WanderLearn: Travel to Transform Your Mind & Life

Algeria is Africa's biggest country. It's also been the least touristy North African country for the last 100 years, on average. During Kadaffi's time, Libya received more tourists than Algeria. It's only since his fall that Algeria has become more popular than Libya. In short, Algeria, despite its enormous size (about the size of Western Europe) is largely an enigma. After getting rejected at thr...

Over a decade ago, when I was yo-yoing the Continental Divide Trail, I had a lot of time to think. When I got to a town, I would have all this pent up writing energy that would explode on my blog.  One of my most profound articles was when I contemplated was  what does it mean to be human? In this WanderLearn episode, I read that old article because it's still relevant today (and it will probably...

This is my 50th podcast! To celebrate, I've produced an unusual WanderLearn episode. Instead of one guest, I have two! Instead of one location, we wander throughout Cairo with two Egyptologists of  High-End Journeys : Ramez Salama and Ahmed Aziz.  Ramez appears first in the podcast, but I recorded more of my conversation with Ahmed. Both are fascinating. If you're going to Egypt, you must ask for...

Rejoice Tapon and I host an Ask Me Anything episode on our podcast. The video is only available to my  WanderLearn patrons . In this episode, we discuss: The  Eko Atlantic Project in Lagos, Nigeria Is there going to be an audiobook of  The Unseen Africa ? Why did Rejoice end in prison in Zimbabwe? When I quote someone in The Unseen Africa, were you recording it? How many languages can Rejoice spea...

Whenever anyone has visited over 150 countries, I'm impressed, but probably not for the reasons you think. To get to 150, you had to have gone through some shithole countries. Those countries may not be warzones, but they are sketchy. They may have hard to get visas. They may be dangerous. They're definitely not tourist-friendly. To visit 100 countries, you can avoid challenging countries. However...

Europeans evangelized about Christianity. Nowadays, one European is promoting something more secular: the gospel of basketball.  Meet Tony Rodriguez. For the last few years, he has been traveling through most of Africa with several basketballs in his car and not much else. He really had a shoestring budget. Listen to this podcast to hear how this Spaniard pulled it off. Update: We recorded the pod...

Do you dream of doing a mega-bike trip? Is biking across the United States or Europe just not ambitious enough for you? Do you love repairing flat tires? Then listen to Xavier Himma describe his epic bicycle trip from his home in Canada to southern Argentina. You learn: How many flat tires he got. (Try to guess now!) How a Latino tried to mug him while he was riding the bike! How close he got to g...

Last year, I stayed in Cairo's Sheraton hotel. I spoke with two representatives to learn about the dirty underbelly of running a luxury hotel in Egypt.  I asked them: When was the last terrorist act in Cairo? What's hard about running a 5-star hotel that most people don't think about? How can they run a casino when Islam forbids gambling? At 22:00, when the hotel realizes they won't sell out their...

I love talking with Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) because they offer such a unique perspective on a country. Because they're stationed in one country for two to three years, they are both insider and an outsider. They're an insider because they usually: Live in villages Learn the local language Hang out with the locals so much that the locals start behaving "normally" with them However, at the sam...

Tomas Higbey has been an environmentalist for over 2 decades. In this 45-minute profound and sometimes funny conversation, I debate environmentalism with him to get a rise out of him. Listen to find out what he thinks is the: Most important environmental problem we're facing. Solution to global climate change. Elephant in the room regarding the environment. Urge to reproduce - are men and women di...

A skeptical teenager named Wolf asked me a bunch of questions about Bitcoin, so since his parents are one of my patrons, I am happy to address them. The WanderLearn podcast focuses on travel, tech, and transformation, so Bitcoin fits in there. Moreover, Bitcoin has important travel implications, especially when you go to places that have sanctions and other controls. One hour before I recorded thi...

Frank Isaac was my roommate for a couple of months in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Here are some of the questions I asked him: How is Tanzania's government fighting corruption? Is it working? It seems that African men are rarely at home. Is that largely the case or is that a myth? How are Ugandans different than Tanzanians (Frank lived in Uganda for a decade)? Do Tanzanians date between tribes? How po...

Mark Joseph hiked  El Camino de Santiago  with his father's ashes. The father and son had intended to walk the long trail together, but, like many people, they postponed their dream hike until it was too late. He's filmed a documentary about his walk to Muxia, which is the end of El Camino de Santiago. Between now and August 3, 2019, he is running his  Road to Muxia Kickstarter project , which aim...

