Culture

A Pioneering & Inspiring Human Rights Lawyer in Iceland

Claudia Ashanie Wilson is a human rights lawyer and activist who moved from her home country Jamaica to Iceland in 2001. When Claudia came to Iceland she didn’t speak Icelandic nor had she previous been to law school. Through a lot of hard work, she became fluent in Icelandic. She received her Masters Degree in…

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The Battle to Protect Iceland’s Fragile & Beautiful Nature – Ep. 83

To kick off the new year, I’m sharing my interview with Andri Snær Magnason, an award-winning author,  environmental activist and director. He has been fighting to protect Iceland’s beautiful nature. Andri Snær was on the show early on and it is great to have him back because so much has happened in his life since…

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A Modern Twist on Icelandic Christmas & New Year Traditions

The Icelandic Christmas season is so much fun. Well, it’s normally a lot of fun but we are doing the best to enjoy it even though COVID is keeping many of us from our loved ones. While I have done an episode about Icelandic Christmas way back in the day of the podcast, I wanted…

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The Fun & Quickly Growing Tradition of Craft Christmas Beers in Iceland

Because I’m very much in the holiday spirit, I’m dedicating the next two episodes, this one included, to Christmas related content in Iceland. Today, I have a special guest that has been on the show before, and that is Ólafur S.K. Þórvaldz, also known as Óli the brewmaster at Ægir Brugghús. Icelandic Christmas beer has…

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From Enduring Racism to Being Crowned Miss Universe Iceland 2019

I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Birta Abiba Þórhallsdóttir, who was crowned Miss Universe Iceland in 2019. Normally, I don’t follow beauty pageants, regardless of if it is in the US or Iceland, but Birta’s story really stuck out to me. I read an article about her experience with racism in Iceland. She’s…

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Inside the Disturbing Klaustur Scandal that Shocked Iceland

Back in December of 2018, Bára Halldórsdóttir outed herself as the whistleblower of the Klaustur Bar Scandal. During this podcast episode, I sit down with Bára to talk about how the scandal unfolded and how it has affected her life. This scandal involved politicians saying horrible things while drinking together in Klaustur bar. Bára happened…

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What’s Driving Young Icelanders to Move to the Countryside?

Halla Ólafsdóttir, a young Icelander, shares with me why she feels that people in her generation are moving away from the Reykjavík area in favor of the countryside. Halla has a BA degree in Icelandic language and creative writing at the University of Iceland. At the Free University of Berlin, she received an MA in…

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Mugison – Icelandic Musician on His Unusual Childhood, Success & the Evolution of his Music

This week, I share the fun chat I had with Mugison, a talented Icelandic artist that has been making waves on a local and global scale. We talked about the time he spent living in Africa as a child, musicians that inspire him, the impact of Icelandic nature on his music, his epic music festival…

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LK Bertram on the Life of Icelanders that Emigrated to Canada in the 1800s

During this week’s episode, I spoke with LK Bertram about the very large emigration of Icelanders to Canada in the 1800s.  LK Bertram is the author of The Viking Immigrants: Icelandic North Americans, and is an associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Toronto. Born and raised in Winnipeg, she also…

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Dr. Kristín Loftsdóttir on Racism, Nordic Exceptionalism & Whiteness in Iceland – Ep. 66

 I had the pleasure to speak with Kristín Loftsdóttir, a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iceland. Her research has focused on migration, whiteness, gender, racism, Nordic exceptionalism, postcolonialism and crisis, basing on work in Iceland, Niger and Belgium. Published Work by Kristín Loftsdóttir is currently leading the project Creating Europe through Racialized Mobility…

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