Searching for America with Robyn Curnow

The American Dream is about working hard and being rewarded. In Denmark, the dream is more about contentment and consistency than bigger and better. Robyn Curnow has been visiting Denmark the past few weeks and she reflects on what makes Danes, and her Danish husband, 'happier' than most. New! Substack! http://robycurnow.substack.com http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.searchingforamericapod.com  

Many Americans are politically homeless, says Robyn Curnow. The loudness and anger of the extremes leaves many decent Americans left out of the national conversation. The political and media machine reinforce left and right position, staking a claim to one view. So what does being politically homeless look like in America right now? Robyn Curnow thinks it's a bit like being one of those wandering souls of unbaptized babies in medieval Europe trapped in a centrist purgatory. Can you be an independent or centrist in Trumpian Times? Can this podcast be a success if a position is not staked? http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.youtube.com/searchingforamericapodcast.com http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.searchingforamericapod.com

Who's blame for Donald Trump being President again? One simple answer. Joe Biden. Robyn Curnow has interviewed a US Presidents, a First Lady and been in the Rose Garden at the White House during press conferences. The recent exposes on the coverups over Joe Biden's health tell her one thing .. the Biden administration handed Donald Trump a big beautiful second term when they lied about the President's capacity. Many Americans and people around the world are lamenting Trump's world (dis)order but based on the information coming out she suggests that Joe Biden should be held responsible for Trump 2.0. http://www.youtube.com/@searchingforamericapodcast http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.tiktok.com/searchingforamericapod http://www.youtube.com/@searchingforamericapod  

The firebombing of Jews in Colorado is not just about rising anti-semitism but a worrying broader trend, says Robyn Curnow. Identity politics - couched in the Free Palestine rhetoric - threatens to unleash more violence against Jews and anyone who is viewed as an 'oppressor' or 'colonizer.' Robyn Curnow reflects on the language of 'resistance' and why it's so dangerous. http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.youtube.com/@searchingforamericapodcast

What can spycraft teach business leaders? Marc Polymeropoulos is one of the CIA's most decorated operatives. He spills secrets to Robyn Curnow about the leadership lessons he learnt in the shadows. Memorial Day honors America's fallen warriors. The CIA men and women killed in action are remembered by stars at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Marc lost colleagues and agents because of mistakes made in the field during post-9/11 years in hostile environments. Marc Polymeropoulos talks to Robyn Curnow about the nine principles that leaders in any organisation can use to strength and clarity in times of stress; even if they're not in badlands of Afghanistan or Iraq. This is a bonus episode of a conversation between Marc Polymeropoulos and Robyn Curnow. In Part 1 he talks about dive bars, Damascus and the death of colleagues. In Part 2 Marc recounts when he was attacked by an energy weapon while in Moscow, which left him with traumatic brain injury called Havana Syndrome that has incapacitated numerous American intelligence operatives around the world. SIGN UP FOR ROBYN'S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE: http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.x.com/robyncurnow FIND MARC HERE: http://www.x.com/marcpoly1 ORDER MARC'S BOOK Clarity in Crisis: Lessons from the CIA https://www.amazon.com/Clarity-Crisis-Leadership-Lessons-CIA/dp/1400223865

Out of all the foreign policy tit-for-tats to have - why has President Trump picked South Africa? Why is he concerned about minority white farmers who speak Afrikaans in the rural areas of a continent that's not a strategic priority for the USA? Robyn Curnow is South African, lives in Atlanta, Georgia and she was CNN's Africa correspondent for many years. She has known the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa since the 1990's when he was part of Nelson Mandela's team. She has also interviewed many American Presidents. She offers a unique perspective - understanding the instincts on both sides - after a fractious Oval Office meeting between the South Africans and the Americans. There is good reason, Robyn says, why Trump has honed in on the death of white farmers in South Africa. And the South Africans need to tread carefully as they try to manage a transactional US President - without falling back into familiar ideological defiance rather than much-needed realism. http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod http://www.searchingforamericpod.com http://www.youtube.com/@searchingforamericapodcast