The three most popular excuses people have for not traveling? Lack of time Lack of money Lack of children Just kidding about that last one! Today, we'll look at the real excuse #3: I can't go because I have kids! When I was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, I interviewed the parents behind  Growing Up Without Borders . For the last few years, they are systematically visiting every country in the world w...

Stephen P. Williams , author of  Blockchain: The Next Everything , talks about bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchains. In this interview, I ask him: What is a blockchain? Is each bitcoin transaction really consuming 30-USA-households worth of electricity? What's the difference between proof-of-work versus proof-of-stake? What's the promise of Etherum vs. Bitcoin? What's blockchain's killer app...

There's a  project that is searching for an Einstein in Africa . I may have found him. His name is Baye Gaspar. He's from the extreme north of Cameroon. He's won countless awards. He's just 26 years old. It's a brutally honest discussion. I am politically incorrect, as usual. We don't sugarcoat the conversation. One thing that few will appreciate is that Baye Gaspar comes from a Francophone region...

Mustapha, Tual, and Usama are three young Egyptians hanging by the Nile in Luxor.  What do tourists miss out on when they zip through Egypt? How important is Allah in Egypt? What do think of Israel, Sudan, and Libya What's the marriage ceremony like? What do you they imagine relationships are like in America? What's the future of Egypt? I apologize that there's the annoying sound of wind during th...

In last week's episode, Brittany Longoria and I talked about her infamous photo featuring a leopard she killed in Namibia in 2018.  A single Facebook post generated 200 heated comments . As a result, I did an AMA video live-stream for my patrons . Only my patrons can playback the video, but I'm releasing the audio here. Last week's podcast opened a can of worms and left many unanswered questions....

In 2018,  Brittany Hosmer Longoria  was swept up in a social media firestorm with these trending hashtags: #disgusting #cuntress #findThisBitch #huntTheHunter #Monstress #immoral #murderHer #KillHer #poacher What had she done to induce such a vicious reaction? The surprising answer is nothing that remarkable. What she had done was to hunt a leopard in Namibia and take a photo of her holding the de...

Christopher Comer has a Ph. D. and is the Director of Conservation in Safari Club International, which is primarily a pro-hunting organization. We talk about: What are some common myths people have about hunting? What does hunting teach you? Is poaching getting better or worse? What is rural sprawl? What can we do to augment the wildlife population in Africa? Should we optimistic or pessimistic ab...

Do you miss your voice assistant when you travel? Do you find yourself in a hotel room and saying, "OK Google, set my alarm for 6 a.m." Or "Alexa, what's the weather forecast?" Or "Siri, tell housekeeping to come here." Soon, you won't miss your voice assistant anymore, at least, if Volara has its way. Volara CEO David Berger shares his vision for context-driven, identity-optional, voice-first exp...

Glen Van Peski is a civil engineer who used his skills to engineer the lightest backpacking gear in the Solar System. He's the Founder of Gossamer Gear . In the 31st WanderLearn episode, Glen and I chat while we're hiking up to the Sweeney Ridge in the San Francisco Bay Area's Peninsula. On the ridge, there's a National Historic Landmark commemorating the historic Gaspar de Portola Expedition. The...

I interviewed Fred Wehrey for this podcast and for my  review of his book, Burning Shores , which I wrote on Forbes. I've copied the article below for those who are too lazy to go to Forbes. Enjoy the podcast! Review of The Burning Shores Barack Obama called Libya a “s**t show” and that it was the “worst mistake” of his presidency. This tidbit is just one of the many facts you'll read about in  Th...

Bahman Keramati is an Iranian who has lived a decade in Africa. He's mostly lived in Nigeria and Tanzania. He's also visited many other countries in Africa. I asked him: What attracted him to Nigeria? What are the differences between Nigeria and Tanzania (or West vs. East Africa)? What shocked him when he first moved to Nigeria? What does he love most about Nigeria? How is it raising a child in Af...

To learn more about Vacasa, listen to WanderLearn  podcast #19  where I interview Thaddeus Hansom Vacasa's Head of Global Partner Programs. In this episode, I spend 15 minutes walking through a Vacasa home in Arizona. This $1 million home has 5 bedrooms and 4 baths. There's also a pool. It would have cost me $2,000 to rent it for 3 nights, but I got to stay for free. Unlike other travel bloggers,...