Episodes

I’ve been learning Icelandic for quite some time but I’ve not felt very confident when it comes to speaking. To boost my confidence, my Icelandic husband and I agreed to spend the month of March in 2021 speaking in Icelandic. We tried this experiment for the first time last July but it was quite difficult. Even though we had an idea of how it could go, we each had reservations about it because it can be emotionally draining to not be able to express yourself. While this time around was much diff...

Chris Burkard is an award-winning photographer, filmmaker and adventurer that loves Iceland. He has shared epic photographs and films that showcases Icelandic landscape and natural phenomenon. Some of his films about Iceland includes “Under an Arctic Sky” and “A Line in Sand“. Chris Burkard’s love for this country is contagious and he has experienced this place in such unique ways, such as surfing under the northern lights and cycling across Iceland from east to west. Along with talking about h...

The fissure eruption in Iceland that so many people have been anticipating happened last night on the Reykjanes Peninsula near Fagradalsfjall and is called Geldingadalsgos. In this video I specifically go over all the updates about the eruption so far. This includes when the eruption started, what authorities are saying about the ash expected, gas emission, lava flow, safety for those in the surrounding area, how long this might go on. I also teach you how to say the name of the eruption, and g...

Ari Trausti Guðmundsson is a well-known Icelandic geologist, broadcaster, author, journalist, documentarian, lecturer, mountaineer and member of Icelandic Parliament. I had the pleasure of interviewing him for the podcast about the thousands of earthquakes and possible volcanic eruption. He answered as many questions of my subscribers and followers that he could and I’m so gratfeful for that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqYFwZlbr6o&t=98s Topics Discussed with the Icelandic Geologist Ari T...

Over the last week and a half, the south of Iceland has experienced tens of thousands of earthquakes and experts told us to brace for a possible volcanic eruption. All eyes are still on Reykjanes Peninsula, the place where all the action might go down. Mainstream media in other countries have picked up the story, which has resulted in people reaching out to me to know if I am safe and to hear what life is like in Iceland as we wait to see if a volcano will go off. During this episode, I’m sharin...

María Thelma Smáradóttir is a talented actor in Iceland. During this interview, she gives some insight on what it was like growing up in Iceland with Icelandic and Thai heritage. She was the first person of Asian descent to graduate from the Icelandic Academy of Arts in Drama. It was fascinating to hear how she had to navigate this mixed heritage and it has been like for her as a working actor in the theater and film industry here. I think it’s fantastic that she had a one woman show called “Wel...

I know that Black History Month is a US tradition, I still want to dedicate the month of February to telling the stories of Black and mixed race people in the country. If you are curious about some awesome Icelandic Black history, I suggest watching my video about Hans Jonatan, Iceland’s first black citizen and listening to the podcast episode I did with the Icelandic author of the book about Hans Jonatan, Gisli Pálsson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40chlDBLKwU To kick that off this month o...

It was such a pleasant surprise to have Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, the Minister of Justice in Iceland, as my guest this week. She leads quite a busy life as a Parliamentarian and Minister, and it was great she was able to find time to chat. During the interview, Áslaug Arna shares the positives and negatives of being in this position of power at such a young age and as a woman. Some of the other topics we talk about are the events that led up to her becoming the Minister of Justice, gender ...

Gógó Starr is an Icelandic drag queen that is well known in the country. Gógó made history by being the first ever drag queen fjallkonan, or woman of the mountains, which is a symbol of the Icelandic nation and a very important part of the celebrations of Iceland’s independence. The celebration of the independence of the nation happens every June 17th. Aldís Amah, who I interviewed a while back on the podcast, was the first woman of color fjallkonan in 2019. It’s a huge honor to be fjallkonan an...

Claudia Ashanie Wilson is a human rights lawyer and activist who moved from her home country Jamaica to Iceland in 2001. When Claudia came to Iceland she didn’t speak Icelandic nor had she previous been to law school. Through a lot of hard work, she became fluent in Icelandic. She received her Masters Degree in 2014 in international law from the Reykjavík University. Claudia passed the Icelandic bar examinations to become a district court attorney in Iceland. By passing the bar, she became the f...

To kick off the new year, I’m sharing my interview with Andri Snær Magnason, an award-winning author, environmental activist and director. He has been fighting to protect Iceland’s beautiful nature. Andri Snær was on the show early on and it is great to have him back because so much has happened in his life since we last spoke. I recommend checking out part 1 and part 2 of those interviews. One viral moment was when he and some others had a funeral for Okjökull. Ok mountain used to be a glacier...

The Icelandic Christmas season is so much fun. Well, it’s normally a lot of fun but we are doing the best to enjoy it even though COVID is keeping many of us from our loved ones. While I have done an episode about Icelandic Christmas way back in the day of the podcast, I wanted to share with you the full breakdown of this time from the point of view of an Icelander. My lovely friend Íris Stefanía joined me for this episode to share her modern take on Icelandic Christmas traditions. We filmed th...

