Far From Home
Scott GurianFar From Home
An immersive travel and culture documentary podcast where Peabody award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places and makes you feel like you’re really there! On past episodes, he’s road tripped 18,000 mi. (29,000 km) from the UK to Mongolia and back, visited Iran as an American tourist, wandered through abandoned buildings in Chernobyl, and participated in a hallucinogenic healing ceremony in Peru. Learn more and view bonus content at farfromhomepodcast.org
Copyright © 2024. Scott Gurian. All rights reserved.
An immersive travel and culture documentary podcast where Peabody award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian reports fascinating stories from faraway places and makes you feel like you’re really there! On past episodes, he’s road tripped 18,000 mi. (29,000 km) from the UK to Mongolia and back, visited Iran as an American tourist, wandered through abandoned buildings in Chernobyl, and participated in a hallucinogenic healing ceremony in Peru. Learn more and view bonus content at farfromhomepodcast.org
Copyright © 2024. Scott Gurian. All rights reserved.
On the first season of Far From Home, I take an 11,000 mi. / 18 country road trip in a ridiculously tiny car
A bonus episode featuring me being interviewed on The Backgrounder podcast.
The story of how this whole crazy adventure came about.
We make the most important decision of our entire trip: what kind of car to drive.
We figure out what two pescatarians will eat in the meat-loving countries of Central Asia.
I travel to Haiti to introduce you to the charity we'll be supporting on our trip.
We make final preparations before setting out on our 11,000 mile journey.
After a year of planning, we go to southern England to embark upon our journey.
We overcome our fears and throw our plans out the window as we drive across Europe.
The roads get rougher and our journey becomes more interesting in Eastern Europe.
Our road trip continues across Turkey, and we're surprised by what we see.
As American tourists, we’re pleasantly surprised by how welcome we feel in Iran.
We visit Iran's holiest mosque and break down again while driving across the desert.
A bonus episode of conversations with other rally teams at Turkmenistan’s Door to Hell.
We visit Turkmenistan, a profoundly odd country where we feel like we’re being watched.
A mechanic in eastern Turkmenistan repairs the hole in our radiator, but our car still won't start.
After our car breaks down in Turkmenistan, we run into trouble trying to get it fixed
After towing our broken down car to Bukhara, Uzbekistan, we finally get a proper diagnosis of what's wrong with it.
While we wait for our car to be repaired in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, we encounter an endless list of unexpected challenges.
We drive along the Afghan border on one of the most spectacular and potentially dangerous roads in the world
After camping at 13,000 feet, our car refuses to start, and we get stranded in the most remote place we've been.
After being told our car is on its last legs, we face several new challenges: climbing to the top of a 15k ft. mountain pass and getting horribly lost.
Borat jokes aside, Kazakhstan turns out to be fascinating, friendly, and full of surprises.
We finally arrive in Mongolia and see that its notoriously bad roads live up to their reputation!
After our cars get stranded in Mongolia, we contact the embassy and wait for help to arrive.
A combination of bad decisions and really bad luck lead to a complicated rescue and a really long day!
After 53 days and 11,000 miles on the road, we finally near the finish line of our journey!
I look back at our 11,000 mi. journey and discuss what it was like returning to everyday life.
We venture to more far-flung places and continue telling stories off the beaten path
I take a trip to Ukraine to visit the abandoned villages surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
I attend the early morning tuna auction at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market before it closes for good
I visit the remote Russian republic of Tuva to learn about the traditional music and take a throat singing class
In Belfast, walls and fences continue to divide Protestants and Catholics, 20 years after fighting officially ended.
I go to Peru and tag along with a traditional medicine man as he searches for a stone with magical powers
My friend Dennis tells the story of the time he tried ayahuasca in Peru, and how it didn't affect him either.
