TGL 26 | Standing at the DMZ and the Silk Road - Travel with the WAC

Most people travel to see the world. WAC Houston members travel to understand it. In this episode, Maryanne Maldonado sits down with travel expert Ilyas Hokkaci to preview two of the most geopolitically charged trips the World Affairs Council has ever offered: Uzbekistan, sitting at the center of a quiet new great power competition between Russia, China, and the West, and South Korea & Taiwan, two democracies living on the most volatile fault lines on earth. In Uzbekistan, travelers will walk through the ancient cities of Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand, the heart of the Islamic Golden Age, and connect that history directly to today's new Silk Road rivalry. In South Korea and Taiwan, they'll stand at the DMZ, meet with North Korea intelligence specialists, and visit the semiconductor companies and democratic institutions that the world's superpowers are competing to control. This isn't a tour. It's a lens.    Subscribe for global affairs content that connects the world to your world.  What's covered: Why Uzbekistan is the gem of Central Asia — and a geopolitical battleground The Silk Road as information highway, not just a trade route Khiva, Bukhara & Samarkand, Islamic civilization made visible The DMZ: what it actually feels like to stand there Meeting North Korea intelligence specialists in Seoul Taiwan's survival story. Why a small island matters to the whole world South Korea & Taiwan as parallel democratic fault lines How WAC Houston connects ancient history to today's headlines 2027 trips preview: Japan, Mongolia, the Baltics & more Book your spot: https://wachouston.org/events/category/travel/ — wachouston.org