The Resilience Edition

Available for over a year

After the triple disaster hit Japan in 2011, Marco Werman went to the city of Ishinomaki to report on the recovery efforts. While there, he found a tiny object in the wreckage that he decided to hold on to— a ‘hanko’, or a rubber stamp engraved with a name on it. Four and a half years later, we track down the stamp’s owner—and hear what else the tsunami took from him. Then, the parallels between the disaster in Japan and Hurricane Katrina, which hit the US Gulf coast in 2005. And, we talk resilient cities and the role of a ‘Chief Resilience Officer’. Also: Sudanese American parents look at ‘Clock Boy’ Ahmed Mohamed and think of their own kids. And we revisit the story of Sonita Alizadeh, a young Afghan rapper who’s building a new life in America. (Photo: Stamp found by Marco Werman in the Japanese city of Ishinomaki, following the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Credit: PRI’s The World)