The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening—A Poignant Journey Through Journalism, Global Connections, and Human Resilience in Today's World

by Ari Shapiro

My parents raised me to believe that the more you learn about the world, the more interesting life becomes.

school, I was taught to acquire knowledge as a means to an end. I studied history to write a paper; I practiced math problems to pass an exam. My experiences in nature were different. Curiosity

To her, war was something that happened to other people, in other parts of the world. Her home was a city of manicured parks, sushi restaurants, and a shiny new airport. I started to wonder about what happened when you could no longer assume that the democracy you had taken for granted would endure. When insurrectionists arrive in the hometown that you’ve always known as a peaceful, thriving city, how do you respond?