Today, Explained
Today, Explained

Deported to a country you've never heard of

January 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

  • The Format: Explanatory news podcast blending immersive storytelling, on-the-ground reporting, and expert interviews.
  • The Key Players:
    • John Fasile: Senior producer at Snap Judgment (KQED Snap Studios); shares a months-long follow-up on asylum seeker German Smirnov, a Russian fitness coach turned whistleblower.
    • Micah Rosenberg: National investigative reporter at ProPublica; provides context on Trump's third-country deportation policy.
    • Host Miles Bryan: Fills in, guiding the narrative with probing questions.
  • The Vibe: Intense and sobering—mix of human tragedy, policy outrage, and educational breakdown of U.S. asylum shifts.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: John Fasile on German Smirnov**
  • 2 (02:16) **German's Background and Escape from Russia**
  • 3 (04:25) **Journey to US Border and Detention**
  • 4 (06:20) **Deportation to Costa Rica**
  • 5 (08:00) **Legality of Deportations**
  • 6 (09:35) **Life After Release in Costa Rica**
  • 7 (12:03) **Scale of Third-Country Deportations**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

How the Trump administration is using "third country deportations" to expel asylum seekers.

This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Jolie Myers, fact checked by Andrea López-Cruzado, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Bridger Dunnagan, and hosted by Miles Bryan.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

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