National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek tells Host Marco Werman about his walk through India’s northeastern region, where he traced the steps of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. He also regales us with tales of a brickyard, where laborers make the building blocks for 21st-century India and of a village where people make everything out of bamboo.
Last week, the US and Russia completed a historic prisoner swap. Twenty-six people in total were released, including 24 adults and two children. But it wasn’t just Americans — most of those released by the Kremlin were Russian political dissidents. Now, many of them are stuck in exile.
For more than a century, the old whaling town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, has hosted the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament. The event celebrates Portuguese culture. But this year, for the first time — and under threat of a lawsuit — women are allowed to join the Feast Committee.
A generation ago, Hugo Chávez’s election brought a wave of euphoria to Venezuela. The country was awash with oil dollars, and Chavez spent liberally on social programs. Now, his revolution has turned into an authoritarian regime whose broken economy forced millions to leave. Current President Nicolás Maduro is now facing serious accusations of electoral fraud. But even when they are a minority, there are still Venezuelans who continue to embrace Maduro’s government.