Business schools across America should run an MBA course on corporate succession and the Catholic Church says Robyn Curnow who's covered the Vatican. The ease of transition from one leader to another is smooth and seamless. And it's a key part of the enduring nature of the Vatican's well-oiled machine. Pope Francis to Pope Leo, and the others that came before them for hundreds of years, are chosen by their peers (or the Holy Spirit, if you so wish) to lead the church (corporation) and to keep it profitable and with a steady supply of customers (parishioners and the faithful.) As the new Pope shook hands with world leaders this past weekend, I thought; why do Popes matter in an increasingly secular world? In times of change... what stays the same? The Catholic Church. In time of change... what offers leadership continuity? The Catholic Church That stability is is both the church's strength, and weakness. The tension is always there. A push for innovation and modernity ... with the pull to preserve the thousands of years of ritual and dogma. One part of the leadership continuity is the choosing of a new papal name... a name that harkens back to the past while supposedly giving us a clue as to the future. Listen to this week's episode about Leo the new papal lion, the meaning of his name and the time I named a cheetah after a pope (we like big cats on the show.)   http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamerica http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://youtube.com/@searchingforamericapodcast

What happens to our stuff when we die? The estate of Robyn Curnow's late neighbor has been up for sale next door. Antique bargain hunters and second-hand vultures have been 'shopping' the contents of the couple's house. Strangers streamed through the neighborhood carting off everything the elderly couple owned, loved and collected for decades. Tupperware, silver, mattresses were all carried out of their front door for a few dollars. Everything was sold off to the lowest bidder. The odd-couple relationship between America and China is founded on American consumerism and Chinese productivity. There are deals, or not, on the table over realigning Washington and Beijing's trade. Watching the garage sale next door made Robyn Curnow think about tariffs and the stuff we buy. Quality versus Quantity and the things we leave behind http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.searchingforamericapod.com YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/@SearchingforAmericaPodcast

We're in the middle of graduation season. Americans love a party, a theme and an excuse to put signs in their front yards announcing the celebration of the moment. Sometimes it's an election, other times it's July 4th and for these few weeks of spring.... it's graduation. There is a constant rotation of goodbye parties. Graduation is not just a ceremony, it's a never-ending marathon of emotional and expensive moments. Nowhere else in the world goes so BIG when school is finished. I'm embracing it because my eldest daughter deserves to be celebrated with trumpets, bagpipes and an endless supply of monogramed college cakes. She started school in the USA in Obama's America and is now ending it in Trump's America. She has navigated a revolving set of strange cultural oddities and constant change. Americans might not agree on everything but they do agree on these things: Supersized graduation celebrations Yard signs The long goodbye for your 18 year old Hope you enjoy, and congratulations to the Class of 2025! SIGN UP FOR A FUN FREE NEWSLETTER EACH WEEK HERE: http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod.com   http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.x.com/robyncurnow

Being in the Vatican during a Pope's funeral and conclave is fascinating. Robyn Curnow was in Rome when John Paul II died. She remembers those days in St Peters. So, what to expect from the next conclave? Robyn has covered many papal deaths and reported on the politics of the Catholic church. Pope Francis was a different kind of pope to John Paul, and Ratzinger who succeeded him. Both John Paul and Francis were epoch defining popes. John Paul was one of the 20th century's great leaders against communism. Hewn from stone behind the iron curtain he was unbending and formidable. Dogma and traditionalism held fast. Francis was from Argentina... a priest who came of age within the legacy of liberation theology. A woke pope, perhaps, but man of his times. She wonders, if like the American presidency, the papal shifts will swing like a pendulum between left and right in the upcoming conclave. SIGN UP FOR A FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod http://www.x.com/robyncurnow

