The Observer Effect

The Observer Effect

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The Observer Effect episodes

  • 66 The MV Polaris—Svalbard, Where Liz Is Going on an Arctic Expedition
    Liz sat down with me on the steps of Oslo Sentralstasjon before departing further north to the Svalbard archipelago to look for polar bears.  I asked what it's like being a diplomat from New Zealand ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.
    Join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→ Kiva.org
    "Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente."
    —Santiago, Chile
    18 min
  • 65 Welcome to Cafemin—Oslo, Where Gabriel Insisted on Speaking German
    Cafemin is a way station in Mexico City on the migrant route from Latin America to the US.  I asked the director how people change when they rest there ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.
    Like Cafemin on Facebook→ 
    Join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→ Kiva.org
    "I feel always below the grace of their behavior the instinctive, primeval hatred of the stranger."
    —W. Somerset Maugham
    24 min
  • 63 Parisian TSA—New Caledonia, Where Fred Hunted Bats
    Fred and I traveled to Cádiz for Carnaval together.  On the way back he told me how New Caledonia changed his life.  I asked what it's like to work in Paris's equivalent of the TSA ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.
    Join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→ at Kiva.org
    "Tal vez el lugar que añoro nunca existió."
    —Isabel Allende
    31 min
  • 62 The Gypsy—Belize, Where Saundra Hit 79 Countries
    Saundra always used to get lost when she was a kid.  Now she's on a quest to get to 100 countries.  We spoke at Wish Willy's, a jerk chicken specialist's in Caye Caulker, Belize, which was her 79th country.  I asked how her quest has changed her ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.
    Join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→ at Kiva.org
    "There is nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be."
    —John Lennon
    24 min
  • 61 The Future You—Boston, Where Kenneth Asked Borges a Question
    Kenneth came to the Nobel Museum in Stockholm expecting more artifacts but ended up leaving one of his own.  I asked how in the world he met Jorge Luis Borges ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.
    Join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→ at kiva.org
    "I deplore the fact that you have not yet received a Nobel Prize, especially when it was given to so many who deserved it less, like me, who am only an adventurer."
    —Ernest Hemingway
    24 min
  • 60 In the Way of Listening—Honduras, Where Jarrod Became a Citizen
    Jarrod Brown recently became a citizen of Honduras, the culmination of a two-decade transformation that began with one fateful overseas trip.  He is the founder of Mission Lazarus, a non-profit organization that seeks to transform people’s lives through Jesus and through action.  Jarrod's led a life full of travel stories, so I hardly knew where to begin, except of course to ask what happened to him ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.
    Check out Mission Lazarus→ at missionlazarus.org 
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."
    —Mark Twain
    1 hr 9 min
  • 59 The Atitlán Connection—Tikal, Where Danny Lived Out a Childhood Dream
    Danny is from near my hometown, just outside Chicago, but we met sitting on top of a 125 foot stone temple that peeks out of thick jungle.  I asked what he'd take away from his trip to Guatemala ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.
    Join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→ at Kiva.org
    "Did not Columbus himself set sail because he had read Marco Polo's narrative?"
    —Tzvetan Todorov
    19 min
  • 58 Coincidences—Lago de Atitlán, Where Sune Tends Mayan Altars
    Sune takes care of a Mayan ceremonial site on a tiny lake in Guatemala that's ringed by volcanoes.  A famed spiritual energy there attracts hippies, tourists, local faithful, and other seekers.  We spoke, by chance, in Copenhagen, where he summers.  Since I've been to those fire rings in Lago de Atitlán too, I asked what the coincidence of our meeting in Denmark could mean ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.  Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.
    Join the Observer Effect Kiva Team→ Kiva.org
    "Amo el amor de los marineros que besan y se van ..."
    —Valaparaíso, Chile
    21 min

About The Observer Effect

From the publisher's feed

These are strangers' travel stories. Each time I ask how travel has changed them and hope listening like this evaporates borders.