Rare Earth

Nan Madol, the great wonder of the Pacific. And yet, what do we really know about it? Shrouded in myth, it remains one of the least studied and yet most impressive megaliths of human history. But most of the history here is handed down purely as a legend. So, in the hopes of shedding some light on this beautiful place, here is that legend.

I was reading a history book about Pohnpei called "Upon a Stone Altar" and it had a single page describing the four day purge they undertook before battle. It enthralled me so much I made this entire video based off that single page's prompt.

This isn't an attempt to name and shame one of the least-polluting, poorest nations on the planet for not saving the world single-handedly. It is merely a symbolic reminder of what it means to do our part in a giant system we often feel powerless to control. Saving the world might feel (and perhaps be) impossible, but suffice it to say that if we're going to demand something of others, at the very least we should be doing it ourselves.

I didn't want to make this video. But after having multiple discussions with people in the Marshalls, predominately against my will, I realized that the topic had come up so many times that it almost felt like I'd be avoiding it not to say something. And so, dear viewer, I apologize for yet another video about cocaine washing up on shore (after the Azores, which was frankly a better video anyway).

This story is about a man who sold babies and got caught.

I wasn't quite sure how to write this story, nor what we should include and leave out. This is a story about America, but it's bigger than America. It's a story about Ebeye, but it's bigger than Ebeye too. But I suppose every story needs a start and an end, and I hope you're happy with what we came up with. It was important to us that we do this one as well as we could.

Basketball on Kwajalein

For Jason, who didn't want to be interviewed but hoped to be heard.

Goodbye Micronesia, hello Mediterranean. The next few episodes are set in Crete, Greece - an island absolutely littered in stray cats. And so we thought a good way to cleanse the new season palate would be a very stupid episode about the fickleness of fame, and all the cats we ignore. Long live five star Naomi: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nv3MTVqSTwTeBUaD8

I suppose I don't have much to say in the description. The distant past is a confusing place with far more fog than visibility. But it's fun to think about, and even more fun to watch it change. So what do you think - did Crete have apes?

We did not plan to make this video first. But the cave turned out to be so amazing that it deserved one. This is the story of the Asphendou cave of Crete and how we completed an RPG quest.

Some myths have meanings. False memories of a real event. And at least as I see it, the meaning behind Theseus and the Minotaur is nothing less than the conquest and destruction of one of earth's oldest civilizations. It's an echo, being repeated over a thousand years later in the stories of the victors. But long ago, the Minotaur was real. And I think you'll find that in reality, Theseus was not just his murderer, but also his son.

Tall tales always seem to get taller, but their purpose often stays the same. The myth of Frangokastello might be little more than morning dew, but to the people of southwestern Crete - it is anything but a mirage.

We didn't mean to take such a long break but a few weeks ago we got bad medical news about our dog and now we're sort of trying to make his exit as good as possible. Then when we started trying to get back into the swing of things, a tree fell on our house. But we're all settled now and back with many more adventures. Next up, Lebanon! And I think I'll start with the story of being arrested as a presumed Israeli spy. It's a big one.

Because I said this off the top of my head I made a few mistakes: 1. It was more like 35 people gawking, not 65 2. I keep calling them the CID for some reason when I really mean the ISF (Internal Security Forces) Other than that, enjoy a little glimpse into what filming this series is like for me.

Before I went to Lebanon I knew nothing about the Cedars of God. Now I bring them up with almost zero prompting. They're so cool. They helped fill so many gaps in my head about the how and why of generic history. It's crazy that we don't learn about this stuff in school.

I'm a huge fan of my new white sweater but I noticed after filming this I had little titties sticking out but never fear dear viewer I have since dieted and my titties are already halved. Also, please enjoy the first in our eight(ish) part series on Lebanon. I know we already released two videos but this is the first that will align to become a feature length one at the end. Hence, the first.

I hope you enjoy this opinionated superficial overview of a topic I can only suspect I won't be the one to change your mind about. But divinely inspired or not, please bear with me as I try to cover thousands of years of history in mere minutes so that once we get to the modern era we have enough context and narrative to give it the proper weight. Also sorry this episode took so long to get out, it was extremely hard to write and then we accidentally spilled an entire cup of coffee on our editing computer and it took a great deal of effort to dry it.

This one felt like pulling off a bandaid to create. Hope you find some value in it on your end!