Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala – Details, episodes & analysis

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 arguments. Good Sport launched on February 8th and you can find it anywhere you’re listening to this. TED Audio Collective+ subscribers on Apple Podcasts can hear the whole season early and ad-free.

“Muck City”, Florida. Kinston, North Carolina. The courts of New York City in the 80s and 90s. These places share one unique trait: they found a way to produce a particular kind of great athlete, over and over. Is there something in the water – or is it something else? In our first episode, Jody talks to sports journalist Bomani Jones and Olympic table tennis coach Rajul Sheth about talent “hotbeds”, the role opportunity and access play in crafting success and the important distinction between having talent and achieving greatness. Transcripts for Good Sport are available at go.ted.com/GStranscripts

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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 was produced in collaboration with Kerning Cultures, a podcast telling stories from the Middle East and North Africa, and the spaces in between. You can find the podcast wherever you're listening to this.

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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 successful career, and the power of art to make real change.

This is part of a special series from the podcast WorkLife with Adam Grant. For more episodes on the science of how we can live more meaningful and creative lives at work and beyond, follow the podcast wherever you're listening to this.

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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? Can we learn to skillfully choose which emotions to listen to and which ones to just let move on by? On this podcast from Ten Percent Happier, Saleem will experiment with neuroscientists, dive into stories with historians and philosophers, and document how musicians, therapists, hairdressers and airplane pilots work with emotions. In the first episode, they get philosophical and ask: what are emotions anyway?

Saleem was always trying to figure this question out when he was growing up as a mashup kid: bouncing back and forth with his family between India, Japan and North Carolina. It turns out there are some hidden clues to be found in how we try to translate words for emotions from one language to another. And this opens up a new universe of possibilities for how we describe and relate to our feelings. If you like the show, you can hear more by following More Than A Feeling wherever you're listening to this. 

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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. As she wrestles with her decision, something weird happens. A bird THWACKS against her window, falling dead. Could this be a sign to fly back home, or a coincidence? Mona looks into the data to see the chances and then discovers something that will eventually tip the scales.

This is an episode of Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. For more episodes, follow Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi wherever you're listening to this.

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“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 a wrap on the season! Share you stand out moments with host Saleem Reshamwala on Twitter (@Kidethic).

For photos from the episode and more on the history of Soul City, head to the Souvenir Book of Soul City in the North Carolina digital collections.

Special thanks to Shirlette Ammons who we could not do this story without, and our guests Charmaine McKissick-Melton, Jane Ball-Groom, Lianndra Davis, Lou Myers, Tobias Rose, and Derrick Beasley. Extra special thank you to Alan Thompson, who recorded the saxophone music you heard in this episode from Parish Street on Durham’s Black Wall Street.

Our unsung hero for this week is Sammy Case who manages the cross-promotions for all of TED's podcasts - if you found Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala from one of your other favorite shows, she’s the reason why!

Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala is produced by Jesse Baker and Eric Nuzum of Magnificent Noise for TED. Our host is Saleem Reshamwala. Our production staff includes Hiwote Getaneh, Sabrina Farhi, Kim Nederveen Pieterse, Elyse Blennerhassett, Angela Cheng, and Michelle Quint, with the guidance of Roxanne Hai Lash and Colin Helms. Our fact-checker is Abbey White. This episode was mixed and sound designed by Kristin Mueller.

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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 Peril in Ultima Online. You can learn more about Russell Quinn’s computer game, Linda & Joan, at lindajoan.com. Huge thanks to Lee Yancy, whose conversations were invaluable for contextualizing the world of video games, and to Raph Koster for his insight into the virtual world. The computer-y music in this episode was created by musician Phil Cook. Our unsung hero for this episode is Emma Taubner, our super-star encoder who makes episodes of Pindrop available to listen on TED.com.

Pindrop is produced by Jesse Baker and Eric Nuzum of Magnificent Noise. This episode was produced by Kim Nederveen Pieterse along with Elyse Blennerhassett, Hiwote Getaneh and Sabrina Farhi, Angela Cheng and Michelle Quint and with the guidance of Roxanne Hai Lash and Colin Helms. Our fact checkers are Nicole Bode, Abbey White and Paul Durbin. This episode was mixed and sound designed by Kristin Mueller.

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