What do you think of when you read the words... STRIP MALL? Firstly, there's no stripping. No pole dancing. No one dollar bills. Secondly, they're everywhere and form the backbone of Main Street - the small mom-and-pop businesses that underpin American capitalism. The rows of grubby one-story shops occupy a slice of real estate along side main roads and intersections. We have a bunch littered around us. Odd places, but filled with fascinating slices of Americana. In just about every strip mall, even if they're near each other, there is nail salon run by a phalanx of Vietnamese, an eyelash extension shop run by an African-American woman in sequins and a Chinese dry cleaner. Fast food chains are hard to avoid but but if you trust the locals you'll find some of the best places for Ho Chin Minh City pho, Mexican burritos or Korean hotpot. Stores and restaurants in strip malls are not fancy. Mostly rundown. Often near a Dollar Store or charity shop. You have got to know where the gems are. Hiding in plain sight, in a nondescript plaza near us, is a legendary drinking hole. It's modeled after Cheers, the bar in the TV series, where everybody knows your name   http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.youtube.com/@searchingforameriapodcast  

When politics get crazy who do you listen to? Your financial advisor who’s watching the stock market? A friend in government? Robyn Curnow turns to her favorite analyst when times get complicated.... her 101 year old grandmother. She's has lived through world wars that redrew the map, economic depressions that shattered lives, technological revolutions that have fundamentally altered how we connect and communicate. She’s seen empires rise and fall, social norms transform, and scientific breakthroughs once relegated to science fiction become everyday realities. What does to she remind us when the only certainty is uncertainty? Not every fleeting headline demands our constant attention. Some storms will pass. History is littered with bad leaders, and stupid people. Our time is no different. Listen to Robyn Curnow dissect the lessons of the view long. (Plus... hear what her grandmother's secret is to a long life.) http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod.com http://www.x.com/robyncurnow

When Robyn Curnow moved to America she didn't take her family to Washington, or New York or Disney. Instead, they went on a pilgrimage to Graceland. The home of the King of Rock 'n Roll. Elvis Presley is a rare thing in America. Most Americans would agree that his legacy and his music are the best of the USA. Robyn Curnow reflects on why she made a trip to Graceland. It wasn't just Elvis and his music she was paying homage too, it was also the journey to Graceland that the Paul Simon sings about in his Grammy-award winning album Graceland. In complicated times, she is Searching for the America - and Americans - that bring people together. http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod  

The paper-white flowers of the dogwood trees are out, along with fairy pink blossoms and bright azaleas. Spring is here in the American South. After hosting an event with Prince Albert in Monaco, Robyn Curnow reflects on coming 'Home' to America and using her new US passport for the first time.   http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.robyncurnow.net http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod

Growing up in a hyper religious household, Drew McCoy had to 'come out' to shocked family and friends when he realized he no longer believed in God. Now he tries to understand the religious instincts of his Texas community via his hugely popular You Tube channel called Genetically Modified Skeptic. Drew talks to Robyn Curnow about creationism, the bible and Donald Trump's evangelical political base. Both Drew and Robyn live in the South and they talk about country music, persecution themes in politics and the bracelets that teenagers are wearing which say What Would Jesus Do? SIGN UP FOR THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod

He was one of the first employees at Facebook, and then retired at 42 to follow his passion for stand-up comedy. Paul Ollinger talks to Robyn Curnow about his time at Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and what his secret is to telling jokes in divided times. http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS HERE: http://www.searchingforamericapod.com PAUL OLLINGER http://www.paulollinger.com

