93 NGO Hopping—India, Where Mathias Led His Blind Great-Grandfather

Mathias first went with his great-grandfather to India at age 7, but that's only one of the many stories he told me about his travels and how they have fed into all the aid work he does now. I asked where we can find more information about his projects ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Visit his social media services company at SuperSocial.at.

Visit his social change project at DigitalParticipationCamp.org.

“I say friends in the larger sense of the word: persons seen only once or frequented my whole life: provided that between us, at least for a moment, a string stretched, a well-defined thread.”

— Primo Levi

92 The Wave and Sea—Europe, Where Eltaj Wants to be a Famous Writer

Eltaj left Sudan and crossed the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, where we met in a small migrant camp at an abandoned train station in Rome. I asked if he wanted to visit the Keats-Shelley House together ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“Sus sueños terminaban frente a ese mar color de ceniza, espumoso y sucio, que no merecía los riesgos y sacrificios de su aventura.”

— Gabriel García Márquez

91 The Persistence of Memory—Sardinia, Where Majda Took Dragan

Majda took us into her home in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina with a glass of grappa. I asked why she had to rebuild that home ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“Di noi ciascuno reca l’impronta dell’amico incontrato per via; in ognuno la traccia di ognuno.”

— Primo Levi

90 Certain Half-Deserted Streets—Amsterdam, Where Ilmari Could Feel Something

Ilmari describes himself as an Eskimo with blond hair. We met in the Sahara Desert. I asked if reindeer and the Northern Lights really played a large role in his life growing up in Lapland ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“Shame is thrown aside when one travels.”

— Jippensha Ikku

89 One Thousand Degrees of Heat—Merzouga, Where Ilham Fell Down a Sand Dune

Ilham did everything she could to live in Marrakesh. I asked how to make lemon saffron chicken tajine ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

This is the Two Year Anniversary of the Observer Effect!

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“Follow the curve of the sentence wherever it might lead, into deserts, under drifts of sand.”

— Virginia Woolf

88 A Small Dot on the Horizon—Syria, Where Johan Went to Counter Prejudice

Johan coordinated volunteers at a refugee camp in Greece. I asked why he had moved from Sweden to Syria previously ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“The truth is a pathless land.”

— Tiziano Terzani

87 Asylum—Sweden, Where Ibrahim Is Waiting

Ibrahim escaped Eritrea through the Sahara Desert hidden in the back of a car, crossed the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy crowded into a boat, and now waits in Sweden studying in an old schoolhouse. I asked what language he speaks ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“I didn’t make such an endless journey just to be sent back again now.”

— Franz Kafka

86 A Forlorn Émigré—Guantanamo, Where Alanka Can't Talk About

Alanka could only briefly share a few impressions of Cuba, but the real story is how he and his family got out, and even better what happened in Japan. I asked how these places shaped him ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“All the interest we had felt in the place was gone, and we only wanted to get away.”

— John L. Stephens

85 The Tear, the Kick, and L'Abri—Malta, Where Marsh Grew Up

Marsh spent decades smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. We met at L'Abri, a quiet home in the English countryside, where people come to sort out their questions about God. I asked what was the most memorable ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na doine.”

83 The Online Student—London, Where Mohammad and I Met Up

Mohammad flew to London from Kuwait while I happened to be there too, so we met in person for the first time and had coffee together. I asked if he likes to travel ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“It is only when you meet someone from a different culture from yourself that you begin to realise what your own beliefs really are.”

— George Orwell

82 The Good Host—Fügen, Where Eliska Runs Haus Sonneneck

Eliska realized her dream of living in the mountains year after year, and the result is one of the best Airbnb locales in the world. I asked what effect meeting so many fascinating travelers has had on her ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Visit Haus Sonneneck→

Listen to Orry in Episode 30→

Listen to Hitoshi in Episode 32→

Listen to Amin in Episode 55→

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“The good host is not merely polite to the guest—the good host assumes that the guest has stories to tell.”

— Parker Palmer

81 The Hipster Doctor—Russia, Where Onur Camped for the First and Last Time

Onur had a lot to say about his appearance that I lost when I deleted the first part of our conversation in another "slight" episode. I asked why he came to Belize ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“Now I must bore you with certain abstract things, but I hope you will listen patiently to them.”

— Vincent Van Gogh

80 The Viking—Thailand, Where Torleif Eats, Eats, Eats

Torleif is a self-proclaimed Viking. I asked what he thought of the food in Thailand in another "slight" episode ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“I am all the people I have met.”

— Jorge Luis Borges

79 El Payaso—Argentina, Where Camiseta Worked for Five Minutes

Camiseta plays accordion in Buenos Aires every weekend. This is the first of a series of "slight" episodes, encounters I recorded that may not warrant a full treatment but deserve to be heard nonetheless—or seen in this case. Click the link below to watch a video version of Camiseta with subtitles on our Facebook page. I asked whether he travels a lot ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Watch the subtitled video of Camiseta→

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“Globalization has a way of tinting its holdouts in a romantic glow.”

— Stephen Metcalf

78 The Scrumptious Simoom—Bethlehem, Where Flic Sheltered at an Inn

Flic had nowhere to sleep when a sandstorm overtook her in Bethlehem. I asked what it was like living in China ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“It is required of [everyone] that the spirit within them should walk abroad among [their] fellow [people], and travel far and wide.”

— Charles Dickens

77 Half of Many Things—Tibet, Where Lhamo Concretized Her Parents' Stories

Lhamo runs Momo Tibetan Dumplings Corner in Brussels with a particularly keen ethical conscience. I asked what it felt like the first time she visited her homeland ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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“Every exile lasts too long.”

— Luis Sepúlveda

76 A Collection of Homes—Oman, Where Carina Started a Journey through Ash

Carina hosts Easy German on Youtube, but that's actually only a small part of her and her husband Janusz's larger story. I asked whether the majority of Germans felt remorse after World War II ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Visit Easy German on Youtube→  

Visit The Global Experience→

Life Back Home→

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“The pathway leading to their homes was not clear.”

— The Popol Vuh

75 Forever Young—Iraq, Where Travis Felt a Tug on His Jacket

Travis told a story at the foot of Machu Picchu that has stayed with me ever since.  I had asked whether being a soldier in Iraq changed him ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Also, a very special thanks to Carlos Molina Rojas for providing the opening music. You can hear more of his band, Grupo Sonkoy, on Youtube by clicking.

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“We are edged with mist. We make insubstantial territories.”

— Virginia Woolf

74 That Little Push—Havasupai, Where Larry Met a Special Kind of People

Larry's life changed when he took his very first hike into the paradise at the bottom of the Grand Canyon in his fifties. I asked what prompted that fateful trip ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Also, a very special thanks to Carlos Molina Rojas for providing the opening music. You can hear more of his band, Grupo Sonkoy, on Youtube by clicking.

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“Hope is like a path in the countryside. At first there’s nothing, but as people walk that way, a path appears.”

— Lu Xun

73 The Shortest and Most Certain Way—Machu Picchu, Where Gloria Dreamed of Going

Gloria longed to visit Peru and climb Machu Picchu, like so many of us.  I asked what happened when she got to Cusco ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Also, a very special thanks to Carlos Molina Rojas for providing the opening music. You can hear more of his band, Grupo Sonkoy, on Youtube by clicking.

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“One is drawn irresistibly onward by ever-recurring surprises through a deep, winding gorge, turning and twisting past overhanging cliffs of incredible heights.”

— Hiram Bingham