WanderLearn: Travel to Transform Your Mind & Life

Do aliens exist? Have they visited (or are they visiting) our planet? Are all crop circles manmade?In this civil debate, Derek Loudermilk and I discuss these topics.Derek argues that these metaphysical things are real.I am extremely skeptical.Listen to both sides and comment on what you think.The one thing I forgot to mention was string theory, which argues that we don't live in a 4-dimensional world, but rather one that has 10, 11, or more dimensions. The string theory hypothesis is that these extra dimensions may be curled up in such a microscopic way that we don't have the instruments that are able to see them at this point. Perhaps in a few decades or centuries, we will be able to see these extra dimensions.The point is that string theory could, perhaps, one day explain some metaphysical and "supernatural" phenomena. Watch the videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTK2P_82FGwMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Around 2010, Forrest Fenn hid a multimillion-dollar treasure in the Rocky Mountains.Gold, gems, and other precious items are packed in a portable 12th-century bronze chest.Nearly half a million people have searched for it in vain. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke two hours with one of the foremost experts on Forrest Fenn's treasure, Dal Nietzel. It was a fascinating and fun conversation. Right before I planned to release the podcast, a man from the Eastern United States found Forrest Fenn's treasure! That's right. Around June 6, 2020, Forrest Fenn said the chase is over.Therefore, this podcast is divided into two parts. The first part, which is 90% of the podcast, was recorded a couple of weeks ago before the treasure had been found.The second part is an addendum, where I interviewed Dal again to capture his thoughts now that the treasure hunt is over. We don't know where the treasure was found yet. Therefore, just to be able to say "I told you so," I will list the places I had planned to search. And I will ask Dal the same question. This exercise will either make us feel good (that we were wrong) or make us feel bad (that we would have found it had we not delayed our search). Questions I asked Dal (pronounced "Dale")In 60 seconds, tell us the story behind Fenn’s Treasure.In 60 seconds, what do you say to those who say that “there is no treasure” because either (a) it’s already been found or (b) it never was there in the first place? What’s one of the funniest/absurd solves you have ever heard? For instance, on the roof of the visitor center by Old Faithful.Most treasure hunters are information takers. Why are you an information giver?For a decade, nearly half a million people have searched in vain for the treasure. Do you think it will be found this century? How about this decade? How about this year or next?Fenn gave an unsatisfying answer when he was asked about the legal ramifications of finding his treasure. What’s your opinion?To find the treasure, you have to have one or more of these qualities: intelligence, persistence, or luck. Given all the people who have searched, it’s remarkable that nobody has found it. What’s the percentage chance that someone finds it and doesn’t announce it in some fashion?Fenn believes that the person who will find the treasure will walk with resolve and certainty. But many times people stumble on treasures or dead bodies by accident. What do you think?I imagine that most times, you approach your solves with some skepticism. But a few times, you probably went somewhere with 95%+ confidence that you were walking to the treasure, exactly as Fenn said the treasure finder would walk. Where were those spots and what went wrong?Do you often wonder if you were one of the people who got within 200 ft of the treasure?Describe the type of person or group that will find the treasure.Do you think those who have been searching for years have an advantage or a disadvantage over newbies? Overthinking the riddle?Do you think if Fenn’s doctor tells him that he’s terminally ill, that Fenn will reveal a juicy clue? Or does he hope it stays a mystery for decades?I know it’s probably unimportant, but has there ever been a poll that indicates where most people think the treasure lies? My guess is that there’s a 60% chance that it’s in or near Yellowstone, 30% chance of being in New Mexico, and 10% of being elsewhere. What do most people think? How about you?You’re one of the few who have had significant contact with Fenn. If you find the treasure, do you worry that many will accuse you of having inside information even though your lack of success after many years of searching proves that you don’t have an advantage?What would you do if you found the treasure?You’ve heard every possible theory about “where the warm waters halt.” Which hypotheses sound the most plausible to you?Is there something that Fenn communicated that you think is significant, but that few talk about?He said there are a couple of “hints” in his book. What are the leading candidates?Have you read Flywater or the Journal of a Trapper?Assuming someone else discovers the treasure in your lifetime, how will that news make you feel? There are nine clues in Fenn's poem. The first clue is "Begin it where warms waters halt." It's unclear what the other eight clues are.Forrest Fenn's Treasure PoemAs I have gone alone in thereAnd with my treasures bold,I can keep my secret where,And hint of riches new and old.Begin it where warm waters haltAnd take it in the canyon down,Not far, but too far to walk.Put in below the home of Brown.From there it’s no place for the meek,The end is ever drawing nigh;There’ll be no paddle up your creek,Just heavy loads and water high.If you’ve been wise and found the blaze,Look quickly down, your quest to cease,But tarry scant with marvel gaze,Just take the chest and go in peace.So why is it that I must goAnd leave my trove for all to seek?The answers I already knowI’ve done it tired, and now I’m weak.So hea

On Facebook, I wrote regarding the George Floyd riots, "I understand why people are angry, but does anyone think that widespread destruction and theft is justified?To my surprise, most people answered "Yes."Perhaps I was unclear, so Rejoice and I made this video/podcast to clarify my question.It's best to see the video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obwDt5s6WLoHowever, the audio-only version makes sense. About privilegeMany white people love to tell other white people to shut because white people can't talk because of white privilege. These white people never seem to see the hypocrisy of their statements. We all forget that all Americans are EXTREMELY PRIVILEGED. Yes, even brown Americans.If you disagree, I'll invite any American to spend a year in Rejoice's village. Oh, wait. It was destroyed by Boko Haram. Fine, in a nearby village.Most humans would do anything to switch places with ANY American, even one with a lot of melanin is in their skin or a tiny bank account. Most Americans are in the world's top 10%.Americans have no sense of perspective. We're spoiled brats.I'm all in favor of progress and I know protests can help get us there.But violence on innocent people is never justified.But some people think seem to think it is.Let's how you feel when Boko Haram burns down your village in the name of some higher cause. Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Gary Arndt, a famous world-traveler, has been to chaotic places, but this week, chaos came to his hometown, Minneapolis.We talked last night while we heard rioting outside his window. On this recording, you'll hear sirens, honking horns, and helicopters.George Floyd's death sparked riots throughout the USA, but the epicenter is in Gary's backyard.In the second half of the interview, we switch topics to talk about his diet.I've had 2 vegans on my podcast (Sym and Gehn), so Gary will provide a different perspective since his diet is the antithesis of veganism. ABOUT THE AUDIO: Before recording, I was experimenting with my audio setup and I forgot to reset. As a result, my audio is poor. Sorry about that. Luckily, Gary does most of the talking and he sounds fine.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:https://facebook.com/ftaponhttps://twitter.com/ftaponhttps://instagram.com/ftaponhttps://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttps://pinterest.com/ftaponhttps://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!The best reward is the $25 reward, which entitles you to $300 of gifts for the holidays! It's the best win-win reward out there!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Flying to the South Pole and then to the North Pole in a small plane is extremely dangerous. Robert DeLaurentis, who is known as the Zen Pilot, is on the brink of pulling this off.I caught up with him when he was grounded in Spain during the Coronapocolypse. By the time this airs, he should be in Sweden. He plans to fly over 3 key places around the North Pole in July 2020.Track his journey on his website. Questions I asked the Zen Pilot1. How did you first get into flying?2. What advice would you get give to someone who wants to become an aviator? Join the military? Take classes? How expensive?3. Does being a pilot pay little or lot? Or more?4. You prepared to fly around the world in 95 days. But what surprised you?5. What's your book, "Flying Thru Life" about?6. You're flying from pole to pole during the COVID-19. What are some of the unexpected challenges that you faced?7. When do you expect to finish?8. How's flying the Drake Passage?9. When do you expect to finish?10. What's next?I mentioned 13 Minutes to the Moon by the BBC.Watch this 4 mins video about the Zen Pilothttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qox9jVJwewMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Every four years, there's a US election, the World Cup, and the Olympics. They don't all happen in the same year, but they each have a 4-year cycle.In a few minutes, there's another event that happens once every for years that few talk about: the bitcoin halving.To celebrate, I'll give a simplified explanation of what the halving is and why it's significant.Afterward, I will turn to a more fundamental question: why is bitcoin (BTC) worth more than a dollar and why do I keep talking about it given that I'm mostly known for my travels?What is the Bitcoin Halving?Every 10 minutes, a fast bitcoin miner somewhere on the planet gets rewarded for his efficiency. When the bitcoin network was first created in 2009, that reward was 50 bitcoins. Every 4 years, that reward gets cut in half.On May 12, 2020, bitcoin will undergo its third halving. The reward will drop from 12.5 bitcoins to 6.25 bitcoins. In 2024, the reward will be 3.125 bitcoins.This halving will continue to occur every four years until 2140 when it will stop. At that point, we'll have 21 million bitcoins.The Coindesk chart below sums it up.Why is the Bitcoin Halving significant?You're probably familiar with the US Federal Reserve injecting more liquidity into the economy. Some refer to it as "printing money boost the economy."When the Fed does that, it devalues the dollar. When it does that for a long period of time, it adds up. That's why $1 during George Washington's time would be worth 1 cent today.Bitcoin does the opposite. Instead of printing more bitcoin every year, we print less bitcoin every four years. Therefore, the dollar softens over time, whereas bitcoin hardens. Assuming bitcoin's demand grows slowly, the price will still rise because the supply is growing quite slowly nowadays. The graph below shows how bitcoin's inflation rate will drop from about 3% in 2020 to below 1% in 2024. And it keeps declining until it has 0% inflation in 2140.No other asset in history has had 0% inflation. Gold has low inflation, which has helped it retain its purchasing power. Still, we're constantly digging more gold out of the ground. Gold mining inflates the supply by 1-3% per year. As gold's price rises, miners have more incentive to dig for more. Bitcoin doesn't work that way. By 2140, there will be no more bitcoin to mine. Even by 2036, bitcoin's inflation rate will be 0.1%. In comparison, gold will be at least 10 times more inflationary than bitcoin in 2036. Shouldn't bitcoin be worthless? Skeptics who are dumbfounded as to why bitcoin is worth more than a penny. They believe that bitcoin is "fake internet money and one big Ponzi scheme." Those who declare that bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme don't understand what a Ponzi scheme is and/or don't understand bitcoin. Others incorrectly call it a pyramid scheme. You can certainly accuse bitcoin of being an economic bubble (like the Tulip mania), but it's not a classic Ponzi scheme.It's also not a pyramid scheme any more than a company stock is a pyramid scheme. When an asset bubble pops, the asset's value rarely drops to zero. Even tulips still have value. So why does bitcoin have any value?There are many long articles and videos explaining why bitcoin has real value. Here's a quick explanation.Bitcoin has 14 of the 15 key properties of money. Bitcoin is:Scarce: only 21 million bitcoins will be mined (and 90% have already been mined). Durable: it's as durable as the Internet itself.Portable: you can carry millions of bitcoins in your head by just memorizing 24 words.Divisible: one bitcoin equals 100 million satoshis. One satoshi is currently worth $0.00007084Easy to recognize: yes.Easy to store: yes, it can be stored on almost any digital device as well as written on paper or memorized.Fungible: yes, bitcoins are mutually interchangeable, just like any currency.Hard to counterfeit: unlike other currencies, nobody has ever counterfeited bitcoinWidespread use: it's used anywhere where there is the Internet.A medium of exchange: thousands of businesses accept it.Store of value: although it's highly volatile, it was the best performing asset from 2010-2020 (9 million percent return).Able to earn interest or be offered as a loan: companies like BlockFi allow you to earn interest or get bitcoin loansAvailable on debit cards: there are many bitcoin debit cards that allow you to pay in your local currency by instantly withdrawing from one of your bitcoin wallets.Available on credit cards: companies like Fold and Blockrize offer bitcoin-friendly credit cards.A unit of account: not yet. It's hard to find businesses that price their good or service in bitcoin. Many businesses accept bitcoin, but they list their prices in the national currency or USD/Euros.Although bitcoin fails in the last criterion, let's remind ourselves of the importance of the first criterion: scarcity.Gold is relatively scarce, but even if we mined all the gold on the earth, gold's supply wouldn't be exhausted. In this century, you can bet that the gol

