Who in the World
Norm Schriever
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Top 10 Who in the World Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Who in the World episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Who in the World for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Who in the World episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Episode # 23: Sabine & The Children of Medellin 🇨🇴 🇳🇱
Who in the World
07/11/22 • 77 min
Living in Medellin, Colombia for six months, I was invited to go volunteer at a remote center of a social program by a local friend. That’s how I first met Sabine, my new friend and the Program Director at The Children of Medellin, and see firsthand what they do.
The trip alone was no joke, as the community of Bello Oriente is the highest in all of greater Medellin, up snaking, winding streets then alleys then dirt paths on the mountain rim of central Medellin below. Bello Oriente is also one of the most dangerous and poorest neighborhoods in all of Medellin, shut off and largely left behind.
For residents, running water, indoor plumbing, and electricity are luxuries for many, as well as a home that isn’t in danger of landslides every time there’s a heavy rain. For the children of this community, there’s little hope and few opportunities, as most fall prey to gangs, drugs, early pregnancy, prostitution, and crime. Within the community, few adults have education or even access to jobs or medical care, so the cycle continues.
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/
Episode #24: From Russia with Love 🇷🇺 🇺🇦 🇹🇭
Who in the World
08/02/22 • 56 min
Imagine if you had to leave your country virtually overnight, your home, your job, your friends, most of your savings, and almost everything you owned? You needed to scramble to find a new, safe country for your entire family to live in and could only bring one suitcase with you – possibly never to return again.
Oh, and you couldn’t tell anyone about it or even let on that anything was out of the ordinary. One wrong step, one mistake, and you (and your entire family) would most likely be going to prison for ten years.
You just had to disappear completely from the only life you’ve ever known in the dead of night. Poof.
That was the situation when my guests today fled their homeland of Russia right after their government’s invasion of Ukraine. 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.
Episode #19: Whitey 🇺🇸
Who in the World
04/10/22 • 87 min
In this episode, I chat with my old homie, Stephen White.
Stephen (or just "Whitey" as his friends and coworkers call him) came from the East Coast like me but made his way out west, finding his way to San Francisco, California post-college.
I moved out to San Francisco around 1995-98 as well, and together with our incredibly eclectic but tight-knit crew, we ripped up the city.
But more than just partying and experiencing the music and culture the city had to offer, Stephen was like a big brother to me, guiding me socially, artistically, and professionally.
(In fact, I think it was Whitey who gave me my first chance at a writing gig for his e-zine, Lifted, and I was shocked when one of my articles - Deep Drying the American Dream - went viral and made it to the front page of Yahoo.)
He always looked out, gave me wise counsel, and rarely would let me pay for a thing (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
Episode #7: Val and Lupe (part 1) 🇨🇷
Who in the World
05/31/21 • 51 min
In this episode I sit down for cocktails with Valeria and Guadalupe Montera, Tica (Costa Rican) sisters who’ve become two of my best friends over the last seven months living in Tamarindo. If you’ve traveled to that sleepy surf town, maybe you’ve even seen Val or Lupe at their Tierra Bendita Café.
That’s how I met them, and their cute garden café with amazing food and dope music has become my regular go-to spot for smoothie bowls and coffee every morning.
Hearing the girls say "Gooooood morning, Normando! Would you like a cafecito with milk?" is now part of my blessed AM ritual.
But Val and Lupe have a story that goes far beyond what you see at their café, transcending their model good looks and engaging banter in both Spanish and English gleaned from the streets (ok, the malls) of Los Angeles.
In fact, even a year ago they were living in San Jose, the capital city in Costa Rica, where they were on-track for lucrative careers in law and architecture, respectively. However, their soul-sapping corporate cubicle life further pushed them to the Less Than Zero life on the weekends, and soon they were depressed, despondent, and self-medicated with the prospect of spending their next 30 or 40 years that way.