Urban Warfare expert John Spencer says the conflict in Gaza is unlike any other. Spencer tells Robyn Curnow about his four trips into Gaza with the IDF since the October 7 massacre. As a combat veteran, national security and military analyst, he has served as an advisor to Pentagon to the U.S. Military Academy. Israel's fight in Gaza is unique in modern warfare, he says. "Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza was the first one I've studied where the underground was more important than the surface." He says in other wars, tunnels are used by civilians to seek refuge. But Hamas uses them as an underground network to base their operations. They're → where the fighters are → where the hostages are → their primary means of conducting operations Hamas initially were able to use them to slow IDF operations. But the fighting changed when Israel brought their fight into the tunnels too. John Spencer talks to Robyn Curnow about his groundbreaking access and research on urban warfare. His manual on fighting in cities was used by Ukrainians to defend their towns and cities and villages against the Russian advance. http://www.robyncurnow.net http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod http://www.x.com/robyncurnow JOHN SPENCER http://www.instagram.com/spencerguard http://www.x.com/spencerguard http://www.johnspenceronline.com CHAIR OF URBAN WARFARE STUDIES, MODERN WAR INSTITUTE AT WEST POINT http://www.x.com/warinstitute HOST of the URBAN WARFARE PROJECT PODCAST AUTHOR: CONNECTED SOLDIERS AUTHOR: UNDERSTANDING URBAN WARFARE

New Yorker Teddy Riley reflects on his experiences in the music industry, particularly his collaborations with iconic artists like Michael Jackson and Pharrell Williams. He discusses the evolution of American music and the importance of loyalty in both music and politics. Riley shares personal anecdotes from his upbringing in Harlem and his journey as a music producer, emphasizing the significance of spending time on music to create lasting impact. Robyn Curnow asked him what was it like working with Michael Jackson and Teddy tells her that working with Michael was like working with your best friend. He said, ‘you're sleeping at the studio? I'm sleeping at the studio.’ I said, ‘but you don't sleep at studios…. you can go home.’ He said, ‘no, you're on this project 24 — I’m on it 24.’” Chapters 00:00 The Art of Music Production 02:44 Reflections on American Politics 06:01 Growing Up in Harlem and Early Music Experiences 10:07 Collaborating with Legends: Michael Jackson and Pharrell Williams 18:21 The Impact of Music Across Generations 20:00 The Evolution of American Music 23:05 Politics and Loyalty in America http://www.instagram.com/teddyriley1 http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod.com http://www.searchingforamericapod.com

Robyn Curnow had friends from abroad reach out to say they’re worried about “the chaos” in America right now, and she tells each of them That she's patiently waiting to see what happens. Between → The firing of federal employees. → The slashing of government funding. → The constant signing of executive orders. …it’s easy to see how it looks like absolute chaos. But when it comes to everyday life? The waters are calmer than they appear. Her guest this week is Justin Farmer is a former news anchor turned CEO of a private investment firm. He has decades of experience covering news and following money. How does he feel about the “chaos” in the U.S.? And why did he leave his successful career as an anchor at WSB-TV to start Exit Wealth Management? This week's episode is about second acts - both Justin's and Donald Trump's. Justin Farmer http://www.x.com/wallst_farmer http://www.instagram.com/wallst_farmer http://www.exitwealth.com Robyn Curnow http://www.searchingforamericapod.com http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/searchingforamericapod

Why is there such an obsession with True Crime stories in America? Andrew Iden, host of the Deviant podcast, has made a career covering true crime stories. Robyn Curnow wanted to know, out of all of the crazy stories — which one stayed with him? He quickly said… BTK. The killer who would Bind. Torture. Kill. “He was a killer in the 70s and 80s and went dark for a long time. He came back in the early 2000s. He taunted the media. He taunted the victims' families. And he was living a very normal life as a postman and a guy in the community that everybody knew… but he was literally living two separate lives.” True Crime as an industry Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer. Whether or not you know what their crimes, most Americans know their names. I want to know… why? Why is it that America loves true crime stories so much? Perhaps people are just drawn to stories of other people who stray from the path of “normalcy.” DEVIANT POD http://www.instagram.com/deviant.podcast http://www.instagram.com/ajiden ROBYN CURNOW http://www.x.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram.com/robyncurnow http://www.instagram/searchingforamericapod.com