Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala-logo

Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala

TED Audio Collective

Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala is a journey across the globe in search of the world's most surprising and imaginative ideas. It's not a travel show, exactly. It's a deep dive into the ideas that shape a particular spot on the map, brought to you by local journalists and creators. Weave through the streets of Bangkok with a motorcycle midwife. Time-travel with dinosaurs behind a hardware store in New Jersey. Meet a guy who dresses up as a luchador to protect citizens from traffic in Mexico City. Drop in, listen up, dig deep. (And yes, we used to be called Pindrop!)

Play Button

Location:

United States

Description:

Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala is a journey across the globe in search of the world's most surprising and imaginative ideas. It's not a travel show, exactly. It's a deep dive into the ideas that shape a particular spot on the map, brought to you by local journalists and creators. Weave through the streets of Bangkok with a motorcycle midwife. Time-travel with dinosaurs behind a hardware store in New Jersey. Meet a guy who dresses up as a luchador to protect citizens from traffic in Mexico City. Drop in, listen up, dig deep. (And yes, we used to be called Pindrop!)

Language:

English

Episodes

Something in the Water: Where Do Great Athletes Come From? | Good Sport

2/8/2023
This week on Far Flung we’re excited to introduce TED’s newest podcast, Good Sport, hosted by veteran sports producer Jody Avirgan. What can sports teach us about life – and each other? Good Sport brings you invigorating stories from on and off the field to argue that sports are as powerful and compelling a lens as any to understand the world – from what happens when you age out of a sport, to how we do or don't nurture talent, to analyzing how sports arguments have become the mode for all...

Duration:00:34:42

How free solo climber Alex Honnold faces fear | ReThinking w/Adam Grant

10/20/2022
In 2017, Alex Honnold did what even the world’s best rock climbers thought was impossible. He climbed to the top of El Capitan– a granite rock mountain more than 3,000 feet high– without a rope, harness, or net. His audacious feat was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo." On this episode of ReThinking, another podcast in the TED Audio Collective, host Adam Grant explores with Alex what we can learn from his unique approach to managing fear. He opens up about how he...

Duration:00:43:30

The Uyghur boxers of Istanbul

8/18/2022
Where do you go to feel a sense of community? On the outskirts of Istanbul, one refugee community gathers to recreate a sense of home and empower themselves at a boxing gym. Listen to how the Uyghur community in Turkey is fighting in and outside of the ring to preserve their culture and identity, and to heal trauma at a time when their very existence is at stake. And hear how boxing has turned into a tool of resilience and connection that's helping Uyghurs forge a new home and future.

Duration:00:32:35

The artists re-framing Chicago

8/11/2022
The Bean needs to move over—there’s a new art movement in Chicago, and it’s led by artists who are completely reimagining how residents think about the spaces around them. From an artist who turned abandoned homes into art by painting them in colors rooted in Black culture, to another who used a multimedia exhibit to examine segregation by connecting people who live on opposite sides of the city and more. Join Saleem on a bold, creative, and winding road trip to witness the power of...

Duration:00:37:20

Journey into the Dreamworld

8/4/2022
Where do you go when you sleep? An enchanted forest…or haunted woods? Flying over a breathtaking mountain top… or in a crowd, wearing just your underwear?! According to the Bön Tibetan Buddhist tradition, wherever you “go” in your dreams matters, and dreams can tell you a lot about yourself–if you know how to listen. From “dream yoga,” to dream journals, to lucid dreaming, journey into a realm where the conscious and unconscious blend and the hazy border between reality and illusion can lead...

Duration:00:33:24

Barcelona: streetwear with a political twist

7/28/2022
Barcelona is a city that can’t be separated from its art–you might picture Gaudí architecture, Picasso paintings, or flamenco and jazz spilling onto the streets and into the night. But there’s another art scene that’s breaking into the mainstream from the margins–led by the city’s street vendors, known as manteros. Listen to how this group of people, often immigrants without legal protections or rights to work in Spain, fought to form a union to gain the voice they needed, and ended up...

Duration:00:32:06

Anxious? Blame the winds!

7/21/2022
When was the last time you really took notice of the wind? Whether it’s a cooling breeze on a hot day, or a dust storm blowing into every crevice of your body, the wind is an unpredictable and constant, yet invisible force in our lives. Countries and cultures around the world even have names, gods, and ancient mythologies associated with the winds; in the Italian city of Trieste, there’s even a wind museum! From Italy to the Alps, Catalonia to your backyard, you never know where the wind is...

Duration:00:31:16

How will Icelandic survive the digital age?

7/14/2022
Icelandic is an ancient and iconic language. So iconic, in fact, it was a major inspiration to J.R.R. Tolkien when he was writing Lord of the Rings. Iceland even has institutes that promote its longevity, and this care has allowed the language to persevere over 800 years! But with the digital age, and the strict rules surrounding Icelandic grammar, the language is losing ground all over the country—specifically to English. Now Icelanders are navigating a world where social and online...

Duration:00:31:24

Puerto Rico is decolonizing - with food

7/7/2022
Sandy beaches, amazing wildlife, Caribbean blue seas—Puerto Rico is known as the Island of Enchantment for a reason. But it’s also one of the oldest colonies in the world. And as a U.S. territory, Puerto Ricans have very little say in the U.S. government. The island has a complicated history—but its people are constantly fighting to give Puerto Rico its place in the world. From building make-shift community networks after Hurricane Maria, to reconnecting with local cuisine, to making art...

