Around the World #43: Talking North Korea with Jeremiah Jenne

Tensions have been rising on the Korean peninsula. What are our options?

My guest Jeremiah Jenne is a historian based in Beijing. He has been to North Korea multiple times, including just a few weeks ago (I have been there as well). Jeremiah laid out three potential military strategies for the US to intervene in North Korea; unfortunately, all of these options are various shades of terrible. He also talked about diplomatic strategies, which also are controversial and risky.

AtW #42: Siberia, Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan

My guest today is Gigi Wong. Originally from Hong Kong, she currently lives in New York, where she works with first-tier Chinese real estate developers. We spent most of our time talking about a trip Gigi took a few years back. Starting from Beijing, she rode the Trans-Siberian railway to Moscow. From there she headed into Finland, Estonia, Germany, Austria and Turkey. She still wanted more adventure, so after Turkey, she traveled to the little-visited countries of Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan.

Around the World #41: Bounce

My guest MCK runs a program called Bounce. Basically, it's a twenty-minute conversation in which he listens to you and asks you the right questions to work through whatever's on your mind. He and I did a Bounce session at the beginning of this podcast and it was very helpful. We also touched on many other travel related topics.

Around the World #40: Matthew Clausen

Matthew Clausen and I recorded this podcast on a dark and breezy night, while sitting atop the Great Wall of China. We had just finished a long day of trekking on the wall, starting at the popular restored section of Mutianyu, and ending at “wild” Jiankou. We had a fantastic time reminiscing his week-long visit to Beijing, culminating in this outdoor adventure. We also discussed rock climbing, our views on what it means to travel, and much more.

Around the World #39: Tamara Gil

My guest for this episode of the podcast is Tamara Gil, a multimedia journalist based in Beijing, China. Tamara and I had a long and interesting conversation, during which we covered quite a large number of topics.

Around the World #38: Sean Kelly

My guest today is Sean Kelly. He's an art teacher in Beijing, China. He has also lived in Shanghai and Costa Rica. We talked about life here, living on campus, travel and a few interesting movies that remind us of China.

AtW #37: Never Lose Your Passport!

My guest today is Moisés Santiago. We touched on a variety of topics, including being a teacher in China, spaying your cat (not for the faint of heart), staying calm in stressful situations, and the importance of maintaining possession of your passport while traveling abroad. It turns out that both of us have had the pleasure of losing our passport, though his experience had significantly worse consequences than mine.

Around the World #36: Mirco Tranchina

Around the World Podcast #36: Mirco Tranchina

Mirco Tranchina has lived in China for several years. Since coming here, he has become fluent in Chinese, and he is now on a TV show called Informal Talks. He also has a full-time job, and he's finishing his master's degree. Fun fact: So far, Mirco has lived in ten different apartments in Beijing. Luckily, he was able to take some time out of his busy schedule to record this podcast. We had an awesome conversation; I hope you enjoy it.

Around the World #35: Erin and Connor

We are looking good in our bath robes, sipping whiskey.

My guests today are Erin Draycott and Connor Grill. They have both been living in Beijing for several years. I sat with Erin and Connor on the roof of their hutong apartment for a conversation about travel. We touched on many subjects, including their recent trip to Israel.

Around the World #34: Li Song Mei

My guest today is Li Song Mei. I met her through Arthur, her former teacher, who was on episodes 30 and 31 of the podcast. Li Song Mei is from a small village in Guizhou Province, China. She's currently in grad school in Beijing.

Li Song Mei is a member of the Hmong (Miao) ethnic minority group. We discussed a lot about her culture, including the largest traditional Hmong festivals.