Out of Eden Walk
Recycled whirligigs remain a fixture in the Japanese countryside
A constant fixture of National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek’s journey through rural Japan was the whirligig, or as he called them, “seismic scarecrows.” Gardeners he spoke to use these contraptions to scare away crop pests like mice and foxes. Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Salopek about the whirligigs, rural Japanese architectural aesthetics and how he got aboard a cargo ship to cross to North America.
Out of Eden Walk: Walking through COVID
National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek was thousands of miles into his Out of Eden Walk when he had to pause his journey in Myanmar to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic. Host Marco Werman speaks with him about the experience of walking and reporting through Asian regions made inaccessible by quarantines and lockdowns.
Out of Eden Walk: Cellophane oasis
National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek tells Host Carolyn Beeler about walking the modern Silk Roads through Asia and into South Korea, where village markets, souks and caravanserais are reincarnated as convenience stores that perfectly serve the needs of a traveler on foot.
Out of Eden Walk: South Korea’s Mud Mausoleum
National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek tells host Carolyn Beeler about his walk across South Korea’s Saemangeum, a tidal flat on the coast of the Yellow Sea. It was once home to all kinds of birds, mammals, and snakes. Now isolated behind a 22-mile sea wall, the mud flat has lost most of its wildlife.
Out of Eden Walk: A 12-year walk between oceans
National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek began his continent-spanning walk in Ethiopia in January 2013. Since then, his Out of Eden Walk, tracing humankind’s journey out of Africa, has crossed 21 countries, some 14,200 miles on foot from the Middle Eastern shores of the Red Sea to the Pacific Rim of Japan. Host Marco Werman speaks with Salopek as he begins the 13th year of his global trek.
Out of Eden Walk: South Korea’s love motels
National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek talks about his experience with South Korea’s so-called “love motels,” short-term rental hotels primarily used by couples for intimate encounters. In a country with a severe housing shortage, these motels provide privacy for young people who live by necessity with their parents. As Salopek discovered on his walk across the country, these budget rooms are also convenient for travelers.