Global Culture Talk Brian Greco

Happy New Year! 2019 is full of change - perhaps for you and certainly for our exponentially globalizing world. I talk often about the balance of freedom and order, of development and opportunity - and I travel looking for places that offer the best of both worlds.



In this episode, recorded in Istanbul at the end of last year, I want to share my theory of "1.5 World" countries and why they rock - why they can offer you great benefits in lifestyle, investment, productivity, social life, identity, and more. What are these countries and why does this matter for you?



What was once the "First World" is now changing - with new standards of living possible outside of simply the "West" vs. "The Rest" - and a new paradigm of understanding countries is called for. For lack of a better term, this theory hopefully can help you understand why the opportunity you may be craving could be found somewhere in the exciting transition of globalization and modernity. 

What are the countries people are most wanting to move to - not only only for a better education or job, but to feel like they can really become "one of" the place? What places are more welcoming to outsiders and why? Where are people moving within a country like the US, or why might a country like Canada or Portugal or South Africa attract more migrants than something like Japan? What is the deal with 'immigrant' vs. 'expat' vs. 'migrant'?

All of these questions strike at the heart of what we are about at Global Culture Talk - understanding the effects of globalization on identity. Why does this matter for you? Well - seeing what places best suit, for example, someone who is young and looking to start a new life and career somewhere - can teach us about the state of international attitudes, cosmopolitan, and the social fabric of humanity. In other words - giving us insight into how to create better lives for ourselves where we feel genuinely "one of" where we live, rather than as a perpetual outsider. Take a listen tonight - longer episode (35 min) - where we just scratch the surface on this topic of 'finding home'!

There is this story in today's culture that empowerment happens when you "stop caring what other people think" ... and in doing so, setting yourself free from society's norms and expectations. What does this actually mean, and how is it achieved? Should we totally write off everyone's opinion and go our own way ... or, whose opinion matters to you and ... why?

What does travel have to do with this? And how can travel help you if you want to break free in life? In this episode, I get a little personal with my own journey in seeing how to move past the binding elements of social conditioning and keep the enriching parts that match our values. Travel, culture, and globalization are fascinating tools you can learn about to help you increase your freedom and potential in this short lifetime. Take a listen on Global Culture Talk tonight, and let's dive deep into it!

Ooh tonight's podcast is a juicy one. 35 minutes of pure truthbombs - talking about authoritarianism in governments, religions, cults, companies, even self-help movements like strict diets and personal development seminars whose underlying structure all has one thing in common: authoritarian ideology which seeks to whitewash dissent and control the outcomes of people's lives.

Knowing how to identify authoritarian structures is one of the most freeing and important lessons in a world which does not always have your well-being and freedom in mind - as they say, you may not care about its politics, but its politics will care about you. Less of a call to fear and more of a call to understand and speak out against, this episode includes my personal vantage point from recent and long-past events in my life where I have come up against authoritarian structures, large and small, that in leaving, and deprogramming myself out of them, have helped me find my own sense of freedom and power.

The fun is just beginning here at Global Culture Talk, where we dive deep into topics of globalization, culture, and identity and how to set yourself free in a noisy and complex world. 

Is there an ideal city? What makes a city appealing on a physical level? How do you find the urban environment that best suits you? These are questions I have continued to ponder in my travels with an eye towards the things that make cities optimally suited for the maximum number of people to experience comfort and success.

The urban space is one that is built - it does not simply "happen" and it is a phenomenon that can radically change the way you experience reality around you. Thus, the question of how we can build better cities and live better lives comes up. In this episode, I scratch the surface on this topic by raising aspects particularly of European cities that I find important for success in creating at least the physical element of livability.

Take a listen and join us on Global Culture Talk as we dive deeper into the truth about globalization, culture, and identity.

Many of us have early memories before the days of social media, on-demand entertainment, and/or living abroad in new places where there was a common media culture that was shared - everyone watched generally the same shows, heard new music, and related to a certain kind of cultural discourse. Now, since approximately 2010 with the advent of ever-more-customized media streams based on individual tastes, pop culture has changed and become fragmented in new ways, even more exacerbated by the growing trend of living in vastly different cultural contexts than one is raised in.

Whether you are a frequent traveler, digital nomad, or simply an observer of pop culture trends, it is difficult to deny this reality yet also difficult to put one's finger on what it means for the emotional side of culture. Tonight's episode touches on these issues and more. Let's dive deep together with Global Culture Talk to get closer to the truth about globalization, culture, and identity.