WanderLearn Podcast

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Check out the latest WanderLearn episodes!

Take a profound and distant journey. Call it:

Deep Travel
Immersive Travel
Slow Travel
Vagabonding

I will guide you to the intersection of travel, technology, and transformation.

The WanderLearn podcast will compel you to go beyond your comfort zone.

I wander all over the world and I share what I learn with you! In so doing, I hope you'll be inspired to do the same. Travel is the best university.

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Some WanderLearn episodes will also be videos, so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel too.

I welcome comments and questions for each episode, which are listed below, from the most recent to the first one. I promise to answer any question from one of my Patrons. That's just one way to get rewarded for supporting the show!

Listen to the latest episodes below!

The show notes and comments for each episode are below

In my Annual Prediction Show, I review my 2024 predictions before making my new predictions. I got 5 out of 10 points: a mediocre performance.

My 8 Predictions for 2025

2 Videos

After watching the video below, watch my 1-minute video about Jimmy Carter's death, which fulfilled one of my 2024 predictions.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LQnnVbp0ALE

Timeline

00:00 Grading my 2024 Predictions

03:00 Predictions for 2025 - Recession

04:20 Bitcoin

05:00 Ukraine

06:10 Trump predictions

Podcast

1. A global recession crushes the US economy.

In July 2022, the yield curve inverted and stayed inverted for 783 consecutive days, marking the longest period in U.S. history. In early September 2024, it un-inverted.
Usually, a recession occurs about 12 months after the un-inversion.
Admittedly, the recession can occur between 6 and 24 months after the un-inversion, so we could postpone it until 2026.
However, disaster will likely strike before October 2025.

2. The US unemployment rate doubles.

The US unemployment rate is 4.2% at the end of 2024 and will be 8.4% by 2025.

3. Bitcoin loses more than half of its value.

Although BTC may climb to $150,000, it will eventually be below $50,000 in 2025, surprising everyone.

4. The S&P 500 drops at least 1,000 points.

The S&P 500, which measures US stocks, will drop below 5,000 (it is beginning 2025 around 6,000).

5. Ceasefire in Ukraine.

Trump won't "end the war in 24 hours," but his administration will broker a deal because both sides are getting tired of fighting. Ukraine is running low on men. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently lowered the draft age from 27 to 25.

Russia is running low on money. In mid-June, $1 bought 50 Russian rubles; in the last two months of 2024, $1 bought 100 rubles. Similarly, a barrel of petroleum has lost half of its value over the same period.

6. Elon Musk & Donald Trump end their bromance.

Two titanic personalities will struggle to share the spotlight.

7. Trump will fail to fulfill five of his most wacky campaign promises.

Although I dislike Trump, most of his critics never read his book The Art of the Deal, which explains his negotiating strategy: start with an absurd offer or demand, then negotiate down from there.

Trump is a dog that barks constantly but rarely bites.

The Left squirms and takes his every word seriously, failing to see that it's just bluster, a negotiation tactic, or just a joke meant to offend the easily offended.

Here are 6 campaign promises Donald Trump will fail to keep.

Promise: Deporting 13 million people. Reality: he'll deport less than one million.
Promise: Death Penalty for Drug Dealers. Reality: It won't happen; we struggle to execute mass murderers.
Promise: 60% tariff on Chinese goods and up to 20% on all imports. Reality: At most, he'll get a 10% broad tariff and higher tariffs on targeted, symbolic goods (like Chinese cars).
Promise: Abolishing the Department of Education. Reality: It won't happen, although the Department of Education will get cuts thanks to Musk's DOGE.
Promise: Military Action Against Drug Cartels. Reality: It won't happen.

8. I'll finish The Unseen Africa.

This book has been 10 years in the making, so it's due.

To see my previous forecasts, check out my predictions for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

In this three-part series, Dr. Robert Edwards and I discuss the fascinating mystery of DB Cooper. In 1971, a man hijacked Flight 305, received $200,000 in $20 bills, 4 parachutes, and skydived into the darkness over the Pacific Northwest, never to be seen again.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel and WanderLearn podcast to get the three episodes. They will also appear on this page.

Buy Dr. Robert H. Edwards's book about DB Cooper & Flight 305 on Amazon. Or get more info at the book's publisher, Schiffer books.

To see photos and evidence related to the DB Cooper Case, visit Robert's Flickr site.

The FBI has more information about the DB Cooper and Flight 305 case.

Dr. Edwards has written three books addressing the biggest 20th-century mysteries:

George Mallory
DB Cooper
The Voynich Manuscript.

I've interviewed Dr. Robert Edwards twice about his book Mallory, Irvine, and Everest: The Last Step But One. These interviews went viral. Listen to the first one, which focuses on his book. Next, listen to the second one, focusing on the recent discovery of Sandy Irvine's foot on Mt. Everest.

#1 What happened before DB Cooper jumped?

How did the FBI screw up its investigation? Here's the timeline of DB Cooper Episode #1.

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Podcast

Timeline

00:00 Reviewing the basics

04:00 Flight path

09:00 The oscillations

12:30 Reproducing the flight

18:00 Meteorology

21:50 Communications

#2 DB Cooper's Planning, Prep, and Precursors

DB Cooper was cunning. What were the various considerations he had to contend with to pull off the only unsolved act of air piracy in US history?

