"There’s something really powerful to listening to music or listening to radio in the dark and the space gets taken up by the piece," he said.

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