116 Lost City—Scotland, Where Joe Rescued a Drone

116 Lost City—Scotland, Where Joe Rescued a Drone

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Joe ditched his drone in the middle of a herd of cattle in Scotland. The question was how to get it out again. I asked how travel shapes his creativity building the props for the Star Wars movies ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musicians, Dana Boulé and Grupo Sonkoy.

“Whole castles have vanished from my memory, whole cities I have never visited again.”

— Ford Madox Ford

115 The Cloud Sea—China, Where Gabriel Sang

115 The Cloud Sea—China, Where Gabriel Sang

The Observer Effect

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Gabriel and his girlfriend left Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean to travel the entire world. We met in Valparaíso, Chile nine months in. I asked what could make them leave paradise ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“Je te reconnaître dans tous les hommes.”

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

114 Absolute Silence—Auschwitz, Where Dominik Cried

114 Absolute Silence—Auschwitz, Where Dominik Cried

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Dominik moved to Berlin to become a poet, which makes him uniquely suited to tell the story of a visit to Auschwitz. I asked why he thought the German capital would change him ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“May they be safe where it is told.”

— Peig Sayers

113 ¿Qué vamos a hacer?—Panama, Where Caleb Brought a Stranger to Church

113 ¿Qué vamos a hacer?—Panama, Where Caleb Brought a Stranger to Church

The Observer Effect

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Caleb moved his family to Panama to begin a teaching career. I asked if he would pick me up at the airport after we met on Twitter ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“Keep reaching out to the Unknown in others, whatever the odds.”

— Graham Murtaugh

112 The Social Play—Ireland, Where Emma Dreams

112 The Social Play—Ireland, Where Emma Dreams

The Observer Effect

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Emma once lived at a kibbutz in Israel. I asked what it takes to integrate in the Irish countryside ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“Suppose you do find a premise in your wanderings.”

— Lajos Egri

111 Stolpboerderij De Harn—Ilpendam, Where Jeannette Remains a Geographer

111 Stolpboerderij De Harn—Ilpendam, Where Jeannette Remains a Geographer

The Observer Effect

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Jeannette and her golden retriever, Bram, host the best Airbnb that I have ever stayed at—a barn in a village just outside Amsterdam. I asked why the landscape looks so much like the paintings by the Dutch masters ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“To look at the stars always makes me dream, as simply as I dream over the black dots of a map.”

— Vincent Van Gogh

110 The Fata Morgana—Rome, Where Peter Immigrated

110 The Fata Morgana—Rome, Where Peter Immigrated

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Peter oversees the creation of the most wonderful gelato in Rome, at Fata Morgana Gelato. Though Italian by ancestry, he grew up in Canada and moved to the bel paese only later. I asked what it felt like to immigrate ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“I wander and wander along, and forever before me gleams the shining city of song.”

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

109 Stendhal Syndrome—Berlin, Where Cristina Froze

109 Stendhal Syndrome—Berlin, Where Cristina Froze

The Observer Effect

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Cristina took us into the Real Maestranza, Seville’s cathedral of bullfighting, when no one else was there. I asked what to look for when the season started the following day ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“A sight, an emotion, creates this wave in the mind, long before it makes words to fit it.”

— Virginia Woolf

108 The Sound of Rain—Chicago, Where Christopher Lived in a Van

108 The Sound of Rain—Chicago, Where Christopher Lived in a Van

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Christopher decided to simplify his life and move into a van. I asked a number of logistical questions ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“Have the courage to digress.”

— John McPhee

107 Multi-Colored Mirrors—Ireland, Where Sam Bought a Motorcycle

107 Multi-Colored Mirrors—Ireland, Where Sam Bought a Motorcycle

The Observer Effect

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Sam rode his new bike from Ireland to Prague where we met in front of the Lennon Wall, a living memorial layered over in years of graffiti. Decades ago, Beatles quotes scribbled there launched the Velvet Revolution. I asked what words he added ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Follow Michal Oliver Music on Facebook→

“Oh to be a sparrowhawk.”

— Anonymous Troubadour, Eleventh Century

106 From Nowhere—Alaska, Where Jo Saw a Grizzly

106 From Nowhere—Alaska, Where Jo Saw a Grizzly

The Observer Effect

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Jo may not have been as prepared as she needed to be when she visited the U.S. I asked her to describe the shipwreck where we met ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“The more people I meet, the happier I become.”

