Far From Home

While I'm taking a break from releasing new episodes, I wanted to share an episode of another great podcast I heard recently and that I thought all of you might enjoy. The show is called Making Peace Visible, and it features conversations with journalists, peace-builders, activists, and scholars on the front lines of peace and conflict. Making Peace Visible also aims to analyze how the media cover conflict as well as to amplify stories of resolution and reconciliation that are often under-reported or even ignored.Their guest on this particular episode is Terrell Jermaine Starr, an independent journalist based in Ukraine whose reporting has appeared in Foreign Policy magazine, The Washington Post, and MSNBC. His work focuses on how Ukrainian politics and society relate to the rest of the world, especially the United States, Europe, and Africa.In the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion, Terrell gained international attention for his up-close-and-personal reporting style, and for helping vulnerable Ukrainians flee the country. Also for being a rare Black American reporter on the ground.On Terrell's own podcast, “Black Diplomats,” and his Substack blog, he provides reporting and analysis on politics in Ukraine, the United States, and beyond, paying special attention to equity and discrimination, and drawing parallels between Putinism and the MAGA movement in the United States. And he also has an ongoing project documenting the lives of Ukrainians of African descent. If you want to keep up with Terrell's reporting, you can follow him on Instagram. If you enjoyed this conversation, you should also subscribe to Making Peace Visible and listen to more episodes from their archives wherever you listen to podcasts.On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

In the Nørrebro neighborhood of Copenhagen, there's a small building with a garden and wooden seats. It's the Menneskebiblioteket or Human Library, where the "readers" and "books" are actually people having deeply personal and intimate conversations about topics that might normally be considered off-limits or taboo in polite society. It's staffed by volunteers whose life stories and experiences mean they face some sort of stigma, whether it be due to their ethnicity, religion, orientation, occupation, disability, or social status. On this episode of Far From Home, I pay a visit to the Human Library where I speak to a librarian and several "books" as well as the library's founder, Ronni Abergel.Since its humble beginning in Denmark several decades ago, the Human Library concept has now spread to more than 80 countries on 6 continents! You can visit the library's Facebook page to find out about upcoming library events near you.(This episode includes the following music: Shapeshifters, Go to Sleep, Moodswing, Mont Blanc, Ice Pack, The Gall, Scaffoldings, Downtown, and Well and Good by Podington Bear from the Free Music Archives - CC by N.C. 3.0 and 1960s 2 House from Mobygratis) On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

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

When he was 26 years old in 1948, Garry Davis did something that would make the rest of his life really complicated.Over the next six decades, he’d be detained and imprisoned 34 times in 9 countries, dragged off the floor of the United Nations General Assembly, and gain millions of followers, all while confronting countless bureaucrats who had absolutely no idea what to do with him.What set this chain of events into motion was his decision to stand before a guy in a gray suit at the US Embassy in Paris, put his hand on a bible, and read a couple of lines off a sheet of paper renouncing his American citizenship. And he'd never become a citizen of any other country, instead navigating the world as a stateless person without any sort of road map or instruction manual. Garry would go on to found the World Government of World Citizens and issue birth certificates, passports, and other identity documents, all in his quest for unity and peace.If you're interested in learning more about Garry Davis, check out this video about him and also this documentary that was made about him a number of years ago: https://www.theworldismycountry.com/On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

Over the past few months, President Trump has taken a sort of a slash-and-burn approach to much of the U.S. government, and among the many taxpayer-funded programs he’s axed has been American foreign assistance distributed through the Agency for International Development or USAID. That’s billions of dollars that helped with things like Ebola prevention in West Africa, malaria testing in Myanmar, famine relief to war-torn Sudan, and food deliveries to refugees from Western Sahara.Leading the cost-cutting charge is Elon Musk, who Trump appointed to run the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. In response to criticism, Musk tweeted recently that “no one has died as a result of a brief pause to do a sanity check on foreign aid funding,” but as time has passed, more and more evidence has emerged that that assurance simply isn’t true.The British newspaper The Telegraph reported in early February that a number of people in Thai refugee camps passed away after USAID-funded hospitals were forced to close and medical workers abruptly left the area, cutting off patient’s oxygen supplies. More recently, New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof visited South Sudan, where he heard stories of children who’d died after losing access to their American-funded HIV medications, which had only cost about 12 cents a day. The World Health Organization says that the Trump administration’s decision to cut foreign aid means eight countries could completely exhaust their supplies of life-saving HIV medications in the coming months. And internal memos from USAID itself estimate that dismantling the agency could cause up to 166-thousand worldwide deaths each year from malaria, not to mention a million children who will suffer from severe malnutrition and 200-thousand who will be paralyzed with polio.On this episode of Far From Home, I visit a food distribution warehouse for refugees in southwest Algeria, and I speak to humanitarian workers in Sudan, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the country of Georgia to hear firsthand accounts of how these budget cuts are directly impacting people around the world. On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

Montreal is a city often split between English and French languages and cultures, but one thing that almost all residents can get behind is cheering on their beloved hockey team, the Canadiens. This isn't just your run-of-the-mill, sports-crazed city, however. The love of hockey here runs much deeper. It's tied to both the history of the game's creation as well as the identity of the Quebecois people, who've come to see their hometown team as a powerful symbol of their nationhood, even though they're still officially part of Canada.On this episode of Far From Home -- which I originally reported for Here and There, a Canadian Geographic travel podcast -- I visit Montreal where I attend a game amid 20,000 cheering fans, and I even take my own hockey lesson. By the end of my trip, it's clear that what started out as a simple sports story is actually about something much deeper and more meaningful. Thanks to Liz Beatty and Black Cabin Studios for permission to share this story with the Far From Home audience. Thanks also to Clark McLeod, Mario Lambert, Emma Jacobs, Tourism Montreal, Destination Canada, and Excellent Ice.On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is now entering its third year, and it’s been a humanitarian disaster. According to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, it’s displaced nearly 7 million Ukrainians globally. And on the other side, an estimated 900,000 Russians have also fled their country for various reasons. Among them are economic migrants, conscientious objectors, and political refugees, but also a smaller subset of hundreds of exiled journalists, who’ve had to leave in order to continue to report freely, amid a crackdown on press freedom and free expression. This is the story of one of them, my friend Ivan.For more info on the kidnapping of Ukrainian children, visit https://russiaswaronchildren.orgOn Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

As we wrap up another year, I'm re-sharing an episode I originally released back at the end of 2020 about a holiday tradition I got to witness while I was visiting Puerto Rico. I often travel over Christmas and New Years, and I love seeing how people in other places have cultural practices that are different from my own. This was one of those experiences. My friend Rob took me to a parranda, which is sort of like a Puerto Rican version of Christmas caroling. But as you’ll hear, this particular parranda had an interesting twist.On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

As I spent time abroad over the past few months in the lead-up to the American presidential election, I was struck by how often news and politics from back home seemed to be on the minds of all the locals I met. It’s like no matter how far away I went, it was impossible to escape! On this episode I reflect on how important what happens in the United States is to people the rest of the world, and we hear from people in Poland, Haiti, Lebanon, Iran, India, Afghanistan, Puerto Rico, and Uganda about what the election of Donald Trump means to them.If you want to learn more about the work of Frank Mugisha’s organization, visit the webpage of Sexual Minorities Uganda. And be sure to check out The Europeans, the weekly podcast that Wojciech Oleksiak from Poland helps produce. It’s a great way to keep informed on all the important news happening around the European continent, and I always have the latest episode in my personal podcast queue.(Thanks to Kevin MacLeod for his track Desert City, which was used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.)On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from far-flung places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

I'm still working on my next episode, where I'm asking listeners around the world to send me short voice memo recordings from their phones, talking about how people where they live have reacted to the recent American election results and how they think a second Trump presidency would impact ordinary folks in their country. If you have any thoughts or observations you'd like to share, please email me at [email protected] the meantime, I know a lot of new listeners have joined me for this 4th season of Far From Home, so I'm popping into your feed to introduce myself and share a little about my background and how I got to where I am today.On this episode, I'm featuring an excerpt of an interview James Hammond conducted with me a few months ago for his “Winging It Travel Podcast.” It was a really great conversation, and we delved into some interesting topics that I haven't discussed on Far From Home in the past, so I wanted to share it with all of you.You can visit Winging It's website to read a nice article James wrote about me and listen to the rest of our conversation, or simply search for Winging It Travel Podcast in whatever podcast app you use (note that this interview originally ran back in May, 2024)On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from far-flung places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

If you travel around Canada, you’ll find lots of regional dishes, but there isn’t really a strong national culinary identity the way there is in Italy or Mexico, for example. So I embarked on a quest to figure out how exactly to define "Canadian cuisine" beyond the stereotypical maple syrup, poutine, and butter tarts. The answer turned out to be much more interesting than I ever could have imagined!A version of this piece originally ran on Here and There, a Canadian Geographic travel podcast. Thanks to Liz Beatty and Black Cabin Studios for permission to share this story with the Far From Home audience. Canadian listeners might also appreciate my documentary reexamining the legacy of the Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven painters.On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from far-flung places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org

In the course of reporting my documentary about Freetown Christiania -- Copenhagen's famous anarchist commune -- for the 99% Invisible podcast, I took two trips to Denmark and recorded many hours of interviews that unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor. In this bonus episode of Far From Home, I present some of the highlights as well as some additional context and backstories of the people I interviewed. [N.B.: This episode contains some explicit language.]If you enjoy this podcast, please post about it on social media and tag @farfromhomepodcast (on Instagram or Facebook), and also consider texting or emailing a friend!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

In 1971, a group of squatters took over an abandoned military base just across the harbor from downtown Copenhagen, Denmark. They created a politically autonomous anarchist zone -- in other words, a commune -- with its own flag, marching band, and consensus-driven governance process, and they decided to call their community Christiania. The thousand or so residents were free to do pretty much whatever they wanted as long as it didn't infringe upon the rights of other people. There were just a few rules: no private ownership of land or housing, no weapons or violence, and no vehicles. But as the years went on, Christiania faced a number of challenges, and now -- more than half a century later -- it's at a turning point where some people question how much longer it will be able to survive.This first episode of Far From Home's 4th season was produced in collaboration with 99% Invisible. Thanks to my editor Joe Rosenberg and the rest of the 99pi team for their assistance. Be sure to listen to my companion bonus episode that I'm releasing simultaneously with this episode, containing more content about Christiania that I didn't have room to include in this documentary! Also, in case you missed it, check out the last story I produced for them a few years ago about the peace walls separating Protestant Unionists and Catholic Nationalists in Northern Ireland.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

In this era of wars, conflicts, and polarized politics, talking to strangers has never been more important. A new season of episodes launches Tuesday, October 8th.(Thanks to Ali Lemer for editorial support)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

After missing the opportunity to see the last total solar eclipse in the United States back in 2017, I decided to add this experience to my bucket list and vowed I would do whatever it takes to see an eclipse in the future. A few weeks ago, I got my chance. Joined by my brother Drew and his friends Jeremy and Claire, I drove up to the woods of northern New Hampshire, and together, the four of us witnessed an event that far surpassed whatever expectations any of us had had. Here’s an audio postcard from our trip. Visit my website at farfromhomepodcast.org to view more photos and videos! 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

Thor Pedersen always felt like he was born too late. He grew up in a world where other people had already done most of the amazing things, like venturing to the North and South Poles, climbing the highest mountains, following the longest rivers, and exploring the depths of the deepest seas. But in 2013, at the age of 34, he discovered one record that no one had yet managed to achieve. So he went to the store, bought a map, and began marking it with a blue pen and a red pen. Before long, he hatched a plan to make history and get his name “on page 506 in some little book,” as he saw it: he would travel to every country in the world without flying, in a single, unbroken journey. On this episode of Far From Home, he tells the story of that journey and how it turned out to be way longer and more difficult than he ever imagined it would be. Check out Thor’s blog, where he documented his entire, decade-long trip. ————- 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

After releasing my last episode where I shared stories from my time in Oklahoma many years ago, I came across one more short radio piece in my archives that I thought some of your might enjoy. It’s about another cultural phenomenon unique to Oklahoma that I experienced: the world’s only behind-the-walls prison rodeo. Before a stadium of 9000 cheering fans, a hundred inmates from around the state competed in events like calf roping, steer wrestling, a wild horse race, and “Money the Hard Way,” a competition where people tried to grab a $100 bill that was tied between the horns of a charging bull. ————- 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

Two decades ago, I was just starting out as a public radio reporter, applying for literally every radio job opening I saw, and somehow I ended up getting hired by a small station in Norman, Oklahoma. Given that the culture, politics, and geography were so incredibly different from anything I’d been exposed to up to that point. moving there from my home state of New Jersey almost felt like going to a foreign country. Yet despite any initial reservations I had, it turned out to be a really great experience, and the five years I spent there ended up making me a better journalist and a better person. On this episode, I’m sharing a couple of my favorite radio stories I produced during my time in Oklahoma, to give you a small sense of the culture of this region that many Americans on the coasts simply regard as “flyover country.” First, I get to experience the traditional sport known as catfish noodling. Then I go on a rattlesnake hunt in southwestern Oklahoma. ————- 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

If you listened to my last episode, you heard the story of my friend Jamie Yuenger, an American who moved from New York City to the Netherlands and was struggling to make the transition and figure out how to fit in. Following up on that theme, today I’m sharing a recent episode from my friends at The Bittersweet Life podcast, where co-host Tiffany Parks looks back at the past nearly two decades she’s spent in Italy and discusses the milestone she’s just reached of having now officially lived in Rome longer than she’s lived anywhere else. If you enjoy this conversation, you can find The Bittersweet Life wherever you get your podcasts or delve into their archives of nearly 500 shows on their website, thebittersweetlife.net ————- 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

From the age of 24 until she was 37, Jamie Yuenger lived in New York City. While she started out having a complicated relationship with the city, she grew over time to love her adopted hometown. Then a few years ago, she fell in love with a Dutch guy named Piet and decided to move to the Netherlands to be with him. That meant she’d be starting over in a new country where she didn’t understand the language or the culture. Jamie set about adapting to her new life, but it turned out to be way harder than she imagined. Jamie has her own podcast called “If You Knew Me,” which features personal stories of the inner lives of women. And she also produced “Totem,” where she told the incredible story of how she met her husband Piet. Were you able to relate to Jamie’s story, and have you ever experienced anything similar? Tell me about it by dropping me a line or -- better yet – recording a voice memo on your phone and sending it to me at [email protected] You can also find Far From Home on Instagram or Facebook. ————- 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

Last winter during the pandemic, Jack Boswell started to reevaluate his place in life and realize that at the age of 31, he still hadn’t chased his real passion of being a Hollywood screenwriter. So he decided to quit his job and hop on a plane where he lived in London to head to Los Angeles and give it a go. But instead of flying directly there, he figured he’d instead land in Boston and make his way across the United States by train, documenting the places he visited and the people he met along the way. Out of his experiences, he crafted the first season of his podcast “Off the Beaten Jack,” which ended up being nominated as best new podcast in the British Podcast Awards. On this episode of Far From Home, I chat with Jack Boswell and we listen to some excerpts from his show. If you’re interested in learning more about Jack’s style of traveling, you can look into couchsurfing and Workaway volunteer opportunities (or Worldpackers, which is similar). ————- 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

As you may have seen in my feed, I recently teamed up with my colleagues at NPR’s Planet Money economic podcast to report a story that prominently featured the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan — which is probably one of the most obscure countries in the world, and certainly not a place that most of us hear much about, much less visit. Only about 10,000 tourists a year cross its borders, but in the summer of 2016, my brother, my friends Rosi and Jane, and I were some of the lucky few. We drove across Turkmenistan as part of an 11,000 mile road trip we were taking from London to Mongolia, raising money for charity. I documented that journey on the first season of this podcast, and today — for all my new listeners — I’m re-releasing an excerpt of one of my favorite episodes (#11) called “Turkmenistan: Just Plain Weird.” If you enjoy this, I recommend going back to the very beginning of my feed and listening to my first season in its entirety! ————- 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

A few months ago, a friend of mine named Oraz who runs an autobody repair shop in Turkmenistan came across a kind of puzzle. A new vehicle had just arrived on his lot. A white Lexus SUV. He could see by the registration sticker that it came from my home state of New Jersey, but the even stranger thing was the shape it was in. It was practically brand new, unlike like the dented and mangled cars that usually come to him for repairs. Oraz wondered: how did this car get here, to his shop? And what kind of place, what kind of person, casts off such a nice new car? Those questions led me on a journey through the international used car underground... all the way back to a pleasant, two-story home in suburban New Jersey. To find the answers, I team up with reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi of NPR’s Planet Money podcast, which features fun and surprising stories about the global economy. To hear the complete story of my road trip from the UK to Mongolia — when I broke down in the middle of the desert and first met Oraz — scroll back to the beginning of my feed and check out the first season of my podcast. ————- 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

I’m always open to listener feedback on Far From Home, and I heard from someone recently who’s given me a new perspective on one of my past stories and forced me to see things in a new light, so I wanted to share it with all of my listeners. Several years ago on the show, I featured a series of stories about Lucho, a traditional medicine man from Peru who describes himself as a "curandero," or someone who heals. Using medicinal herbs, archaeological relics, and hallucinogenic plants, he claims to have rid himself of diabetes and his father of cancer. He regularly travels around his country treating people with all sorts of ailments. In part one of my series, I joined Lucho as he embarked on a journey up the coast, searching for a star-shaped stone with supposed magical powers that he saw in a vision. Then I accompanied him to a healing ceremony in a shantytown on the outskirts of Lima where he served participants a hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca. I’d originally planned on simply observing and documenting the event, but once I was there, I decided to take Lucho up on his offer to consume a small amount of the potion myself to understand what the experience was like for everyone else. It didn’t seem to have much of an effect on me, however, and I wondered in the story whether I might be somehow immune. In a bonus episode, I also shared the story of my friend Dennis, who similarly tried ayahuasca during his visit to Peru and felt like it didn’t live up to his expectations. But after chatting recently with Nora Dunn, I’ve realized that perhaps my takeaways from my experience as well as my presentation of the topic might not have been entirely fair. Nora’s been traveling the world as a digital nomad for the past 17 years, blogging as The Professional Hobo, and she also spent several years working with shamans in Ecuador and Peru. On this episode, I revisit my previous reporting and get Nora’s insights on what I might have gotten wrong. ————- 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

While I’ve been hunkered down these past few years, avoiding traveling and staying home while I rode out the pandemic, I’ve been incredibly lucky that I’ve had a safe and comfortable place to live. But what has this experience been like for people in living situations that failed to provide basic levels of safety, privacy, and comfort? On this episode of Far From Home, I play an episode from the Shelter podcast series that I co-produced with Rutgers University, coLAB Arts, and the New Brunswick Theological Seminary looking at the topic of housing insecurity in the era of Covid-19. ————- 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

Over the past 2 months, more than 5 million people have left Ukraine, and another 6-and-a-half-million have fled their homes and are now displaced elsewhere within their own country, making this Europe’s largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. Neighboring countries are struggling to keep up with the exodus, but they’ve generally been fairly welcoming, which many critics have pointed out is a markedly different approach from how they’ve treated African and Middle Eastern refugees in the past. With so much of the world’s attention now focused on Ukraine, I thought I’d spend some time this episode featuring the voices of refugees from other parts of the world, since their stories are of course equally important. The recordings come from the Sound Seekers Audio Festival and were produced by refugee, asylum, and migrant communities in partnership with community radio stations, the Irish Research Council, and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. ————- 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

On this episode, I speak to Savelli and Olexander, two Ukrainians who’ve suddenly had their lives upended after the Russian military invaded their country. ————- 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

Central Asia is not a place that most Westerners know or think about very often. But now that I’ve been there, my ears perk up on the rare instances when it makes the news, as was the case on two separate occasions over the past few weeks. In light of recent developments in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, I re-play excerpts of some episodes I featured several years ago on the first season of Far From Home, where I documented an 11,000 mile road trip my friends and I took from the UK to Mongolia in a couple of really tiny cars. If you’re new to the program, I recommend going back to the very beginning of my podcast feed and bingeing the entire story of my journey. In particular, if you want to listen to longer versions of the stories I played on today’s show, here are the links: “Kazakhstan: One Surprise After Another” (ep. 19) “Turkmenistan: Just Plain Weird” (ep. 11) - go to that link also to see a video of my friends and I approaching the giant fire pit in the middle of Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert ————- 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

Take Santa Claus. Then ditch the red suit and the flying reindeer, and you’ve got a guy who’s all about giving. On this last episode of my third season, I tell the story of the time my dad tried out the role and got more than he bargained for! This story originally aired many years ago on NPR’s Day to Day. Thanks to my editor Russell Lewis. ————- 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

Nearly 2 years into the Covid-19 pandemic, new waves of infection continue to spread around the world, and the Omicron variant is causing renewed fears in places that previously thought they had the virus under control. So I’m releasing another episode in my series where I check in with friends and colleagues around the world to get a sense of what things are like where they live. This time we hear voices from Thailand, Ukraine, Guatemala, Belgium, Finland, and Vietnam. If you’ve missed the previous three installments of my COVID Stories series, you can check them out in my season 3 archive. If you’re a regular listener of my show, I’d love to hear your feedback on this series. Do you enjoy it, or are you tired of it, and you think I should move on to something else? You can let me know by emailing me at [email protected] ————- 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

Having grown up just outside of New York City, I visited most of the big tourist attractions like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Center when I was a kid. But when you spend a lot of time in a place and get to know it well, you start to discover some really cool but lesser-known areas, and those are the ones I always like to share with friends when they come from out of town. Recently, I played tour guide for my colleague Palle Bo, who’s the host of The Radio Vagabond podcast and has been to nearly 100 countries. If you’re a longtime listener of my show, you may remember his episode I shared a while back about the time he and his daughter joined a tour group in North Korea. Palle had been to New York several times before, so I figured I would get him out of Manhattan where most of the other tourists stay and bring him to see some interesting sites in the city’s outer boroughs. He ended up making a podcast episode about our experience that I really enjoyed, so I’m re-sharing it in my feed. You can read more and see some photos from some of the places Palle and I visited on his website. If you’re new to Far From Home and want to hear some of my past episodes that Palle mentioned, check out my first season where I told the story of my road trip to Mongolia including the time my friends and I were asked to pay a bribe in Tajikistan, my episode about the time I made a fool of myself trying to learn the ancient art of Tuvan throat singing, and the time I participated in a hallucinogenic healing ceremony in Peru. ————————- 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

When you travel, it’s inevitable that you’ll occasionally have weird or random experiences, where you might have certain expectations before you arrive at a place, but then you’re totally thrown for a loop. Sometimes it’s frustrating, and other times it ends up being a pleasant surprise, but either way, it’s unexpected, and there’s this moment where you can’t help but stop, take a breath, and think, “Wait. How did I end up here again?” On today’s episode, I talk about how I found myself in a swarm of Justin Bieber fans in Bangkok, Thailand, and Nisreene Atassi — host of Expedia’s “Out Travel the System” podcast — shares the story of the time she and some co-workers went to a sushi dinner in Tokyo and ended up having a night they’d never forget. If you enjoy this episode, you might also like this story from my last season about the time I slept overnight on the floor of Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market to see an early morning tuna auction. And if all this inspires you to head to the nearest airport, check out this episode of Nissy’s podcast where she discusses tips for planning your own trip to Japan! As always, you can find, follow, and message Far From Home on Facebook or Instagram or contact me on Twitter. Or you can drop me a line at [email protected] ————————- 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

In the immediate aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, President Bush vowed revenge against the perpetrators, but not everyone found his words comforting. Around this time, a small but vocal group of people got together to speak out. They were the parents, spouses, siblings, and children of people who were killed in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and they said they didn’t want the deaths of their loved ones to be used to justify military attacks that could harm innocent civilians on the other side of the world. They called themselves “September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows,” and in late November of 2001, they took part in a walk for peace from the Pentagon to the World Trade Center site. I was a young reporter at the time, and I tagged along and interviewed several members of the group, later producing an hour-long documentary featuring their stories. On this 20th anniversary of the attacks, I’m re-releasing that documentary, along with an interview I conducted a few weeks ago with David Potorti, whose brother James worked on the 96th floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center. David has just co-edited an anthology of poetry from over 100 poets who’ve written about September 11th. It’s called Crossing the Rift: North Carolina Poets on 9/11 and its Aftermath. As always, you can find, follow, and message Far From Home on Facebook or Instagram or contact me on Twitter. Or you can drop me a line at [email protected] ————————- 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

Knowing the rules and being able to navigate them can be a big part of feeling safe in any city. On this episode of Far From Home, I share an episode from another great podcast I recently discovered called “Here There Be Dragons,” where host Jess Myers speaks to residents of Stockholm, Sweden trying to figure out the norms, how to use them, and how to change them. Will they have to bend to Stockholm or will Stockholm bend to them? If you enjoy this episode, I highly recommend subscribing to HTBD wherever you get your podcasts to hear more fascinating, behind-the-scenes stories from cities around the world! ————————- 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

July 17th, 2021 marked the fifth anniversary of the day my brother Drew and I — along with our friends Jane and Rosi — set out from southern England on an 11,000 mi (18k km) road trip across Europe and Asia. Over the seven weeks that followed, we’d cross 18 countries, 8 time zones, 5 mountain ranges, and a few deserts, before eventually ending up in Ulan-Ude, Siberia, just north of Mongolia. And along the way, we’d have all sorts of crazy adventures, ranging from crashing a wedding in Kazakhstan to visiting Iran as American tourists, not to mention an emergency rescue and countless breakdowns and mechanical difficulties, often in the worst possible places! On this episode of Far From Home, I play a recent conversation Drew and Rosi had with me and a small crowd of Far From Home fans and listeners in Clubhouse, the audio-based social media app. We look back at some highlights from our adventure, share behind-the-scenes stories, and take questions from the audience (you can skip forward to 53:19 if you just want to hear the Q&A). If you’re new to this podcast and haven’t yet had a chance to listen to my first season where I documented this journey, I encourage you to go back and binge my show from the very beginning. You can also view tons of bonus content including photos and videos on my website as well as by scrolling back in my Instagram feed. If you want to read more about my journey, check out my Mongol Rally team website, and here’s the link where you can check out the Gallivanting Quines YouTube video Anne MacAskill mentioned during the Q&A portion of this event. ————————- 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

