Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala

What happens to a tourist paradise when no one shows up to visit? Rapa Nui, known to many as Easter Island, typically welcomes more than 120,000 visitors each year—which is a lot for a place with only 10,000 residents. After COVID-19 shuts down flights to this remote island, citizens reimagine what their lives, their livelihood, and their home can be without tourism — and dream of what a post-pandemic paradise economy might look like.Want to talk more about this episode? Chat with host Saleem Reshamwala on Twitter at @kidethnic.To learn more, check out guest Sergio Rapu Haoa's TEDx talk on "The Mysteries of Easter Island."Special thanks to Mario Tuki (and Amahiro), Erity Teave for sharing their music with us and to Sergio Matau Rapu for sharing his wisdom about the island and connecting us to everyone you heard in today’s episode.Pindrop is produced by Jesse Baker and Eric Nuzum of Magnificent Noise for TED. Our production staff includes Sabrina Farhi, Hiwote Getaneh, Kim Nederveen Pieterse, Elyse Blennerhassett, Angela Cheng, and Michelle Quint, with the guidance of Roxanne Hai Lash and Colin Helms. This episode was mixed and sound designed by Kristin Mueller, and our fact-checker is Abbey White.We're doing a survey! If you have a minute, please take it at surveynerds.com/farflung. It really helps make the show better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly 400 years ago, a tiny town in Germany made a bargain with God: spare its people from the Black Plague and we'll put on a play in your honor... forever. And it worked! Now every decade, the entire town comes together to stage the play, drawing massive crowds to one of the largest religious spectacles in the world. But problematic parts of the play have been challenged, and tensions rise when a new voice tries to update a 2,000 year old story with help from some unexpected allies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gabriela Gomez-Mont, a journalist and visual artist, shares her insights on community engagement in Mexico City. She discusses the innovative grassroots initiative Piatonito, where a superhero advocates for pedestrian rights and safety. The conversation highlights how citizens are actively improving public transport through projects like the Mapatón app. Additionally, they explore the collective creation of a constitution and the vital role of creativity in shaping urban identities. Gomez-Mont illustrates a vibrant city transformed by its residents’ passion and activism.

With each step, you slide 400,000 years back in time. Where are you? Behind a hardware store in New Jersey — which also happens to be a massive prehistoric graveyard. The only thing that can save it from turning into an apartment complex is geologist Ken Lacovara, a Leslie Knope-type local government official, and a community effort unlike any attempted before. Hear how this town of 15,000 tapped into a 66 million year old murder mystery, and learn why solving it is so important to our own future on earth.We're doing a survey! If you have a minute, please take it at surveynerds.com/farflung. It really helps make the show better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fun, fierce and frivolous: AfroBubbleGum is an art movement from Nairobi, Kenya, that challenges the narratives often seen about Africa as limited to war, poverty and devastation. But sharing this joyous art is no frivolous task — it can even mean having your work banned. See why AfroBubbleGum faces opposition and what artists, like filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu, are willing to do to fight for it. Also featuring an interview and music from "Blinky" Bill Sellanga.We're doing a survey! If you have a minute, please take it at surveynerds.com/farflung. It really helps make the show better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's say you go into labor in the back of a taxi. The traffic is so bad you don't know if you'll make it to the hospital on time. You make the obvious call to the local radio station—which serves as an emergency hotline, lost and found, and community noticeboard all at once. Now a team of motorcycle police (trained as midwives!) is on the way, weaving through the streets of this sinking city. Adaptability, connectivity, creativity in Bangkok, Thailand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.