Seasons
My work is an ongoing project in the art of translation, seeking to bridge worlds that are not just geographically distant, but also conceptually and emotionally separate, yet similar.
Rough Translation (NPR)
Host, Executive Editor, Creator - 2017-2023 - Listen Here
For seven years, this Peabody Award-winning podcast explored stories from far-off places and the echoes of local conversations in global ones, following familiar human themes into unfamiliar territory.
Season 1: Beginnings
The Congo We listen To
Aug 28, 2017 | 40min | Listen here
It made headlines worldwide: Hundreds of women raped in one Congolese village. But when one researcher arrives in town, something feels off. (Note: This episode contains descriptions of violence.)
American Surrogate
Sep 5, 2017 | 41min | Listen here
A Chinese mom hires an American surrogate to carry her baby. Each needs something from the other that is hard to admit. The next 9 months will be a crash course in transcontinental communication. And the meaning of family.
Anna In Somalia
Sep 12, 2017 | 30min | Listen here
A man is trapped in a remote prison. And he’s trapped in his own mind. Until he hears a knock on the wall.... and words from another time and place.
The Refugee’s Dating Coach
Sep 25, 2017 | 38min | Listen here
A Syrian refugee in Berlin hopes to find love but is stumped by German dating codes and is terrified of crossing the line between flirting and harassing. A professional ‘flirt coach’ steps in to be his guide. (For photos of Sophia and Aktham: bit.ly/Roughly7)
Season 2: You Can’t Get There From Here
Austenistan
Jul 11, 2018 | 46min | Listen here
Two sisters attempt to use a 19th century novelist to outwit modern Pakistani restrictions on women. And a war reporter discovers the power of drawing room comedy to understand her own family. (And warning: This episode has explicit language.)
The Apology Broker
Jun 13, 2018 | 39min | Listen here
We trace the journey of an apology, from Japan to the U.S., that got an unlikely broker. Along the way, she had to work out: what a sorry is, who it’s for, and what makes it stick.
Mom in Translation
03, 2019 | 26min | Listen here
For our season finale, a listener’s story: When a six-year-old boy adopts Tokyo as his new home, his American mom has to figure out where she belongs in her son’s new life.
Season 3: The Rebels
We Don’t Say That
May 01 2019 · Episode 2 · Listen here
France is the place where for decades you weren’t supposed to talk about someone’s blackness, unless you said it in English. Today, we’re going to meet the people who took a very French approach to change that. (Note: This story contains strong language in English and French.)
The Search: Part 1
Jun 12 2019 · Episode 5 · Listen here
When a journalist goes missing in Iraq, his friends and family have to figure out a rescue plan. * Note: This story contains strong language and sounds of war.
The Search: Part 2
Jun 20 2019 · Episode 6 · Listen here
A fragile alliance begins to fracture, as a romantic photo of Kamaran resurfaces. Ahmed confronts his family. And Sebastian meets with ISIS. * Note: This story contains strong language and sounds of war.
How to Speak Addiction
May 15 2019 · Episode 3 · Listen here
A daughter — and reporter — discovers an uncomfortable truth about her mother’s alcoholism. She travels to the other side of the world to find out if there’s a better way to treat addiction.
What Would Jesus Drive?
Jul 24 2019 · Episode 8 · Listen here
What if more evangelical Christians in the United States fought climate change with the same spirit they bring to the issue of abortion? In this episode, we go back to a surprisingly recent period when that nearly happened. We meet two evangelicals who made it their mission to bridge the divide between Christians and environmentalists. What happened, and why they say the best way to start conversations about the planet is with readings of the bible.
Season 4: School of Scandal
Liberté, Égalité And French Fries
Sep 19 2019 · Episode 11 · Listen here
What happens when the employees of a French McDonald’s take the corporate philosophy so deeply to heart, that it actually becomes a problem for the company?
Hotel Corona
May 13 2020 · Episode 21 · Listen here
One hundred and eighty recovering COVID-19 patients. One Jerusalem hotel. Secular, religious, Arabs, Jews, old, young. Their phones are out, they’re recording. And the rest of Israel is... tuning in.
So Long, Black Pete
Jun 24 2020 · Episode 24 · Listen here
Resolving conflict through consensus is a very Dutch tradition. But how do you compromise when it comes to racism? This week on Rough Translation, the controversial Dutch character Black Pete, and how Black Lives Matter may have helped change the holiday season in the Netherlands forever.
Radical Rudeness
Oct 28 2020 · Episode 4 · Listen here
After a Ugandan scholar is suspended from her university job, she discovers a new tool for resistance: extreme public rudeness. Will it work against a strongman president?
Season 5: Home/Front
War Poems Revisited
May 05 2021 · Episode 8 · Listen here
As the U.S. pulls out of Afghanistan, we look back at a time when Taliban poetry and a local cooking show became part of the war. And the U.S. had the perfect person to fight on that front.
Home/Front: Battle Rattle
Wed Jun 02 2021 · Episode 2 · Listen here
He’s a veteran looking for love. She’s a civilian who learns more about war than she ever imagined. Part 1 of the story of Matt and Alicia Lammers.
Home/Front: Marla’s War
Jun 30 2021 · Episode 6 · Listen here
Marla Ruzicka didn’t belong in a war zone. Nobody in Afghanistan knew what to make of her. Until Marla started to solve a problem that no one thought could be solved.
Season 6: Ukraine & Russia
Ukraine: Race Against The Machine
Nov 20 2019 · Episode 13 · Listen here
In the country on the other side of the impeachment hearings... A comedian runs for president of Ukraine and wins in a landslide, with a parliamentary majority to pass any law he wants. So now what? Our host, Gregory Warner, reports from Kyiv.
Whose Ukraine Is It Anyway?
Dec 04 2019 · Episode 14 · Listen here
Please, take our survey! At a Ukrainian comedy competition founded by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, can humor unite a divided country?
The Cat Must Still Be Fed
Aug 03 2022 · Listen here
A hyperlocal news site in Red Hook, N.Y. posts a job opening. A journalist in Ukraine applies. And what readers think of as “local news” is going to change dramatically.
Letter of Unhappiness
Mar 30 2022 · Listen here
When Naira calls her parents back home in Russia to talk about the war in Ukraine, they treat her as an outsider and a threat. She finds a way to break through the propaganda wall, with inspiration from a chain letter.
Season 7: @Work
Slackers@Work: A Song for the Exhausted
Jun 01 2022 · Episode 1 · Listen here
A video ricochets across Chinese offices, and a scooter thief becomes an icon for brewing discontent. Why is a thief who says he’s tired of working viewed by the Chinese state as such a threat?
Lunching@Work: When Eating at Your Desk Is Forbidden
Jun 08 2022 · Episode 2 · Listen here
In 2021, France suspended a law that forbids eating lunch at work. We talk to an American teacher relieved to see it go and a French historian determined to bring it back.
Stuck@Work: Your Country’s Brand Is Escape, But You Can’t
Jun 15 2022 · Episode 3 · Listen here
When Portugal forbade bosses from contacting employees after hours, international media jumped at the chance to cover the new law. Portuguese workers were oddly quiet. Why?
Failing@Work: Epic Fails & Failure Epics
Jun 22 2022 · Episode 4 · Listen here
Many of us think we can’t share our stories of failure until we’ve reached success. Some Mexico City entrepreneurs started a club to change that, and the world took notice.
Season 8: Love Commandos
This five-part series investigates a celebrated Indian organization that protects couples from arranged marriages, uncovering how its founder went from hero to accused villain.
The Honeymoon
Wed Aug 09 2023 · Episode 3 · Listen here
On Episode 3 of Love Commandos, stories of life inside the Love Commandos shelter begin to diverge as co-founder Sanjoy Sachdev shows a different side.
After The Wedding
Wed Aug 02 2023 · Episode 2 · Listen here
On episode 2 of Love Commandos, an inter-caste couple in India hits a breaking point. They make one last-ditch phone call to try to stay together.
The Vow
Wed Jul 26 2023 · Episode 1 · Listen here
When falling in love can mean risking your life, the Love Commandos in India will protect you. But at what cost? This is episode 1 of our series Love Commandos.
Ever heard these?
Fidele Musafiri: Miner (Marketplace)
2009 - Listen Here
This award-winning feature profiles a Congolese miner, connecting the global consumer demand for cell phones to the perilous existence of those who extract the minerals.
A Good Year For Grand Gestures (This American Life)
January 18, 2008 - Listen Here
This story follows well-meaning Western aid workers in Afghanistan whose grand gesture for their driver’s dowry backfires, revealing a profound cultural misunderstanding.