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 the Data
• If you build it, will they come?
• What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries?
• The madrassa scapegoat

Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod