A new five-episode narrative podcast will explore what it means to lose home and what it takes to start again, Human Rights Watch said today. Anchored in the story of Maung, a Rohingya refugee now living in New York, the series traces his journey of flight, survival, and rebuilding and explores displacement at a moment when more people are forcibly displaced than at any point since World War II.
The series, "The Great Unrooting," is hosted by Ngofeen Mputubwele , a journalist, attorney, and audio producer whose work includes podcasts for The New Yorker and the critically acclaimed series "Fela Kuti: Fear No Man." The series combines intimate storytelling with Human Rights Watch research and investigations around the world. It examines the fragility-and the human cost-of the lines that divide communities, determine who belongs, and shape the routes people take in search of safety.
"Record numbers of people are being forced from their homes, even as borders harden and safe pathways shrink," said Bill Frelick, refugee and migrant rights director at Human Rights Watch. "The Great Unrooting brings listeners inside the choices people face when the world they know becomes unlivable - and the long road that follows."
Across five episodes, the series follows the "hidden geography" of displacement and looks at what borders really do in human lives; not as abstract lines, but as lived systems that reshape families, futures, and belonging.
"Borders look like neat lines on a map, but in real life, they're lived as detours, documents, checkpoints, and the moment you realize you can't go back home," Mputubwele said. "Home isn't just where you're from - it's where you're known, where you're wanted. The Great Unrooting is about what happens when that breaks, and what it takes to find your way again."
About "The Great Unrooting"
"The Great Unrooting" follows Maung's story from the early warning signs of exclusion to the moment his family is forced to flee and then into the grueling logistics of survival on the move. Subsequent episodes explore life in limbo, the systems that govern who can move and who cannot, and what it means to rebuild in a new place while still longing for home.
Episode Guide:
- Episode 1: "The Unrooting"-The moment "home" begins to fall away (now available).
- Episode 2: "Flight"-The logistics of getting from here to there (available March 30, 2026).
- Episode 3: "The Shadow City"-Life in the world's largest refugee camp (available April 13, 2026).
- Episode 4: "The Toll it Takes"-The consequences of displacement on mental health (available April 27, 2026).
- Episode 5: "Arrival"-Building a new life after displacement (available May 11, 2026)
