I was thinking about tonight, it's kind of a bit ironic or a bit interesting, so you epitomise this idea of travel being a good thing and going out and meeting other cultures.
My work as well is going out and talking to people in countries that are commonly misrepresented.
And here we are at the end of the 2017 in the United States of America with everything that's been going on.
I'm half Iranian, so I personally have in my community a public run of that.
And I just wanted to ask you, I mean, how does your work and your mission feel in this current context?
Look, as a human being who grew up in the United States of America, I was born in 1956.
I grew up in Canada where we were optimistic. We had big dreams. We felt, you know, we had principles.
There were certain values. There were things you didn't say. There were all of that change.
I mean, I never in my life ever dreamed that I would see the kind of national conversation and see ourselves actually having it.
I mean, we were kicked out of a party for this shit five years ago, and now we're actually talking about this.
This is policy. It reached a level of absurdity and horror that...
Look, I'm used to when we travel for something in the community.
I mean, I'm probably used to going places where people are at least the ideological enemies of my country politically.
But pity is not something I'm comfortable with, you know.
People are like, you know, dude, I'm getting that a lot.
Right? It's like how it was in 2003 a little bit.
I don't have a mission. I mean, I'm doing the same thing I always did.
I show up, I ask people what makes them happy, what they, you know, what's for dinner.
And people often give me very complicated, interesting answers to simple questions.
I don't have it in general, but I have to say I'm happy.
I am pleased that I can go to Iran and show people who are willing to watch.
This is who we're talking about.
Or this too is who we're talking about.
Or just look at this, spend a little time here, and be surprised like I was.
And be, you know, open your mind a little bit and experience if you can.
In a very subjective way, in what I experience, I don't know if it's going to change hearts and minds, I hope it does.
Well, you're one of the only people doing it. I mean, just to touch on that in Iran episode.
I mean, there are many other countries as well, Cuba, Vietnam, but, you know,
when you go to these places that are so wrapped up in, I guess, the dogma and stereotype of the other,
how is your experience of that? Like, how do you...
Other than people shanty, people who have been taken off guard, by my experience in Iran,
even as just random Americans without cameras, what can I...
has seldom been treated with such guileless affection by random people.
I mean, it was right under the death of an American poster.
Everyone was loving this.
The food was incredible, Iranian hospitality, I would tell you about.
I do...
I do have to say that it is very much a part...
I believe about this a lot, because, you know, I could call out a few people on the show
whose views are not only different.
But why on the offense?
I don't want to say that I had to seem rich sense of satisfaction
that I experienced coming back with a new show in Iran, as I did when I had barbecue in Ted Mugin.
And there was a moral gray area there, I gather.
But I do take some satisfaction in it.
Sitting down at the table with somebody who I disagree with fundamentally
and even violently viscerally in every possible way.
I'm not saying sitting down across the table and people make something automatically better.
I'm not saying it's a journey to world peace.
But I think there is value in at least being able to sit down and have a conversation over food.
I mean, this is something.
It reminds me that it's an old Jewish proverb that an enemy is just a person whose story you haven't heard yet.
And that's something I always try to tell.
Ted Mugin makes that a hard guess.
But it's a thing, isn't it, about going, hey, there's a lot of people who you disagree with who might be North Dutch.
I've got shitty beliefs, but it's about can we even find the space to try and connect on some level?
I've called out a lot on Twitter and social media for how can you go to that country
giving their policies on feeling like it.
It's usually something pretty heinous.
They talk in that country, well, okay, well, some people do.
Okay, so I guess I'm not going to go there anymore because they do something they can find really offensive.
Well, how about, I mean, please find a country for me where they haven't done something really horrendous.
I mean, I'm not going to look at the countries where, look,
there are a lot of places where people, I mean, nice people who've done things that would be, you know, getting kicked out of my apartment.
But when I'm on my own turf, it's a different matter, right?
I try to be grateful. I try to be reasonably humble.
I'm a little bit like a grateful, you know.
I'm grateful to be there and people are being kind to me.
And I think that's a good starting point for something, to show people something.
Kindness is a very undevaluable thing.
It is, okay.
So the other thing that I find really interesting about the series, the perfect dish that we did,
that was very unusual for me having kind of worked in this industry for a bit,
is that we were sent over with an all-female crew, three of the four correspondents were women.
You don't often see that in the industry we were working in.
And I just wanted to touch on, you know, we're all here. There's only one issue that really has captured a lot of our hearts and minds in the last few months.
And I know that you've been central to it around women in the industry in general.
And I just wanted to kind of touch on kind of where you are at.
I have to say, like, props to you for the incredible support work and campaigning
and what people have been doing over the last couple of months.
Like, as a male chef in a real position, as a woman, like, I really appreciate it.
Like, it's been a few months.
I know there's a lot of reasons, but that doesn't matter.
Like, it's been outstanding. I'm not just saying that.
But I wanted to ask about kind of where we're at now.
Because really, there's a lot of industry people here, like from the food industry and the media.
You know, where do we go with some of these issues that youth have been raised?
What's your take on what we can all do moving forward?
Well, first of all, I want to be clear.
I'm not central to anything.
I'm not an advocate for anything.
I'm somebody who, like, is partnering with
a very good historian who introduced me to a bunch of other women.
The historian of everything.
Equal, equally paid historians.
And I think I'm going to react in as many groups as there are in the country as well.
How is the world different?
Well, that's a really interesting question.
A lot of men are frightened.
That's what it's about.
But yes, I don't know.
I like to think that a lot of people, I'm sure a lot of good-hearted people are asking themselves,
what is my type in this world that we find ourselves in?
What have I been implicit in?
What have I seen?
What have I missed?
That's my history.
I'm sure that's true.
Generally speaking, I think people are thinking about the consequences,
not just their actions, but what they see and let get asked about.
They think about the times they should have spoke about.
They should have spoken about the times they stayed silent.
And if that comes out of a sense of self-interest and self-preservation,
that's okay too.
Change is good.
Well, you're about to go off and start shooting the next series,
the parts unknown.
And off to Hong Kong, I know, we're going through some other countries.
I guess I just want to finish with what keeps giving you the motivation to keep doing what you're doing.
And despite us talking about a few of the challenges,
what keeps you hooked about what you're doing?
I do it because the world is a good place.
It's filled with scary things, ugly things, cruelty, horror,
man and acts of oppression and violence,
but it's also filled with man and acts of incredible beauty and kindness.
Yes, I have to be hopeful.
I see so many beautiful things, so many beautiful relationships,
so many little moments of the values that we all aspire to,
loyalty, love, devotion, generosity.
I am the recipient of many of these things,
because I travel, because I'm already getting kicked in the teeth.
It looks stupid, which happens a lot.
I think I've been fortunate enough to experience many man and acts of kindness and generosity,
often for people who have very little relative to what I have.
You know, we all look for beautiful views.
And love, and love.
You turned into a hooky ant.
What's going on?
You've seemed a perfect way to end this.
Thank you, everyone.