When you travel – especially if you’re in a distant and unfamiliar place – it’s inevitable that sooner or later, things will happen that are beyond your control. You’re thrown a curveball and you’ve got to do your best to stay calm, be creative, and improvise. On this episode, I feature two stories from friends of mine who got caught in unexpected and frightening situations outside their comfort zones, where they had to navigate entirely new terrain and try their best to sort things out. First we hear from Graham and Sarah Marsden about their 2010 trip to Syria on the eve of the Arab Spring. Graham is the founder of a travel company ironically called “Don’t Go Travel,” which promotes ethical and responsible tourism. He also hosts a podcast called “Don’t Go Unless,” where I was a guest a few months ago, discussing my trip to Cambodia. Then, Donna Salter tells the story of how she ended up stranded on a little tiny boat in the middle of very big ocean. If you want to hear about another one of her adventures, hitching a ride across the ocean on a cargo ship, here’s an interview she did on the Global Travel Channel podcast. (Music used in this episode includes Desert City, Balzan Groove - Vadodara, and Darkening Developments by Kevin MacLeod, which are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. (source: http://incompetech.com/), as well as Filastine – Judas Goat (feat. Hichman Enouiti), which was licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivs 3.0 license.) ————- 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

COVID-19 has closed borders and made travel difficult if not impossible for many of us over the past year-and-a-half. But radio signals don't need passports or plane tickets. They circle the earth, bouncing off the atmosphere. So even if you’re confined to your home, it’s possible — with a good antenna — to listen to voices from the other side of the world. On this episode of Far From Home, award-winning radio producer, audio archivist, and shortwave / pirate radio aficionado David Goren joins me to share recorded highlights from his decades monitoring the airwaves. If you enjoy this interview, I highly recommend checking out David’s interactive Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map as well as his Soundcloud page where he’s posted dozens more shortwave radio recordings from his archives. You can follow Far From Home on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and join my club on the Clubhouse app (please drop me a line at [email protected] if you need an invitation). ————- 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

On this episode of Far From Home, I continue my series where I’m checking in with friends and colleagues around the world to get a sense of the many ways COVID-19 is affecting people and how their governments are handling the pandemic. This time we hear voices from Tunisia, Switzerland, Cameroon, Antigua and Barbuda, Mexico, and the Czech Republic. If you’ve missed the previous two installments of my COVID Stories series, you can check them out in my season 3 archive. As mentioned in this episode, if you’re a Swiss German speaker and want to listen to This Wachter’s botany podcast, you can find it here. Morgan Childs recently produced Foreign Insiders, a 10-part series about foreigners and other outsiders in the Czech Republic. And you can follow Sam Kimball (who gave us the update from Tunisia) on Twitter. ————- 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

April 26, 2021 marks the 35th anniversary of the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the former USSR — which remains the worst nuclear accident in history — so I’m re-releasing an episode from my second season where my friend Donna and I visited the site of the explosion and toured abandoned buildings in nearby villages. You can read more about my trip and see photos and videos on my website.If you’re a new listener to my show and you enjoy this episode, I recommend you go back and delve into my archives, since I’ve got tons more interesting documentaries I’ve produced from my travels over the years!————-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

Each year on April 19th, residents of Oklahoma City commemorate the anniversary of the 1995 bombing in their city, which prior to September 11th bore the distinction of being the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. On this episode of Far From Home, I dig into my archives to share two stories I produced about the bombing from back when I was a reporter at a small public radio station in Oklahoma. First I look back at how Muslim Americans were falsely blamed in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Then I share the story of former Oklahoma City police officer Jim Ramsey, who won his department’s Medal of Valor for his role on the day of the bombing, before guilt and depression got the best of him. ————- 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

Over the past week, violence has once again broken out in Northern Ireland. During one skirmish in Belfast last Wednesday, rioters threw Molotov cocktails, several police officers were injured, and a double decker bus was hijacked and burnt to the ground. It was the latest flare-up in long-simmering tensions between Catholic nationalists — who are calling for a united Ireland — and Protestant loyalists and unionists, who remain dedicated to the British Crown.To get some context on the latest developments, I’m joined this episode by my colleague Don Duncan, who’s a journalist and a lecturer at Queen’s University in Belfast. Then we listen back to a documentary I produced several years ago for the podcast 99% Invisible about the dozens of fences and walls that still separate many Catholic nationalist and Protestant loyalist communities in Northern Ireland, even though it’s been more than two decades since a peace agreement was signed that officially ended the era of armed conflict.Visit my website to see photos and an interactive map of the peace walls in Northern Ireland. And visit 99% Invisible’s website for more background information about this story and to hear an extended conversation between me and host Roman Mars (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.—————————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

Over the past year, COVID-19 has had all sorts of ripple effects that most of us never imagined: Air pollution plummeted as people stopped flying. Companies closed their office buildings for good as working from home became the new norm. And here’s another change you might not have thought much about: The pandemic has radically altered how the world sounds.On this episode, I’m joined by Berlin-based science journalist and multimedia producer Andreas von Bubnoff. He’s one of the creators of the Pandemic Silence Project. Together, we listen to recordings people around the world have submitted to his website, documenting how things now sound different where they live. If you’d like to submit a recording from where you live, you can do so here.***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

