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The latest project of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Salopek, a seasoned and high-flying journalist, has taken him farther than all his previous ones: to the cradle of humanity. As part of the Out of Eden trek, he intends to spend seven years walking from Ethiopia to Argentina, in the footsteps of the first humans, in an attempt to re-enact the discovery of the world. Now in Israel, he joins Rogel Alpher to discuss the aims of the project and his impressions of Israel, which he has never visited before despite having been offered the position of Jerusalem bureau chief on numerous occasions.

Music:
Oliver Mtukudzi – Todii
Patty Griffith – Useless Desires
Philip Glass – Evening Song Act III Pt. 3 (Satyagraha)
Eliades Ochoa & The Buena Vista Social Club – El Carretero
Edie Brickell with Barry White – Good Times
Yuval Ben Ami – Beirut
Unnamed Artists – Baka Pygmy Water Music

Photo: Paul Salopek wanders through the ancient Nabataean ruins of Madain Salih, carved into sandstone outcrops some 2,000 years ago. These structures were used as tombs for the wealthy during the Nabataean era. The kingdom stretched from its capital Petra in Jordan south to Madain Salih in the Hejaz region of present-day Saudi Arabia. Photo shows a tomb façade in the Al Khuraymat area of Madain Salih. Credit: John Stanmeyer/National Geographic.