​Even more incredibly, Mounika’s father just passed away before her whirlwind trip, so she flew back to India to honor and bury her father, with all of the emotions and turmoil that brought, and then right on to Japan from there.

Join me in chatting with Mounika about how she overcame her fears, her impressions of Japan, the serendipitous experiences she had, and the wonderful people she met (not to mention all of the great food!).

Discover what she found on the trip of a lifetime on this very heartfelt and human podcast!

-Norm :-)

​Wicced finds his way to the big city, Phnom Penh, where he settles and immediately starts giving back, helping others, and making an impact. Fast forward almost two decades and Wicced is a community leader, advocate for deportation and immigration reform, social activist who has spoken and attended conferences all over thew world, business man, and family man all the same.
 
It's a great honor to have WIcced as a friend and little brother, and I thoroughly enjoyed our sit down and chat, including a surprise answer to a question I asked him eight years ago.
 
I might just have to move back to Cambodia – a place I’ve lived and really love – just to hang out with Wicced more!

I hope you feel the same after listening to this podcast.
 
-Norm :-)
 
PS Big-up to the Deportees and my Khmer fam!

From humble yet gracious beginnings in Communist Romania, she worked her way up in finance, moved abroad to work in other European nations, speaks six languages, and now lives in Paris. 
 
I met Rafaela in the midst of her year traveling around the world, when she focused on reading, exercise, yoga, and fully immersing herself in the moment. But far from your typical stereotypical backpacker, she carried a nice suitcase and told me she loved the high heels that she packed instead of the typical hiking boots - a true sophisticated badass!
 
After months of invitations (and begging), Rafaela finally acquiesced and agreed to hop on the podcast with me, which turned out to be one of my favorite conversations yet!  

-Norm :-)

Now, Wicced is thriving in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. But never forgets where he’s from, always judging himself on the scales of karma. He’s equal parts fearless and compassionate, a man of furious action while at the same time deeply introspective. 

But one thing is for sure – if Wicced is your friend, he’s always got your back.

Thanks for listening to this part one of my interview with Wicced and look for part two coming very soon. 

And mad love to Cambodia and the Deportees! ????

-Norm Schriever :-)

Why do most Ivy League schools from the US and England set up satellite campuses and study abroad programs in Qatar?

Or did you know that Qatar Airways is often voted the world’s best airline, and Hamad International Airport also voted number one?
 
How could Qatar’s society be so modern and progressive yet be governed by the world’s longest-ruling royal family?
 
Can a desert nation with no natural rivers or lakes have some of the most scenic marinas, beaches, and man-made islands you’ve ever seen?
 
And why is such a huge deal that Qatar is the first Arab country to host the World Cup – and what’s all the backlash about?
 
Add it all up and hot damn, Qatar is cool!
 
I’m sure you’ll gain a lot of insight from Jennifer in this podcast. And just as I discovered when traveling to one of the world’s most dynamic and unique nations, our talk will probably dispel more than a few myths and preconceptions you may have about life in an Arabian country.
 
Enjoy this episode #25 of the Who in the World podcast and let’s root for Qatar in this World Cup!
 
Your buddy,
 
Norm

PS Thanks again for listening to my humble podcast and your continued support! 

Guided by their conscience and torn by the censorship, militarization, and Soviet-era crackdowns they saw around them, their comfortable, modern life in Moscow evaporated almost overnight, descending into a dystopian nightmare. 
 
Now, they are refugees, their future uncertain and not sure when or even if they’ll ever be able to return to their mother land.
 
Today on the Who in the World podcast, you’ll hear their story.
 
Having relocated to Thailand last month, I was chilling with my best buddy here, Scott, at a bar called the Red Brick. Sitting at a table next to us were two sisters from Russia and a few of their family members, and we all got to talking as they admired my friend’s pit bull. (Shout out to Frankie!)
 
The conversation turned to how long each of us had been living in Thailand where we were from, etc., and that’s when I first got to know them. Intrigued, I had to learn more, so I invited them back for dinner and drinks while they told me about their lives – this time with the microphone on.
 
Enjoy this podcast and after listening, I’m sure you’ll feel the same respect, admiration, and genuine care for them as I do. 
 
-Norm Schriever
 
P.S. Names, places, dates, and details have been changed or omitted to keep the sisters and their family safe from retribution by the Russian government. Their security was our utmost concern, so everything you hear has been reviewed and approved by them.

That is, except for The Children of Medellin, which is a beacon of hope for the children, families, and community of Bello Oriente.
 
Volunteering there for a half-day, I got to experience the program center in a large, refurbished house with classrooms, gardens, computer labs, a media center, music lessons, job skills, one of the best views of the city below, and, of course, a soccer field.
 
In fact, futbol (soccer) was how the charity started back in the 1990s, when one man from The Netherlands decided to create a social program to help poor and disadvantaged within the city he discovered while traveling, using the game he loved to bring in the kids and build something special.
 
