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Among the many government programs President Trump has cut recently has been American foreign assistance through the Agency for International Development or USAID. That’s billions of dollars that helped with things like Ebola prevention in West Africa, malaria testing in Myanmar, famine relief to war-torn Sudan, and food deliveries to refugees from Western Sahara.
Leading the cost-cutting charge is Elon Musk, who Trump appointed to run the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. In response to criticism, Musk tweeted recently that “no one has died as a result of a brief pause to do a sanity check on foreign aid funding,” but as time has passed, evidence has emerged that that assurance simply isn’t true. On this episode of Far From Home, I visit a food distribution warehouse for refugees in southwest Algeria, and I speak to humanitarian workers in Sudan, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the country of Georgia to hear firsthand accounts of how these cuts are directly impacting people around the world.
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Far From Home is an immersive travel and culture podcast where Peabody award-winning journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from his journeys to faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia.
If you’re discovering the show for the first time, you might want to start with the episode about the medicine man in Peru or check out the one about the guy who’s traveled around the world making balloon hats. The story about visiting Chernobyl was also pretty popular among listeners, as was the episode about the experiences of African Americans traveling the world.
And if you’re looking for a series to binge, listen to the first season, which tells the story of an 11,000 mile / 18 country road from the UK to Mongolia in a ridiculously tiny car (highlights: check out this episode from Iran and this one from Turkmenistan)!
New to podcasting? See these step-by-step instructions for how to listen.
Montreal is a city often split between English and French languages and cultures, but one thing that almost all residents can get behind is cheering on their beloved hockey team, the Canadiens. This isn't just your run-of-the-mill, sports-crazed city, however. The love of hockey here runs much deeper. It's tied to both the history of the game's creation as well as the identity of the Quebecois people, who've come to see their hometown team as a powerful symbol of their nationhood, even though they're still officially part of Canada.
On this episode of Far From Home -- which I originally reported for Here and There, a Canadian Geographic travel podcast -- I visit Montreal where I attend a game amid 20,000 cheering fans, and I even take my own hockey lesson. By the end of my trip, it's clear that what started out as a simple sports story is actually about something much deeper and more meaningful. Read More →
The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is now entering its third year, and it’s been a humanitarian disaster. According to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, it’s displaced nearly 7 million Ukrainians globally. And on the other side, an estimated 900,000 Russians have also fled their country for various reasons. Among them are economic migrants, conscientious objectors, and political refugees, but also a smaller subset of hundreds of exiled journalists, who’ve had to leave in order to continue to report freely, amid a crackdown on press freedom and free expression. This is the story of one of them, my friend Ivan. Read More →
As I spent time abroad in the lead-up to the American presidential election, I was struck by how often news and politics from back home seemed to be on the minds of all the locals I met. No matter how far away I went, it was impossible to escape!
On this episode we hear from people in Poland, Haiti, Lebanon, Iran, India, Afghanistan, Puerto Rico, and Uganda about what the election of Donald Trump means to them.
In 1971, a group of squatters took over an abandoned military base just across the harbor from downtown Copenhagen, Denmark. They created a politically autonomous anarchist zone -- in other words, a commune -- with its own flag, marching band, and consensus-driven governance process, and they decided to call their community Christiania. The thousand or so residents were free to do pretty much whatever they wanted as long as it didn't infringe upon the rights of other people. There were just a few rules: no private ownership of land or housing, no weapons or violence, and no vehicles. But as the years went on, Christiania faced a number of challenges, and now -- more than half a century later -- it's at a turning point where some people question how much longer it will be able to survive.
This first episode of Far From Home's 4th season was produced in collaboration with 99% Invisible. Read More →
MORE ABOUT SEASON 4
Over the past few years, as I’ve traveled to lots of faraway places and had conversations with all sorts of individuals, I’ve come to understand the power of listening to people and sharing their stories. Now — in this era of wars, conflicts, and polarized politics — I think it’s more important than ever to gain new ideas and perspectives by talking to strangers, cause we might just have more in common with them than we think.
In Season 4 of Far From Home, we’ll learn how other people see the world and some of the challenges they face. For example, imagine living in exile, unable to return to your home. Or having gangs take over your neighborhood, so you constantly worry about your safety. And how do you handle the responsibility of being asked to honor the life of someone you’ve never met?
I’ll have more stories from my travels around the world including Denmark, Algeria, Latvia, Thailand, Puerto Rico, and the Netherlands. So make sure you subscribe/follow the show so you never miss an episode.
previously on Far From Home
Season one tells the story of an epic journey I took with my brother and some friends, raising money for charity. Over seven weeks, we drove across Europe and Asia, through 8 time zones, 5 mountain ranges, and a few deserts, all the way from the UK to Mongolia!
Listen in and follow along with our adventures as we face everything from language barriers to mechanical trouble, getting horribly lost to paying bribes to shady traffic cops.
photo by Donna Salter
On the second season of the show, I ditch the car and slow down the journey, sharing my unexpected adventures and chance encounters with interesting people around the world as I continue my travels to places as diverse as Cambodia, Chernobyl, Spain, Japan, and Peru. The goal as always is to get lost down back alleys, venture off the beaten path, and look for stories in far-flung corners of the world that most tourists never visit. In the end, I find that wherever I go, despite whatever cultural, political, and geographic differences people have, they’re generally far more alike than they are different.
On the third season of Far From Home, I continue sharing stories from around the world as well as closer to my own backyard. Amid a global pandemic, economic turmoil, and protests for racial justice, I check in to see how folks are doing, and I feature more reporting from far-flung places from my pre-COVID travels.
Banner image by Drew Gurian