Growing up in the U.S., I assumed that America is the best country on Earth. After 10 years or living in Europe and traveling around the world, I’m not so sure about that. youtu.be/ZQDGV9rdXEU

My latest ZD article is LIVE! Finding breath-taking locations in nature feels like discovering parts of Hyrule in the real world. Come with me as I dive into @baurjoe.bsky.social’s video essay with fellow ZD Teammates @katshaff.bsky.social, Sofia, and Julie!

Our friend @baurjoe.bsky.social just posted his latest travel & exploration video, this time focused on Zelda! Thanks for shouting out our team and our website, Joe, and for interviewing our team members: Katie, Julie, & Sophia!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zn2...

This is what shocks me most every time I visit the U.S. after 10 years of living in and traveling around Europe... If you watch American movies or television shows—this is what the country usually looks like: Gorgeous, untouched mountains, quaint towns, and vibrant, big city life.

The far right is growing in the U.S., fueling an increased interest in moving abroad. But is moving to Europe the answer to escaping far right politics?

When you are the villain of a Bruce Springsteen song, it's long past time to reconsider your choices. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDaP...

What's so special about Portugal's Algarve? 🇵🇹 Is it the rocky coastal views, the food, the historic, human-sized towns, or perhaps, the people — from the trail-side chef to the olive oil farmer?

Thinking of making a video about what it’s like to be a US citizen abroad right now.

When is the last time you traveled? I’m not just talking about leaving your home, eating nice food, and snapping some selfies in front of TripAdvisor’s “top things to do” list for wherever in the world.

“I could never run an ultramarathon.” I hear it almost every time I talk about running with someone who hasn’t run an ultramarathon.

Christmas… It’s practically here. The Grinch, much like Scrooge, has become a synonym for anyone who isn’t bowled over with excitement and farting jingle bells in the lead up to the Christmas holiday.

Question for fellow writers… If a publication publishes something you wrote for them but spells your name wrong on social media, do you ask them to re-post or just take the “sorry” and move on?

A month or so ago, I was listening to @jonnywhitlam.bsky.social's History Flakes podcast about the Battle of Berlin. In it, he mentioned a hunting retreat built by a member of the Nazi elite — someone who would later be convicted as a war criminal.

One of the main surprises about living in Germany is how much safer I feel here than in the US... But not for the reason you're probably thinking. I talk all about it in my new video: youtu.be/M4SPh1VbveI

Lighting the menorah in Berlin.

“If Germany and the USA went to war, which country would you fight for?” This comment came up recently on a video I made a year ago about getting German citizenship.

Apropos the US plan to scrutinize foreign tourists' social media history... Donald Trump is a petulant man baby who wouldn't recognize an actual threat to American lives if it were staring at him in the mirror every morning in his gaudy gold mansion.

Roughly 95% of responses to my op-ed against the proposed dual citizenship ban in the US have agreed with me that this bill is silly and a pandering distraction.

My Senator is a feckless schmuck who wants to take away my US passport, so I wrote an op-ed about it for USA Today. More specifically, I wrote about Ohio Senator, Bernie Moreno’s asinine plan to eliminate dual citizenship in the United States.

I'm excited to be heading to Uzbekistan for a story in about a month's time. Would love to read up on the culture / history beforehand. Any recommendations?

Let the queries begin!!!

Scotland. Few places pluck my heart strings quite like this dazzling land of misty munros, technical trails, and rumbling rivers that cut through the land like an ancient script, telling a timeless tale you can only understand by tracing its path.

Hey, sports fans! I’m running 326 miles (525 kilometers) in 5 days to fight breast cancer with Stand Up To Cancer. Here’s why.

Leaving Scotland, I’m just realizing I haven’t seen a single Union Jack—except in news articles referencing people putting up Union Jacks in England.

Wonderful day running along Loch Ness on the Great Glen Way.

I don’t need sunny skies or beaches. Perhaps that’s why I’m always so wildly charmed by soggy ole Scotland. This train ride up to the Bridge of Orchy is gorgeous. Can’t wait to run around this landscape over the next four days!