So, Val and Lupe chose the road less traveled, deciding to move to the beach in Tamarindo, which is about five hours away from San Jose but may as well be another planet in terms of the pace, vibe, and the pura vida, or pure life.
It was anything but easy: the Covid pandemic essentially shut down Costa Rica from tourism for about seven months, but at least they were living a life of purpose and passion now. Finally, after months of struggle and hard work, they grew their Tierra Bendita Café, which means sacred or holy ground in Spanish. That’s an apropo term for the place that both saved their lives and serves as the center of community life in Tamarindo for so many (me included).
We talked about all of that when we sat down at Lizard Lounge recently, my favorite bar in Tamarindo, with the mic rolling and margaritas flowing. Over our nearly two-hour conversation, Val, Lupe and I covered the story of their move to Tamarindo, the build-up of their café against all odds, dealing with mental health, chasing their dreams, sacrificing everything to live an authentic life, and much more.
These sisters couldn’t be more different in terms of personality, but I like and respect both of them a little more every single time we talk and the closer we become.
Enjoy this part 1 of my conversation with Val and Lupe, and I’ll bring you the (slightly more inebriated) part 2 very soon. (And shout-out to Wes at Lizard Lounge for hosting us and always being a stand-up dude!)
You can follow the sisters and their café life at @tierrabendita.cr on Instagram,
and give some love to Lizard Lounge at @lizardloungecr
Episode #15: Jen Queen 🇺🇸 🇰🇭 🇲🇲 🇭🇰
Who in the World
12/01/21 • 81 min
Today on the Who in the World podcast I’m super stoked to have on my friend Jen Queen, who I met around 2015 when we both we’re living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Originally from Ohio before relocating to San Francisco, Jen is a world-class bartender and Mezcalier, the term for someone who’s an expert in Mexican mezcal spirits.
Similar to a sommelier with wines, my understanding is that Jen was only the 14th person in the world to earn that Mezcalier designation. She went on to establish herself in San Diego before taking the huge leap of faith to move to the capital city with high-wire energy in the Kingdom of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.
After years in PP working for La Familia, educating and collaborating with other local bars and industry folks, and plenty of ripping up the nightlife scene in a getaway tuk tuk, Jen moved on to Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Burma).
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!
Episode #28: Wicced (Part 2)
Who in the World
03/21/23 • 59 min
In this part two of my podcast with Wicced, or Kalvin Hang, we reunite in Phnom Penh, sitting down in a corner of a bar tucked away in an alley to talk about his story, live from the Kingdom of Cambodia.
In episode #26, Wicced and I covered how he was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, made his way across the world to settle in California, and then fell into the street life because of his surroundings. Never a naturalized citizen, he ended up in an immigration prison for years and, post 9/11, was deported back to Cambodia – a country he’d never lived, didn’t know the language, and never even visited.
In this podcast, we pick up Wicced’s story when he first arrives to Phnom Penh on “Con Air,” handcuffed and still incarcerated. He eventually is released to family members in the countryside but the transition from modern California to the villages and province life in rural Cambodia is as radical as it gets.
Wicced finds his way to the big city, Phnom Penh, where he settles and immediately starts giving back, helping others, and making an impact. Fast forward almost two decades and Wicced is a community leader, advocate for deportation and immigration reform, social activist who has spoken and attended conferences all over thew world, business man, and family man all the same.
It's a great honor to have WIcced as a friend and little brother, and I thoroughly enjoyed our sit down and chat, including a surprise answer to a question I asked him eight years ago.
I might just have to move back to Cambodia – a place I’ve lived and really love – just to hang out with Wicced more!
I hope you feel the same after listening to this podcast.
-Norm 🎙️🌏
PS Big-up to the Deportees and my Khmer fam!
Episode #20: Molly Ruland 🇺🇸 🇨🇷 🎙
Who in the World
04/30/22 • 61 min
My humble little Who in the World podcast has now hit 20 episodes, with such an eclectic and interesting cast of characters that I’ve been fortunate enough to know in my life.
