Introducing: Escape From Zaqistan

Will Ryan (and Zaq and the gang) finally escape from Zaqistan? Will the Zaqistanis finally get along? What’s the future of this nation anyway? What’s the future of that nation over there? And have you checked the weather in Zaqistan lately? Looks like another big storm is on the way. Meet me at the taco bar and find out what happens in the series finale.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s Infrastructure Week(end) in Zaqistan, and there’s a lot to do: rebuild robots, install a satellite-linked weather station, pour concrete robot footings and prepare the official state dinner. But, like all infrastructure projects - in Zaqistan as in America - harsh realities make it hard to actually get the job done. Several emergencies later, the future of Zaqistan remains unclear.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deep in the Utah desert is a tiny, tiny, tiny nation: The Republic of Zaqistan. Guarded by robots, Zaqistan nonetheless welcomed new citizens for more than 15 years - until it fell into ruins. Now the eponymous founder wants to rebuild. Join hosts Ryan Murdock, Gabbie Watts and Zaron Burnett on a journey to uncharted territory … to the nation of Zaqistan…and the upside-down world of micronations.  Listen here and subscribe to Escape From Zaqistan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How many borders do you have to cross to get to Zaqistan? Ryan talks with Mike and his dad, Yosef, about their complicated Palestianian/Lebanese/American identity. And we find out how Mike and Zaq - who is half Jewish - have navigated running a country together as the war in the Middle East rages on. And south of Zaqistan’s border, an Iranian American plants their own flag. Plus, Ivo Zdarsky flies over the border of the Iron Curtain in the cover of night on a homemade aircraft.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ryan heads off into the desert, finally! Along the way, he revisits the history of sketchy ebay land deals, the Bush era policy of not-nation-building, and the moment Zaq’s land became a country.  The team encounters Ivo Zdarsky, an eccentric desert dweller who builds his own aircraft.  And it turns out the road to Zaqistan is not paved with…anything. Nor is it much of a road at all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ryan meets the team of misfits that will accompany him on the journey to rebuild Zaqistan. He gets schooled in Zaqistani history and applies for citizenship, as part of his ultimate quest to Become Zaqistani.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosts Ryan Murdock and Gabbie Watts head to Microcon, a convention of micronationalists. Think Model UN meets ComicCon.  We’ll engage in light diplomacy, explore invented histories and exchange gratuitous amounts of medals. Plus, there’s a taco bar! Among the characters you’ll meet are Zaq from Zaqistan, the President of Molossia, the Sultan of Slowjamastan, the Princess of Sancrotosia and a bunch of dictator-curious statesmen, all asking the question: if you could start a country from scratch, what would it look like?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.