1 Oct 2026
Escape | Emergency Exit Ep1
The Nazi rise to power looms over Europe in the 1930s, causing an exodus of emigrants seeking refuge from persecution. But fleeing fascism involves contending with the arcane - and often arbitrary - immigration systems of other countries who turn a blind eye to the unfolding crisis. Some escape; most do not.
In Australia, a woman named Camilla Wedgwood works tirelessly, trying to help refugees navigate the requirements for would-be immigrants. Through her letters, archival records and personal stories, we meet individuals like German architect Richard Fuchs and Austrian lawyer Eduard Korten, whose futures were shaped by bureaucratic rules about money, age, profession and race.
The episode reveals how seemingly neutral systems such as immigration permits, professional admissions and citizenship rules, can shape lives in profound and unequal ways. What happens when rigid categories fail to reflect the complexity of human lives? How do lawyers - who are pivotal in forming bureaucratic rules - respond when they become the victims of them? Through the stories of real people whose survival hinged on bureaucratic decisions, this podcast introduces the concept of bureaucratic violence: a quiet but devastating force that determines who is allowed to belong, and who is left behind.
Voices
Josh Bornstein (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshbornstein/) is a lawyer who specialises in employment and labour relations law, and author of the book, Working for the Brand: how corporations are destroying free speech (https://scribepublications.com.au/books/working-for-the-brand) (Scribe, 2024). Josh’s grandparents fled Poland, arriving in Australia in 1938.
Katherine Biber (https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Katherine.Biber) is a legal scholar, criminologist and historian and Professor of Law at UTS. Her latest book is The Last Outlaws (https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Last-Outlaws/Katherine-Biber/9781761631665) (Simon & Schuster Australia, 2025). Her podcast of the same name is featured on History Lab (https://impactstudios.edu.au/podcast/history-lab/episode/trailer-the-last-outlaws/).
Sara Dehm (https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Sara.Dehm) is Associate Professor of Law at UTS, where she teaches and researches in the areas of public international law, legal history, international migration and refugee law, and the law of international organisations. She is also a co-convener of the advocacy network Academics for Refugees.
Camilla Wedgewood is voiced by Phoebe Borwick, Josiah Wedgewood by Jonty Claypole, Edward Korten by Bernhard Schmitz, Margaret Hay by Rosa Saladino and Doc Evatt by Gideon Haigh. The voices of Colonel TW White, CH Herbert and the Australian government official were all performed by Paul McCartan. Olivia Rosenman reads the news articles.
Credits
This special History Lab series was made on Gadigal land, in Sydney.
Writer and Producer: Olivia Rosenman
Collaborating scholars: Katherine Biber, Sara Dehm, and Ana Filipa Vrdoljak
Additional research: Eloise Chandler
Sound design and audio engineering: Melissa May
Thank you to everyone we interviewed and all the voice actors for this episode. Dr. Eureka Henrich, Justice Hament Dhanji, Professor Steve Hochstadt, Carina Camamile, Phoebe Borwick, Gideon Haigh, Bernhard Schmitz, Jonty Claypole, Rosa Saladino, and Paul McCartan.
Special thank you to Danny Mulheron, the grandson of Richard Fuchs, for allowing us to use his grandfather’s music throughout this episode.
Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Emergency Exit was supported by funding from the Australian Research Council (https://www.arc.gov.au/).
History Lab is an Impact Studios (https://impactstudios.edu.au/) podcast. Its executive producer is Sarah Gilbert (https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Sarah.Gilbert).