Duration:00:33:38

The poetry of Nepal's bridges

6/30/2022
To get to school, work, or another town in Nepal, it helps if you don’t have a fear of heights. That’s because this mountainous terrain (it’s home to Mount Everest after all) is connected via THOUSANDS of bridges. Whether permanent or seasonal, made of bamboo and rope or pulleys and wire, suspended above incredible mountains or rapid waters, the Nepalese have networked their country through amazing, unique, and exhilarating engineering. Find out how building and re-building bridges became a...

Duration:00:29:19

The secret Somali mixtapes

6/23/2022
It’s 1988, and Somalis are fleeing the city of Hargeisa. People are trying to get out, trying to save their families and sometimes their things. But in the city’s radio station, staff are packing cassettes and reel to reel recordings into a secret underground bunker. What's on them? A slice of the country’s musical heritage, to remain for years in an underground room—until now. Listen to songs from the episode on this special playlist on Spotify: https://tedtalks.social/3yct0Mj This story...

Duration:00:29:18

Caracas’s magic bus

6/16/2022
We all know that information is power; but what if you live in a country without a free press or regular access to the internet? You have to be creative, and find nimble ways to help your community stay informed. That’s exactly what journalists in Caracas, Venezuela are doing by delivering the news every weekday…on public buses all over! In this episode, hop on a music-filled and inspiring journey as El Bus TV combats misinformation and arms you with the hope that there’s always a way to...

Duration:00:29:34

Far Flung is back!

6/1/2022
You don’t need to travel to feel thrilled about a new place; if the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that the ideas, cultures, and charm of our world can reach us wherever we are. This season on Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala, we journey across the globe to bring you incredible, unique and imaginative stories— from the unbelievable suspended bridges that connect Nepal, to hidden underground tapes that capture the culture of Somalia, to a museum that stores and exhibits… wind!?...

Duration:00:02:12

Jon Batiste on the art of pushing your limits

5/19/2022
Jon Batiste has had a record year—he was the most nominated artist at the Grammys, winning five of his ELEVEN nominations across multiple categories, including Album of the Year. When he’s not making musical history, he’s a touring artist, late-night band leader, and Oscar-winning composer. In this episode, Jon talks with Adam about the creative process of making his genre-defying music, his prodigious background as a young musician in New Orleans, the role of focus and variety in building a...

Duration:00:31:22

Far Flung presents: More Than A Feeling

5/12/2022
Great news—Far Flung will be back for another season in June. We can't wait to take you on ten new audio journeys across the world, from Puerto Rico to Nepal to Somalia to Chicago and beyond. But before that, something different. We're sharing an episode of another podcast Saleem hosts called More Than A Feeling. Most of us have gotten at least a little emotional at some point recently. It’s natural. But why do we have emotions and how much should we pay attention to them on any given day?...

Duration:00:36:38

Should I move home? | Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi

11/11/2021
Did you consider moving over the last two years? If you did, you’re not alone. People all over the world for so many different reasons considered moving: to be closer to family, to live somewhere more affordable, to kick back in a warmer climate. When Mona wrestles with this question, she pulls out a spreadsheet and weighs her options: Want to maintain current friendships? Stay in New York. Want to be close to family? Go back to London. Money? New York. Self deprecation and sarcasm? London....

Duration:00:22:33

A Black Utopia In North Carolina

12/9/2020
“I thought I'd come to paradise,” said Jane Ball Groom upon arriving in Soul City, North Carolina. It wasn’t amenities or location that made Soul City paradise, but the promise of what it could be: a city built by Black people, for Black people. Our guests take us back to 1969 when the city was founded and built from (below) the ground up — and while the city itself was short-lived, we’ll see how the seeds it sowed laid roots for spaces that celebrate and center Black culture today. That's...

Duration:00:56:58

Virtual Worlds

11/11/2020
Traveling is tricky right now and, for most, the boundaries of our worlds have shrunk dramatically. So a lot of people are spending a lot more time in virtual places, like Sea of Thieves, Fortnite, Ultima Online and more. Explore how these online worlds help us push past real-world boundaries and have vastly new experiences, even become new versions of ourselves—all without leaving the comfort of home. Check out guest Wes Locher’s book, Braving Britannia: Tales of Melancholy, Malice, and...

Duration:00:38:54

Sky Science in the Painted Desert

10/28/2020
Imagine a view with almost perfect visibility, a near edgeless, perfectly black night sky. That’s the Painted Desert. Join us on a field trip with architect Wanda Dalla Costa, who will take us through the desert to explore the architectural practices of several indigenous tribes and reveal how light and design influence the way we move through the world. Oh, and we might just get a peek inside one of the most secretive, highly anticipated art projects in modern history. Want to talk more...

Duration:00:56:30

An Indigenous Mixtape from Lima, Peru

10/21/2020
Meet Liberato Kani, a hip hop artist in Lima, Peru—or as he says, “the Andean Bronx”. At his concerts, a typical call and response you hear is "Quechua es resistencia": Quechua is resistance. Though Quechua is spoken by nearly ten million people, Peru's native language is at risk of dying off because of anti-indigenous prejudice. Liberato and other musicians like Renata Flores are here to save it—and restore a country's pride while they're at it. Want to talk more about the show? Share your...

Duration:00:46:19

See More