Alan Lilienthal

In this “Tour Guide” bonus episode, borderless artist Shinpei Takeda takes us on a tour of his exhibition, “Fantasia Moral” (“Moral Fantasy”), which is showing at the art museum in Tijuana, CECUT, through Aug. 8.

Phil Beaumont, lead vocalist of the San Diego band, The Color Forty Nine, has been belting out tunes since he was a kid living in England back in the ’70s. After he landed in Southern California for high school and college, he eventually made his way south to Tijuana to see show after show at the legendary music venue Iguanas. Over time, Phil found himself crossing the border a lot, spending hours writing poetry and lyrics at his favorite bar, Dandy Del Sur. In our recurring “Moved by Music” series, we tap into the ’70s rock records Phil and his brothers listened to as kids, and the punk, two-tone and dub reggae he caught on the John Peel show on BBC radio. Then we dive deep into Phil’s relationship with Tijuana over the years, and how his love of living in a border city led to The Color Forty Nine’s new collaboration with world-famous musician Rubén Albarrán of Café Tacvba and Tijuana artist Hugo Crosthwaite.

We continue our series on medical tourism at the border with a story about a plus-size model who’s proud of her big body, but has health issues that lead her to undergo weight-loss surgery in Tijuana, where it's more affordable. It’s a story about beauty and health and how a young woman is carving out her own corner of the world, creating a space where she fits in, no matter what size or shape or how she got there.

A California couple tries one more time to have a baby by crossing the border and getting fertility treatment in Tijuana. It’s a story about the lengths you’ll go through when the future you envisioned is suddenly out of reach.

From KPBS and PRX, “Port of Entry” is launching a new series on medical tourism at the border today. Up first: We follow a San Diego woman as she crosses the border for alternative cancer treatments in Tijuana. This isn’t an investigation into the efficacy of alternative cancer treatments. Instead, it’s a story about one woman’s cross-border experience and her own personal convictions. Follow “Port of Entry” online at www.portofentrypod.org, or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/portofentrypodcast) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/portofentrypod). Support our work at www.kpbs.org/donate. Search “Port of Entry” in the gifts section to get our sling bag as a thank-you gift. If your business or nonprofit wants to sponsor our show, email podcasts@kpbs.org. Text or call the "Port of Entry" team at 619-452-0228‬ anytime with questions or comments about the show.

Our local Latinx community has been hit hard by the pandemic; disproportionately hard. In today’s special episode, we share one border family’s battle with COVID-19. They explain how they’re using their story to help other Mexican-American families like theirs. It's a story about trust, and how living at the border can mean living in a place where trust sometimes requires translation.