One of Hal Urban's books, Life Greatest's Lessons, has sold half a million copies. I've known him for many years and consider him my mentor.

I'm fortunate that he's one of my patrons.

In this podcast, we talk about his upcoming book which hits the stands on May 25, 2021.

You can preorder it on Amazon now.

However, if you really want to help him, buy it from his website.

We discuss:

• Why he's self-published and why he's gone with a traditional publisher
• In his 80 years, which was the worst year ever
• How does he deal with the negative news
• Who he thinks will win the 2020 US Presidential Election
• What he thinks of the youth nowadays

Hal Urban is an author, speaker, and award-winning teacher of thirty-six years at San Carlos and Woodside High Schools and at his alma mater, the University of San Francisco. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in history and a doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco, and he has done post-graduate studies in the psychology of peak performance at Stanford University. Since 1992, Dr. Urban has traveled more than 2 million miles while speaking nationally and internationally on positive character traits and their relationship to the quality of life. He has authored seven books, all with an emphasis on good character. His first book, Life's Greatest Lessons, was selected by Writer's Digest as the Inspirational Book of the Year and has sold 500,000 copies.

The book's pitch

The media's bias toward stories of conflict, violence, and division is bad for your health. Hal Urban shows how to find the positive and uplifting all around us without sticking our heads in the sand. The news media thrives on bad news. In recent years, the political climate has become vitriolic and divisive, our country seems more polarized than ever, and news feels inescapable because technology has significantly increased its reach. People who like to stay informed need a lift.  Most people are aware that what they eat greatly impacts their physical health: junk food is bad, vegetables are good. Hal Urban argues that we can nourish our minds by choosing how we consume news and that when we surrender all that choice to media and external forces, we give up our growth, freedom, and mental health. Countless signs of progress and acts of kindness exist all around the world if you know where to look. And there are positive aspects in our own lives--family, friends, simple beauties, and everyday generosities--that we take for granted. This book helps readers understand that, as the late Zig Ziglar said, "You are what you are because of what goes into your mind."

Thank you all for being my patrons!

- Francis Tapon

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I love to address subjects, questions, and topics that you, my patrons, want me to research or discuss.

In this episode, I answer various questions that Yida asked. 

He's been a great patron for a while and I love his support - as well as everyone's.

If you have questions, please fire away. 

You know how to reach me.

Update on my books

The Chinese publisher wants me to revise all 25 chapters of The Hidden Europe. 

I have one month to do it.

I'm using two tools to help me do one chapter per day.

1. The Premium subscription to Grammarly. It's amazing (and depressing) how many typos it catches. On rare occasions, it signals a false alarm. Overall, it's remarkable and worth the $30/month. (It's $12/month if you do one year.)

2. Gallup polls. A Stanford student has entrusted his credentials to me so that I can access Gallup's latest database. This is essential for updating many of the stats in The Hidden Europe. 

I'm also deleting 5% of the book because it's either no longer relevant or it's boring.

If you have parts you would like me to cut/change, let me know!

This project will put my Africa book on hold for a month. But it's worth it because it's the 10th anniversary of The Hidden Europe next year! 

I will be sharing the 2021 version of The Hidden Europe with all my patrons!

Stay tuned!

Thank you for your support!

Francis

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I assume so, since you probably like my WanderLearn theme.

The ultimate wandering expedition is into outer space. 

That's why I've always been fascinated with the heavens and exploring them.

I had the good fortune of interviewing the Astrophysicist who knows more about terraforming than anyone else!

What is Terraforming?

Terraforming is when you take a planetary body that humans are unable to live on and transform it into a livable environment for us.

Jack Lissauer stars in this exclusive podcast. 

I'm not supposed to share this podcast with anyone because I did it for the What If YouTube Channel, which has 3.1 million subscribers. 

But you guys can keep a secret.

You can't hear my voice, but I was asking the questions.

I put music in between the big ideas.

I hope you can follow along!

Thank you again for your support!

Francis

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When I wrote The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us, I captured the wisdom of countless Europeans.

Along the way, I heard many criticisms of the United States. 

Most were fair.

However, some were a bit too extreme. They lacked nuance. 

That inspired me to write a five-part series called "Defending America." 

They became one of the most popular articles on my website.

The article "Defending American Ignorance" has had over 200,000 views. It helps that when you Google "American Ignorance," my article appears in the top 15 results.

Because of the popularity of the articles, I decided to read them for my podcast.

I will release them one at a time. That's 5 podcasts over 5 weeks.

However, since you're my cool patrons, I am giving you all 5 ahead of time as one big podcast!

Enjoy!

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• Did you use many maps or guidebooks when traveling around Africa?
• Which publishers would you recommend and what maps are the most helpful?
• Did you get to interact with any Chinese expats or see "Chinatowns" in Africa?

I answer all these questions in this 22-minute podcast made for Yida and my treasured Patrons!

Enjoy and I encourage you to ask me more questions. 

In the future, I will do more videos to answer the questions.

Thank you to Yida and all of you for your support!

Francis

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Yesterday, I filmed two NASA Astrophysicists at the NASA Ames Research Center. 

I was doing it for Underknown, which has a cool "What If" YouTube Channel.

Excerpts of my interview will appear on that channel, which has 3.2 million subscribers.

However, I wanted you, my patrons, to get the complete interview!

The only thing I edited out was my voice because I didn't have a microphone on me. 

This episode is with Rus Belikov. 

