I went to a Willie Nelson concert in suburban Atlanta and accidentally had an existential crisis.

There was Willie, hunched over Trigger, joking about death, singing “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” and performing Just Breathe like a man quietly writing his own goodbye letter in real time.

This episode is about outlaw country, aging without panic, cowboy philosophy, and why a 93-year-old stoner might understand America better than the rest of us.

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More about Robyn's public speaking
Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.

She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.

She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.

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I first met Ted Turner in 1998, when I began what became a twenty-five-year career at CNN as a foreign correspondent and anchor. My husband Kim still works there and remembers the early days, when Ted would wander into the newsroom wearing a bathrobe because he lived upstairs in the penthouse at CNN Center.

Ted’s office was guarded by a giant taxidermied lion he’d shot in Botswana. He once asked a room full of confused international journalists whether they liked “sex,” before proudly clarifying that yes, he meant actual sex with Jane Fonda.

Completely inappropriate. Completely chaotic. Also one of the men who invented modern television news.

This week on Searching for America, I remember the pirate-ship era of CNN, when journalists disappeared into war zones for weeks, Atlanta ran the global news business, and reporters were trusted to chase stories instead of managing Slack messages and compliance training.

It’s an obituary for Ted Turner, but also for the wild old journalism culture he built.

More on Robyn Curnow's career

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• Got a great idea for an episode? Drop Robyn a message here with the subject line PODCAST IDEA
  Subscribe to Robyn's Substack.
• Visit her website here.
• To book Robyn to speak at your event, get in touch here.

More about Robyn's public speaking
Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.

She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.

She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I went to a BTS concert in Tampa expecting to chaperone my daughter. Instead, I found myself inside something much bigger.

This is not just a boy band. It is a global system built from the ground up—powered by fans who translate, organize, and decide what matters before the mainstream catches up.

Why are so many of these fans Latina and Black girls? What does K-pop reveal about class, identity, and belonging in America? And what does it mean when soft power no longer comes from Washington, but from Seoul?

This episode is about music, yes—but it is really about how culture moves now, and who gets to shape it.

Sign up for a weekly newsletter from Robyn Curnow - it's free, and fun.

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More on Robyn - http://robyncurnow.net

• Got a great idea for an episode? Drop Robyn a message here with the subject line PODCAST IDEA
  Subscribe to Robyn's Substack.
• Visit her website here.
• To book Robyn to speak at your event, get in touch here.

More about Robyn's public speaking
Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.

She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.

She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.