On Wednesday morning (9/21), Armenia’s Independence Day, I sat down with Sam to discuss* the state of Armenia and the events which took place last week in Armenia and Yerevan. Including attacks by Azerbaijan on sovereign Armenian land and a subsequent visit by Nancy Pelosi- the highest ranking US official to visit Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sam was at Yerablur on Armenia's Independence and was detained by police as was every other civilian at the cemetery, many of whom were parents of fallen soldiers and were beaten and dragged off by the police in anticipation for PM Nikol Pashinyan's ceremonial visit to the cemetery. Some of you will remember Sam from his appearance on the podcast in 2020 after fighting in the 44 day war for Artsakh when we first met in Yerevan shortly after he returned from the front lines near Shushi. Welcome back, Sam (Dustin, The Wind's first guest nearly two years ago) and thank you for sharing your knowledge and opinions. **Mostly I listened while he talked and Sam and he did a wonderful job explaining the current events, the region's history, and his all around thoughts on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Very happy to share this with Sam.

Welcome to the final episode of the Bolivian Backpacker Series!! After 4 long months we have arrived at last to the end of the Bolivian journey. Thanks to all who have listened all the way through. I had no idea what I was doing when I started this project, but now with all 7 episodes behind us and the work done to get here the point of the project has revealed itself. My apologies for the endless slogging accounting detail!! I will now turn my attention to crafting this story into a book by creating a chapter by chapter structure with theme and conflict and move it along at least twice the pace of this first draft. In this episode I recount the final 3 weeks of my time in Bolivia- a weeklong stay in Caranavi- the coffee capital of Bolivia, quick pit stop in La Paz, a serediptious discovery in the Andes mountain village of Sorata, a couple days of peace on Isla del Sol, and a frustrating goodbye to good ol Bolivia! Enjoy!!

100 episodes of Dustin, The Wind! I'm super excited that this episode and these stories landed this week for episode 100. My time spent at ONCA in the Bolivian amazon was a special experience and a joy to write about and share with you. I hope you enjoy. Part 2 of living and working at ONCA in the Bolivian Amazon. This episode has more stories with capuchin monkeys and we are introduced to Kali, the jaguar. I share the story of how I ended up in a crusty Bolivian emergency room, dengue virus, life at camp in the rainforest, and finally say goodbye to the monkeys, the jaguars, and the people of ONCA.

This week I talk about going back to work, wild crop dusting pilots, perspective driving one mad, feeling good sober and healthy, strange recurring memories of the past, dreaming, student loan forgiveness,

Welcome back to the Bolivian Backpacker Series episode 5!!! We finally made it to the Amazon Rainforest. Have you ever wondered what life in the rainforest would be like? If so, you came to the right place! This episode is part one of a two part series of my experience working in the Bolivian Amazon at ONCA, an animal rescue and rehabilitation organization whose mission is to care for animals confiscated from Bolivia's illegal animal trade and rehabilitate them back to wild status. Put on some rubber boots, pack a mosquito net and join me for the first two weeks of the experience where we will care for monkeys by day and sleep little at night. It was a fun loving, dirty living experience. I hope you enjoy the stories and come back for part two. In the meantime you can go back to part one of the Bolivia Backpacker Series to get all caught up on the adventure. Enjoy! and if you do enjoy the episode please share it with a friend.

This week I talk about the 75 Hard challenge that I started today, Monday August 15 with 3 friends. Why I'm doing the 75 Hard, how we plan to attack the challenge, why I'm calling it the 75 semi-hard, and why I am choosing to change certain aspects of the rules that I don't agree with. I also try to get at the benefits of doing the 75 hard, what makes the undertaking valuable despite not following the rules to a T and more. Enjoy

Oahe Marathon Round 2- this week's episode is all about marathon masquerading. We call it the Oahe Marathon and we do run a marathon but at the end of the day the marathon is only the vehicle for pain and the idea is to dive in without preparation. To see what we are capable of when the going gets tough, when the blisters ooze, the hip flexors throb, lighting bolts strike the joints, and cramps try to bring us down. It's about overcoming the discomfort, the pain, and temporary suffering to cross the finish line. Persevere, endure, and finish the fight. This year was also about going through it together. We start together, we finish together, we help each other through! That was my favorite part of the Oahe Marathon 2.0. To say we've ran a marathon is only the cherry on top but doesn't begin to tell the story. Enjoy!

This week I come to you from gate D34 at the Las Vegas airport. I share my thoughts on my first visit to San Diego, California (spoiler alert: it was awesome!!!) and talk about taking the best yoga class in the world in Las Vegas and following it up with a THC edible infused flotation tank/ sensory deprivation tank and reaching for the first time what I think is the state of being talked about about in meditation as "nothingness". A truly quiet mind- what a cool experience!

Walk home from yoga with me this week in Austin, Texas. I take a 30 minute walk home from Black Swan Yoga on Orchard to the Within Center on 22nd. I fight traffic and blab my mouth. *Heads up, if background noise drives you crazy this episode will drive you crazy. If you can get over it for 30 minutes, you will not go crazy. I don't blame you either way.

This week I sat down with my great friend of more than 10 years, South Dakota's own honey king, Brook Woehl owner of Duke's Bees. Kid knows bees- we talk bee business (busy bees), bee agriculture, the many substances of bees, quite a lot of bees really. Beeswax, bees knees, and bee keys. Raw honey, filtered honey, organic(?) honey. We talk all things bees and the business of bees.