New book recounts harrowing shipwreck at height of the 2015 refugee crisis

The year 2015 marked the peak of Europe’s refugee crisis. Over a million people arrived on the continent’s shores, trying to flee conflicts in home countries like Syria and Afghanistan — though they came from all over and for varied reasons. The vast majority who took to the sea headed from Turkey to Greek islands in the Aegean, on decrepit boats operated by human smugglers. In October 2015, about 130,000 people landed on the Greek island of Lesvos where award-winning journalist Jeanne Carstensen covered the crisis for The World. In her new book, “A Greek Tragedy: One Day, a Deadly Shipwreck, and the Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis,” Carstensen details a deadly shipwreck she witnessed through accounts from survivors and rescuers alike. She speaks with host Marco Werman.