Episodes
Podcast
A podcast that explores ways we thoughtfully engage with new cultures and forge friendships in the most unlikely of places.
Season 6
- Connected by Curiosity What happens when your job is to walk into unfamiliar places and connect with strangers — quickly, genuinely, and across cultural lines? In this episode, my friend Dave shares how showing up with curiosity and care, asking intentional questions, and seeing people beyond their role or cultural background can open doors you never expected.
- Rooted in Laos Laos has a way of changing people. My guest this month knows that firsthand. We talk about community, deep friendships, the warmth of Lao hospitality, and how living in Lao culture has reshaped the way she sees work, time, and relationships.
- A Journey from China to Uzbekistan This month's guest is a friend who has called both China and Uzbekistan home. We talk about what it's like to be shaped by two very different places, what surprised him most, his love and appreciation for both cultures, and why, no matter where you go, people turn out to be more alike than you'd expect.
- Mongolia Uncovered Mongolia is a rural country many people know little about. Join me for a fascinating conversation with my friend, who calls Mongolia home, as she shares her love for its people and culture, common misconceptions, and why Mongolia is a place everyone should experience for themselves.
- Reflections on Life in China In this episode, hear from my friend who has years of experience living in and traveling to China. He shares his reflections on raising children overseas, adjusting to a new culture, and how he and his family learned to love and create a home in an unfamiliar place.
- Living Slow, Present, and Connected in Thailand Listen in for a story about a young couple who packed up their lives and moved to Thailand — where they discovered that the smallest moments matter most. In this episode, we explore what it means to slow down, show up, and let unlikely friendships find you.
- Nine Years in Jordan In this episode, my friend shares about nine years of life in Jordan — the country's rich history, its remarkable hospitality, and how living there has reshaped how he thinks about patience and efficiency.
- Discovering Home in North Africa This month, I sat down with friends living in Tunisia, an often overlooked country in North Africa, for a conversation about its beauty, the misconceptions surrounding it, its rich history, and how it has become a place they now call home.
- Lessons on Hospitality, Belonging, and Letting Go I loved sitting down with my friend, who has lived cross-culturally for nearly 20 years. We dive into life lessons on hospitality, creating belonging, and learning not to take offense in new cultures.
- Exploring Life and Friendships in China This month, I sat down with a friend living in China to reflect on her experiences navigating friendships, embracing adventure, and discovering rhythms of rest in a new culture.
- Where We're Headed This Year Welcome to Think Global: Life Overseas ! This season, we’re taking a new approach—sharing honest, funny, and meaningful conversations with friends around the world about life, friendship, and everyday experiences of living cross-culturally.
Season 5
- Family Life Overseas What’s it like to raise a family in a different culture? Tune in for a conversation with a friend who shares the joys, challenges, and unexpected gifts of raising children overseas.
- Embracing Life as Nomads At Think Global , we often say, “The world is our home.” Yet in many ways, we’re all nomads journeying through a world that is ultimately temporary. In this episode, we explore what it means to live well with a nomadic mindset, finding purpose, connection, and joy along the way.
- Rethinking Free Time In this episode, we invite you to take a fresh look at how you view and use your free time—whether it’s a weekend, summer break, or even retirement. What if your free time could be more than just a break? What if it could be a way to serve others and invest in something that lasts?
- Thriving in Uncertainty Traveling and living overseas requires a high tolerance for uncertainty. In this episode, we explore how uncertainty is a constant part of life—and how we can learn not just to tolerate ambiguity, but to thrive in the midst of it.
- Ruined for the Ordinary Why is it important to step outside your comfort zone and embrace new cultures? Join us as we explore how meaningful connections and cultural experiences can ruin you for the ordinary—in the best possible way.
- Beyond Words Kicking off season five of Think Global, we explore how to overcome language barriers and build connections with people around the world that go beyond words.
Season 4
- Living Beyond Fear: Navigating Risk with Wisdom Join us as we explore common questions about the risks of traveling and living abroad, discussing how wisdom and courage can help us embrace new opportunities and overcome fears.
