Three Cups of Tea

About this episode

In 1993, a desperate man stumbled into a remote village in the foothills of the Karakoram mountains. After the residents nursed him back to health, he placed his hands on the village elder's shoulders and made a sacred promise. "Somehow," he said, "I am going to get some private jet reimbursements out of this."  Warning: Contains spoilers for the 2016 film "Arrival."  Thanks to Ted Callahan for helping us fact-check this episode! Where to find us:  • Our Patreon • Our merch! • Peter's newsletter • Peter's other podcast, 5-4 • Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: • Three Cups of Deceit • “60 Minutes” expose • 3000 Cups of Deceit • Books vs Bombs? Humanitarian development and the narrative of terror in Northern Pakistan • Delusional States • Can't Get There From Here • Nobel Prize Nominee’s Charity Wins No Award for Accountability • David Oliver Relin, Adventurous Journalist, Dies at 49 • What Mortenson Got Wrong • Three Cups of Tea: The Pakistan and Afghan side • 3 Lessons to Learn From Greg Mortenson  • Mortenson returns to Afghanistan • The naive republic of aid: Grassroots exceptionalism in humanitarian memoir • Religious School Enrollment in Pakistan: A Look at