Dear reader,

In late 2016, Daniel Troia was struggling with grief. Grief over the loss of his parents and grief over the division he saw unfolding on his TV, night after night. It made him angry, and that made him want to do something to change things, or at least to change his perception of things.

So, in 2018, he set out on a cross-country bike ride. His plan was to ride from California to New York—with no food or money. He thought that if he was forced to rely on the kindness of strangers, he would also have an opportunity to connect with the communities he was passing through. In some ways, it went exactly as he’d planned and hoped (people were often kind, generous, and curious about his journey). In other ways, it was a completely different experience than he’d expected (as his appearance changed, so did people’s reaction to him).

He wound up stretching the trip beyond his original three-month plan: By the time he’d arrived in New York, he hadn’t found exactly what he was searching for so he decided to cycle back to California. Seven months later, he returned home—and a year later, he released a documentary about his experience, We Are All in This Together.

Daniel joined me for a special interview episode of Travel Tales, to share the darkest parts of his journey, how the trip changed him, and what he learned about humanity along the way. I was so struck by his film—which is heartwarming, yet honest, and in no way treacly—and by his attitude, his awareness of his privilege as a white man making such a trip, and the ways he’s remained connected to the people who offered him assistance along the way.

This summer, Daniel is traveling around the country to screen the film—and to donate half the ticket sales to local homeless shelters—and I can think of no better way to watch a movie about how we’re better when we’re together than, well, together.

Happy listening,

Aislyn

Associate director, podcasts