- Wild Wonder In this episode, we’re joined by our friend Stephen Proctor, author of Wild Wonder , for an inspiring conversation about how nature teaches us about ourselves, our place in the world, and the importance of slowing down to live well.
- Two Virtues That Will Change You and the World Join us as we dive deeper into two key virtues from Ryan Holiday’s Right Thing, Right Now . With so much conflict and tragedy around the world, how can we develop understanding and empathy for other people's lives and struggles and become people who help, even in small ways?
- Two Virtues That Will Set You Apart Inspired by Ryan Holiday's book Right Thing, Right Now , this episode explores the virtues of loyalty and decency – how they distinguish us, impact our relationships, and shape our world.
- Laughter and Lessons Abroad This month, we sit down with our friend Scott, who has experienced life in multiple countries and has plenty of entertaining stories to share. Join us for a laughter-filled episode as we explore the joys, challenges, and adventures of living around the world!
- Unity in Competition As the Summer Olympics approach, we explore how sports create a unique platform for unifying people and fostering global connections.
- Becoming the Helpers Hearing news from around the world can often leave us feeling overwhelmed and powerless. How can we shift our perspective to see the challenges in our global and local communities as opportunities help?
- A Journey Around the World with Hudson and Emily On this special episode, our guests, Hudson and Emily, share about their journey to visit every country, the kindness of strangers, the friendships formed across cultures, and the impact these experiences have had on their perspectives.
- Combatting Loneliness Through Connection In this episode, we discuss the importance of creating meaningful connections amidst a growing sense of loneliness. How can we intentionally combat isolation, regardless of our cultural context?
- Q&A Come along for an entertaining Q&A episode as we delve into the topics of travel, culture, and our global adventures!
- The Power of Endurance In this episode, we take a look at the significance of cultivating endurance amidst a culture that encourages comfort over resilience. Join us as we learn how to navigate life's challenges with an attitude of endurance.
- Rethinking New Beginnings Launching season 4 of Think Global and stepping into a new year, we dig into a unique outlook on the variety of life's beginnings and endings, pondering the question: "How can we conclude one chapter well in order to beginning the next successfully?"
Season 3
- Joy to the World With Christmas approaching, we explore practical ways to bring "joy to the world" and share anecdotes of Christmas celebrations from various cultures, including our own and those of our friends.
- The Power of Sharing a Meal As we prepare to gather and celebrate with loved ones this holiday season, join us as we discover how the simple act of sharing a meal can create powerful connections that transcend cultural and language barriers.
- Go Beyond Expectations: Hospitality Join us as we wrap up this series with a conversation exploring how cultures around the world show hospitality and how we can become people who are hospitable beyond expectations.
- Go Beyond Expectations: Choose Optimism As we continue this series about going beyond expectations, we discuss how other cultures around the world view optimism and how we can choose to be optimistic people despite our natural tendencies or cultural norms.
- Go Beyond Expectations: Generosity We're kicking off a new series where we will explore how we can go beyond expectations in our lives. Throughout this episode, we discuss what generosity looks like around the world and how we can exceed our own culture's expectations as we become people who are generous with our time, money, energy, and knowledge.
- Less of Me, More of You Join us as we talk about becoming people who intentionally invest in others more than we focus on ourselves. How can we have a "there you are" outlook in our relationships instead of a "here I am" mentality?
- Live With the End in Mind Could thinking about death cause us to live happier, more fulfilling lives? On this episode, we explore some research and ideas suggesting that an awareness of the end is the key to living more fully now.
- A better version of us: Being Interruptible In our final episode of this series, we discuss the positive effects of inevitable interruptions in our lives.
- A better version of us: Meaningful Work On this episode, we discuss the value of hard work in all areas of life and how it impacts the people around us.
- A better version of us: Be a better friend We're kicking off a new series about becoming better versions of ourselves. This month we discussed friendship and asked the question, "how do I become a better friend?"
- More Time to Do What Matters Most As we begin season 3 of Think Global, we're convinced that making small tweaks to our daily habits could produce staggering results and help you recover more time to do more of what matters most.
Season 2
- It’s a New Year All Across the Globe As we kick off a new year, we discuss the history of New Year's resolutions and how we can thoughtfully enter this new year in a healthy way.