Nothing is as healing as nature. The crunch of the trail, the smell of fresh pines, the thumping of your heart on steady inclines to remind you that you’re alive.

As I continue to move away from pitching-pitching-pitching, I’m going to encourage myself to write about whatever strikes my fancy. At the moment, that’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

After announcing a graphic novel I’m working on, I immediately redid the intro this morning. But that’s a good thing! Now we get into the story and our faux RPG/Zelda world a lot faster. That’s where the fun happens.

Did you grow up on Zelda, Final Fantasy, and the like? Then you might be into this.

Anyone else run with Zelda theme music playing? ...Just me? www.instagram.com/p/DNnlfGjMIdn/

A year ago, I became a German citizen. open.substack.com/pub/withouta...

Words worth sharing on the state of ‘work,’ but especially the precarious (to say the least) landscape for writers and creatives. rojospinks.substack.com/p/everyone-i...

Who's running the Berlin Marathon this year!? 👀 I've run it three times, but am sitting it out this year to focus on some other goals. BUT! I'll still be in town, hosting 'pay what you want' running tours during the week leading up to the race.

I feel like it's a writer cliché to suddenly and aggressively get obsessed with an idea, absolutely certain that it *needs* to get published. Anywho... Just submitted a round of queries for a graphic novel pitch. It's me. I'm the cliché. (But I do think it's a really good idea.)

Sauna, kayak, and cinnamon rolls. Check out our 48 hours in Helsinki. youtu.be/yvLOpVPpOg4

I’m sure this is dips into some sort of writer cliché, but… I have an idea I wrote out a few years ago as a screenplay. It was (another writer’s cliché) one of those ideas that came and poured out of me. Sci-fi / fantasy, lightly nostalgic and personal. Unlike anything I typically write.

I wrote about how seeing Superman as a refugee — and the messaging in the latest film — has changed my feelings on a character I used to think was one-dimensional. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Living in Germany is realizing another public holiday is coming up and having to ask, “What did Jesus do this time?”

I ran a 170-kilometer (100+ miles) trail race through Nepal’s Mustang region. Suffice it to say, this was no ordinary trail run.

I thought of myself as a cyclist long before I thought of myself as a runner. 14 years ago, I was riding the Tour of Flanders. Now, it’s a rarity that I get out on the bike.

In all my years of weight training, I’ve never felt the need to mimic the sounds of a mating humpback whale while lifting a weight.

Japan has ancient ninja villages. 🥷 No, seriously! And back in November, I visited them to learn more about the region, the people, and the mythology that sprung the ninjas we know today. That also meant running an ultramarathon surrounded by runners dressed as ninjas. youtu.be/jDtyhwp0Vb8

All set and ready to go. Only thing left to do is run the damn thing. 50K running around Alsace starts tomorrow morning at 7am. Aren’t ya jealous!? See y’all tomorrow afternoon ✌️

@bahn.de Hallo! Ich habe ein Ticket für mich und meine Frau. Wegen Arbeit kann ich die Rückreise nicht mehr machen, aber meine Frau wird noch zurückreisen. Kann sie das gleiche Ticket benutzen?

Not only do I co-host a podcast, sometimes I show up on them, too! Going Places had me on to talk about: Why I consider myself an immigrant, not an expat How living in Berlin impacted my views on American life What it’s like running a marathon in the Omani desert open.spotify.com/episode/1qPu...

People have lots of opinions about vegans. Now we finally know why. For some, a vegan so much as existing can trigger all kinds of feelings of rage and annoyance. The stereotypical image of a preachy, heavily tatted hipster vegan or vegetarian still dominates western cultural imagination.

I've run a lot of races in my life –– trail and road. But I've never run in the desert or in a stage race. This... this 100-mile stage race through the Omani desert nearly broke me. youtu.be/0R3hyRpNatg

What’s it like running Italy’s “Path of the Gods”? Muddy. Sunny. Stunning. Follow me for 80 miles (130KM) of Italian trail running bliss. youtu.be/vI7yOSnwmIM

Day 1’s fastpack on Italy’s Via degli Dei from Bologna to Florence = complete.