What are the major misconceptions you think most people have about EACH of these places?
So, in most of the destinations, we stuck to one major city, with the exception of Namibia and Tajikistan, both places that are magical, with warm, welcoming people. With some places, like São Paulo, Brazil, we were able to dispel the notion that there’s nothing going on there and it’s just a dirty, ugly megacity. With others, like Tajikistan or Georgia, we were able to help build the narrative of a place that many Americans simply know nothing about.
What is the biggest thrill you feel about each of these places/distinct from the others?
I love cities, so it’s always a thrill to hang out in Mumbai or São Paulo or Stockholm. With Tajikistan, it was venturing up to the ruins of a relatively unknown Silk Road castle 12,000 feet in the mountains. In Ethiopia, we were there for the biggest festival of the year and got to witness thousands of people dressed in beautiful garments in celebration of their faith. In Namibia, it was the laughter and the jokes and the long conversations with everybody I met. There are thrills everywhere you go.
When you aren’t working on FLY BROTHER, what are your other projects?
I’m originally from Jacksonville, Florida, but I lived abroad for 10 years, working as an educator and journalist.
Aside from producing the show, I’m a freelance journalist and write for a few travel publications. I also do voiceover and some television presenting with the PBS affiliate in the Bay Area. There have definitely been times when I’ve had to drive Lyft to make rent money while retaining the schedule flexibility to independently produce a television show. Before shifting into broadcasting, I taught English and social sciences on both the university and high school levels, interspersed with writing and magazine editing positions.
Can you recount for Picture This Post readers how you go about creating each episode?
The initial planning starts with figuring out which friend in which city I can wrangle into appearing on television. Then, we have to coordinate filming schedules, support on the ground, and money. We decided early-on to make this more of a reality series, so it freed us of the yoke of perfection. We get to visit a place as it is: rainy, sweltering, dusty, but always interesting and exciting. We have an outline of what we’d like to do, but if something comes up that’s more compelling, we’ll do that. The creation happens very organically.
What is the major takeaway you hope viewers will have from your series?
My biggest hope is that people will feel greater kinship to one another. I want people to understand that every single soul on the planet wants the same things in life: to be seen, empowered, and loved. We may not be able to travel in the same way for a long time, but we’re still in the world together. We’re still connected, no matter how we feel about it, and I want people to understand, feel, and lean into that connection, that empathy for one another.
How did the advent of the pandemic change your plans for this series or travel in general?
Well, we were all set to start filming Season Two in April, so the pandemic has put those plans on hold for now. Travel, of course, won’t be the same and that’s not a bad thing. We have to travel more sustainably and with greater awareness of how we’re affecting the physical and social environments. We’ll travel less and slower going forward, but we’ll get to be more intentional. We’ll get to go deeper when we do visit a place. We’ll have to consider our immediate and wider environments. We’ll be more careful. None of those are bad things, in my opinion.
Editor’s Note: FLY BROTHER begins broadcasting on various public television stations in May as shown in schedule.
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