Meet Henrique, a 24-year-old journalist who grew up in Lisbon, where he was shaped by the city’s music scene. With ancestors from Goa, India, and a mother born in Mozambique – both former Portuguese colonies – his family ties are intertwined with his country’s colonial history.

Henrique explains me all about Portugal, for example the influence the Catholic church has on the country and how Portugal’s progressive drug policy has positively changed the lives of many, including some of those close to him. He also shares how he is navigating the Danish dating scene with his Portuguese time management, and I can spoil: that is not a good match.

Episode 20 is out! This time I discuss Nepal with Abhushan, who is from the capital Kathmandu and worked there as a journalist. He guides me through the different strata of the country and shows me that Nepal is much more than a bunch of high mountains.

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In this episode, we discuss the first culture that is not an officially recognised country: Catalonia. It is the place where my guest Berta comes from. Having grown up in Tarragona  and studied in Barcelona, she knows this culturally rich region like the back of her hand.

Other than zooming in on Catalonia’s unique language and (food) traditions, we take a closer look at the independence wish of this corner of Spain. Where does it come from and how has it grown over the years? But also, what is its current status, five and a half years after the referendum was held. And what exactly happened on that 1stof October 2017 in Barcelona? Berta recounts in detail as she was there that day.

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This episode is about Russia, one of the two countries that have dominated the news over the past year. But instead of talking about the country from a geopolitical point of view, this episode intends to discuss the human side. In my perception, the struggles faced by ordinary Russians (which by no means compares to the Ukranian suffering) is a rather underexposed theme that deserves more attention.

That is why I invited Uliana, a Russian journalist from Moscow. She tells how the war has impacted the lives of her and her family and friends, and stresses how important it is to not reduce people to their nationality. Furthermore, she gives a unique insight in the isolated fortress that Russia today is.

Finally! After a wait of almost three months, season 2 of Crossing Cultures has arrived. To kick off the season, I invited Lorenzo to reflect together on his motherland Italy. A week ago, parliamentary elections were held here, with right-wing politician Giorgia Meloni emerging as the big winner. Lorenzo gives me his analysis of how this outcome came about and what it says about the current state of Italy.

Further, we talk about Lorenzo's city Bergamo and how it was so severly affected by Covid-19. We also touch upon the divide between north and south and what the words 'Polentoni' and 'Terroni' have to do with this.  Lastly, Lorenzo tells me what it's like to be Italian in a European context; does he feel more European or Italian? 

The last episode of this season is about Aruba, a tiny Caribbean Island off the coast of Venezuela and home to just over 100,000 people. Angel, who is one of them, moved to the Netherlands a few years ago, hoping to get a diploma that would allow him to earn a decent living, so he could send some of it back to his mother whom he had left behind. This is the story of many Antilleans (people from the former Dutch Antilles) living in the Netherlands.

Angel explains about the intricate relationship Aruba, a former Dutch colony, has with The Netherlands, what the word ‘Makamba’ means and why it is necessary for an Aruban to know at least three languages. And for the Dutch amongst us, do you know why you had your central high school exams at exactly 1.30 PM? Angel has the answer.

This episode is about Chile, the longest country in the world. For this, I spoke to Bruno, who is from the capital Santiago and has traversed the whole country from north to south.

Among other things, he tells me about a civil war that has been raging (quietly) for years, how the rest of the country looks at people from Santiago and why sometimes you can't exercise outside in the country’s capital. Also, we discussed Chile’s freshly elected president Gabriel Boric, a millennial who is known for being an outspoken feminist. And did you know that ‘weon weon weon’ really means something in Chilean Spanish?

Yes, it is time to cross cultures again! This episode is about South Africa, the country that is also called the ‘rainbow nation’, owing to its wide variety of people from different cultures and backgrounds. Did you know, for example, that South Africa is home to the second largest community of Indian people besides India, and that it is closely related to The Netherlands as it used to be one of its colonies? You can see this clearly in the language Afrikaans that is quite similar to Dutch, but also in the country’s architecture.

Kayla, who is from Johannesburg, believes people’s perception of the racial tension in her country is exaggerated. Yes, there are still traces of the Apartheid regime but people don’t live separated anymore. Still, she admits that crime is a huge problem in South Africa. “I would be shocked to meet anyone in South Africa who hasn’t had someone breaking into their house.”

For this episode, I had the privilege of hearing from Sabuhi about his country Azerbaijan. Personally, I knew very little about Azerbaijan other than that Baku is its capital. We were not really sure if that has to do with my lack of effort or a poor coverage in Western media, or perhaps both. What do you think?

Regardless, our talk shed a whole new light on this Caucasian and former Soviet country. By now I am familiar with why most Muslim Azerbaijanis drink alcohol but don’t eat pork, why it is no coincidence that the country brings forth so many strong judokas and chess players and why Turkey and Azerbaijan always award each other twelve points during the Eurovision Song Contest.