A few anemones have already been spotted in Israel, which means it’s the start of wildflower season. Many Israelis track wildflowers with a passion. There are traffic jams next to flower-carpeted hills and even websites that tell you what to expect. But the Israelites (or at least the vast majority of them) do not pick those flowers. That restriction does not arise from any particular zeal to prevent the law that prohibits such picking from continuing. Rather, it is the result of a highly successful public service campaign that began in the early 1960s.
In Act II, we shift gears, locales, and just about everything else to follow the journey Nathan Ehrlich, a reporter based in Brooklyn. In recent years, Nathan has sought help from Peruvian shamans (including one kindred spirit, Sergey Baranov, who came to Peru from Ukraine via Israel), whose work with ayahuasca, huachuma, and other sacred plants helped him break through emotional and physical barriers. His story is “Where the Wild Things Grow.”
This episode originally aired in 2016.
About Israel’s Story: Israel Story is the award-winning podcast that tells extraordinary stories about ordinary Israelis. Often called “This American World,” by the Israelis, we bring you strange, unpredictable, interesting and exciting stories about a place we all think we know a lot about, but we don’t. Produced in partnership with The Times of Israel.
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