As of today (May 11, 2020), 80,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.In 2018, 80,000 Americans died of the flu. It was a bad flu year.You can watch this on YouTube too.It's fascinating how we look at death.The Infection Fatality Rate of COVID-19 is about 10 times worse than influenza. Therefore, if we didn't shelter in place, perhaps we would have lost 10x more Americans than the 2018 flu season, which would mean about 1 million deaths.I've been called callous. But imagine if:We treated airline flights like rocket launches - and took 7 hours to go through all the safety checks.We set a 10 MPH speed limit nationwide.We mandated a nonstop shelter in place to stop the 5 million deaths from communicable diseases. Such draconian measures would save thousands of lives. But would you be in favor of them?Not all lives are equalIf a US soldier is KIA, his family gets $100,000When the US military accidentally killed an Afghan boy, they gave his father $1,000 as compensation.It easy to make deaths look meaningful and meaninglessCite 9/11 and you'll get people emotional quite quickly. Cite a big number to put things in perspective. For example, 5 million people die from communicable diseases every year:Lower respiratory infections: 3 millionDiarrhoeal infections 1.5 millionTuberculosis: 1 millionThat's 4.5 Sept 11th happening every day of every year.It's not either open the economy or close the economyThere's the Swedish way, which allows some opening:Schools are open since kids are at low risk.People are encouraged to shelter in place.The old are asked to stay home.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Read the article or watch the video about this podcast. It's helpful to see the graphs. I copied the article and graphs below, but use this link if the images don't pop up in your podcast player.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k4CTL6fowA8 Flaws in Bitcoin's Stock-to-Flow Model Will Doom ItI love Bitcoin. Nothing would make me happier than to see one of Plan B's optimistic stock-to-flow (S2F/STF) models become an accurate predictor of Bitcoin's price.Up until now, there has been a non-spurious relationship between stock-to-flow and bitcoin's price. That's one reason it's such a compelling narrative.I hope I'm wrong, but, inevitably, BTC's stock-to-flow models will diverge dramatically from their predicted trendline. This article doesn't distinguish between the original S2F model and the latest S2FX model since they share a similar concept.FYI: I am writing this while the world is counting down the hours to bitcoin's third halving, which will occur on May 12, 2020. BTC costs nearly $9,000.What is the hypothesis of bitcoin's stock-to-flow model?Bitcoin, like gold, has a relatively large existing stock compared to the annual flow of new bitcoin mined.Gold, unlike most metals, sees its total stock increase relatively slowly compared to its existing stockpile. There are about 200,000 tons of gold (the stock) and we mine about 3,000 tons of new gold annually. In other words, gold's flow adds about 1-2.5% to its annual stock. That results in a stock-to-flow ratio of roughly 65. That means that if halted gold mining today, it would take us to 65 years to consume the existing stock. I've seen lower and higher S2F estimates, so let's assume that 65 is close enough.Gold's stock to flow is much higher than any other metal, which partly explains why it's so valuable.Bitcoin is similar to gold in that it also has a high stock-to-flow ratio. The amount of newly mined bitcoins is tiny when compared to the existing stock of bitcoins.Therefore, the hypothesis is: as bitcoin's stock-to-flow rises, so will its price. So far, that's exactly what has happened up until the 2020 Halving. Will the pattern continue?The stock-to-flow tale is such a compelling and powerful narrative that it's become a viral hit among bitcoin fans.I certainly bought into it enthusiastically. Stock-to-flow models bitcoin's price predictionsThe original stock-to-flow model predicted that BTC will reach $55,000 in 2020. That means BTC needs to jump 7 times in value in the next 7 months.On April 27, 2020, Plan B presented his BTC S2F Cross Asset (S2FX) Model. The S2FX predicts that by 2024, BTC with be worth an eye-popping $288,000.This sounds too good to be true.This article explains why both stock-to-flow models will soon fail. Since most people who are reading this don't know me, here are a few facts about me in case you're wondering, "Who the hell is this a*****e?":I'm not a newbie. I first bought BTC when it was $250. (My brother bought 10 BTC when it was $1 each - and then got hacked and lost it all).I accurately predicted BTC's 80% price drop in 2018. I nailed my 2019 prediction within $33. I'm a Harvard MBA, so I like to analyze numbers. 8 problems with Plan B's stock-to-flow bitcoin modelsFor those who don't like to read, you can watch the video: The list goes from the least important problem to the most important problem. Problem #8: Not everyone agrees on what is gold's stock-to-flow ratioAlthough most quants agree that gold's stock-to-flow ratio is in the 60s, a few believe it's much higher. For example, Philip Barton, a gold analyst, argues that gold's stock to flow is between 400 and 800!Admittedly, Barton is an outlier. The consensus is that gold's stock-to-flow ranges between 50 and 70. Still, it's worth noting that some believe there is far more stock out there than we realize. How could gold's stock-to-flow ratio be 800?The main reasoning is that when humans first started collecting gold, there was a lot of low-hanging fruit. Enormous gold nuggets were easy to grab in the streams and other sources. It's reasonable to assume that for billions of years, gold nuggets just sat in the streams since no animal valued them.When humans began collecting gold, the global gold stock must have soared exponentially. Its curve must have looked like the first decade of bitcoin's supply curve.That's why Barton and others believe that gold's stock-to-flow ratio is 10 times higher than what most people think it is.If that's true, then bitcoin's stock-to-flow model is somewhat inaccurate since it predicts that bitcoin will exceed gold's stock-to-flow ratio by 2025. This problem is the least of all the problems with bitcoin's stock-to-flow narrative. It gets worse.Problem #7: Gold's stock-to-flow isn't fixedPlan B presents timelines that show bitcoin's ever-rising stock-to-flow ratio. In those charts, he depicts gold (and silver) as a single data point, as if their stock-to-flow ratios are constant. For example, in Plan B's chart below, you'll see how bitcoin

When I travel, I love to observe common ground in a sea of diversity.The planet has over 100 currencies, but there's one thing that everyone agrees is money: gold.So far, COVID-19 has killed 200,000, which has added to the 5 million deaths that we suffer from communicable diseases every year.COVID-19 has also killed the global economy.The travel industry has shut down.The stock market is in tatters.The prices of panic assets (gold and bitcoin) have soared.Few are talking about a recession.We're on the edge of a depression.Therefore, we're taking a breaking from talking about travel and focusing on universal money: gold.I talk with a renowned gold researcher, Jan Nieuwenhuijs.We discuss:Whether gold's stock-to-flow ratio helps determine gold's price.What he thinks of bitcoin using the stock-to-flow to predict bitcoin's price.Why he bought bitcoin for $25 and why he sold it in 2017.What he thinks of asteroid mining.How do buy and store gold safely and effectively.Learn more about Jan at Voima Gold and Twitter @jangold_Jan wrote several fascinating articles:Gold: Supply and Demand Dynamics.Why you should not buy the GLD Gold ETF to get exposure to gold.What's an SDR and its future?The coming gold standard. More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Last week, I got this email from Robert Hahn, whom I interviewed a couple of months ago on this podcast. He wrote:Hey Francis! I listened to your most recent podcast with Rejoice. Afterwards I looked into investment in crypto a bit. I was wondering what your thoughts are on platforms for buying and storing the virtual currency. I was also interested in Nano (for its more environmentally conscious approach) and Monero (better privacy, but that may be a fault because it makes it a favorite for dark money). I'd be curious to hear why you chose Bitcoin...the assumption that widespread adoption will win the race?For the best platform for buying cryptocurrency, I like Kraken.https://r.kraken.com/Q1RBxFor storage beyond what you're comfortable losing, Ledger is a great bet.https://shop.ledger.com/pages/ledger-nano-x?r=a673bccc2782I answer some of his questions in a general way and I didn't talk too much about the two crypto coins that I mentioned, so I will address them here in the notes briefly.First, I love to use CoinMarketCap.com to see the market share of the crypto coins.Nano is ranked #60 (as of April 12, 2020). That's a deal-breaker for me. I would research a top 20 coin and I would take a good look at a top 10 coin, but if it's not in the top 20, then forget about it. It's insignificant and will probably remain so. It won't change the world. And it will probably fade away.I'm sure some critics would question its environmentally responsible claims. Bitcoin is a power hog, but that's the price we pay for having bulletproof security. So far, more environmentally friendly solutions have their problems. Remember, the global banking system requires far more resources than Bitcoin. Monero is a fascinating privacy coin that is ranked #14.As cool as it is, ZCash has slightly better technology and you can create privacy features within Bitcoin via technologies such as: The Lightning NetworkMimblewimbleCoinJoinWasabi WalletThere are MANY efforts researchers are making to improve Bitcoin's privacy. I suspect current solutions will satisfy most privacy enthusiasts. If they don't, then Bitcoin developers will probably come up with a better solution soon. There are armies of brilliant programmers researching this issue. Other coins lack such development teams.You can watch this podcast at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SIGGxKGagU More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

