Far From Home

Latest Episodes:

Junkanoo Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

The historical accounts are a bit fuzzy, but the way the story is commonly told, Caribbean slaves in the 18th century gained a day of freedom two times a year, on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and New Year’s Day. They made costumes and played music to celebrate, and over the centuries, that tradition evolved into what’s now know as the annual Junkanoo festival, an all-night parade through the streets that’s been compared to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Carnival in Brazil.

On this episode of Far From Home, I visit Nassau in The Bahamas, which is home to the largest and most well-known of the celebrations. I speak with several participants to learn more about the festival and why they look forward to it each year around this time.

Visit my website to see some photos and videos my brother took when we attended the Junkanoo Festival a number of years ago.

The Bahamas are still recovering from the awful devastation of Hurricane Dorian a few months ago. If you’d like to make a donation to help, I suggest contacting Sol Relief or World Hope International.

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On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian documents fascinating stories from far-flung places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

Mother Russia Nov 30, 2019

Show notes

While driving across Russia on my way home from the Mongol Rally (the story I documented on the first season of this podcast), I had several conversations and interactions with people in Russia and Kazakhstan that surprised and even baffled me. So on this episode, I call up Charles Maynes, an American public radio journalist based in Moscow, to help me interpret and understand Russian culture. If you want to hear some of Charles’s reporting, I highly recommend the Spacebridge documentary series he co-produced that ran on PRX’s Showcase podcast.

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Meet Your Maker Nov 14, 2019

Show notes

This week’s episode is a bit different from what I normally do on the show. I’ve been getting a lot of questions and comments from listeners recently, so I thought I’d spend some time today answering some of them and sharing a bit of the feedback I’ve received. Some of you were also curious about my background and how I created Far From Home, so in the second half of the program, I’m featuring a recent interview I did with Corey Cambridge on his show, OPP (Other People’s Podcast), where I talk a little more about the path that led me into podcasting and the thinking that goes into my show.

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Haiti: Ten Years Later Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

This upcoming January marks the tenth anniversary of the massive earthquake in Haiti. It came on a Tuesday afternoon, 12 days into the new year, and destroyed or severely damaged a quarter of a million homes, killing more than 100,000 people. Eight months later, in September of 2010, I traveled to Haiti with several journalist colleagues to document the country’s slow recovery process. On today’s episode, I revisit my journey and some of the reporting I did, and I check in with Haitian freelance journalist Etant Dupain to see where things stand in Haiti today.

Visit my website to see some photos and videos I took during my trip and for a list of worthwhile organizations if you’d like to make a donation to help the Haitian people.

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Balloon Hats Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

When he was growing up in Southern California, Addi Somekh wasn't quite sure what to do with his life. But he knew from a young age that he wanted to "spread warmth" and make other people happy. On this week’s episode, the unusual story of how Addi’s quest to do just that set him off on a worldwide mission to make people laugh. Addi and his friend Charlie hatch a plan to travel around the globe making balloon hats for people, but what at first sounds like a fun and quirky adventure turns out to be far more meaningful than they ever could have imagined!

Visit my website to see some of Charlie’s amazing photos of people around the world wearing Addi’s balloon hats, and for links to his balloon art, his balloon bass music, his reality TV show, and the documentary that was made about his travels.

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Before It's Too Late Oct 04, 2019

Show notes

I feel like several of the trips I’ve taken in recent years have been to places people have urged me to go while I still can, or at least before things change. On today’s show, I visit Cambodia, which is one such place that’s changed dramatically, where the present no longer looks like the past. First I go to Angkor Wat, which had just 8000 tourists in 1993, but 2.5 million by 2018. Then I take a ride on Battambang’s famous bamboo railway, which was moved to a new location the year after my trip.

Visit my website to see photos of the crowd watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat and a video of my brother and me riding the bamboo railway.

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Ayahuasca - bonus episode Sep 28, 2019

Show notes

As a follow-up to my last episode, I present the story of my friend Dennis, who also tried ayahuasca in Peru and seemed to be immune to its effects.

Select music in this episode was licensed from composer Anthony Kozar under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

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Ayahuasca Sep 23, 2019

Show notes

In the previous episode of Far From Home, I visited Lima, Peru, where I met a traditional medicine man named Lucho. This time, I accompany him to a healing ceremony where he uses a hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca. I also speak with an anthropologist to learn more about the history of shamanism. Visit my website to see some photos from the ceremony.

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Medicine Man Sep 06, 2019

Show notes

Lucho is a traditional medicine man who describes himself as a "curandero," or someone who heals. Using medicinal herbs, archeological relics, and hallucinogenic plants (as well as some special powers), he claims to have rid himself of diabetes and his father of cancer. He regularly travels around Peru treating people with all sorts of ailments. On this episode of Far From Home, I travel to Lima and join Lucho as he goes on a journey, searching for a star-shaped stone with supposed magical powers that he saw in a vision.

Visit my website to see photos from my trip to the traditional medicine market in the northern Peruvian city of Chiclayo.

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Another Brick in the Wall Aug 22, 2019

Show notes

In 1998, political leaders in Northern Ireland signed a peace agreement they hoped would end the Troubles, a 30 year period of armed conflict between Catholic nationalists and Protestant loyalists. Decades later, the situation has improved, but cities like Belfast remain divided by dozens of fences and walls separating the two communities. And removing them isn’t going to be easy. On this episode of Far From Home, I visit Northern Ireland to learn about the history and speak to residents about why the walls are still standing.

This documentary was produced in collaboration with my friends at the excellent podcast 99% Invisible, which you should definitely check out if you aren’t already a listener. Visit their website for more background information about this story and to hear an extended conversation between host Roman Mars and me (starting around 28:30 into episode 367) about the connection between the peace walls and Brexit, the ongoing divisions between Catholics and Protestants, and a very funny television show that’s helping to bring them together.

Also, visit my website to see photos and an interactive map of the peace walls in Northern Ireland.

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