Because I’m very much in the holiday spirit, I’m dedicating the next two episodes, this one included, to Christmas related content in Iceland. Today, I have a special guest that has been on the show before, and that is Ólafur S.K. Þórvaldz, also known as Óli the brewmaster at Ægir Brugghús. Icelandic Christmas beer has quickly become an important part of the holiday season for brewers in Iceland and for those who enjoy drinking the beers, such as myself. Because of this, I thought it would be fu...

I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Birta Abiba Þórhallsdóttir, who was crowned Miss Universe Iceland in 2019. Normally, I don’t follow beauty pageants, regardless of if it is in the US or Iceland, but Birta’s story really stuck out to me. I read an article about her experience with racism in Iceland. She’s an Icelander that has mixed heritage. She was born and raised in the town that I live in, Mosfellsbær. I was surprised to hear that she experienced physical and verbal abuse as a ki...

Back in December of 2018, Bára Halldórsdóttir outed herself as the whistleblower of the Klaustur Bar Scandal. During this podcast episode, I sit down with Bára to talk about how the scandal unfolded and how it has affected her life. This scandal involved politicians saying horrible things while drinking together in Klaustur bar. Bára happened to be in that same bar and recorded a lot of what these Icelandic politicians were saying. Bára is a whistleblower, artist, and disability activist. Along ...

This might be a short episode but it is very special because I have two big announcements! As you can tell from the title of the episode, one of the announcements is that I’m giving away a handmade Icelandic sweater. The other is that Gunnar, my husband, and I have partnered up with the Reykjavík Grapevine to create an All Things Iceland box full of Icelandic goodies. The Grapevine is hosting the box on their site. I have made a video on my YouTube channel explaining all the awesomeness in the ...

Gunnar Freyr, a talented Icelandic photographer and videographer, makes a living traveling around Iceland, and sometimes Greenland. On Instagram he is known as Icelandic_explorer and has over 360,000 followers. His images and videos capture the Icelandic landscape in such a mesmerizing way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Rn59vlPHQ&t=3807s During the chat, Gunnar Freyr shares how he left a very stressful office job and made a career as a creator. In addition, he talks about places he recomme...

Nichole Leigh Mosty is an American that moved to Iceland in 1999. During our chat, we talk about the challenges she faced when she first moved and her experience being the first woman of foreign origin to be the speaker in Icelandic Parliament. Nichole shares a lot of insights and definitely does not hold back about what she has experienced, especially when it comes to finding a job when she first arrived and learning the language. Nichole is very active in helping women of foreign origin. She ...

Elisa is originally from the Netherlands. After falling in love with Iceland during a vacation many years ago, she decided to quit her career in media in her home country and move to the land of fire and ice. Elisa initially planned to stay for a few months. During that time she intended to travel around and work as a horse riding guide. Well, a few months turned into years and she hasn’t looked back. During her time here, she has become a photographer, specifically of the majestic Icelandic ho...

Halla Ólafsdóttir, a young Icelander, shares with me why she feels that people in her generation are moving away from the Reykjavík area in favor of the countryside. Halla has a BA degree in Icelandic language and creative writing at the University of Iceland. At the Free University of Berlin, she received an MA in Visual and Media Anthropology. Halla moved back to Iceland in 2014. Even though she was born and raised in Reykjavík, she chose to move to Ísafjörður in 2015. While there, she’s been...

This week, I share the fun chat I had with Mugison, a talented Icelandic artist that has been making waves on a local and global scale. We talked about the time he spent living in Africa as a child, musicians that inspire him, the impact of Icelandic nature on his music, his epic music festival Aldrei Fór Ég Suður (I never went South), and so much more. Why I was in the Westfjords During my time in the Westfjords, I had the opportunity to interview some fascinating people in the area. My main ...

Tyler Wacker embarked on an incredible cycling journey from California to Ísafjörður in the Westfjords. For those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram, I am currently in Ísafjörður taking Icelandic courses. Coincidentally, Tyler is at the same school, even though he is studying something completely different than me. After working in the transportation engineering industry for six years and feeling unfulfilled with his work, Tyler decided it was time to set off on a bicycle tour around the p...

Satu Rämö was born and raised in Finland, but has been living in Iceland for almost 20 years. She shares a lot about her life in Iceland with Finnish people and she has a huge following in Finland. I think it is safe to say that she is the official Finn in Iceland, as well as a creative entrepreneur, author and social media nerd. I met Satu through her husband Björgvin. He and I used to work at the same company. One day I was talking about the trials and tribulations of learning Icelandic and B...

During this week’s episode, I spoke with LK Bertram about the very large emigration of Icelanders to Canada in the 1800s. LK Bertram is the author of The Viking Immigrants: Icelandic North Americans, and is an associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Toronto. Born and raised in Winnipeg, she also has family roots in Öxnadalur and is the proud parent of twin 3-year olds. For some fab intel on Icelandic North American culture, history, and life, check out her instagra...