How do you think we should solve the Coronapocolypse? Should we keep sheltering in place for another month or two?What metrics would you look at to decide when enough is enough?Rejoice and I debate my solution to the Corona crisis.Rejoice also shares a few stories from Africa during this bizarre time. Leave your comments and solutions at WanderLearn.com.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Is the Coronavirus is overly hyped?Rejoice and I discuss that.I explain why you shouldn't hike your own hike in 2020.But that doesn't mean you shouldn't hike in 2020. I explain how and where to go hiking in 2020.Rejoice shares how COVID-19 is impacting Africa.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Thru-hiking can take social distancing to an extreme.Unless you camp close to random people or you spend lots of time in town when you resupply, you will be safely away from any contagion. That's why 2020 is the best year ever to thru-hike, especially if you recently lost your job. Put your stuff in storage (or sell it all). Stop paying rent. And hike for the next 6 months.By the time you finish hiking, the Coronapocolypse will have killed a few million people and ravaged the economy while you were happily backpacking. You'll return to civilization in the post-apocalypse - and just in time to vote for in the US elections.I recorded the following podcast with Gehn Shibayama a month before the Coronavirus outbreak. What we discuss is extremely relevant for the 2020 pandemic. We discuss:How thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is different now that it was 15 years ago.How two East Asians females died on Pacific Crest Trail a couple of years ago.How thru-hiking El Camino de Santiago has changed in the last decade.How to invest your money (super relevant today now that the markets have tanked - thereby making it a great time to invest).Why he was a trail angel in 2019.Why do some vegans not tolerate people using their kitchen utensils to cook animals? How can one retire before 50?What's he planning to do in the 2020s? A few fact-checking corrections:We debated the pros and cons of thru-hiking the PCT southbound. On the podcast, I estimated that you need 3 months to thru-hike the Canadian border to Kennedy Meadows. I couldn't remember the exact time that I had calculated years ago. It's all in my "Why Go Southbound on the PCT" article. I explain that takes 3.5 months to cover those two points, which is the same amount of time that northbounders have to cover that distance. Therefore, I'm sticking with my recommendation of going south on the PCT. You just need to get in shape before you leave.Gehn said that Scott Williamson has thru-hiked the PCT 7 times. I said that he's done it "more than 10 times." Fact check: he's thru-hiked the PCT 13 times. What's clear is that this is a fantastic year to thru-hike the PCT. Snow levels are normal. Go for it.I hope Gehn inspires you to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Connect with Gehn Shibayama's Facebook profile.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

On March 20, 2020, Rejoice and I spontaneously went Live on Facebook to share our thoughts about the Coronavirus pandemic.(Don't worry. The photo of us hugging was taken months before the Coronapocolypse.)In 2014, when the Ebola contagion was raging across West Africa, I was traveling in West Africa. The world was panicking. Some worried that it would kill hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions.I thought most people were overreacting. Therefore, I wrote a prescient article called, "Don't Worry Too Much About Ebola."I feel I could write the same article today about COVID-19.Yes, Ebola and COVID-19 are different viruses. COVID-19 spread far and fast; Ebola didn't. Ebola's death rate was 53%. COVID's death rate is about 3.5%.Still, the principle is the same.Humans excel at detecting patterns.However, we have a tendency of over projecting trend lines. When we see a graph skyrocketing (or plummeting), we often believe (incorrectly) that the trend will continue for a long time.It often doesn't. Listen to my podcast with Rejoice. Sorry that her voice is sometimes hard to hear. She speaks softly.Lastly, don't misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting that we should ignore COVID-19 or that it's not serious. We should continue taking the extreme measures we're taking such as sheltering-in-place. I'm simply saying that we shouldn't panic or believe that this contagion will kill tens of millions.A few months ago, I gave my third TEDx talk, which was about the 7 surprising lessons I learned from picking up 3,000 African hitchhikers.At the 14th minute, I shared a statistic that is relevant today during the #Coronapocolypse. I queued up the video link below to that moment in the talk.https://youtu.be/5WxfRLByD60?t=833Spoiler alert: Every year, 470,000 humans die worldwide from influenza.Today, 14,000 have died worldwide from COVID-19.That sucks, but even if 100 times more people die from COVID-19 than the flu (which would 1.4 million, that would mean that COVID-19 is only 3 times more deadly than our annual flu. That would suck, but let's keep those statistics in mind before we all jump off a moderately tall building.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponMy Patrons sponsored this show!Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Liz Warner is going to run 30 marathons before she turns 30 years old in June 2020. However, her real accomplishment is raising nearly $30,000 for 20 charities in the process! In this podcast, we discuss some of the highlights and lowlights of her first 27 marathons and her Run To Reach experience.She's going to finish on Mt. Everest in late May 2020.Go to her donation page and follow her on Instagram.Liz mentioned the Effective Altruism TED Talk as an inspiration. In the podcast, I couldn't remember the name of the guy who ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days. The guy's name is Dean Karnazes.Confession: I goofed. I didn't realize how many marathons Liz Warner had run in Africa. I only asked her about a couple of them. I would have liked to delve into all of them. Still, in our one-hour conversation, we cover a lot of ground!More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

On March 14, 2020, Dan Grec's Kickstarter will end. If you're listening to this before that date, buy Dan's book on Kickstarter. His book (and website) are called The Road Chose Me.If you're listening to this after March 14th, buy Dan Grec's book on Amazon.Why buy his book? Because for 999 days Dan Grec drove through 35 of the 54 African countries. His book recounts his 3-year adventure. In this 90-min podcast, we discuss:His road trip across Latin America.How he saved money for 4 years for this 3-year trip.Why he biked to work in Yukon's winter.Which were some of the toughest African border crossings.How he got (or didn't get) African visas on the fly.How much it cost to ship his truck across the AtlanticHow many times he got malaria and how it was.What he thinks of South Africa's future.What makes Sudan special and unique.His speaking tour.What he's planning to do next.We discussed the Caprivi Strip. Here are the facts from Wikipedia:Caprivi was named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi (in office 1890–1894), who negotiated the acquisition of the land in an 1890 exchange with the United Kingdom. Caprivi arranged for the Caprivi strip to be annexed to German South West Africa in order to give Germany access to the Zambezi River and a route to Africa's east coast, where the colony of German East Africa (now part of Tanzania) was situated. The river later proved unnavigable and inaccessible to the Indian Ocean due to the Victoria Falls. The transfer of territory was a part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, in which Germany gave up its interest in Zanzibar in return for the Caprivi Strip and the island of Heligoland in the North Sea.We also wondered where the expression "rest on your laurels" comes from. Simply put: the origins of the phrase lie in ancient Greece, where laurel wreaths were symbols of victory and status.You can watch the interview on YouTube, although the audio is out of sync. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaL8jLnRf_4&More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVHealth Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Part 5 of 5 of the "What Can Americans Teach Europeans" seriesSnobby Europeans love to say that Americans have “no cuisine, no culture, no history.”Let’s refute this belief.We’ll begin with food. First, Americans brought hamburgers and Coca-Cola to the world. The French (and many others) will immediately sniff and say, “That doesn’t count.”Really?And foie gras does? That’s a dish that is prepared by force-feeding a poor duck. Now that’s really classy and sophisticated. Big Macs start looking like haute cuisine.Moreover, America’s unique cuisine doesn’t end with a cheeseburger and a Coke. We’ve either invented or popularized:banana splitsbrowniesbuffalo wingscheesesteakscorn dogscotton candycorn on the cobdoughnutsfried chickenfudgegarden burgersgritshot dogsice cream conesJell-Omacaroni and cheesemashed potatoesonion ringspancakespeanut butter and jelly sandwichespecan piepopcornPopsiclespotato chipsRice Krispie treatsroot beer floatshoofly piesloppy joesubmarine sandwichesthe Twinkie.Not only does this list prove that Americans have plenty of dishes that are uniquely ours, but this list also explains why we are so incredibly fat.Obviously, American cuisine isn’t the most nutritious cuisine on the planet. The point is that we invented plenty of dishes. Besides, it’s impossible to find any national cuisine that is 100 percent healthy.Since the Japanese live the longest, they have arguably the best diet around. However, even the Japanese eat plenty of deep-fried foods and white rice. And they often wash it down with beer or sake.Yes, Americans have one of the least healthy diets on the planet; on the other hand, I’ve never found a country that can make salads that are as delicious as the ones you can find in California.Finally, America is better than any other country at welcoming (and eating) exotic food from all over the world. Try finding non-Italian cuisine in Italy.The other insult Europeans like to fling at Americans is that we have “no culture.”Really?That’s funny because it seems that no other country does a better job of exporting its culture than America does. It’s hard to go anywhere on the planet and meet people who do not know about American music, television, books, movies, sports, and cuisine (which includes the fast food it invented).Cultural snobs will say all that doesn’t count and that it’s not real culture. Who decided that?Why is the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark not as culturally significant as Schindler’s List? They are both masterpieces (and they happen to both be directed by the same American).Is Michael Jordan not as important as Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis player?Is Elvis less important than Mozart?If American TV is so bad, why do I see it in every country I go to? It’s hard to go anywhere and not see The Discovery Channel. Every major country copies American Idol and other popular TV shows.The world copies American culture. The copying of American culture is so pervasive that most people who complain about “globalization” are really complaining about “Americanization.”Snobs insist this is all “low culture.” First, that’s arrogant and subjective, but let’s play along.If you want “high culture,” then consider American writers (Twain, Fitzgerald, Poe, Thoreau, T.S. Eliot, Kerouac, Tennessee Williams), American fashion designers (Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Levi Strauss), American visual artists (O’Keefe, Pollock, Warhol, Rockwell, Ansel Adams, the sculptors of DC’s monuments), American composers (Irving Berlin, Scott Joplin, Philip Glass, George Gershwin, John Williams), American chefs (Emeril, Nathalie Dupree, Alice Waters, Julia Child, Anthony Bourdain), and American architects (Julia Morgan, Buckminster Fuller, Frank Lloyd Wright). If you admire skyscrapers, remember that Americans were the first to make those too. In short, Americans have culture—in both the “high” and “low” flavors.Finally, the last put down that Europeans lobs at Americans is that America has “no history.” Sadly, this insults the Native Americans more than anyone else. Tell the descendants of the Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs that they have no history. Tell the Native Americans in North America that they have no history when most historians estimate that they’ve been running around America ever since they crossed the land bridge near the Bering Strait 12,000 years ago. Several Northern European countries weren’t even populated until 8,000 years ago. American history, therefore, is at least 4,000 years older than the Scandinavian and Baltic history.If you need impressive structures to believe that a country has “history,” then visit the archaeological remains in Monks Mound, Taos, and Chaco. Or visit Teotihuacan, Tikal, and Machu Picchu in Central and South America.Besides, many of Europe’s impressive buildings are only a few hundred years old. Boston’s Faneuil Hall, built in 1743, isn't much younger than many of Europe's most treasured buildings. The dirty little secret that few Europeans will talk about is that

