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.

How to Subscribe to the WanderLearn Podcast

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Although subscribing is essential, two other things help the WanderLearn podcast:

Download every WanderLearn episode as I produce them! That's what helps get it noticed! It's better to have 100 subscribers and 100,000 downloads per episode than 10,000 subscribers and 100 downloads.
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Don't just listen, watch!

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

You debate someone daily. It could be your partner, friend, co-worker, boss, or an anonymous asshole on social media.

Debates can be exhausting and unproductive, especially if you're debating someone close-minded and inflexible. I've made controversial points about:

Therefore, I have plenty of experience debating intransigent people.

In the past, I would waste time debating religion (I have a BA degree in Religion) and other taboo subjects, but lately, I've developed a new technique to avoid having useless discussions.

I reveal my simple tactic below that you can employ when you're talking about:

The JFK assassination
UFOs
9/11
COVID
Or any other third-rail discussion

Lastly, look in the mirror! Make sure you apply the same question to yourself! Maybe you're the stubborn one! Tell the other person what evidence you would like to see before changing your mind.

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Sym Blanchard is a 70-year-old thru-hiker who completed America's Triple Crown hike in 2023! He's section-hiked all the sections of the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail!

Watch the three 2023 episodes featuring Sym!

Episode #1: Completing the Triple Crown & the Israeli Trail

Sorry that the audio quality is mediocre. Future episodes are better!

00:00 Finishing the Triple Crown

01:30 Israeli Trail

04:20 When age slows your hiking down

11:20 Rating trails

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Episode #2: Are Vegans Doomed To Get Osteoporosis?

Sym Blanchard has been a vegan for the last 10 years. He just got diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Although I still encourage veganism and vegetarianism, his tale emphasizes the importance of carefully watching your nutrition.

Timeline

00:00 Vegan gets osteoporosis

02:50 Diet changes

05:50 Long-term decline

13:13 Plans for 2024

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Episode #3: 2024 Election, Israel, Ukraine, & Taiwan

Sym Blanchard & I look into our crystal balls to assess global politics. Sym listens to countless political podcasts during his long hikes. I love to debate his reflections.

00:00 Presidential Election 2024

02:40 Ukraine War

04:00 Israel & Palestine

09:50 Taiwan

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Previous episodes featuring Sym

Listen to my first interview with Sym.

Connect with Sym Blanchard on Facebook and Instagram.

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Terry Repak has written an expat memoir, Circling Home: What I Learned by Living Elsewhere.

Candid, thoughtful, and instructive, Circling Home explores the notion of “home” and how our bonds with people from other countries and cultures can profoundly change us.

When Terry Repak and her husband moved to West Africa with two small children at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1990s, she seized the opportunity to connect with people of other cultures and bear witness to the ravages of the disease. Circling Home chronicles the adventures and challenges of raising children to be global citizens and trying to find a home in countries as diverse as Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania, and Switzerland. Her memoir spotlights the complexity, struggles, and profound lessons at the heart of the expat journey.

I ask her:

Which countries have you lived in?
What were the hardest lessons to learn?
What are the pros and cons of raising kids abroad?
What tips do you have for living overseas?
What surprised you about Africa?
Any regrets?
Who should we read your book?

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Watch three videos about South Africa's Drakensburg Traverse!

Prepping for the Grand Drakensburg Traverse

Two of my business school classmates, Brad Graff & Sam Sliman, have a spreadsheet listing the top 40 Global Hikes. On that list is South Africa's 205-km Drakensberg Traverse.

Since Sym Blanchard & I hiked the Grand Traverse, Brad & Sam wanted to pick my brain on the experience.

Timeline

00:00 Brad & Sam's hiking experience

03:30 Drakensberg Traverse Safety

10:00 When to go

10:40 Trail GPS GPX Tracks

15:00 Section hiking & logistics

If you've hiked the Drakensberg Traverse in the 2020s, comment below!

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Drakensberg Traverse Backpacking Trip Report

5 Wet Days on the Grand Drakensberg Traverse in South Africa

Brad & Sam return to the WanderLearn Show to report how their 5-day adventure on South Africa's Drakensberg Traverse went.

The short answer: it was a wet, sloppy, cold mess!

Watch the video to get the long answer!

You may wonder, "Why are they complaining about the rain, snow, and sleet when all their photos show good conditions?"

That's because when the weather sucks, nobody wants to take a photo.