DB Cooper needed a:

Plane with an airstair
Short flight
Terminating flight
Late afternoon flight

In part 2 of 3 about DB Cooper and Flight 305, Dr. Robert H. Edwards delves into that and more.

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Podcast

Timeline

00:00 Planning and Prep
08:30 Three precursors

#3 DB Cooper's Background & the Cash Found at Tena Bar

Who was DB Cooper? Did he have a military background? Where did the cash found in Tena Bar come from? What's a plausible explanation for what happened on the night that DB Cooper jumped? Did he survive?

In part 3 of 3 about DB Cooper and Flight 305, Dr. Robert H. Edwards delves into that and more.

Video

Podcast

Timeline

00:00 Who was DB Cooper?
07:00 Military background
13:30 Cash in Tena Bar
19:20 Plausible story
28:20 Did he survive?

Buy Dr. Robert Edwards's books

Voynich Reconsidered is on Amazon.

D. B. Cooper and Flight 305: Reexamining the Hijacking and Disappearance is on Amazon.

Mallory, Irvine and Everest: The Last Step But One is on Amazon.

Podcast

How do you get out of a rut and onto a ridge? Although my book, Hike Your Own Hike, offers ideas, it doesn't discuss radical forgiveness, which can lead to breakthroughs.

In my first TEDx Talk, I discussed "How Travel Transforms You."

But what if the wanderlust doesn't quite do the trick?

Then, you take another type of journey, a mental one, to unlock deep-seated memories and beliefs.

Ege Riitsalu is an Estonian who used radical forgiveness to dislodge a mental roadblock. Since then, she's run workshops and offered one-on-one therapy to help others take this mental journey.

Enjoy this two-part series discussing radical forgiveness and how to employ it.

Part 1: What is Radical Forgiveness and When Should You Use It?

In this episode, Ege Riitsalu introduces you to the concept of radical forgiveness. What's below is taken from what Ege Riitsalu has written about radical forgiveness.

It's good for those with:

General dissatisfaction with life: stress, anxiety, meaninglessness, lack of purpose, low income, poor physical/mental health, etc.
Constant criticism of self and others, feelings of shame and guilt.
Painful emotions regarding life events that have taken place (divorce, betrayal, offense, claims about a partner, etc.).
Repeated life patterns in personal and professional life (separations from life and business partners, dismissal from work, etc.).

RADICAL FORGIVENESS IS A FIVE-STEP JOURNEY that results in freeing yourself from emotional burdens and transforming negative experiences into sources of personal growth and inner peace. This process allows for a deeper understanding and compassion for oneself and others.

Sharing your story: You get the opportunity to express, discover, and map your experiences and the feeling of being a "victim"
Feeling emotions and taking responsibility: You allow yourself to feel all emotions and focus on expressing them in a safe space and a restrained manner.
Collapsing the story: When discovering your story, move toward understanding, compassion, and empathy to separate your interpretations, judgments, and expectations and deal with the facts.
Emergence of a new story: After discovering and releasing negative emotions and recurring disturbing thoughts, you can understand their motives and eliminate the story of being a "victim."
Integration: You integrate your entire experience holistically through various practices.

Radical forgiveness will help you:

Return to the joy of life and happiness that is so characteristic of you.
Find inner peace, strength, and balance.
Create more harmonious relationships with yourself and others.
Get rid of repressed emotional reactions such as anger, guilt, resentment, shame, etc.
Get out of victim mentality and behavior.
To shake off feelings of unforgiveness towards yourself or someone else.
To heal from emotional pain and the burden of the past.

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Part 2: Ege's Dad Was Killed When She Was 5. How To Forgive?

Forgive me for rushing through this interview. We were under time pressure. But if you would like, send me a message encouraging me to interview Ege Riitsalu again in greater depth.

In this episode, Ege Riitsalu shares her tragic personal story. It serves as an example of the power of radical forgiveness.

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Podcast

Who you vote for in the 2024 US Presidential election matters little if you don't live in Maine, Nebraska, or a battleground state.

If you want to be highly pedantic and annoying, you could argue that your vote matters even in non-swing states like California.

That's because if most Californian Democrats conspired not to vote, a Republican would win even though the polls heavily favor the Democrat.

However, if you live in the real, realistic world, my point is accurate on a practical level.

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Book
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Niamh McAnally's memoir, Following Sunshine: A Voyage Around the Mind, Around the World, Around the Heart, offers readers a rich tapestry of travel, personal growth, and introspection.

This book transcends the typical travelogue by intertwining McAnally's adventures with profound reflections on her life experiences, including themes of loss, self-discovery, and resilience.

Watch and listen to my interview with Niamh McAnally!

Video

Podcast

Podcast

On the 100th anniversary of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine's death on Mount Everest, I interviewed Dr. Robert Edwards, author of Mallory, Irvine, and Everest: The Last Step But One, which reexamined their mysterious story in extreme detail.

Watch my original interview with Dr. Edwards, my most popular interview in 2024. It provides an excellent background for today's interview.

Today, Dr. Edwards returns to the WanderLearn Show to discuss Jimmy Chin's surprising October 2024 announcement that he found Andrew Comyn Irvine's foot! Andrew Irvine's nickname was Sandy.