Part 4 of 5 of the "What Americans Can Teach Europeans" seriesAmericans are criticized for being ignorant of geography, languages, and the world in general.Let’s examine geography first. For example, someone from Slovakia often feels smart because he can name at least ten countries near him and explain what’s basically going on there. He says Americans are stupid because they can’t do this.Humans are regionally focused. Today, for the average human, that radius of interest and knowledge might be 500 km. For someone in Nebraska, that means being able to name 10 states around him. For someone in Belgium, that means 10 countries. The level of geographic knowledge is effectively the same. Europe and the United States are roughly the same size. Although it’s true that a Nebraskan won’t find Belgium on a map, it’s also true that a Belgian won’t find Kansas on a map. And neither will find Togo or Cambodia. People are generally ignorant of anything that is beyond their geographic radius of knowledge.src="/wanderlearn/episode/update/id/images/travels/europe/usa/USnews.png" alt="Imagine if they had asked people if they closely followed the news about Guinea Bissau" />The same goes for being aware of what’s going on. The Nebraskan will know what’s going on in Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, and maybe California. Meanwhile, the Belgian will have an idea of the general affairs in Luxembourg, Denmark, Germany, and maybe Greece. They’re all about the same distance from each other, the only difference is one crosses country lines while the other crosses state lines. And, of course, the American won’t know what’s going on in those European countries, just like the European won’t know what’s going on in those particular American states. Americans won’t know about the floods in Romania any more than a Romanian will know about the tornadoes in Oklahoma.However, the European persists and says that Americans don’t know anything about world events and yet everyone knows what’s going on in America. One Latvian told me she was upset that she knows so much about America and Americans don’t know anything about Latvia. It was tough to break the news to her that Latvia’s physical, economic, and political size is insignificant. And it’s really painful to tell the same thing to the French. But it’s true.Europeans know what’s going on America not because they’re more worldly and sophisticated, but because America has a lot of influence in their affairs. America knows little about individual European countries because not one European country has much impact on America (except for perhaps Britain or Russia). Most Europeans don’t know much more than Americans about what’s happening in Uruguay, New Zealand, and Namibia because those countries are both far and insignificant to them. And those countries don’t give a s**t about all the tiny European countries either.In addition, educated Europeans who do know lots of stuff about the world often compare themselves with non-educated Americans. They walk through New York and tell people, “Hi, I’m from Bulgaria, do you know where that is?” They’re horrified that New Yorkers don’t know crap about Bulgaria and conclude that Americans are geographically ignorant idiots, unlike the brilliant Bulgarians.Meanwhile, a girl from Laos goes to Bulgaria and asks the people she meets, “Do you know where Laos is?” You can guess the response. Please compare an educated, well-traveled American with an educated, well-traveled European; or the American on the street with the European on the street. You’ll discover the difference isn’t that big.Most who complain about these issues come from countries much smaller than the US. The smaller the country, the more they’re forced to look outside because they quickly exhaust the business and travel opportunities in their own country. Go live in Belgium and see how fast you get bored.People who live in big countries can spend their whole lives there and not get bored. It’s not that we’re more stupid or have a bad education system (although both of these may be true), but it’s primarily because learning about a big country is complex enough.Should Americans learn more about the world and its languages? Absolutely. We should all be flogged for our ignorance. And we should also flog ignorant people from other big countries like the Chinese, Brazilians, Russians, and the French. Why the French? Their country is smaller than Texas, so what’s wrong with that? Well, it’s always a good idea to flog the French whenever you get the chance.In short, it’s true that Americans are ignorant about world affairs and it’s a shame given how much influence the US has globally. However, Europeans are also pretty ignorant about affairs outside of Europe (their geographical focus). They know about America and China because these two large economies influence everyone's life. Yes, Europeans know more about Africa and Asia than Americans, but Americans often know more about Central and South America than

Smile for Valentine's Day!Part 3 of 5 of the "What Americans Can Teach Europeans" SeriesEuropeans often criticize the “American smile.” They say that Americans are fake, because they often smile when they are not really happy. Americans pretend to be happy to see you, when they’re not. A customer service representative might greet you with a cheery, “Hi! How can I help you?” when she’s really a mean b***h.Eastern Europeans somehow think that they are superior because they give you a scowl instead of a smile. Frankly, I’ll take a fake smile every day over a sincere scowl. I might delude myself, but I don’t care. It just feels better. Why, when we have the choice between giving a smile or a frown, should we opt for a frown? The waiter and the person at the checkout counter has a choice. Why not put on a smile?Some may say it’s not simply a choice between a frown or a smile. There’s a third way, the European way, which is a neutral face. This, Europeans claim, is the most sincere. “Why should the store representative smile at you when he doesn’t even know you? That’s insincere,” the Europeans argue. “It’s better to have a neutral face.”Look at yourself in the mirror and put on your best neutral face. Imagine someone just walked into your store and you’re wearing that neutral face. What does it look like to the customer? It looks a bit cold, distant, unfriendly, and unapproachable. Obviously a frown is even worse, but the neutral look is off-putting too.Furthermore, the neutral look would be fine if the customer service agent would immediately brighten up once they learn that you’re not trying to rape their daughter. However, they don’t. Even after you smile and are friendly, they often keep that same neutral, ambivalent face throughout the transaction. In Eastern Europe, the neutral look will sometimes turn into a tirade against your simple attempts of communication. It makes for a lousy and cold experience.The Eastern European tries a different argument: “Fine, so we’re a bit cold at the beginning, but eventually we warm-up, and when we do, you’ll have a friend for life.” So what? Do you want a freaking medal?Newsflash: Americans make lifelong friends too. Like any human, we usually take our time before reaching that point. The difference is that we don’t use that as an excuse to be an a*****e at the beginning.Moreover, the American smile isn’t as fake as it seems. Many Americans are genuinely happy. Americans are positive people who usually give strangers the benefit of the doubt. There are plenty of cynical Americans, but when it comes to one-on-one interactions, Americans often assume that the other person is a good guy. That makes them sincerely smile.Of course, I have a cultural bias because I grew up in America, the land of the smiles. However, America doesn’t have a monopoly on smiles. Most people from Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Oceania all tend to wear a smile on their faces by default. Their service personnel smile warmly often. In other words, judged on a global scale, Americans aren’t weird because they smile so much. It’s the Eastern Europeans who are weird because they smile so little.See Gallup poll P.S. Southeastern Europe (especially around Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, and Southern Serbia) people have a tendency to smile as much of most of the non-European world.In case you missed it, read part 1 of the What Americans Can Teach Europeans article series. "What Americans Can Teach Europeans"More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVHealth Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Part 2 of 5 of the "What Americans Can Teach Europeans" seriesSeveral Eastern Europeans thought I worked for the CIA. They asked, “Why else would you be in Albania?”It’s hilarious what Eastern Europeans seriously believe the CIA does:A Slovenian told me that the “weird” weather they were experiencing was due to the CIA testing wacky weather-controlling weapons nearby.If someone semi-famous died unexpectedly, the CIA killed him.The CIA controls all elections. But what if an anti-American candidate wins? It’s because the CIA wanted that to happen so it can use it as an excuse to invade the country, or because it somehow fits in their grand plan of world domination.A Bulgarian told me that the Illuminati and the CIA control Obama and all world leaders. The CIA, he assured me, is the puppet-master behind everything, including what you had for breakfast this morning.Although it’s fun to believe that the CIA controls the universe, let’s stop smoking marijuana for a minute. The CIA is so ignorant that it often can’t find its house keys. The CIA controls so little that it can’t even choose what color to paint its buildings. It’s just another bumbling, inefficient, and bureaucratic government organization whose right-hand doesn’t know what its left hand is doing. The CIA morons couldn’t even assassinate Fidel Castro, a leader from a puny island right next to America. How lame is that?The CIA has its clever moments but is often ignorant and powerless. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove this to someone who really wants to believe in conspiracy theories, so I won’t even try.Part of me would like to keep the myth about the omnipotent CIA alive. As long as other nations believe that the CIA is all-knowing and all-powerful, they’ll fear to attack the US. They’ll say, “Maybe we’re attacking America because that’s exactly what the CIA wants us to do!” They’ll second-guess their actions and be scared to challenge the god-like CIA.Therefore, if I have not convinced you, good. Keep believing that the CIA is your under your bed, because, of course, it probably is.In case you missed it, read part 1 of the What Americans Can Teach Europeans article series.One person said, "Francis, very interesting article. Do you have any thoughts as to why the CIA has such a reputation?"I'm sure there are several reasons for the CIA's reputation in Eastern Europe. Among them:Cold War hangover: Just like the KGB was feared in the US, the CIA played that role in the East, and still does, apparently.There's some truth to it: the CIA has put up the Shah in Iran and put up a Guatemalan dictator.When people don't understand something or can't explain it, then they often pick mysterious entities (Zeus, God, CIA) to explain something.In case you missed it, read part 1 of the What Americans Can Teach Europeans article series.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVHealth Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Part 1 of 5 in the Defending America Series.Throughout Eastern Europe, I asked, “What can your country teach America?” I’ve documented their excellent suggestions in The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us.As part of this process, Europeans often told me, quite bluntly, what they think of Americans. The fact that I’m half-European and that I have no American blood in me (I was born of a French father and a Chilean mother) probably made them more comfortable to share their true thoughts. After getting an earful, it became clear that there are a few things Americans can teach Europeans about America.(I had often heard similar criticisms in Western Europe, which is why I'm posting this in the Western Europe section.)There are five themes that Europeans wail against AmericansAmerica’s foreign policy shows that we’re a warmongering, imperialistic nation (see below for details).The CIA is behind everything.Americans are fake.Americans are ignorant.Americans are devoid of culture.There’s a lot of truth to these five criticisms. In fact, in my book, I often make fun of these things. However, let’s load up the aircraft carriers and stealth bombers and blast away the five most common criticisms about Americans.Let's start with the first one and then the other articles will address the other four, although you're welcome to jump to the one that interests you most.Part 1 of 5 of the "What Americans Can Teach Europeans" seriesEuropeans say, “America is imperialistic. It starts wars. The CIA is everywhere.” True, true, true. America’s foreign policy is aggressive. However, let’s examine this more closely.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVHealth Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