Having hiked the Appalachian Trail, Justin and Patrice La Vigne thought they knew what they were getting into when they decided to embark on Te Araroa, a 2000 mile path across New Zealand. But they ended up being blown away by the kindness and incredible hospitality of the people they met along the way. If you’re interested in learning more about their journey, you can visit their website to read their blog and get Patrice’s book, Between Each Step – A Married Couple’s Thru Hike on New Zealand’s Te Araroa.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

I’m taking a break between seasons right now, but I’m popping back into your feed with a special bonus episode I’m sharing from a really great podcast called Foreign Correspondence. It’s hosted by Jake Spring, who’s a journalist for Reuters based in Brazil. On his program, Jake does fascinating interviews with other journalists around the world, and on his latest episode, Jake interviewed me about how I got into journalism, my previous work in public radio, and some of the stories I’ve worked on for Far From Home.Here are links to some of the things we talked about:HowSound podcast by Rob RosenthalWNYC’s Peabody award winning coverage of NJ Governor Chris Christie and the response to Superstorm SandyMy story on Antigua and Barbuda that I co-produced with NPR’s Planet MoneyVox podcast Today, ExplainedAn Arm and a Leg podcastIn the Dark podcast Season 2Chef Yotam OttolenghiMilk Street cooking websiteBill Buford’s book Among the ThugsNPR’s Throughline history podcastWNYC’s On the Media radio show and podcast————————-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

On this final episode of Season 3, I return to where I began 2020 in Puerto Rico, on the last trip I took prior to the pandemic. I join my friend Rob at a parranda — the Puerto Rican version of Christmas caroling — except this parranda has a unique twist. ——————— 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

COVID-19 may have forced most of us to take a break from traveling for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some really cool places to discover right in our own neighborhoods. On this episode, I join about a dozen suburban adventurers on an exploration of Toney’s Brook, a local stream that flows through — and under — the town of Montclair, New Jersey, close to where I live. See photos and videos from my trip on my website. And — if you’re not already doing so — make sure to follow Far From Home on Instagram or Facebook. —————— 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

While Americans were celebrating Halloween and heading to the polls, Peruvians were busy commemorating El Dia de los Defuntos, the day at the beginning of November each year when they remember their deceased relatives. On this episode of Far From Home, I visit one of the world’s largest cemeteries on the outskirts of Lima, Peru as thousands of people flock to their loved ones’ graves to eat, drink, and listen to music. Read more and see some photos and videos from my trip on my website. And — if you’re not already doing so — make sure to follow Far From Home on Instagram. ————- 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

On this episode of Far From Home, I continue my series where I’m checking in with friends and colleagues around the world to get a sense of the many ways COVID-19 is affecting people and how their governments are handling the pandemic. This time we hear voices from Lithuania, South Africa, India, Ghana, and Guam. If you have a unique perspective or experience on COVID-19 from your part of the world, I’d love to hear from you. Please drop me a line at [email protected]. And if you’ve missed the other installments of my COVID Stories series, you can check them out in my season 3 archive. ————- 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

You probably missed it amid everything else going on in the world recently, but last week was the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, so on this episode, we’re staying within the U.S. for a change and going to New Orleans, revisiting what the storm was like for residents of the city and looking at parallels with the current situation with COVID-19. Katrina left lasting footprints on New Orleans that may never be erased, but for many people who don’t live on the Gulf Coast of the United States, it’s now largely faded into history. The thing is, this is something we need to remember. From the federal government’s botched response, to the lessons about the ongoing threats of climate change, to simply honoring the memories of the thousands of people who died, it’s a historical event we should never forget. So this time on Far From Home, I’m going back in time to August of 2007 when I visited New Orleans and had conversations with several people who were struggling to rebuild their lives and reclaim this once great American city as their home. ————- 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

On this episode of Far From Home, I’m beginning an occasional series where I’m checking in with friends and colleagues around the world to get a sense of the many ways COVID-19 is affecting people and how their governments are handling the pandemic. This time we hear voices from France, Haiti, Brazil, the UK, Peru, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan. I’m hoping to do more shows like this, and I’d love to hear from listeners in far flung places! If you’re living somewhere outside of the continental U.S. or Canada and you have a unique perspective, story, or experience you want to share about what’s going on where you are or in your life, please drop me a line at [email protected], and I’ll send you some instructions on what I’m looking for and how to send me a recording from your cell phone. Thanks to radio producer Neil Sandell, who generously allowed me to share his confinement diary recordings with my listeners. Check out his Soundcloud page if you’d like to hear more of his work. ————- 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