"Get the most from your time in Colombia by adjusting your expectations with regard to what you probably take for granted: Punctuality [never], Predictability [rarely], Promiscuity [frequently], and Passion [always]." And so it goes as we explore Colombia by way of Barry Max Wills' writing in his debut novel, a memoir entitled: "Better than Cocaine: Learning to Grow Coffee, and Live, in Colombia," published by Fuller Vigil. Enjoy a far-reaching conversation with a master story-teller. It's competition time too! Tune in and hear how you can win a copy of Barry's book. The Colombia Briefing is r ..read more

Journalist Emily Hart sat with Frank Wynne, tracing his incredible career from the start of his linguistic journey (a breakup and a bookshop in Paris) to his award-winning translation of writers across Latin America and the francophone world – particularly his work on cult Colombian author and ‘Enemy Number 1 of Macondo’ - Andrés Caicedo and his novel “Liveforever!”. Tune in for a literary episode exploring one of Colombia's least known and cult authors recounted in such an erudite fashion. Support the Colombia Calling podcast: www.patreon.com/colombiacalling ..read more

Imagine starting your first business venture from a huge wooden treehouse, nestled on a wild island off the coast of the Colombian Pacific. Linsey Rankin left Australia to travel, arrived in Colombia in 2013. After working in tourism, education, and health, she set about creating a business model that would allow her to be creatively independent, establish a tribe and give back positively…Prana Pacifico was born. In April 2017 Prana Pacifico offered its first yoga retreat, and since then, the operation has continued to grow and evolve. In this interview, Linsey shares with us her journey to be ..read more

This week, Emily Hart is setting out into the Wild West of cryptocurrencies here in Colombia and beyond. Is cryptocurrency the future of finance in Latin America? Is it safe? Is it just another way for rich people to hide their wealth from the tax man? Or for criminals to launder income? Or could it be a way for people to take banking into their own hands, a way for all of us to take control from a global system of banking we have so little say in? To explain all of that, we have on the show today Mat Di Salvo, Colombia-based correspondent covering crypto since 2019 for Decrypt, and two expert ..read more

On this week's Colombia Calling podcast we speak to Sara Tufano, the author of "Colombia: unaherida que no cierra," (Planeta, 2023) and a former member of the Clandestine Colombian Communist Party. After surviving some periods in conflict in Colombia as a member of the FARC guerrillas, she now dedicates her life to academia. Sara Tufano is a sociologist specializing in the Colombian conflict and the history of peace processes. She holds a B.A. in Human and Social Sciences from the University of Paris VII and a M.Sc. in Sociology from the University of São Paulo. She is currently ..read more

This week, Emily Hart speaks to Andrea González Duarte about Mi Barrio, Mi Sueño - the women’s empowerment project she founded in La Honda, a neighbourhood in the hills of Medellín. Andrea was born here in Colombia, then was adopted and grew up in the Netherlands, moving back here with a degree in social work many years later. The project began with barrio boxing – boxing classes for girls and women in the neighbourhood. With a background in sports education, Andrea knows well how sports - and particularly boxing - can serve as a means of teaching self-defence, of connecting with one’s own bod ..read more

On this week's Colombia Calling podcast, Ohio native and now resident of Medellin, Zach Meese, joins us to discuss Nearshoring in his adopted homeland. Now, I am pretty unfamiliar with Nearshoring, so Meese walks me through it and why the city of Medellin, Colombia is the ideal place for a business of this type. Nearshoring is defined as a close relocation and refers to the practice of relocating business operations to a nearby country. And so, we ask why this happens and is it sustainable? Certainly, for businesses in the USA, there's no significant time-zone difference, not too great a cultu ..read more

Adventurer Daniel Eggington is back! After completing the crossing of the Darien jungle along the Pacific side from Colombia to Panama in 2022, Eggington has decided to return to Colombia to embark on a three-month expedition along the Rio Negro all the way to Manaus in Brazil. The Rio Negro is over 1400 miles long with its widest point in Brazil at around 18 miles wide that is based around the Anavilhanas National Park. Eggington will face dangers from gold miners, illegal logging groups and perhaps come across unknown communities. Much of this expedition is uncharted territory. Hear us discu ..read more

On this week's Colombia Calling podcast we hear about British photographer Natasha Johl's work in photographing the Arahuacas in Colombia's Sierra Nevada. Descendents of the Tairona, an ancient South American civilization, indigenous group, the Arhuacos, reside in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The Arhuaco have developed an understanding of the earth which gives equal measure to the human mind and spirit and the forces of nature. The Sierra Nevada is a microcosm of earth: A seamless gradient of life that changes with each upward step. Because of this unique feature, it is known as the ‘Hear ..read more

Paula Delgado-Kling takes us to her homeland, Colombia, where she finds answers to the country’s drug wars by examining the life of Leonor, a former child soldier in the FARC, a rural guerrilla group. But, this story doesn't begin with Leonor, it commences during Delgado-Kling's childhood, when Colombia’s violence also touched her family and her brother was kidnapped and held in captivity for six months. It becomes intensely personal. Our conversation spans decades of the author's life as she follows the life and hardships of Leonor, but also, becomes aware of her upbringing in the context of ..read more