Ep 9: Press Pass, Black Markets, and a Bazooka: Surviving Moscow with Otto Pohl

A 22-year-old with no plan moves to post-Soviet Moscow. What starts as a reckless, “nothing to lose” decision turns into a front-row seat to one of the most chaotic moments in modern history and nearly costs him his life.In this episode of Risky Routes, Otto Pohl shares how instinct, curiosity, and a series of borderline bad decisions led him from sleeping in a stranger’s childhood bedroom to becoming a New York Times photographer and eventually, to a near-death experience in the middle of a violent coup.It’s a story about risk, survival, and what happens when everything goes sideways. But more than that, it’s about perspective and how the moments that almost break you can redefine how you see time, opportunity, and what really matters.Because sometimes the most irrational decisions end up shaping exactly who you become.