The Wall: Reporting on the Border

A Border Patrol agent shows reporter Diana Alba Soular what it takes to track signs of movement – and to stay alive – in the vast "Bootheel" of New Mexico, where agents spend hours a day driving and hiking mostly uninhabited borderlands alone, and crossers find increasingly clever ways to hide their tracks. To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word "PATROL" to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews and sound from Cheryl Evans and Pat Shannahan. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. Special thanks to Ray Soular for recording help. It was written by Diana Alba Soular, Josh Susong and Nicole Carroll.

Border reporter Rafael Carranza joins a group of civilian men patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border. They dress in combat gear, carry AR-15s and spend their vacation as part of one of the best-known, and most media-savvy, armed civilian groups in the country. Join them as they track drug smugglers on the Arizona border. To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word “RECON” to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews and sound from David Wallace. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. It was written by Rafael Carranza, Michael Squires, Josh Susong and Nicole Carroll.

Border reporter Aileen B. Flores hikes up Mount Cristo Rey, a mountain on the border between El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico, with the Mexicans and Americans who view the site as a sacred homage to Jesus Christ and a symbol of the cities’ inextricable bond. To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word “MOUNTAIN” to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews and sound from David Wallace, Cheryl Evans, Thomas Hawthorne and Kathy Kieliszewski. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. Special thanks to Ruben Ramirez for recording help. It was written by Aileen Flores, Zahira Torres and Nicole Carroll.

Reporter Gustavo Solis meets law-enforcement experts in San Diego, where dense border fencing hasn’t stopped the constant flow of drugs through dozens of huge underground tunnels, an ever-changing array of boats and the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest land crossing in the world. To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word “DRUGS” to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews, sound and editing help from David Wallace. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. It was written by Gustavo Solis, Jill Castellano and Nicole Carroll.

Environmental reporter Brandon Loomis visits the jaguar’s native habitat in Sonora, Mexico, learning that this apex predator will become extinct in the American Southwest if a continuous border wall is built. To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word “JAGUAR” to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews and sound from Mark Henle. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. It was written by Brandon Loomis, Shaun McKinnon and Nicole Carroll.

Photojournalist David Wallace walks with a woman looking for the remains of her older brother in Arizona’s Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, one of the harshest and most remote places along the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word “MIGRANTS” to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews and sound from David Wallace. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. It was written by Daniel Gonzalez, Michael Squires, Josh Susong and Nicole Carroll.

Reporter Dianna M. Náñez joins members of the Tohono O’odham Nation at the border in southern Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, where ancestral lands cross into Mexico. Tribal members are allowed to cross freely back and forth into the Mexican state of Sonora, but that could change with a border wall. To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word “TRIBE” to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews and sound from Cheryl Evans. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. It was written by Dianna M. Náñez, Shaun McKinnon and Nicole Carroll.

Business reporter Chris Ramirez investigates how much Texas private property would need to be bought or taken in order to build a border wall. The answer will surprise you. Also, what happens when U.S. property ends up on the south side of the wall? To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word “LAND” to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews and sound from Cheryl Evans and Gabe Hernandez. Thanks to David Wallace for additional sound editing. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. Special thanks to Yihyun Jeong for recording help. It was written by John Moritz, Chris Ramirez, Tim Archuleta and Nicole Carroll.

Reporters Dennis Wagner and Laura Gómez traversed all 2,000 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border – Dennis by air, Laura by land. Listen to their stories, their insights, and their tussle over who had it easier. To read, watch and learn more on this topic, visit thewall.usatoday.com, or text the word “JOURNEY” to our chatbot at 408-872-9255. This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Hannah Gaber, with field interviews and sound from Laura Gómez, Emmanuel Lozano and Hannah Gaber. Kaila White was our production manager. Our technical director was Nate Kelly. It was written by Nicole Carroll.

What is life like at the border now, and how would a wall change that? In this new podcast miniseries from the USA TODAY NETWORK, journalists take you with them to California, Arizona, Texas and Mexico to find out. Subscribe now.