Hi, I'm Willow Belden, and you're listening to Out There, the podcast that explores big questions through intimate stories in the outdoors.

If you're listening to this podcast, chances are you've thought a fair bit about equality.

Whether that's equality between men and women, rich and poor, gay and straight, whatever.

We spend a lot of time thinking about different segments of

society, about who gets what, who has power, who's in charge. And many of us spend a huge

amount of energy trying to make things more equal. But what does it mean for a society to be

truly equal? What would that actually look like?

Could we do it? And would we actually want to live that way?

Last summer, producer Katrin Redfern traveled from Brooklyn to Tanzania to look for answers.

Now, Tanzania might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about

equality, but the country is actually home to one of the few truly egalitarian societies on the planet.

I'll let Katrin take it from here.

The sun is just beginning its burning journey across the sky and we're on the hunt for honey.

Koyabi and Benja are whistling for someone to lead the way.

There's a response from above.

A small brown bird swoops down to land it on an acacia tree, chattering a hello and fanning

out its feathers. The bird is called Tikiliko, the honey guide. It flies a short distance ahead and lands

again, waiting for us to catch up. We follow its song an undulating flight to a baobab tree

where it lands in the crook of a branch

next to an African killer beehive.

This bird, the honey guide,

has developed a fascinating symbiotic relationship with the local

...