Hi, it's David. Before we get started, just a quick heads up about something on the podcast. We're trying something new. Instead of the single hour-long podcast you've been getting until now, we're giving you two episodes every week, a half hour each, give or take. It's the same content but arranged just a little differently for what we hope is the best possible podcast listening experience.

There's a new episode up every Friday and Tuesday.

Here we go.

You're listening to the New Yorker Radio Hour.

Well, on paper, my life seemed great.

I had a dream job, swanky apartment, and a loving girlfriend, but I don't know what it was.

Someone felt off.

So, I decided to quit my job and travel the world, bringing only my passport, a small backpack, and my enormous, enormous

trust fund. My coworkers were shocked, but I don't expect everyone to get me. I'm a free spirit

whose father owns a South American rubber empire. So, classic me. I set to work throwing out most of my

possessions. Think about it. You don't need to own a lot of stuff to be happy. And also, in the

backpack I was carrying, was millions of dollars. Oh, I wish you guys could have been there.

My first few months roaming the world were life-changing.

I'm talking every day I updated my Instagram with photos of my favorite sites.

Me taking a selfie in front of a pink wall.

Me taking a selfie in front of a gray wall.

Me taking a selfie in front of a mirror, which is basically infinity selfies.

My hand, lightly resting on a cafe table

near an early edition of On the Road, with the pages creased just a little bit to make it feel

like I had read it, but I hadn't opened it yet. And I can't believe I'm sharing this with you,

but I want you to feel what I felt one time outside the train station of a small fishing village.

I met a humble man named Griebo.

...