In early 2020, Randy Williams has been to 142 countries. Although this is remarkable, it's especially impressive when you consider that he's been working full-time for most of his life. It's understandable how someone who has years to travel is able to visit 142 countries, but doing it when you have a real job in the workaholic USA is hard.Randy Williams describes:His first trip to Africa. He started in Cape Verde, then went to Senegal, Tunisia, and Algeria.Traveling to Tripoli, Libya soon after Khadafi's death.Traveling to Iraq and Venezuela. How Kabul, Afganistan was in January 2020.How a journalist friend was killed in Somalia.Using the Sherwes Travel Agency to get his business travel visa to Libya.How to be a trailblazer.How he got into Yemen a couple of months ago.Why he sees travel as a buffet.You can see some of his travel photos on Slow Jams on Instagram.More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVHealth Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

The Pilgrim's perspectiveMany people ask me, “What are you thinking about when you walk from sunrise to sunset in remote wildernesses?”Sometimes I’m just thinking of the next step. Other times I’m thinking about Megan Fox.However, during my pilgrimage, I do go into deep-thoughts mode occasionally. That’s what this article is about. It will lead to my next article which is about what it means to be human and my debate with a T-Rex on global warming. Yeah, light topics. Can’t I just talk about the weather?One of the aspects that I love about thru-hiking is the sense of perspective it gives you. Most humans are stuck in day-to-day drudgery, incapable (or unwilling) to break the chains of their self-centered, short-term point of view. I confess I’m no better than the average Joe and that missing one synchronized light can really send me into a deep depression.However, when I travel for months in the mountains I can’t help but have a broader perspective. For example, when I am walking a ridge on the Continental Divide, its history is etched into the landscape.Although the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, the planet didn’t really start to settle down until it was a billion years old. And life didn’t really get going until the Pre-Cambrian era (over half a billion years ago). However, it is nearly impossible for my puny human brain to relate to that much time. Actually, a million years is too hard to imagine, even if I compare it with how long my bank puts me on hold.Therefore, to crunch world history into a timescale that I can fathom let’s squeeze it into one calendar year. And I’ll focus on the development of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). Here’s what we get.Earth's history compressed into one yearJanuary and February would be good months to stay in your cabin. The Earth’s environment was chaotic. Incessant wind and rain would erode away barren mountains faster than a plastic surgeon can erode away Michael Jackson’s nose.Still, on February 25 (or is it February 30?), life would spring forth! Sure, these single-celled organisms would be stuck in the warm coastal waters and by the thermal vents, but we’ll take what we can get.March 20: Stromatolites would pop up.July 17: Multicellular life, those cells with nuclei, were strutting their stuff.Trilobites (hard-shelled creatures) would start feeding on all the multi-cellular life. By the end of the month, small vertebrates would start feeding on the Trilobites. All you can eat restaurants were invented.Most of the year would go by and still no life on the land.Where would the Continental Divide be in October?It wouldn’t be a thrusting mass of mountains that I walked. Quite the opposite! It would be a broad channel of water. You could ride your kayak down the channel!In fact, if you flew over North America in June, you’d see that 60 percent of the land is underwater.Would you see forests of trees on the land? Nope, you wouldn’t even see moss clinging to the ubiquitous rocks. Zero plant life. However, it wouldn’t be a static boring rock-filled landscape. It would be constantly eroding, pummeled by endless torrential rains that make the south-east Asian monsoons seem like a drizzle.The Continental Divide would be impossible to recognize in early November. Instead of the Rocky Mountains stretching out as far as the eye can see, you’d see a massive sea that stretched from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico!In early November, the first plants would gain a precarious foothold on land. For every plant that latches on the land, many will get washed away by the endless rain. The struggle of the plants to get established lasts for weeks, but they finally settle down. Vegetarians aren’t far behind.On November 18, the Cambrian Explosion - a burst of complex life - would roll out. In a couple of days, the seas are crowded with fish. A few claustrophobic ones develop crude lungs, call themselves amphibians, and get timeshares on the land.Around November 20, the Appalachian mountain range starts to rise and will be far higher than any other mountain range in the USA today. You wouldn’t find cozy shelters every 15 kilometers on the Appalachian Trail.December starts with insects. Since CDT hikers hadn’t been invented yet, the mosquito started bugging the first amphibians, which show up on December 2. Sharks and seeded plants follow.December 5: First reptiles.December 12: Doh! The Permian Extinction, the most deadly event in Earth's history, happens. Siberian traps (big volcanoes) spew up so much toxic smoke that 95% of life on Earth dies. December 13: Dinosaurs appear. December 14: Dinosaurs chase the pathetic looking mammals that just start to appear. The dinosaurs thought these mammals were snacks since few were much bigger than a rat.December 22: Plants with flowers appear. It's about time!December 26: The planet's post-Christmas presents are cats and dogs. Cute puppies and kitties. The most memorable event of this day is when an asteroid the size of Manhattan Island strikes the

Olaf Ofstad (pictured) was my guest on my 59th WanderLearn episode, which was about how to avoid and survive a kidnapping. If you haven't listened to it yet, you should listen to it before listening to this episode.One listener wrote me an email asking questions and criticizing some issues about the show.Therefore, in this episode, I air those criticisms and I give Olaf Ofstad a chance to answer those questions and criticisms.You'll also find out how I got muggled in Cameroon.Whenever you have questions or comments, send them to me and I might feature them in a future episode!More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVHealth Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Before you look at these predictions, you should see how accurate my 7 predictions for 2019 were.Also, if you want to watch me talk about this, see it on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwI739M9vKUIn 2020...1. Bitcoin will end 2020 above $10,000.Unlike my previous two bitcoin predictions which were perfect (the 80% decline followed by the 100% rise), I'm unsure about 2020. As you can see from my 2030 predictions, I'm bullish long-term for bitcoin, but 2020 is a bit fuzzy. There's a 30% chance that it will soar pass $20,000.On the other hand, after doubling in 2019, it could also be due for a pullback in 2020. There's a 40% chance that it end between $6,000 and $10,000. One thing is almost certain: 2020 will once again see some volatility from bitcoin, as usual. But I expect a healthy gain overall.2. Mayor Pete Buttigieg will win the Democratic Nomination.At the end of 2019, according to Real Clear Politics, Biden has a solid lead nationally and in Nevada and South Carolina. He also leads in the betting odds. Here's why I think the dark horse Buttigieg will win the nomination.First, he has a good chance of winning Iowa and New Hampshire. Even if he doesn't, he may come in second place. Regardless, he'll get a ton of attention from those finishes. That includes attention from Nevada and South Carolina. Once voters from those two states start taking Mayor Pete seriously, he'll move up in the polls of those two states (and others). Mayor Bloomberg and Biden are both focusing on the marathon; they're willing to give up some wins at the start and they're banking that they can catch up later.On the other hand, momentum is important. The other thing that is important is what I call the Mirror Image Theory. I discuss that idea more in the last 30 minutes of my WanderLearn podcast with Sym Blanchard.Simply put, incoming US Presidents are often mirror images (opposites) of the outgoing President. Just look at the 7 elected presidents. We swing back and forth. So what's the most opposite of Trump?It ain't old-timers like Biden, Warren, and Sanders.It's Buttigieg.3. Trump will lose the 2020 Election. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will inspire the lazy voters who sat on their ass in 2016 thinking that Hillary was a shoo-in. The only opponents Trump has a good chance of beating are the "socialist" ones (Sanders and Warren). 4. The US GDP will slide into negative territory (a recession) in the second half of 2020.The US economy has had a nice long run. It will take a break.5. The S&P 500 will have a flat year. The S&P is around 3,250 now and it will end 2020 around the same place, plus or minus 3%.By 2030...1. One bitcoin will be worth more than $100,000.I'm not positive about this. Here's how I break down the odds:60% chance that Bitcoin will be worth over $100,000. 30% chance that Bitcoin will be worth between $30,000 to $100,000 (at least 10% annualized return)5% chance that Bitcoin will be worth between $8,000 and $30,000.5% chance that it will be worth less than today.Why? Because Bitcoin today is like the internet in the 1990s: although many people have heard of it, only early adopters and other geeks have it. Once the whole planet learns about it, you'll have a spike in demand, but the supply at this point is effectively fixed. That will result in a price spike. No other good is like bitcoin. If there's a surge in demand in housing, we can build more houses. If people love avocados, we can plant more avocados. If everyone wants gold, we can dig out more gold (or see how accurate my 7 predictions for 2019 were). Moreover, from a long-term monetary perspective, the US and Europe haven't had high inflation since the 1970s.We're due.But this time, the supremacy of the US dollar may not weather the storm as well as it survived the 1970s.This time, China and other powers will unseat the USD as the sole, global reserve currency. A basket of currencies may take over.In the 2020s, some countries will hold some of their reserves in bitcoin. They will shift away some of their US treasury bills and adopt bitcoin - not completely, but partially. Just like they will hold some euro, yen, and Swiss francs.The only reason bitcoin may become worthless is if most major governments of the world collude to ban it and push it underground, thereby criminalizing it.However, even that won't make it completely worthless. Cocaine is illegal everywhere, but it has tremendous value in the black market. And bitcoin is easier to trade than cocaine.As one bitcoin analyst said, "In this century, Bitcoin is either heading toward $1 million or to zero. It's highly unlikely that in 2050, the price of bitcoin will be where it is today."2. The CPI will show that the USA experiences double-digit inflation sometime in this decade.Maybe it will be in 2025, but at some point in the 2020s, the CPI (which measures inflation) will soar above 10% for the first time since 1982.3. One ounce of gold will be worth over $5,000.It's about $1,500 at t

