The Observer Effect
These are strangers' travel stories. Each time I ask how travel has changed them and hope listening like this evaporates borders.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 135
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2022
55 Melted Ego—Sri Lanka, Where Amin Quit Trance
Amin was a trance DJ from Singapore, until he traveled to Sri Lanka for his last show. I asked how Austria brought him closer to his faith ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Speci…
00:29:45 |
Mon 26 Jun 2017
54 Kopfkino—Namibia, Where Janusz Saw the Moon Freed
Janusz made a movie in Namibia. He claims to look like a neanderthal. I asked how it felt to escape communist Poland ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musi…
00:51:47 |
Mon 19 Jun 2017
53 I Came from the Wall—Romania, Where Michal Went for Ethnomusicology
Michal needs funds to repair his time machine and get back to the 1960s. I asked what we can do to help ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Bou…
00:14:28 |
Mon 12 Jun 2017
52 Super Loneliness—Galápagos, Where Jaey Surfed
Jaey is in the process of moving from Seoul to Barcelona by way of South America. We met in a blustery corner of Chile, where he told three beautiful stories from his trip. I asked why he's not all…
00:32:31 |
Mon 05 Jun 2017
51 The Summing Up—Burma, Where Seph Met Mr. Book
Part 2 of our special 50th Episode celebration!
We look back at some of the stories that resonated this year and what their sum could mean. At the end I tell the story of the man in Burma who mad…
00:43:58 |
Sat 27 May 2017
Episode 50: An Empathy Machine
Part 1 of our special 50th Episode mile marker!
A friend helped me lift the hood to look into the engine of this podcast. Inside we found a Yeats poem, the story of the coin Primo Levi brought back…
00:34:09 |
Wed 17 May 2017
Episode 49: The Echo of a Noble Mind—Cerro Torre, Where Elio Was a Kid
Elio and I met in a cwm, a mountain valley carved by a glacier. What he said there led me to reflect on the sublime ... and hope listening like this evaporates borders. Special thanks to the musici…
00:16:11 |
Mon 08 May 2017
Episode 48: The Visa Situation—Germany, Where Andes Hoped to Become a Minority
Andes has to get a letter from the office of labor in Bonn, so that he can extend his stay in Berlin, before returning to Sweden to continue his studies, before ultimately, maybe, one day returning t…
00:28:56 |
Mon 01 May 2017
Episode 47: It All Stems from Naivety—Damascus, Where Binta Met an Old Man
Binta took her very first trip alone at a very young age. Looking back, she wonders if maybe she might have been too trusting. We asked why she's traveling alone still ... and hope listening like t…
00:25:34 |
Mon 24 Apr 2017
Episode 46: The Other Kaveesh—Quintana Roo, Where Kaveesh Spent His Last Pesos
Kaveesh grew up in Toronto and wonders what he might have been had he only ever stayed there rather than study in London. We asked who's on the other path that diverged from the one he chose ... and…
00:33:35 |
Mon 17 Apr 2017
Episode 45: A Matter of Circumstance—Egypt, Where Silas Started to Wonder
Silas works at Harding University in Greece, an overseas program where students spend a semester just outside Athens. A former attendee himself, he now leads the trips around the Mediterranean that …
00:44:26 |
Mon 10 Apr 2017
Episode 44: Everyone—Chicago, Where Helkin Came Out
Helkin moved to Chicago from Venezuela to study English, with dreams of big city life and plans to return to the company that gave him time off. He ended up falling in love and getting married. I a…
00:48:09 |
Mon 03 Apr 2017
Episode 43: The Tattoo—Australia, Where Bertrand Was Cured of Travel
Bertrand shared a traditional Italian drink with us from a wooden, six-spouted pot—called La Grolla—one evening in his home in Bordeaux with his girlfriend Anna. We had no idea how rich a story he w…
00:30:29 |
Sun 26 Mar 2017
Episode 42: The Last—Kenya, Where Anna Kidnapped a Baby
Anna was once a stewardess and did something unexpected on her regular route to Kenya, but that's just one small part of her story. She met her boyfriend Bertrand in Australia, when she moved there …
00:36:50 |
Mon 20 Mar 2017
Episode 41: Fingertip, Dot, Ray, Gauze, Sea—Casa Azul, Where Tomek Saw Symbolism
Tomek visited Frida Kahlo's Blue House in Mexico City, little knowing that I would interview him while we stood in line. I asked him to describe one of her paintings ... and hope listening like this…
00:14:16 |
Mon 13 Mar 2017
Episode 40: The Berber Nomad—Morocco, Where Hamou Wouldn't Talk to Me
Hamou did not want to share his story with me. This is the first anniversary of The Observer Effect. Special thanks to the musician, Dana Boulé. "Great eloquence may seem to be inarticulate." —La…
00:07:21 |
Tue 07 Mar 2017
Episode 38: Thus You Shall Bless—Hawaii, Where Carroll Wanted to See the Stars
Carroll moved from Chicago to Arkansas, then Texas. I asked why he didn't feel worthy of going on the trip to Hawaii his kids gave him to celebrate his thirty-fifth anniversary ... and hope listenin…
00:34:33 |
Mon 06 Feb 2017
Episode 37: If You're Going To—Standing Rock, Where Mary Ann Delivered Supplies
Mary Ann wanted to support the effort to block the Dakota Access Pipeline but also wanted to make sure her intent was the right one. I asked whether going to Standing Rock changed her ... and hope l…
00:46:13 |
Mon 30 Jan 2017
Episode 36: Travel Medicine Kit—Madrid, Where Jane Saw a Bullfight
The Hull House Museum in Chicago has one particular item on which they have lavished special attention. Instead of a paper label stuck to the wall simply telling what the object is, they commissione…
01:07:16 |
Mon 23 Jan 2017
Episode 35: Afterwardsness—Athens, Where Sigmund's Desire Led Us Astray
The Freud Museum at Berggasse 19 in Vienna showcases among other artifacts from the psychoanalyst's life, his suitcase, stamped with his initials and the name of his adopted city. They also publishe…
00:41:46 |
Tue 17 Jan 2017
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