Bordered by The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany and France… Belgium is a densely populated, complicated, but often unseen, unheard and uncared about place. It is, however, filled with a weird, rich history, a mountain of outside influence, so many divides, 3 official languages and 10s of unofficial languages and dialects.

On the surface, it’s known basically for bureaucracy, fries, chocolate, diamonds, Tin Tin, a statue of a peeing boy and well… not much else right?

Not many people could truly look at Belgium Iconic. But as we all know, it’s often the understated places that are the most surprising. And that goes for our guest today too. Our friend, the wonderful, kind and hilarious, Belgian born Dennis Vanneste.

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Follow Dennis on Instagram: @vannestje

For this episode’s full show notes, download the free CERCA app, available for iOS. Get maps, photos, and info on the places mentioned. Plus, ad-free listening, bonus content, and early access to other episodes in this guide.

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There are things we think we know about places. But history, prejudice, stereotypes and the nature of 24 hour news and social media has made common knowledge about far away places even more twisted than ever.

So we’re taking the initiative once more, putting ourselves in the line of fire and asking the dumbest of questions so you never have to ever again. MisInfoNation is coming back!

Come and join Neil Innes and Andrés Bartos as they try their hardest to clear up some of the outright lies and stereotypes from Japan, New Zealand, France, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Mexico and more this year… by doing what they do best. Having a chat with someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.

MisInfoNation returns with hilarious guests and all new episodes starting Tuesday January 17th.

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For this episode’s full show notes, download the free CERCA app, available for iOS. Get maps, photos, and info on the places mentioned. Plus, ad-free listening, bonus content, and early access to everything Cerca has to offer.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are things we think we know about places. But history, prejudice, stereotypes and the nature of 24 hour news and social media has made common knowledge about far away places even more twisted than ever.

So we’re taking the initiative once more, putting ourselves in the line of fire and asking the dumbest of questions so you never have to ever again. MisInfoNation is coming back!

Come and join Neil Innes and Andrés Bartos as they try their hardest to clear up some of the outright lies and stereotypes from Japan, New Zealand, France, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Mexico and more this year… by doing what they do best. Having a chat with someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.

MisInfoNation returns with hilarious guests and all new episodes starting Tuesday January 17th.

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For this episode’s full show notes, download the free CERCA app, available for iOS.  Get maps, photos, and info on the places mentioned.  Plus, ad-free listening, bonus content, and early access to everything Cerca has to offer.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The mission of MisInfoNation is to help us understand whether our ideas about a place are real or just Imagined. But what about a place that was built on imagination? A place that would be the most visited country on earth… if it was a country? This week, we’re finding out with a trip to Disney.

This is no cartoon, this is a place where you will certainly need a map, a plan, a schedule and a guide. And this week, we’ve got a good one. A parks mega fan. A snappy dresser. A foodie and a theme park journalist and the host of her own Disney podcast, Very Amusing: the whip smart, bubbly fountain of Diz wisdom, Carlye Wisel.

On this episode of MisInfoNation, Carlye’s going to help us sort out what the world gets right about Walt Disney World (and Disneyland. And Epcot. And Tokyo Disney.) and what it gets wronger than Goofy leaning against a wall with his head off. 

Plus, if you think food at a theme parks is all bland hotdogs and overpriced sodas, Caryle’s got some Saved Pins to prove you wrong.

And for links to this episode’s Saved Pins, plus more of MisInfoNation, Passport, and all our Cerca Guides to the most amazing places on Earth, be sure to download the Cerca App for iOS.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guisepe Verdi said, you can keep the universe, just give me Italy. And if you’ve ever been, you know instantly what he means. Italy seems to have it all. The madness and romance of Rome. The pristine, perfectly color coded class and style of Milan. The rugged and rich and endlessly tasty islands of Sicily and Sardinia. 

Cliché wise, Italy is a glaringly obvious choice for one of our MisInfoNation episodes. The whole world thinks it knows exactly what Italy is like. But those clichés can’t all be true. Can they? Is Italy really a country full of tall, dark, mafia-connected, passionate people who love pasta and make some of the best food on earth?

To find out, we’ve called in Milan-born photographer, Dario Flores D’arcais to help us sort through the facts and fiction (stylish fiction, but fiction nonetheless) of that big old beautiful boot jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea - Italia.

And for links to this episode’s Saved Pins, plus more of MisInfoNation, Passport, and all our Cerca Guides to the most amazing places on Earth, be sure to download the Cerca App for iOS.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on MisInfoNation we talk to Ekaterina Markelova about a mystery wrapped inside a riddle inside an enigma - Mother Russia! A smart, funny, double PhD with a rather disarming smile, Ekaterina, takes on some of the craziest questions about her home country!

Western views of Russian culture are dominated by drinking, the cold, and election hacking right now… But that can’t really be all there is, can it? So this week on MisInfoNation we wanted to see just how much of the deep deep Russian stereotypes remain true. Turns out the largest country on earth really does have a lot more to offer than you think it does.

And for links to this episode’s Saved Pins, plus more of MisInfoNation, Passport, and all our Cerca Guides to the most amazing places on Earth, be sure to download the Cerca App for iOS.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on MisInfoNation we talk to Sohail Jannessari about what could be the most misunderstood country on the planet. Iran. A political scientist with a cutting sense of humor, Sohail takes on some of the most divisive questions about Iran and Iranians.

Today we turn the view of Iran that’s been shaped by Western media upside-down. From the food, to the etiquette, the oppression of women, how to guarantee you’ll get into a fight, who pays the bill, and the weight of being from a nation with an incredibly negative media slant - which sometimes turns Sohail into the Incredible Hulk. Plus, should you travel to Iran if you’re American?

We can’t think of a more important place to understand a little better.

And for links to this episode’s Saved Pins, plus more of MisInfoNation, Passport, and all our Cerca Guides to the most amazing places on Earth, be sure to download the Cerca App for iOS.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Icelandic people are a rare breed. Literally. There are only 360,000 of them, but we here at Passport HQ are lucky to call Björg Valgeirsdóttir a friend of the show. It’s a good thing too, because Neil and Andrés have a lot of questions about the top hits, myths, and truths of one of the most unique places in the world.

Polar Bears, volcanoes, igloos? What does the world get wrong about Iceland and more importantly what does it get right? On this MisInfoNation, Björg talks us through being mistaken for Björk, putting babies outside to sleep, eating puffin, and the strangest Christmas celebration you’ve never heard of...

And for links to this episode’s Saved Pins, plus more of MisInfoNation, Passport, and all our Cerca Guides to the most amazing places on Earth, be sure to download the Cerca App for iOS.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On our inaugural episode of MisInfoNation, we’re heading to Scotland to find out what the world gets wrong, about one of the most drop-dead, absolutely gorgeous countries on the planet… and what it gets right.

We’ll digest the truth about Haggis (so you can decide if you ever would), the story behind Irn-Bru, if there’s anything the Scots won’t deep fry, how they feel about Donald Trump’s heritage, and what’s really going on under a kilt. Also, we’ll discover the absolute best view in all of Scotland.  

We laugh a lot during this episode, fittingly, because the Scots take great pride in their sense of humor. Which explains their choice of national animal. Be sure to listen for that. 

And for links to this episode’s Saved Pins, plus more of MisInfoNation, Passport, and all our Cerca Guides to the most amazing places on Earth, be sure to download the Cerca App for iOS.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While we gear up for all new episodes of Passport and MisInfoNation we wanted to share something with you guys in our feed. Greetings from Somewhere is a beautifully produced podcast about the world. 

A show after our own heart, obviously. 

A charismatic host named Zack Mack, some excellent sound design, and we were instantly in. So we wanted to share with you one of our favorite episodes so far. 

Zack has gone to Burning man, Mount Rushmore, Disneyland, he’s taken trains, planes, automobiles and wheelchairs, he’s lived the van life… and asked a man who walked 4,000 miles across the USA the big questions… 

But to get into this brilliant new show we wanted to share with you Episode 1… It’s the story of Marfa, Texas. 

Enjoy!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.