Last year, my podcast with Sym Blanchard became the 2nd most downloaded WanderLearn episode. It was super popular because he really was a fun guest. You must listen to it before listening to this podcast.Because he attracted so many listeners, I invited him back to the show!I begin the podcast asking Sym the most profound question I've always wanted to ask him.After that, we move onto discussing how he has used DNA testing to inspire his travel. He's used these four DNA testing kits to find thousands of relatives and to understand his origins. We discuss the pros and cons of each one:23 and Me - best for a health testAncestry DNA - best for trace your lineage Family Search - Although it's connected to the Church of Latter-Day Saints, is useful to go back to King Cnut. My Heritage - to build a family tree - Sym has 19,000 relativesWe referenced AJ Jacobs's, It's All Relative book.I mention my defining the Sub-Sahara Africa article where, in the comments, an Ethiopian tried to insult me by pointing out that my ancestors were "slave-traders."Sym opens up and discusses why his strained relationship with his daughter. What went wrong? What lessons did he learn?How about having a girlfriend and how it is to manage that relationship when he's usually on the road.How do we balance having sympathy for victims and pushing for tough love?We talk about how Rejoice Tapon could see herself as a victim as I describe in my TEDx Talk about being a black sheep.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVfADBIsgB8Sym discusses his trip to Brazil and his quest to finish the Continental Divide Trail (60% done!) and the Great Divide Trail.Sym talks about El Camino de Santiago.We discuss how sustainable his way of life is. We talk about how spousal support and divorce work.About 70 minutes into the podcast, we talk about politics. I say that it's extremely rare that a US President wins more than 60% of the popular vote. Fact check: Only 3 US Presidents have gotten over 60% of the popular vote (Harding, FDR, and Nixon) and LBJ was the only President to get 61% of the vote. No other president got more.Lastly, I reveal my patented way to win ANY argument - guaranteed! More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVHealth Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

For the 2019 holidays, we're taking a flashback to over a decade ago. I started the WanderLearn podcast in 2008. I'm pulling this episode from the archives because it's one of my favorite episodes of that era. It was the first time that I met Julia Trutko, a Russophone Estonian. She had just moved to San Francisco from Florida. Although she was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, she grew up in Tallinn, Estonia.Although this conversation took place over 11 years ago, it is still interesting today, which is why I'm sharing it.I also placed three Estonian songs in the podcast. Julia continues to live in San Francisco with her boy, Roman. He would be born many years after this podcast was recorded. More infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVHealth Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.org Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Brittnay and Jayden are The Travelling Housesitters. In the WanderLearn podcast, I ask them:How did Jay get to look after a cat on a catamaran?What websites do they recommend to use to find housesits? Why don't they charge to housesit?Did they have a housesit horror story?What housesits do they avoid?What is their long-range plan?Do they have relationship challenges that other couples don't have?How can you find housesits that do NOT require you to look after pets?What is the fanciest place they ever stayed at?What's the housesitting course they offer all about?In the podcast, Britt and Jay mentioned:Trusted Housesitters (if you use my affiliate link, you'll get 30% off):https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF280959/ Brittnay and Jay also mentioned these housesitting websites:NomadorAussie HousesittersHousesit MexicoUpworkIf you're more interested in home exchanges, you should listen to my WanderLearn podcast about home exchanges.3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Matt Favero is the Director of Marketing at Zpacks, one of my top two favorite backpacking gear companies (Gossamer Gear is the other). I ask him:How did he get involved in Zpacks?What backpacking opportunities exist in Florida?What’s the dumbest backpacking mistake he ever made?What Zpack product is he most proud of?What is his funkiest item?What makes Zpacks special?What will the 2020s bring to the backpacking world?Or watch the unedited version on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi3jBqwodaU3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

After graduating from Harvard Business School and working a bit, DJ Didonna embarked on an improbable quest: helping people take months or even years off work.There's nothing wrong with working nonstop for 40 years. However, paradoxically, taking a sabbatical may be the best thing for your career.DJ wants to help you do what most Harvard Business School graduates don’t know how to do: get off the treadmill.We chat face-to-face for 80 minutes, discussing:His first sabbatical was in 2017. He walked all around Japan – going from temple to temple, hardly speaking to anyone for 6 weeks. How was that like?What percentage of companies have sabbatical programs?How does a company gain from letting their employees go on sabbaticals?What surprised him in his research?How can you take a sabbatical when you don’t have a guaranteed job?What is the future of sabbaticals?DJ Didonna gave a TEDx Talk at the same venue that I gave one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRp7_mXYIH4Learn more about DJ's research at The Sabbatical Project.3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