I will probably not release this interview on my podcast because that might risk pissing off Underknown. But they'll never find out that I released it to my patrons, so enjoy!

If you like it, I will share the second interview with Jack. 

So let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for your 2020 support!

Francis

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If you're giving $25/month, you deserve a $300 Christmas present!

Let me know what's on your wishlist and I'll try to send it to you!

You can email me at ft@francistapon.com

Meanwhile, here are...

3 Podcast Previews

• Click on Mike's face to download my podcast with Mike Spencer's Bown. He may be the world's most traveled man!
• Listen to DJ Didonna discuss the virtues of sabbaticals.
• Listen to Matt, the #2 in command at Zpacks, one of the best backpacking gear makers

I appreciate your loyal support!

I am struggling at pumping out new chapters of my book because I got discouraged when my literary agent failed to find a publisher. 

But I will self-publish this if I must. 

Francis

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I said to Kathy, "Thank you for your generosity! $250 per month is substantial. What can I give to you in return besides my random gifts?"

She said, "Help Jack Kennedy spread the word about his nonprofit Health Access Sumbawa." 

For the last year, I've been mentioning them in my podcast notes, but I finally got to interview Jack Kennedy on the WanderLearn podcast.  The podcast just came out today!

We had a fascinating discussion about my favorite disease: malaria! 

In other news, I interviewed the Mayor of Burlingame, Donna Colson. 

She generously supported my Kickstarter years ago and is a patron on Patreon.com too! 

Since she's running for re-election in one month, I got an exclusive interview with her. 

As patrons, you get to hear it before anyone else.

I also filmed it, but that will come out in a few days on YouTube.

In keeping with my interview style, I kept things informal, even though we're all supposed to behave when we're talking with a mayor.  Enjoy! 

Lastly, I'm working on my 3rd TEDx talk. It's tentatively titled, "Lessons from picking up 3,000 African hitchhikers." 

I welcome your input on how to make it better than my first two TEDx talks!

Thank you again for your support!

Francis 

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Listen to my 50th podcast before anyone else!

2) Send me questions for my 4th AMA, which will take place on Aug 14 @ 6 pm PST.

3) Sony Pictures is kicking my tires. 

DETAILS

1) For my 50th podcast, I produced a unique episode about Egypt's unseen sides. I have two guests, transition music, and recordings in Egyptian tombs and traffic jams.

Listen in through the link to hear it 2 weeks before anyone else does! 

Each podcast episode gets hundreds of downloads. It's a challenge to turn "hundreds" into "thousands," but I'm plugging away.

I'm looking forward to interviewing Ryan Jordan, the Founder of Backpacking Light.

It's thanks to all of you that I'm able to make these podcasts. 

And here's a special thanks to my two biggest patrons: 

• Rene Steelman, who runs The Steelman Family Foundation 
• Kathy Kennedy Enger, who is supporting Health Access Sumbawa 

If all goes well, TourRadar become a patron and will sponsor my podcast too. My podcast with TourRadar's CEO is now the most downloaded episode, knocking Sym Blanchard (a patron) down to the #2 spot! Doh!

Lastly, through my podcast host (Podbean) I got my first advertiser for the podcast! 

2) AMA 4

Send in your questions for my 4th AMA episode. Mark your calendar so we can be live together!

One patron named Yida, wrote these questions and I will answer them on that upcoming episode:  

I look forward to reading more chapters of the Unseen Africa.

Did you use many maps or guidebooks when travelling in Africa? and from which publisher (Lonely Planet, Bradt Guides...etc)?

I used to work as an intern at Vancouver based International Travel Maps and Books. They publish maps of many African regions and countries that are unavailable or hard to find in detail anywhere else (Ex. Maps of Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Congo).

From your experiences, how safe would major African cities be for a Western tourist to wander around in unescorted? Most guides say things like never walk around Kinshasa or Nairobi at night alone.

From most of the travel literature I've read, it advises tourists to soak in the vibe and atmosphere of the people, streets and markets rather than go on a sightseeing tour of landmarks, gallieries, and museums like you do in Europe. The tourism formula of stopping at multiple sites and attractions doesn't work for most African cities.

Did you interact with any Chinese workers or see "Chinatowns" in Africa?

If you have more questions, please add a comment!

3. I got an unsolicited email from a Sony Columbia Pictures Executive who asked me about the film/TV rights of The Unseen Africa. 

It's way too early to get excited about this, so let's just get a little bit excited. :)

Thank you again for your patronage!

I hope to see you on YouTube!

Francis 

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His Appalachian Trail record was truly astounding because (at the time he finished the trail) his unsupported record was faster than any supported record! That's insane!

What's the difference between a supported and unsupported thru-hike?

Supported thru-hikes have one or more people lending you a hand. These lovely people will typically:

• Meet you at junctions where the trail meets a road.
• Give you a food, water, and medical supplies. 
• Set up and break down your tent.

As a result, you don't have to make any detours to go to the post office or to a store to resupply. 

More importantly, you can carry little or no food. You may be able to leave your shelter and sleeping bag behind too. You can get by with less water because you know your crew will have plenty at the next road crossing. 

On the Appalachian Trail, these trail junctions happen far more often than on the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail.

This results in considerably less weight than an unsupported thru-hike (which is what 99% of thru-hikers do).

If you do an unsupported thru-hike, you're on your own for everything.

Although Karel Sabbe recently beat some of McConaughy's records, his unsupported Appalachian Trail record still stands.

(I'll be interviewing Karel Sabbe for the WanderLearn podcast in 2019.)

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