Between, and sometimes within, the boundaries of nation-states are thousands of liminal zones which are neither here nor there, and their rules are different from those of the countries in which they are physically located. Author Atossa Araxia Abrahamian calls this “The Hidden Globe,” and chronicles the in-between places where money, art, luxurygoods, and stateless prisoners spend time in limbo. At a time of rising nationalism, tariff wars, and mass deportations, these places are on the ascendant. What are they like? Why are they there? And what’s next? Join this episode ofUnfrozen to find out.

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Intro/Outro: “Elevator,” by the Cooper Vane

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Discussed:

-         The Geneva Freeport

-         Svalbard

-         Tenet

-         The Cosmopolites

-         Henley & Partners

-         Dubai International Finance Center (DIFC)

-         Mark Beer, Zone Man

-         Estonia e-residency program

-         Greenland, Guantanamo Bay, and the Panama Canalare also zones

-         Freedom Cities

-         Boten, Laos

-         Laos-China Railway

-         Golden Triangle Zone

-         The Mont Pelerin Society

-         Extrastatecraft by Keller Easterling

-         Paul Collier

-         Paul Romer and the Charter City

-         Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

-         Hudson Yards

-         Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

-         U.S. Rep Jake Auchinsloss (D – MA) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/1