- The Power of Gratitude As the holiday season approaches, we reflect on what we have been thankful for lately and discuss a few surprising benefits of gratitude.
- The Comfort Crisis In this episode, we share some of our favorite takeaways from The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter and how we have seen the benefits of embracing discomfort in our own lives and in the lives of our friends around the world.
- Life as a “Heroic Deed” A group of young people we recently spent time with reminded us that you can make a significant impact in a short amount of time if you chose to be courageous. In this episode, we discuss the importance of living your life as a "heroic deed."
- The 5 Graces Gratitude, Resilience, Aspiration, Courage, and Empathy make up The 5 Graces of Life and Leadership. In this episode, we discuss how we have seen these 5 attributes displayed throughout our years of traveling and forming relationships across diverse cultures. Check out The 5 Graces by Gary Burnison .
- Building Community in Mongolia Mongolia is sometimes referred to as "the end of the earth" because of its vast, untouched wilderness. On this episode, we talk to a friend who has lived in Mongolia for 5 years about how the locals live in community.
- Building Community in Iraq In this episode, we talk to a friend living in Iraq about what local community looks like in this ancient, tribal country.
- Building Community in China We're starting a new series about how building relationships look different in every culture! In this episode, we talk with our guest about what local community looks like in China.
- Things We Didn’t Know: Part 3 In this episode of the "Things We Didn't Know" series, we explore the country of Morocco. Moroccan Mint Tea Recipe: Moroccan Mint Tea Recipe & Ceremony – Moroccanzest Buy Moroccan Mint Tea here: Temple of Heaven China Green Tea Special Gunpowder 1 Kilo
- Things We Didn’t Know: Part 2 In this episode of the "Things We Didn't Know" series, we explore the country of Laos. Where to buy specialty coffee from Laos: Jing Jhai Coffee Saffron Coffee
- Things We Didn't Know: Part 1 In this episode of the "Things We Didn't Know" series, we explore the country of Tunisia. Links from this episode: Tunisian date sugar: 100% Organic Date Sugar | Sugar Substitute for Baking | Alternative Sweetener | 100% Dates | Plant Based | Fiber Rich | Vegan | Gluten Free | Paleo | Kosher | (12 Ounces) Tunisian olive oil: La MegaraTunisian Organic Extra Virgin Unfiltered Chemlali Olive Oil- Metallic Tin 33.8 fl oz (1 Liter)- Dark Color, Robust Taste- Cholesterol Free, Gluten Free, GMO Free
Season 1
- Presence Matters In this episode, we review the topics we've covered in season 1 and how they relate to a recent international trip.
- A Conversation with International Students in America In this episode, we invite three special guests to join us for a conversation on adapting to life in America, things missed from home, and the importance of hospitality.
- A Conversation on Living Cross-Culturally This month, Tim and Jonathan host their first guests for a conversation about what it's like to live cross-culturally.
- When Strangers Become Friends Tim and Jonathan unpack the theme of the Think Global podcast: "The world is our home, where strangers become friends and friends become family."
- Life Principles - Part 4: Take the Long Road Home Rushing through life isn't the best way to enjoy the journey. In this episode, we balance out last month's discussion on "walking with intention" with a different perspective - taking the long road home.
- Life Principles - Part 3: Walk with Intention The way we walk can be indicative of how we actually live life! In this episode we talk about what it means to walk through life with intention. How can we live a life of purpose with the end in mind?
- Life Principles - Part 2: Dignify the Table Through traveling the world together, Tim and Jonathan have learned a lot from different cultures. A notable difference from our American culture is the way that people around the world dine. In countries like China, England, etc. eating a meal together is slow and honorable. In this episode of Think Global we learn what it means to honor those around us, not only while dining together, but in everyday life.
- Life Principles - Part 1: Don't neglect the small things A very familiar text for many of us illustrates this basic principle. “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Today has enough trouble of its own.” Often our minds and hearts are consumed with what's happening tomorrow, next week, next month, or even next year. But all we are asked to do is just tackle today. The small things. Today. Lived well.
- Think Global Introduction What is the Think Global podcast all about? Listen here to find out! Join us for the Think Global podcast every month!