136 Exposure Therapy—Sulawesi, Where Rachel Was a Fellow
Rachel was a Fellow with the U.S. State Department’s English Language Program in Sulawesi. She embraced challenges like finding ants in her...
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Society & Culture
The Observer Effect
These are strangers' travel stories. Each time I ask how travel has changed them and hope listening like this evaporates borders.
Episodes
20 of 136 episodes135 So Much More Than One Thing—Mauritius, Where Armen Was a Fellow
Armen was a Fellow with the U.S. State Department’s English Language Program in Mauritius. I asked how the experience changed him … and hope...
134 Moral Injury—Afghanistan, Where Joan Got a Text
Joan took part in this past August’s “Digital Dunkirk,” the frantic effort to help Afghans escape the Taliban when the U.S. withdrew after t...
133 All Very Hush Hush—Yemen, Where Aziza Wants to Help People Die
Aziza told me the religious police arrested her and her fiancé in Saudi Arabia. The interrogator asked, “Did you hit the religious police?”...
132 Love Is Stronger Than Death—Benin, Where Jean Reconnected
Jean was readier to answer my questions—as if he had somehow prepared—than anyone I have interviewed in the course of this project when we m...
131 La Direction de la Vie—Paris, Where Étienne Considered Suicide
Étienne has decorated his entire Paris apartment with paraphernalia from The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic children’s bo...
130 Black Doesn't Speak—Paris, Where Caracola Clowns
Caracola left Buenos Aires at 19 to study anthropology in Paris but soon realized her calling is to be a clown. She has been studying intens...
129 Al-Amin—The Bronx, Where Mohibul Trusted
Mohibul runs the restaurant his father established when he moved from Bangladesh to London. They named it Al-Amin, which means “trust.” I as...
128 Belonging—Mostar, Where Anja Is Writing a Bible
Anja left Bosnia as a toddler and lives there now to reconnect with her roots. I asked if she has found herself in her journeys ... and hope...
127 The Beauty of Sorrow—Zipolite, Where Indra Drowned
Indra broke up with his girlfriend in Turkey just months into traveling the world together and set off the series of events that brought him...
126 Vipassana—Tel Aviv, Where Meytal Wants to See
Meytal felt uncomfortable just following the typical path of a young Israeli, school, the army, job, and so she found another path that took...
125 The Fourth Cup—Nazareth, Where Odna Is Being Investigated
Odna was summoned by the police in Nazareth and questioned about her Facebook activity. They said they were secretly listening to her conver...
124 Beyond the Beyonds—Limerick, Where Frank Grew Up
Frank McCourt wrote his beloved memoir, Angela’s Ashes, about a childhood spent in Ireland. Una Heaten turned the schoolhouse he attended in...
123 Around the World in 72 Days—Mexico, Where Nellie Ran Away
Nellie Bly set out in 1889 to beat Jules Verne’s fictional circumnavigation of the globe by ten days and report along the way, but that’s on...
122 The Spirit of Dialogue—Egypt, Where Francis Tried to Stop the Crusades
St. Francis of Assisi attached himself to a band of crusaders in the hopes that when he met the sultan in Egypt, his words could dissuade ev...
121 A Listening Blue—Arles, Where Vincent Dreamed of Japan
Vincent Van Gogh left the Netherlands to paint the South of France near the end of his life and created some of the most famous and lasting...
120 Dublin Live Show—Sweny's, Where PJ Welcomes Joyceans
PJ Murphy dresses like a chemist to greet the visitors to Sweny’s Pharmacy who come to Dublin to experience James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses. At...
119 Seven Words—Maine, Where Rocinante Glowed
John Steinbeck packed up his dog and a few belongings into a camper he christened Rocinante and set out on the road late in life to discover...
118 The Last Grain of Rice—Mosul, Where Mikey Saw a Face
Mikey spent years as a helicopter pilot before becoming to a storyteller. You can see his filmmaking at MikeyKay.com. I asked how he approac...
117 The Other Side—L'Abri, Where Ryan Demilitarized
Ryan needed a place to decompress after serving in the military, so he went to L’Abri, a communal living center in the English countryside....