Dustin, The Wind‪.‬ Dustin Paulsen

On Wednesday morning (9/21), Armenia’s Independence Day, I sat down with Sam to discuss* the state of Armenia and the events which took place last week in Armenia and Yerevan. Including attacks by Azerbaijan on sovereign Armenian land and a subsequent visit by Nancy Pelosi- the highest ranking US official to visit Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sam was at Yerablur on Armenia's Independence and was detained by police as was every other civilian at the cemetery, many of whom were parents of fallen soldiers and were beaten and dragged off by the police in anticipation for PM Nikol Pashinyan's ceremonial visit to the cemetery.

Some of you will remember Sam from his appearance on the podcast in 2020 after fighting in the 44 day war for Artsakh when we first met in Yerevan shortly after he returned from the front lines near Shushi.

Welcome back, Sam (Dustin, The Wind's first guest nearly two years ago) and thank you for sharing your knowledge and opinions.

**Mostly I listened while he talked and Sam and he did a wonderful job explaining the current events, the region's history, and his all around thoughts on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Very happy to share this with Sam.

This week I tell the story of one of the most bizarre days of my entire life. November 18, 2020. On that day I drove my black rental Kia from Goris, Armenia through Lachin Corridor to Stepanakert, Artsakh just one week after war in the region ended at the signing of a "peace treaty". I give my recounting of the day- what I witnessed, how I felt, and a few of my thoughts on the dirty war waged on the people of Artsakh by Azerbaijan and Turkey.

What is it about tragic situations that promotes such strong bonding and prosocial acts within groups of people? Why are we so willing to set aside our self-interest and lay down our lives in the interest of group survival? What lessons can we learn from these hardships that we can carry into our lives during peaceful periods?

Dustin, The Wind. welcomes our first guest!! Sam is a Armenian local living in Yerevan his entire life. His family has history in Artsakh, living there until the previous was broke out in the 90's forcing his family to flee. We talked about life in Armenia, what it means to be Armenian, and about his time fighting on the front lines of this war. Sam is a translator, he works in hospitality, he is trying to start his own hotel/ tour guide company, and he is a soldier- a defender of his homeland. 

Dusty talks about his adventure through Nagorno-Karabakh-the area being fought for during the war, his weekend in Dilijan, and partying with Russian mafia (not really).