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.

The Wall: Reporting on the Border

Danger in the Bootheel

For almost 2,000 miles, one line defines a country and divides the world. What is life like at the U.S.-Mexico border now, and how would a wall change that? In this podcast, journalists take you with them to the border to find out. 

Meet a human smuggler. Ride with armed vigilantes. Get bitten – lightly! – by a jaguar. Fly over the entire border line. 

Hear what journalists go through to get these stories – and the surprising things they learn along the way.

This podcast is hosted by Nicole Carroll, executive editor of The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.