In Peru, I attend a traditional healing ceremony where people drink a hallucinogenic potion called ayahuasca
I travel to Cambodia and visit places that are no longer the way they used to be
The remarkable story of Addi Somekh's worldwide travels, spreading peace and joy through balloon hats
A decade after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, I revisit my reporting and get an update on the situation
On this episode, I share listener comments, respond to some questions, and talk more about my background
I enlist the help of an American journalist in Moscow to help me interpret and understand Russian culture
A visit to the annual Junkanoo parade in The Bahamas, an all-night celebration of music and dance
A story from my drive across Iran in the summer of 2016, when I met the friendlist people in the world
A story from The Radio Vagabond podcast about what it's like to visit North Korea as a tourist
We hear from an American traveler who was stranded abroad as a result of coronavirus
We hear how COVID-19 is affecting Italy, and we listen to an episode of The Bittersweet Life podcast
Journalist Fariba Nawa tells me how COVID-19 is affecting Turkey, and she shares an episode of her podcast, On Spec
Funny and sad stories of what it's like being an African American traveling in their own country and abroad
Canadians in Newfoundland try an experiment in social distancing that forces them to make difficult decisions
A digital travel safety guide for African Americans and members of other marginalized groups
A collaboration with Planet Money to tell the story of Barbuda, whose communal land system is under threat
Friends and colleagues around the world share their stories from the pandemic and the lockdown
On the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I revisit some conversations I had with New Orleanians following the storm
More friends and colleagues from around the world share their stories from the pandemic
I visit one of the world's largest cemeteries in Peru, where people come to pay respects to their loved ones
In this era of COVID-19, you don't necessarily have to travel far away to go on an adventure
A mash-up of cultures celebrates the holiday season on a tropical island
The backstory of how Far From Home host Scott Gurian got into journalism
Justin and Patrice's hike across New Zeland ends up surprising them in all the best ways
One of the overlooked impacts of COVID-19 is that it's changed the way the world sounds
We get an update on the recent riots in Belfast and listen back to a documentary I produced for 99% Invisible
Stories from the Oklahoma City bombing, which took place on April 19th, 1995
On the 35th anniverary of Chernobyl, I revisit an old episode about the time I visited the site of the disaster
Friends and colleagues from Africa, Europe, and the Americas share updates from the pandemic
Shortwave and pirate radio aficionado David Goren shares recordings he's made monitoring the airwaves
Stories from travelers whose plans went horribly awry
Looking back on my road trip to Mongolia, 5 years later
Podcast host Jess Myers shares her recent episode about the pressure Swedes feel to conform
Family members of 9/11 victims tell the story of why they're calling for peace
What starts out as an ordinary sushi dinner with co-workers turns into an unforgettable adventure
I show a world traveler some lesser-known attractions around my own city of New York
The latest installment in my series checking in with colleagues around the world living through Covid-19
An act of Christmas charity goes horribly awry
In light of recent developments in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, I revisit some earlier episodes
Conversations with Ukrainians in the Midst of a War
While Ukraine captures all the world's attention, refugees from other places share their stories
How do you "shelter in place" during a pandemic if you don't live in a typical home?
I take another look at my series of stories on my visit to a hallucinogenic healing ceremony
I follow the journey of a totaled Lexus from Turkmenistan back to a driveway in suburban New Jersey
My friends and I visit Turkmenistan, a profoundly odd country where we feel like we're being watched
Brit Jack Boswell takes an Amtrak train across the country and discovers the real America
An American expat describes life in New York, life in the Netherlands, and getting caught in between
Tiffany Parks, co-host of The Bittersweet Life podcast, discusses life as an American expat
Two stories I reported many years ago when I lived in Oklahoma
A visit to the world’s only behind-the-walls prison rodeo, where inmates compete for prizes
The story of a Danish explorer who spent close to a decade traveling the world to set a new record
A field trip with my brother to northern New England to experience a total solar eclipse
A new season of episodes coming Tuesday, October 8th
After more than 50 years, Copenhagen's famous anarchist commune faces an uncertain future
More content I didn't have room to include in my documentary about Christiania
I visit Toronto to try to solve the mystery of how exactly to define Canadian cuisine
A recent interview I did with the Winging It Travel Podcast
A montage of voices from around the world reacting to the recent U.S. election
A mash-up of cultures celebrates the holidays on a tropical island
Learning to Throat Sing
August 13, 201922min 50sec
Throat singing is one of the world’s oldest forms of music. It’s practiced by indigenous groups in several parts of the world, including South Africa and the Canadian Arctic. But mostly when people talk about throat singing, they’re referring to the style performed in the remote Russian republic of Tuva, which the local people call khoomei. It’s an ancient practice created by the nomadic people of Central Asia who were trying to mimic sounds of nature like the songs of birds, a babbling brook, or even the growls of a camel. On this episode of Far From Home, I visit the city of Kyzyl in the Republic of Tuva to learn about traditional music and instruments, and to try to learn to throat sing myself.
Read more about my visit and see photos and videos of the Tuvan National Orchestra on my website.
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On Far From Home, award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian documents fascinating stories from far-flung places like Iran, Chernobyl, and Mongolia. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org