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Drakensberg & Other Weeklong Backpacking Trips

Brad Graff & Sam Sliman share advice on the Drakensberg Traverse in South Africa.
We discuss what are some worthy backpacking trips for 2024 and beyond.

00:00 Drakensberg Traverse Advice
06:40 Candidates for the next trek

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The Most Extreme Backpacking, the Julian Alps in Slovenia

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Eric Gilbertson is attempting to climb every country's high point. He's two-thirds done.

His clone (Matthew Gilbertson) is joining him for most of the mountains. You can follow these twins on Instagram.

Eric uses the United Nations' definition of a country. There are 193 countries. He tosses in Antarctica to make 194.

This page features all my interviews about Eric's extraordinary quest!

Subscribe to my WanderLearn podcast & YouTube channel to get the latest episodes.

Episode #1: Climbing K2 & Everest Without Oxygen

Eric's Everest documentation

Eric's K2 summit documentation

Eric's Kangchenjunga Summit story

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Episode #2: Bureaucratic Barriers in Chad, Libya, Bhutan

Each high point has either a technical/physical challenge (e.g., K2 & Everest) and/or a bureaucratic challenge.

In this episode, Eric discusses three country high points that mainly have a bureaucracy that is stopping him, not the lack of oxygen.

I've climbed Chad's and Libya's high points, so I know what he's talking about.

Listen to discover why I could do it but why Eric has been blocked.

Let me know if you want to join us on a future hike up these two mountains.

He also talks about Bhutan's sacred summit.

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Episode #3: 2 K2 & Everest Climbers Swap Mountain Stories

Everyone loves coincidences. During my month in Estonia, I bumbled into Krisli Melesk, who bumbled into Eric Gilbertson on K2. Eric & I were scheduled to record a podcast a few days after I met Krisli, so I invited her to join the show as a surprise guest!

Eric Gilbertson is in the process of climbing to the highest point in every country. He's done 143 out of 193!

This is first of a two-part series, featuring Eric & Krisli. Subscribe to get next week's episode where we will discuss Eric kite surfing across Greenland!

You must listen to my first two interviews with Eric Gilbertson!

Krisli Melesk is also remarkable. She deserves her own episode and book! Her list of adventures is long and mind-blowing.

We only delved into a couple of her countless adventures in this episode.

This episode focuses on K2 and Everest, especially their joint experience on K2. Although they didn't climb K2 on the same team, they met on K2 and summitted a few days apart.

We end the show by talking about Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, with an elevation of 28,169 feet (8,586 meters). It is situated in the eastern Himalayas on the border between Sikkim state, northeastern India, and eastern Nepal, 46 miles (74 km) north-northwest of Darjiling, Sikkim.

We discussed why Eric summited Kanchenjunga and why Krisli did not. It's a shame because Krisli would have been the first Estonian to summit the third-tallest peak had she succeeded. But she may return!

Note: In the show, I refer to Krisli as "Kris," but the automatic subtitle generator on the video transcribed her name as "Chris." Also, I apologize for the mediocre audio quality. We had tech issues.

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Episode #4: Snow Kiting Across Greenland + 4 First Ascents with Eric Gilbertson!

Eric Gilbertson and Branden Joy dragged 400 pounds (180 kg) of gear on 4 sleds across Greenland.

They covered 1,539 miles (1,420 snow kiting, 119 man hauling) in 40 days.

On his biggest day, he covered 218 miles kiting.

His fastest kiting speed was 33mph.

They did 4 first ascents.

Read Eric Gilbertson's Greenland traverse trip report.

Krisli Melesk co-hosted this show with me. She and I were in awe of Eric's accomplishments.

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Book
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Tim Dasey authored the 2023 book Wisdom Factories: AI, Games, and the Making of a Modern Worker.

Our discussion focuses on how AI will impact everything! Wisdom Factories Book Cover

Timeline

00:00 Can AI Be Wise?

01:30 Does Consciousness Matter?

03:00 Can AI Be Wiser Than Humans?

06:00 AI Assistants

09:00 Net Good or Bad?

13:00 Will we need to memorize facts?

20:20 AI in Schools

We discuss the Khan Academy's Khamingo AI Tutor.

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My favorite section of the book was when he wrote about the Quest to Learn (Q2L) school, which serves grades 6-12. It is designed around games. It emphasizes 7 principles:

1. Everyone is a participant.
2. Challenge is constant.
3. Learning happens by doing.
4. Feedback is immediate and ongoing.
5. Failure is reframed as "iteration."
6. Everything is interconnected.
7. It kind of feels like play,

This may be the future of instruction.