This is one of my favorite podcasts this year. I admire Mike Spencer Bown. He's been traveling for the last 25 years. He's been to every country. He's the author of The World's Most Travelled Man.Does he deserve that title?He didn't even pick that title. His publisher did.We discuss whether that topic as well as these topics:How many Canadian provinces are there? He didn't know, even though he's Canadian! Sacrilege! Answer: 10. Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.What does he have to do to claim that he's been to a country?How's Saudi Arabia now?We discuss Travel's Century Club. How was it like to be in the first tourist in Somalia?Would he go to the moon or Mars?How's Antarctica?What about Kazakstan? How are his language skills?How does he finance his travels?Why did he spend $50,000 in chickens?How much would it cost to reverse engineer the brain?Could the USA and Canada unite?How do you get a gun in Canada?In 300 years, is it better to live in Canada or the Sahara?What does he think about Bitcoin?What does he think of the future of Africa?If he were a time traveler going into the future, what would he expect to see?How was it like to go for months without speaking?You can follow Mike Spencer Bown on Facebook. 3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Lauren Kahn has done 72 home exchanges!One way to immerse yourself in a foreign environment is to do a home exchange. Lauren's blog offers plenty of advice on how to do a home exchange.This podcast comes in two parts.Due to a technical snafu, Lauren thought she lost our first interview. So I interviewed her twice, thinking that we lost the original recording.We managed to recover it. I took some of the highlights of the original interview and appended it at the end of this podcast. Therefore, if you're seriously interested in home exchanges, make sure you listen to the bonus interview in the second half.Homelink and Intervac are her two favorite sites, even though HomeExchange.com is the most popular. 3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Over 2.5 million people have read my article, "10 Reasons Why El Camino de Santiago Sucks." One of those people is Susan Alcorn, who has hiked to Santiago, Spain 16 different times over 9 different routes.Instead of taking offense to the article, she took it as constructive criticism of the article. We've had a civil discussion about El Camino ever since. One of my central points is that the most popular Camino trail (El Camino Frances) is crowded and has few wilderness experiences. I encouraged people to explore other Camino trails. That's exactly what Susan has done.Susan Alcorn has even written a couple of books about El Camino. Her first book was Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago.She also wrote We're in the Mountains, Not over the Hill: Tales and Tips from Seasoned Women Backpackers.Her newest book is called Healing Miles: Gifts from the Caminos Norte and Primitivo. Most pilgrims hike El Camino Frances.About 5% backpack El Camino Primitivo and another 5% hike El Camino del Norte. In this conversation, we focus on these two lesser-known trails. I ask her:What was one of the most unusual paths she has taken?What percentage of pilgrims are hiking purely for religious reasons? (The answer is surprising!)How many pilgrims get to Santiago every year? (You won't believe it!)Has she camped on the trail? What advice would she give to first-time pilgrims of El Camino de Santiago? You should learn more about Susan Alcorn. 3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Boyd Varty's TED talk about "What I Learned From Nelson Mandela" made Varty famous. His talk has nearly two million views.His newest book came out this week. It's called The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life.Varty is a fourth-generation custodian of the Londolozi Game Reserve. Unlike his ancestors, he's never hunted a lion. Now he just tracks them for eco-tourism. I ask him:What would his lion-hunting ancestors say about his conservation efforts? Does he think that hunting helps or hurts animal conservation?What does having a "sit spot" mean and how can it help you?How exactly does a male lion's mane protect the lion?What's the first story that we told ourselves?What can we learn from tracking a lion? Listen to the 60th WanderLearn episode!This episode is also important because it marks the one-year anniversary of the WanderLearn podcast, which has gotten 20,000 downloads since we started!That makes me happy because few podcasts achieve that audience in one year.So THANK YOU to you, my wandering listeners and to my sponsors! TourRadar is running a special promotion for WanderLearn listeners at tourradar.com/wanderlearn. Each month, listeners can sign up for the chance to win amazing travel prizes. Prizes include everything from $1,000 in travel credits to a trip for two to Europe to a free river cruise in Asia! Visit tourradar.com/wanderlearn to sign up for your chance to win today!Share, rate, and review the WanderLearn podcast!3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Few people expect to get kidnapped, but it's good to have some education on how to avoid kidnapping and what to do if you are kidnapped.In this episode 59 of the WanderLearn podcast, I interview Olav Ostad, who wrote Surviving Kidnappers: Precautions, Influence, Strategic Tools, which I reviewed on my website.You can buy it on Amazon.I ask Olav to share:A kidnapping story with a happy ending.A kidnapping story with a tragic ending.What can we learn from these two stories?Why did he write this book given that he's never been kidnapped?Should you cry when you're captured? Beg for mercy?What can we do to avoid getting kidnapped in the first place?Is kidnapping and ransom insurance worth it?What should they do during the moment of the assault?What should they during the transportation phase?What should they do during the captivity phase?How do you get over PTSD that may arise from surviving a kidnapping? Visit Kidnapping Survival to learn more.TourRadar is running a special promotion for WanderLearn listeners at tourradar.com/wanderlearn. Each month, listeners can sign up for the chance to win amazing travel prizes. Prizes include everything from $1,000 in travel credits to a trip for two to Europe to a free river cruise in Asia! Visit tourradar.com/wanderlearn to sign up for your chance to win today!Share, rate, and review the WanderLearn podcast!3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure, but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare, and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Donna Colson is one of the five City Council members in Burlingame, California. Currently, she's serving as Burlingame's Mayor. Burlingame is an affluent city with 30,000 residents near the San Francisco Airport. I grew up next to Burlingame.Mayor Colson is running for re-election to the City Council on November 5, 2019. We chatted for 30 minutes about a variety of topics, including:What does a mayor do every day?How much does she get paid?Why do such a job?What surprised her once she became the mayor?How much time does she spend fund-raising?Will we ever go beyond the two-party system?What political party is she in? (The answer will surprise you.)Why can't national politics be less tribal and more like local politics?Besides voting, what should citizens do?Three candidates are running for the two council seats in Burlingame.It looks like a slam dunk for Donna, but she thinks of Hillary Clinton's surprising loss often to keep her humble.This interview is also available on YouTube if you want to see Donna's expressions. Right now, TourRadar is running a special promotion for WanderLearn listeners at tourradar.com/wanderlearn. Each month, listeners can sign up for the chance to win amazing travel prizes. Prizes include everything from $1,000 in travel credits to a trip for two to Europe to a free river cruise in Asia! Visit tourradar.com/wanderlearn to sign up for your chance to win today!Share, rate, and review the WanderLearn podcast!3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Jack Kennedy got malaria in Sumbawa, Indonesia. After that tough experience, a lightbulb went off in his head.He wondered if, at the cost of a few thousand dollars, he could eliminate malaria in Sumbawa.He founded Health Access Sumbawa to eradicate malaria in Sumbawa and far beyond.Can we eliminate malaria plasmodium?What's the best bang for the buck? Bed nets? Spraying? Is there a malaria vaccine on the horizon?What tips does he have for someone thinking about starting a nonprofit?Every month, TourRadar is offering a new special contest to WanderLearn fans! Sometimes the TourRadar contest offers free trips, other times $1,000 in travel credits. Check out their latest promotion here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn Share, rate, and review the WanderLearn podcast!3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to win an amazing travel contest! Every month, there's a new contest with new prizes! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

What would you do if you were caught in an avalanche? How do you minimize your risk when you're traveling in the snowy mountains?Robert Hahn has studied avalanches and still managed to get caught in one. He works for the Northwest Avalanche Center. He shares his personal avalanche survival story.He also shares tips on how you can avoid repeating his fate.After 50 mins, we shift away from talking about avalanches and we talk about his harrowing experiences in the Himalayas.After 70 minutes, we talk about his fascinating time in Africa, which includes two years in the Peace Corps in Uganda, climbing the 3rd tallest peak in Africa, and several cultural insights, including the importance (or lack thereof) of honesty.I briefly mention my podcast with Sym Blanchard, who talks about how to live a meaningful life.About Robert HahnRobert Hahn is an Avalanche Forecasting Meteorologist who has worked at NWAC since 2017. Robert is responsible for twice-daily mountain weather forecasts for all zones and daily avalanche forecasts for the Olympics, Mt. Hood, Washington Cascades East South, and other zones as needed, while helping to coordinate the avalanche products throughout the region.Robert believes that quality mountain weather and avalanche products will help backcountry travelers inform their decisions in the mountains, ultimately saving lives. Robert holds a master’s degree in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington.When Robert is not working, you’ll find him backcountry skiing in remote corners of the Cascades or Canada and exploring tropical jungles when the snow melts.WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win $1000 in travel credits on TourRadar by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn Share, rate, and review the WanderLearn podcast!3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to win $1,000 in travel credits! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman Family FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win $1000 in travel credits on TourRadar by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearnAbout this episode: Jessica Husson was one of two people (out of thousands who applied) who won a round-the-world trip sponsored by TourRadar and Intrepid travel.Jessica and Joan (a Spaniard) starred in some superbly produced videos about their travels. I watched all 8 episodes,Today, the 8th episode, which takes place in Thailand, came out.Questions I ask Jessica:You had traveled extensively before, so what did you learn from this trip?Do you now look at reality TV shows with a new lens?What fun things happened off-camera?What would you do with $1000 to spend on TourRadar?Can you pick who is on your tour?What can you do if there is a personality mismatch in your group?What did you learn from Travis, the CEO of Tour Radar, who traveled with you in Italy?What percentage of your waking hours were free?How was Thailand like?What's your next destination? This is my 55th WanderLearn podcast episode. The most popular podcast episode was the podcast I did with the CEO of TourRadar, Travis, whom we mention in this episode.Although I encourage you to listen to the podcast, you might enjoy it more to watch it since there's a ton of superb footage that is shown during the interview. WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win $1000 in travel credits on TourRadar by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to win $1,000 in travel credits! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Elias Papaioannou is a Professor of Economics at the London School of Business (at the start of the podcast, I incorrectly say that he's at the London School of Economics).Professor Papaioannou has authored the following academic papers on Africa:The long-run effects of the scramble for AfricaThe scramble for Africa and its legacyPre-colonial ethnic institutions and contemporary African developmentBecause of his expertise and research on Africa's borders, I asked him many questions about them:Did the colonialists do any good with the borders?How do African borders compare to borders on other continents?How did the African political map look prior to colonization?How much better of a map could the Africans have drawn?Was violence widespread in pre-Colonial Africa?Do we place too much emphasis on the importance of the colonial borders?As you can see, these contrarian questions stir some fascinating debate. WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win $1000 in travel credits on TourRadar by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearnShare, rate, and review the WanderLearn podcast!3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to win $1,000 in travel credits! Enter at https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman FoundationRene Steelman leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer giving me Bitcoin, then please send BTC to my tip jar: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnV Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

You might think that you're a responsible and ethical traveler, but are you really?I talk with Alexandra Pastollnigg, who is the Founder of FairVoyage. She climbed Kilimanjaro. She's biked from Cairo to Cape Town. She's gone a few days without a shower. I ask her:Why did your Kilimanjaro trek change your life?Why is earning $2 a day bad if your costs are only $1.80?Is a shitty job better than no job?Aren't some of today's s**t jobs the dream jobs of the 19th century?What did you learn from biking across Africa?Are you just another person suffering from the White Savior Complex?What are common mistakes people make when planning their travel?If you could magically switch people's travel habits, what would happen?What kind of premium do FairVoyage trips incur?Watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XsPt9R3_U8WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win a tour for two to Italy, England, Vietnam or California for FREE by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to win a free trip for two to Italy, England, Vietnam or California. Enter now by going to http://tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman FoundationRene Steelman is my top WanderLearn patron. She leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Algeria is Africa's biggest country.It's also been the least touristy North African country for the last 100 years, on average. During Kadaffi's time, Libya received more tourists than Algeria. It's only since his fall that Algeria has become more popular than Libya.In short, Algeria, despite its enormous size (about the size of Western Europe) is largely an enigma.After getting rejected at three Algerian embassies, the one in Chad finally gave me a 3-month visa. It was one of the last countries I visited in Africa. In this podcast, I placed a microphone in the middle of a roundtable discussion about Algeria. I talk with Zakaria and Samir, two male Algerians. To have a Pan-African perspective, also sitting at the table are two women: Rejoice (from Cameroon) and Karen (from South Africa).Because the microphone was in the center of the table and most people have hard to understand accents, you might struggle to follow the discussion, but this is the nature of traveling and cross-cultural discussions. WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win a tour for two to Italy, England, Vietnam or California for FREE by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearn3 Sponsors1. Tour RadarDo you want to take a life-changing travel adventure but you either hate planning or you don't know where to start?TourRadar is a trusted online marketplace that helps you find, compare and book multi-day tours that will expand your horizons through life-enriching travel experiences.Just type in a region you have always wanted to visit or your preferred travel style and TourRadar will do the rest.And right now, WanderLearn listeners can visit TourRadar for a chance to win a free trip for two to Italy, England, Vietnam or California. Enter now by going to http://tourradar.com/wanderlearn 2. The Steelman FoundationRene Steelman is my top WanderLearn patron. She leads the Steelman Family Foundation which helps families with non-ambulatory children to acquire wheelchair-accessible vehicles.Their mission is to help families with children diagnosed with a permanent disability participate in the community. The Steelman Family Foundation also supports events to benefit cerebral palsy education and activities. They work exclusively with United Access and serve families nationally.Learn more and donate at https://steelmanfamilyfoundation.org3. Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit.In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Over a decade ago, when I was yo-yoing the Continental Divide Trail, I had a lot of time to think. When I got to a town, I would have all this pent up writing energy that would explode on my blog. One of my most profound articles was when I contemplated was what does it mean to be human?In this WanderLearn episode, I read that old article because it's still relevant today (and it will probably always be relevant since it's about being a living thing).Humans, like all life, is aiming to reach its carrying capacity. Environmentalists claim that we are "overpopulated," but if that were true, you would see a decline in the human population because we've hit our carrying capacity.Another piece of evidence of overpopulation is that significant portions of the species are starving to death. One of the Horsemen of the Apocolypse isn't famine, but obesity.In short, we're not even close to being overpopulated based on standard measures of overpopulation. Of course, one day Malthus will be right, but we can comfortably add several more billion humans.Some doomsday prophets warn that someday soon we will hit our carrying capacity and hit it in a big way (thanks to climate change).Perhaps.Frankly, I doubt it. I expect we'll go well beyond 100 billion humans in the Solar System. I'm not saying it will be a paradise. I'm just saying that our carrying capacity is probably closer to 100 billion than 10 billion. I suspect some of you will disagree with me, so make your comments below.WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win a tour for two to Italy, England, Vietnam or California for FREE by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearnSponsored by Tour RadarTourRadar is the best search engine for multi-day tours. They are the world’s largest online travel agency for multi-day tours. Revolutionizing how multi-day tours are compared and purchased, TourRadar provides travelers with a trusted online marketplace to find and book life-enriching experiences worldwide. TourRadar works with over 2,000 tour operators to offer more than 40,000 tours in over 200 countries.Promoting Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit. In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