— Samuel Beckett

105 Emergency Call—Fiji, Where William Was [Interrupted by Orchids]

105 Emergency Call—Fiji, Where William Was [Interrupted by Orchids]

The Observer Effect

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William makes props for the new Star Wars films at Pinewood Studios in London. We met on the Inca Trail in Peru. I asked how places like Machu Picchu and Sayaqmarka shape his work ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musicians, Dana Boulé and Grupo Sonkoy.

“On est seul aussi chez les hommes.”

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

104 Fourteen Years—The U.S., Where Henry Immigrated Illegally

104 Fourteen Years—The U.S., Where Henry Immigrated Illegally

The Observer Effect

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Henry tried three times to cross the border into the U.S., a long journey from his home in Honduras. He has been a translator for Mission Lazarus since coming back. I asked why ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“Blessed are those in whose hearts are roads.”

— Psalm 84:5

103 Burnout—Oaxaca, Where Meghan Recovered

103 Burnout—Oaxaca, Where Meghan Recovered

The Observer Effect

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Meghan had an epiphany in Mexico. I asked whether it’s possible to bring her insight back into settled life ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Consider donating to Westin's Fund, a charity that covers the costs for grieving parents related to miscarriages and stillbirths:

“Les soins accordés au malade, l’accueil offert au proscrit, le pardon même ne valent que grâce au sourire qui éclaire la fête. Nous nous rejoignons dans le sourire au-dessus des langages, des castes, des partis. Nous sommes les fidèles d’une même Église, tel et ses coutumes, moi et les miennes.”

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

102 One Twenty-Fifth of a Second—Yugoslavia, Where Wade Photographed War

102 One Twenty-Fifth of a Second—Yugoslavia, Where Wade Photographed War

The Observer Effect

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Wade Goddard established a museum for war photography that you must visit in Dubrovnik, Croatia, War Photo Limited. He came to Yugoslavia in the 90s. I asked what it was like to travel in a country that no longer exists ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“Is there a time for keeping your distance?”

— U2

101 Celebration of Life Festival—The Mississippi, Where Z Parted the Clouds

101 Celebration of Life Festival—The Mississippi, Where Z Parted the Clouds

The Observer Effect

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Z spent some time traveling in a band, so naturally, I asked whether that changed him ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Consider donating to Westin's Fund, a charity that covers the costs for grieving parents related to miscarriages and stillbirths:

“Are you not moved, when all the sway of earth shakes like a thing unfirm?”

— Shakespeare

100 And Who Is My Neighbor?—Chicago, Where Martin Failed

100 And Who Is My Neighbor?—Chicago, Where Martin Failed

The Observer Effect

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Martin Luther King, Jr. moved to Chicago in 1966 to try to end slums. I did not know until a few years ago, so I went to the spot where he lived and asked Trevor Riley, the community organizer in charge of the MLK Fair Housing Exhibit Center at the MLK Legacy Apartments in North Lawndale to tell the story of that campaign ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

“The human spirit does not move without great difficulty.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

99 The Art of Conversation—Muine Gall, Where Barack Traced His Roots

99 The Art of Conversation—Muine Gall, Where Barack Traced His Roots

The Observer Effect

President Obama visited his ancestral village to learn about where his family came from. I asked a local there to tell me what that day was like ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

98 Writ in Water—Rome, Where John Died

98 Writ in Water—Rome, Where John Died

The Observer Effect

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The Keats-Shelley House in Rome overlooks the Spanish Steps where the great English poet John Keats lived his final days. I asked its director, Dr. Giuseppe Albano, what moved Keats  ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

Visit the Keats-Shelley House.

Listen to Eltaj's story of visiting there in Episode 92: The Wave and Sea.

“Who reads into distances reads beyond us.”

— Seamus Heaney

97 A Time for War—Idaho, Where Ernest Lost His Memories

97 A Time For War—Idaho, Where Ernest Lost His Memories

The Observer Effect

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Ernest Hemingway lived in Chicago, Italy, Kansas City, Paris, Toronto, Arkansas, Spain, Cuba, Florida, and finally, Idaho. I asked Nancy Sindelar, whose recent book Influencing Hemingway traces how these places and other factors might have shaped his writing, what moved him to travel so much ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders.

You can find Nancy Sindelar's Influencing Hemingway: People and Places that Shaped His Life and Work on Amazon by clicking here.

Or you can visit her website: nancysindelar.com.

Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé.

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"Se vuelve de la inspiración como se vuelve de un país extranjero. El poema es la narración del viaje."

—Federico García Lorca