And you can expect a lot more remarkable people from my journey, starting today with my new-but-great friend, Molly Ruland.
For many years, Molly was an activist and community organizer in Washington D.C., hosting underground music and artistic events at the iconic One Love Massive space as well and being integral in the “DC as Fuck” scene.
But I first met Molly in Tamarindo, Costa Rica when we both moved there in late 2020 as Covid-era refugees (at that time, the only safe choices for expats were pretty much Costa Rica or Nicaragua!).
Molly was thrilled to be there from the start, living by the beach in the tropics as she ran her thriving podcast production company, HeartCast Media.
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 :-)
Episode #16: John Abate 🇺🇸
Who in the World
12/19/21 • 118 min
In this podcast episode, please meet John Abate. I’ve known John all the way back to my post-college days back in Colorado, where we definitely saw some wild stuff and have some stories to tell.
John and I both happened to move to San Francisco years later and were friends there, where I always got a kick out of his bike messenger lifestyle and crowd. He went on to race semi-professionally for years in Encinitas before tragedy came on August 16th, 2016.
John was struck by car while on a cycling ride only one-half mile from his house. The impact sent him about 45 feet and 12 feet in the air, his body almost clipping a tree branch. The hit-and-run driver sped off, leaving him for dead on the side of the road.
Just about everything in his body was broken, including his back that would need five vertebrae fused and serious internal bleeding.
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 Schriever :-)
Episode #4: Dead Aim Amy 🥊
Who in the World
03/29/21 • 72 min
The Who in the World podcast episode #4: Dead Aim Amy 🥊
In this episode I have the pleasure of interviewing Dead Aim Amy, a Canadian who now lives and boxes professionally in Asia.
Now based out of Manila, the Philippines, Amy has 11 pro fights under her belt, bringing her to countries such as Mexico (that’s a hella sketchy story), Thailand, Japan, and Korea (where she owned a gym and even trained gang members there). She’s definitely lived a little!
I actually met Amy randomly in a grimy gym in the Makati neighborhood of Manila when I walked in one day just to get a workout. As the only two foreigners in the whole gym, the trainers there just assumed we knew each other, and we became friends from that day forward. A couple of years later, not only is Amy someone I respect and follow because of her courage, work ethic, and entrepreneurial initiative, but I’m great friends with her boyfriend, Noel, too.
Amy’s resume is quite impressive, as she was sponsored by Adidas for many years and grew a small boxing empire in Korea for women who wanted to better themselves. She’s started philanthropic endeavors in the Philippines like the Lil Sisters Project and the Empowered Clubhouse for women, as well as launching several clothing brands revolving around athletic gear.
But before she was “Dead Aim Amy,” Amy Berezowski grew up outside of Toronto to a working class, cookie cutter family. However, once she went off on her own, she definitely knew the grittier side of life, from homelessness to being attacked by a bartender at the club where she worked, leading her to take up boxing for the first time.
After knowing Amy for several years now and conducting this revealing interview, I can see that boxing is just the vehicle she uses to support, empower, and help the women and girls whose lives she wants to impact.
That is her legacy, even more than lacing up the gloves and duking it out.
Enjoy this interview with Dead Aim Amy and thanks for subscribing to the podcast!
-Norm Schriever
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FAQ
How many episodes does Who in the World have?
Who in the World currently has 34 episodes available.
What topics does Who in the World cover?
The podcast is about Culture, Expat, Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Documentary, Podcasts, Anthropology and Travel.
What is the most popular episode on Who in the World?
The episode title 'The Who in the World Podcast #33: Sharon & Rob 🇺🇸 🇲🇽' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Who in the World?
The average episode length on Who in the World is 76 minutes.
How often are episodes of Who in the World released?
Episodes of Who in the World are typically released every 26 days, 6 hours.
When was the first episode of Who in the World?
The first episode of Who in the World was released on Dec 25, 2020.
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