This is my 50th podcast!To celebrate, I've produced an unusual WanderLearn episode.Instead of one guest, I have two! Instead of one location, we wander throughout Cairo with two Egyptologists of High-End Journeys: Ramez Salama and Ahmed Aziz. Ramez appears first in the podcast, but I recorded more of my conversation with Ahmed. Both are fascinating.If you're going to Egypt, you must ask for High-End Journeys to guide you. It's worth it!Last year, I wrote an article about on Forbes entitled "What To Do In Cairo After You've Seen the Pyramids."Much of my research was based on my travels with both of them. If you listen to the questions that I ask Ahmed, you'll get some insight into what I do everywhere I go. You'll see that I have a habit of asking impertinent questions about taboo subjects. I love to probe deep into a culture to understand what's really going in a society.I recognize that my method has its flaws: anecdotal evidence has its own bias.Still, if you do it often enough and with enough people, you usually can start forming a pretty accurate picture of a region.I talked with dozens of Egyptians so that my chapter on Egypt is fair. Besides, it will be the final chapter in my book, so it has to be the best!Speaking of my book, if you want to get a preview of the book as I'm writing it, please subscribe to my Patreon!WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win a tour for two to Italy, England, Vietnam or California for FREE by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearnSponsored by Tour RadarTourRadar is the best search engine for multi-day tours. They are the world’s largest online travel agency for multi-day tours. Revolutionizing how multi-day tours are compared and purchased, TourRadar provides travelers with a trusted online marketplace to find and book life-enriching experiences worldwide. TourRadar works with over 2,000 tour operators to offer more than 40,000 tours in over 200 countries.Promoting Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit. In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Rejoice Tapon and I host an Ask Me Anything episode on our podcast. The video is only available to my WanderLearn patrons.In this episode, we discuss:The Eko Atlantic Project in Lagos, NigeriaIs there going to be an audiobook of The Unseen Africa?Why did Rejoice end in prison in Zimbabwe?When I quote someone in The Unseen Africa, were you recording it?How many languages can Rejoice speak? If you have questions for us, send me an email, ideally with your voice asking the question!WanderLearn fans get a special chance to win a tour for two to Italy, England, Vietnam or California for FREE by going here:https://www.tourradar.com/wanderlearnSponsored by Tour RadarTourRadar is the best search engine for multi-day tours. They are the world’s largest online travel agency for multi-day tours. Revolutionizing how multi-day tours are compared and purchased, TourRadar provides travelers with a trusted online marketplace to find and book life-enriching experiences worldwide. TourRadar works with over 2,000 tour operators to offer more than 40,000 tours in over 200 countries.Promoting Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit. In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Whenever anyone has visited over 150 countries, I'm impressed, but probably not for the reasons you think.To get to 150, you had to have gone through some shithole countries. Those countries may not be warzones, but they are sketchy. They may have hard to get visas. They may be dangerous. They're definitely not tourist-friendly.To visit 100 countries, you can avoid challenging countries. However, to get to 150 (there are 193 countries, according to the UN), you must go to no-go zones.Still, some people find an easy way. They fly into the capital, take a secure taxi into and out of the city, fly home, and declare victory.In Africa, for example, you can do that with the DR Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Their capitals are usually pretty tame even though the rest of their countries are not. Same goes for Syria.That's why overland journeys are, in my opinion, usually more interesting than jet-setting world tours. And that's why a bike journey around the world is truly jaw-dropping.And we're talking a bicycle, not a motorcycle. Patrick Martin Schroder has biked to over 150 countries. He has climbed many of their highest peaks. He paraglides. And sometimes he even skips breakfast.Watch the Video at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKpl5bJsNSYIf you loved my 2nd most popular podcast, which is about a 65-year-old adventurer showing you how to have a meaningful life, you'll also love this episode with Patrick.In the podcast, I talk about a tough mountain in the Pacific that involved Ginge. Here are the details about that peak. I told Patrick that I wasn't sure of its height. It could be 2,000 meters, I surmised. It's just under 1,000 meters. It's not the tallest mountain of any one country. It's the tallest spot in a remote U.S. territory: Agrihan. That article is a great read.Promoting Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit. In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Europeans evangelized about Christianity.Nowadays, one European is promoting something more secular: the gospel of basketball. Meet Tony Rodriguez.For the last few years, he has been traveling through most of Africa with several basketballs in his car and not much else.He really had a shoestring budget.Listen to this podcast to hear how this Spaniard pulled it off.Update: We recorded the podcast a couple of weeks ago when he was still in Africa. Tony is now back in Spain. He wasn't able to get through Sudan, so he drove back to Southern Africa and flew back to Spain.You can follow his journey back to Europe at:https://www.facebook.com/Titotonirodriguezhttps://www.instagram.com/afroamericanquillohttps://twitter.com/ubrooklyn3x3Promoting Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit. In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Do you dream of doing a mega-bike trip? Is biking across the United States or Europe just not ambitious enough for you? Do you love repairing flat tires?Then listen to Xavier Himma describe his epic bicycle trip from his home in Canada to southern Argentina. You learn:How many flat tires he got. (Try to guess now!)How a Latino tried to mug him while he was riding the bike!How close he got to getting run over.Why he calls his adventure "Follow the Hum of the Earth"How he skipped the Darrien Gap. Watch his raw videos on his "Hum of the Earth" YouTube Channel. Here's one of them:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF1WPNJ7jQUWhen we recorded the 46th WanderLearn podcast, Xavier recorded my voice too instead of just his. I cleaned it up in post-production, but there are times when you will hear my voice echo or the conversation seems clipped. I'm gathering questions for my next AMA episode, so if you have questions, please send them to me as an audio clip at tapon.org/contactPromoting Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit. In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Last year, I stayed in Cairo's Sheraton hotel. I spoke with two representatives to learn about the dirty underbelly of running a luxury hotel in Egypt. I asked them:When was the last terrorist act in Cairo?What's hard about running a 5-star hotel that most people don't think about?How can they run a casino when Islam forbids gambling?At 22:00, when the hotel realizes they won't sell out their rooms, why don't they just drop the price to $40 to at least make a little bit of money rather than lose money with the unused inventory? For some background, read my article on Forbes.https://www.forbes.com/sites/francistapon/2018/02/04/luxury-hotel-face-off-in-cairo-sheraton-versus-the-four-seasons-plaza/#5c754c0385fb And see this YouTube video, where I compare the Sheraton with the 4 Seasons:https://youtu.be/9iPIe0a_RGMPromoting Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit. In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

I love talking with Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) because they offer such a unique perspective on a country. Because they're stationed in one country for two to three years, they are both insider and an outsider.They're an insider because they usually:Live in villagesLearn the local languageHang out with the locals so much that the locals start behaving "normally" with themHowever, at the same time, a PCV they are outsiders for obvious reasons. Sometimes they can blend in. For example, a black American can blend in most of Africa.However, the blond and blue-eyed Alicia Carter and Brandy Hart had no hope of blending into Lesotho. They were both Peace Corps Volunteers in Lesotho, a small country surrounded by South Africa.Alicia and Brandy both extended their two-year stays because they loved it. I ask them about their experiences in Lesotho.At the end of the podcast, we take a quick tour of Alicia's rondoval.To see the interview, watch it on YouTube at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppz-L6v0arIPromoting Health Access SumbawaOne of WanderLearn's top patrons, Kathy Kennedy Enger, asked me to draw attention to Health Access Sumbawa. I am happy to promote this remarkable nonprofit. In 2014, Jack Kennedy founded the organization to bring malaria control and healthcare to remote, impoverished communities. It started on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Since then, it's expanded thanks to generous donations. Visit their website to learn more and to donate: https://healthaccesssumbawa.orgMore infoYou can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:http://facebook.com/ftaponhttp://twitter.com/ftaponhttp://youtube.com/user/ftaponhttp://pinterest.com/ftaponhttp://tumblr.com/ftaponClaim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTaponRewards start at just $2/month!If you prefer to do a one-time contribution, you can send it to my PayPal at [email protected] you prefer sending me cryptocurrency, then please send your support to one of my favorite wallets:Bitcoin: 3EiSBC2bv2bYtYEXAKTkgqZohjF27DGjnVEthereum: 0x86D8Ab45260F82A5548F39BF21C9e244D0405a83 Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe