What can we say? We're globe trotters at TFA. As such, this week's episode is on Venezuela, a country mired by corruption and economic failure. But the music plays on in the streets, and today you'll hear some of the best music coming from within Venezuela's borders.

This episode features a double interview with U of T student Manuel and U of T professor Donald Kingsbury. Manuel lived in Venezuela until he was 15 years old, and recently visited his family there just months ago. Don was a government employee towards the start of the Chavez regime and got an insider's look at how the country functioned. On top of the interviews Manuel put together a slick playlist including a variety of latin genres, and at the end of the show you'll hear the music of Toronto musician Elina Cuevas who moved from Caracas in 1996.

So keep it locked, and make sure to listen to Tracks From Abroad every week, Tuesdays and Saturdays on CIUT and anytime on Spotify or at TFA.radio on Instagram. Saludos.

Hot off an episode on Palestine last week, Tracks From Abroad is crossing the globe to visit Barbados on this week's show. We've had a great experience learning about Caribbean countries with the help of the Caribbean Studies Student Union, the West Indian Students Association, and the Centre for Caribbean Studies at U of T. This week is no exception!

UofT student Kairos recorded an interview at CIUT where he shared stories about his home and the songs he's released as a rapper, and Kelson Fredricks joined the second half of the show with an explanation of his freestyle rap style which he's developing here in Toronto.

Prepare for more collaborative shows in the weeks to come, and send us a message if you'd like to come on as a guest. We've especially got to get back to more African shows soon since our second visit to Egypt at the end of the summer. We'll see you next week!

Palestine is the focus of this week’s Tracks From Abroad show which brings us a mixture of dance, food and political discussion. You know the drill—this is episode 43.

To introduce Palestine we welcome Nadeen, a third year U of T student, and Bashar Murad, a Palestinian pop musician. We also got some help from the minds of RAW on CIUT who suggested some tracks for the episode. In the end, we had too much music to fit into the hour-long slot, and you can find the extended track list on Spotify or at TracksFromAbroad.com

Hear Tracks From Abroad broadcast on CIUT.ca, or listen ANYTIME through TFA.radio on Instagram. Join us next week and a bunch of weeks after that too!

Tracks From Abroad hits back HARD this week with a flaming hot episode all about Jamaica. We welcome U of T student Alana to the show to discuss her time representing the island in badminton across the world, and you'll hear from current Second City improv Comedian PHATT Al.

As I mentioned to Al, he's done so much in the entertainment industry that I thought his resume was the work of three people combined during my interview research. This guy packs an artistic punch, and you can hear him talk about his Jamaican roots and his current projects. One of these was a freestyle rap performance with Brownman Ali which I attended at the Axis Club thanks to Sebastian Cook of BEAT Network. Big thanks!

As the TFA network grows we get the chance to speak with more amazing artists from across Canada while always bringing U of T students into the studio on each show. They are truly the heart and soul of this program.

So keep coming back to Tracks From Abroad as we turn up the heat for a show on Jamaica. We just might have to return to the Caribbean nation soon. Stay tuned @TFA.radio on Instagram.

-Jesse McDougall

With the fall semester about to begin, welcome to season 5 of Tracks From Abroad! When this season is complete TFA will be one year old.

We begin by returning to Egypt, but this time with a twist. Ramzy is a going into his second year at U of T, but he has only lived in Toronto for a short time. So we thought that eating out at an Egyptian restaurant would be a great way to find Egyptian culture close to home.

We met in the Nile River Restaurant at 598 College St. to order some Egyptian food and observe the space which was decked out with Hieroglyphics and art. The food was amazing, and it sparked interesting discussions. You will hear about Egyptian MTV, how to make ghee butter, and about which Egyptian artist is the best of all time.

Keep it locked on TFA for more music and interviews, and send me a message if you want to come on the show or get involved. [email protected]

What do you think of the new graphic? -Jesse

Just like last time after episode 30, Tracks From Abroad is pausing our normal programming to spend one episode testing the boundaries of radio show structure and seeing what Jesse can get away with on air. In this show you will find the familiar themes of travel and adventure but this time fit into a story about Jesse and Zoe attempting to bike around Lake Simcoe in July.

The show features thematic music selected by the two bikers as they worked through their multi-day tour around the lake as well as spontaneous audio logs recorded as the trip progressed. Having biked in Ontario in places like Niagara and Collingwood, Jesse and Zoe rolled their bikes on to the Union Station GO train thinking this would be a trip like any other. But as you will discover on in the show, the trip took an unexpected turn they never saw coming.

Will the wandering bikers make it back to civilization? Will they ever step onto a bicycle again after this 200km journey? Press play and find out!

Next week TFA will be back with a return to Egypt featuring our friend Ramzy, and as always, thanks for listening. -Jesse

Tracks From Abroad has just reached 40 episodes since we started the show last October. So we’re celebrating with a pizza party! Just kidding, but we are going to visit the home of pizza and pasta in Italy.

On this celebratory show we have Gabriella for our first student interview. She talks about living in Italy as a teenager and the recent heatwave that’s engulfed the country. Soon we will link with the Italian department at UofT to hear more from the boot-shaped nation.

Our second interview is with do-it-all DIA who has just released a new song in Toronto. With two musical Italian families, Dia grew up performing music before getting into film and makeup. She will soon move to Italy where we might have to give her a call for a woman-on-the-scene type experience.

So enjoy our two interviews with some hot Italian music, and keep listening to Tracks From Abroad Tuesdays and Saturdays on CIUT. Peace!

Tracks From Abroad GUYANA is a hot show coming off our return to Ukraine last week. The show has stellar music with two superb guests!

Our UofT student guest is Alyssa who talks about the Caribbean Studies Student Union, costal flooding, and Guyana's Independence celebration. She and I study the same subjects at UofT, and Alyssa was great on air.

Next we welcome Danny Adhim of Folk'n Comedy, an open mic show I've been watching on Mondays throughout the summer. Danny had humble beginnings in Guyana but now directs films and elevates local comics in Toronto! His show continues at the Pour House restaurant at 182 Dupont street, and you can expect more diverse comedians on TFA in the weeks to come.

I present to you another Caribbean episode of Tracks From Abroad, and you can listen live Tuesdays and Saturdays on CIUT 89.5 FM.

-Jesse

For this 38th episode of Tracks From Abroad we return to Ukraine to speak with a whole cast of people. To start the show we have U of T student Alex and Rick Palidwor of Hart House together for a discussion of the band Dakhabrakha, a band whose pronunciation alludes me.

Rick brings extensive research of Dakhabrakha to the show and we play corresponding tracks to get to know the band. Alex adds another level of sophistication giving us translations and stories to illustrate how this band fits into the Ukrainian music scene.

Later in the show you'll hear two abridged interviews with Sofiya of Zapovid and Orest of Hloptsi Z Mista, two Ukrainian bands based in Toronto. The full video interviews will soon be on the TFA Youtube page, and you can find this show's track lists at TFA.radio.

Thank you for listening to the show and the great bands Toronto has to offer!

This week's Tracks From Abroad episode is perfectly timed to coincide with Toronto's Caribbean Festival. We present to you an episode about Saint Vincent and the Grenadines!

Previously we've visited Haiti, DR, St. Lucia and Trinidad, and this time the show is just as stellar.

Thandi talked with TFA about playing squash, volcanic eruptions, and code switching. Also on the show is Drew Gonzales of Kobo Town. We caught Drew on Toronto Island at an Island Cafe performance to talk about his new music and the Caribbean Carnival.

Stay with TFA this weekend during Toronto's Caribbean festival, and we've got more Caribbean shows on deck soon!

-Jesse