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  :-)

 (since I was so broke I'd be lucky just to make rent money every month!). To this day, when I hook so many people up and don't ask for anything in return, I'm passing on the good karma and mentorship that Whitey extended to me. 
 
I haven't lived in San Francisco for a long time, but Whitey is still ripping it up, mostly through his career in the music industry. 
 
He's long been the CEO of music tech companies and startups, and currently works with Empire, a record label that focuses on empowering their artists - something very rare in the record business. 
 
Empire features many notable hip hop artists but is also active with growing Afro Beats and many other genres. 
 
So, I hope you thoroughly enjoy this podcast interview with Whitey as we take a trip down memory lane, talk about how San Francisco has changed, his career and life in the music industry, and still finding that artistic outlet and passion in life. 
 
Let's gooooooo! 
 
-Norm Schriever

PS You can follow the Empire record label on:
Instagram
Facebook
or SunCloud

In a country that’s often stereotyped that everyone can sing like an angel (not true: only about 80% of Filipinos can sing great!), Tek’s love of music branches out beyond the norm. He’s actually a student of the Blues, and his tastes go into Depeche Mode, The Cure, and other alt-punk/rock far more than they do any pop music. 
 
Tek also doesn’t busk because he has to (he’s got a great job as a manager at a telecom firm nearby), but just to decompress and share his love of music and performance with those passing by on High Street. 
 
In this podcast, we chatted about his musical influences, the busking movement in the Philippines, what he loves most about playing for people, and even how he deals with drunks requesting songs!
 
As a special treat, I’ve included clips of some of his live busking performances there in the Philippines, so you can hear Tek play. 
 
Enjoy this podcast with my brother, THE Tek Cortez, and thanks for listening to the Who in the World Podcast! 
 
-Norm Schriever 

(I had no idea what that was, but it’s a foreign currency trading – quite a complex and daunting undertaking). 

Now, he’s 100% locked in and focused on becoming an “all-star FX trader.” He speaks limited Spanish but will soon start an immersive nine-month course. He lives with locals and rides a bike around the city.
 
Jay is ready to learn how to surf and asked me extensively about Costa Rica, but admittedly can’t swim that great yet.
 
He’s fearless, disciplined, and balanced but with the wisdom of an old soul - a true lifestyle architect. 
 
Try putting him in a box, I dare ya…
It would need to be as big as the world.
 
It’s encouraging for me to see that there are people who travel and live abroad for the right reasons – not just to leverage comfort and pleasure at low prices, but to explore the world, experience other cultures, learn every day, humble themselves, and increase the vibe no matter where they are.
 
Enjoy this podcast interview with Jay, who doesn’t know where he’s going yet…but is on the exact right path.
 
-Norm Schriever ?
​

But he lived, defying the odds and amazing even his doctors, a testament to the incredible physical shape he was in, as well as a good amount of luck.
 
During the excruciating recovery and rehabilitation, found forgiveness and mindfulness as a way to heal, mind, body, and soul.
 
Particularly, he used a method called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) to aid his healing and send him on his spiritual journey, and became a certified teacher in MBSR.
 
In a recovery that would take most people years or even decades, John was somehow healed and up and walking within only four months. Of course, there was still a lot of work to do and rehabilitation, but John’s turning inward somehow sped his miraculous rehabilitation.
 
Now healthy, happy, and still enjoying athletics, John teaches MBSR and meditation workshops to individuals and companies, and even offers free courses for anyone who would benefit.
 
Long gone are the days of college antics and bike messenger wildlings, and the evolved man before us now concerns himself with helping others find compassion, forgiveness, and becoming aware of their true (higher) selves.
 
Enjoy this chat with John Abate and thanks for listening and subscribing to the Who in the World podcast!

-Your friend,

Norm :-)

There, she picked up where she left off as a Bar Manager for 57 Below and Union Bar & Grill in the vibrant British colonial city shrouded in mystery, which had just recently opened to the outside world again.

But political unrest in Myanmar forced her and her new bride to relocate, taking refuge during the pandemic back in the U.S. and Mexico. 

Now, Jen Queen has a bright and bold new chapter to her story in Hong Kong, the preeminent hub of everything food, drink, and bar related. 

From discussing her concepts on building culture to what makes a great bar to her day-off ritual (Fresh Cut Fridays and a bottle of So Co and lemons in a dark piano bar), seeing the world through Jen’s lens of experiences makes me want to pack my suitcase again – and order another round.

Enjoy this podcast and all hail the (Jen) QUEEN!

​-Norm :-)