I'm Dana Balut and welcome back to a new season of Kurding cultures.

Our first episode is out next week, January 27th, so in the lead-up to that, we wanted to share a quick look into what we're working on.

So it's all right, Doug.

We're riding out into the barren deserts of California by Camel on the trail of one of the United States' first migrants from the Middle East.

Good Lord, I'm looking at the wagon tracks of the 1857 Beale Expedition.

High Jolly's feet were on that path right there.

And we're following that trail all the way back to a wedding ceremony in Egypt.

Oh, lift off. Oh my God.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. It does not look stable.

Oh my god, I think it's going to fall.

We're going to Sweden to investigate a mysterious medical syndrome

that only affects children of asylum seekers.

The girl was completely, she didn't move at all. I could just see that her eyes under her eyelids were moving a bit. And the only thought I had in my head is that if this had been a Swedish child, she shouldn't have been laying here for one and a half year with a tube in her nose and

and diapers. That was the only thing I could see. We're following the story of looted ancient

artifacts from Syria and the group of archaeologists risking their lives to save their country's

heritage. And I think the worst time for me was when I knew that one of my guys was inside

basically gathering information and I would be waiting for his transmission,

waiting for like literally sometimes two, three weeks for him to get out again safely,

and then I would know he's safe and I could then breathe.

We're also looking back and reflecting on the U.S. government spy programs

that started decades before 9-11.

I found out that they had conducted this from 67 to 1975,

...