Now, The Children of Medellin is thriving, helping hundreds and hundreds of kids and families every year. Bello Oriente is still poor, dangerous, and plagued with social problems, but now there’s a clear path out to a better life.
 
In this podcast, I sit down with Sabine, a long-time program worker and advocate from The Netherlands, as we talk about the history of The Children of Medellin, the community they fight so hard to help, and her gritty and beautiful human experiences along the way.
 
Enjoy this podcast with Sabine and I encourage you to find out more about The Children of Medellin and make a donation to support their important work!
 
Your friend,
Norm 

The Children of Medellin??
https://childrenofmedellin.com/

In this podcast, we take a guided tour of Comuna 13 - the most amazing neighborhood I’ve witnessed anywhere in the world - with my friend and tour guide, Laura Loaiza.
 
A comuna is a zone of the city, and Medellin, Colombia is divided into 16 of them. But Comuna 13 was always plagued by violence since its inception on the steep side of a mountain overlooking central Medellin. 

But all of that changed in 2011 when construction was finished on a series of outdoor public escalators in Comuna 13, the first of their kind in the world.
 
As part of an international project as well as investment by a newly elected mayor, the modern new escalators climbed the steepest part of a 384-meter incline through the Comuna, saving residents a difficult 25-minute walk straight up.
 
These escalators are similar to something you’d see in a mall, but open-air with roofs against the rain. Additionally, a cable car system with gondolas was constructed to join the new San Javier Station at the base of Comuna 13 with central Medellin. Soon, a wide paved ramp, Viaducto Media Ladera, was constructed within the Comuna, further connecting smaller barrios within.
 
This sparked a new era of pride and hope in Comuna 13, and residents could now come and go for jobs, education, healthcare, and to enjoy the best Medellin had to offer.
 
It also garnered a good deal of curiosity, as people starting coming to witness the modern marvel for themselves, a stark transformation from the war zone it once was. Tourism began to grow, but Comuna 13’s growth transcendence into a butterfly was fully underway around 2015, when local artists came together to discuss an organized approach to decorating their barrios.
 
Today, Comuna 13 is like a living museum of street and graffiti art, with vibrant colors, grand murals, historical depictions, and symbols of hope and perseverance covering almost every available surface throughout the entire barrio – walls, sides of buildings, front doors of houses, stairways, park benches, and more. 
 
This skyrocketed the tourism industry in Comuna 13, and it’s now one of the safest barrios for foreigners or visitors to walk through in all of Medellin. Of course, it’s still a poor barrio with a lot of social problems – many of them exacerbated by the pandemic. There isn’t even a proper hospital or clinic in the entire Comuna!
 
But now, they are inexorably tied to the modern, outside world (I even saw a working QR code painted on the side of a building and Comuna 13 has its own NFTs!), with plenty of education and social programs involved in bettering the lives of the youth and people there. 
 
I was lucky enough to stumble upon Comuna 13 when I lived in Medellin for six months, and a local guide and resident, Laura Loaiza, was recommended. Laura is the founder of Zippy Tours and was nice enough to get mic’d up as we walked through her home neighborhood, talking about the history, art and people.
 
In this, part 1 of the podcast on Comuna 13, we talk about her memories of the neighborhood as a war zone when she was a child, the early history of the Comuna, as well as the architectural marvel of the escalators, and later the explosion of color and vibrance with street art.
 
In part 2 coming soon, we’ll delve into the artwork of Comuna 13, discussing pieces, painters, significance, and style as we walk through the barrio. (I’ll make sure to offer plenty of photos and videos for that one.
 
Enjoy this guided tour of Comuna 13 with Laura and thanks for listening!
 
-Norm :-)
 
Check out Zippy Tours here.

​While that’s a whole lot to chew on and makes a fascinating conversation, there’s still a lot of hilarious stories and memories we didn’t cover – like the time we traveled around Europe together at only 17 years old. 
 
After listening to this podcast, I’m sure you’ll want to get to know Goo even better and hear more, so I promise to get him on the podcast again in the near future. 
 
But until then, enjoy this conversation with Kyle McGee!

-Norm Schriever  :-)

But only a few short weeks after she arrived in the land of pura vida – pure life – she ran into a nightmare when she was drugged and rubbed during a home invasion.
 
Despite that horrific start, Molly bounced back and refused to quit or run – a testament to her strength, character, and no-back-down spirit. Not only did she keep her bags unpacked and remained in Costa Rica, but she found a way to thrive, creating an intentional, balanced, healthy new life.
 
She continues to explore Costa Rica while running HeartCast and other media projects like a bad ass boss, and recently bought an incredibly beautiful property right on lake Arenal in the country’s most underrated region.
 
In this podcast, I catch up with Molly right before she heads back to D.C. to work the National Cannabis Festival and hang out with Wiz Khalifa, so we certainly had a lot to talk about…and celebrate!
 
Enjoy this chat with Molly Ruland and thanks again for listening and sharing this podcast with your homies. 
 
Cheers to 20 more episodes!
 
-Norm  :-)