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The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is now entering its third year, and it’s been a humanitarian disaster. According to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, it’s displaced nearly 7 million Ukrainians globally. And on the other side, an estimated 900-thousand Russians have also fled their country for various reasons. Among them are economic migrants, conscientious objectors and political refugees, but also a smaller subset of hundreds of exiled journalists, who’ve had to leave in order to continue to report freely without having to worry about their personal safety.
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Far From Home is an immersive travel and culture podcast where Peabody award-winning journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from his journeys to faraway places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia.
If you’re discovering the show for the first time, you might want to start with the episode about the medicine man in Peru or check out the one about the guy who’s traveled around the world making balloon hats. The story about visiting Chernobyl was also pretty popular among listeners, as was the episode about the experiences of African Americans traveling the world.
And if you’re looking for a series to binge, listen to the first season, which tells the story of an 11,000 mile / 18 country road from the UK to Mongolia in a ridiculously tiny car (highlights: check out this episode from Iran and this one from Turkmenistan)!
New to podcasting? See these step-by-step instructions for how to listen.
The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is now entering its third year, and it’s been a humanitarian disaster. According to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, it’s displaced nearly 7 million Ukrainians globally. And on the other side, an estimated 900-thousand Russians have also fled their country for various reasons. Among them are economic migrants, conscientious objectors and political refugees, but also a smaller subset of hundreds of exiled journalists, who’ve had to leave in order to continue to report freely without having to worry about their personal safety.
In 2019 I visited Puerto Rico, where my high school friend Rob now lives. Rob introduced me to the tradition of parrandas, which are sort of like the Puerto Rican version of Christmas caroling, and I got to experience a parranda with a unique twist.
More About Season 4
Over the past few years, as I’ve traveled to lots of faraway places and had conversations with all sorts of individuals, I’ve come to understand the power of listening to people and sharing their stories. Now — in this era of wars, conflicts, and polarized politics — I think it’s more important than ever to gain new ideas and perspectives by talking to strangers, cause we might just have more in common with them than we think.
In Season 4 of Far From Home, we’ll learn how other people see the world and some of the challenges they face. For example, imagine living in exile, unable to return to your home. Or having gangs take over your neighborhood, so you constantly worry about your safety. And how do you handle the responsibility of being asked to honor the life of someone you’ve never met?
I’ll have more stories from my travels around the world including Denmark, Algeria, Latvia, Thailand, Puerto Rico, and the Netherlands. So make sure you subscribe/follow the show so you never miss an episode.
Previously on Far From Home
Season one tells the story of an epic journey I took with my brother and some friends, raising money for charity. Over seven weeks, we drove across Europe and Asia, through 8 time zones, 5 mountain ranges, and a few deserts, all the way from the UK to Mongolia!
Listen in and follow along with our adventures as we face everything from language barriers to mechanical trouble, getting horribly lost to paying bribes to shady traffic cops.
Photo by Donna Salter
On the second season of the show, I ditch the car and slow down the journey, sharing my unexpected adventures and chance encounters with interesting people around the world as I continue my travels to places as diverse as Cambodia, Chernobyl, Spain, Japan, and Peru. The goal as always is to get lost down back alleys, venture off the beaten path, and look for stories in far-flung corners of the world that most tourists never visit. In the end, I find that wherever I go, despite whatever cultural, political, and geographic differences people have, they’re generally far more alike than they are different.
On the second season of the show, I ditch the car and slow down the journey, sharing my unexpected adventures and chance encounters with interesting people around the world as I continue my travels to places as diverse as Cambodia, Chernobyl, Spain, Japan, and Peru. The goal as always is to get lost down back alleys, venture off the beaten path, and look for stories in far-flung corners of the world that most tourists never visit. In the end, I find that wherever I go, despite whatever cultural, political, and geographic differences people have, they’re generally far more alike than they are different.
Photo by Donna Salter
On the third season of Far From Home, I continue sharing stories from around the world as well as closer to my own backyard. Amid a global pandemic, economic turmoil, and protests for racial justice, I check in to see how folks are doing, and I feature more reporting from far-flung places from my pre-COVID travels.
Banner image by Drew Gurian