Anthony Bourdain has evolved. Once cynical about the world around him (“I assumed humans were basically bad people and if you stumbled…you would be devoured”) his world travels have turned him into a reluctant optimist.
Talking with the Wall Street Journal about the new season of CNN’s “Parts Unknown” debuting Sunday, Bourdain says traveling around the world makes him feel “hopeful” and “better about the human species.”
For one episode this fall, he went to Iran, where he sampled dishes like kebabs and rice. He was surprised by how welcoming Iranians were to Americans, despite the tension between the two governments. “I’ve been to a lot of countries, and I’ve really never walked down the street and seen so many people so happy to see an American, ever,” he says. When the crew went out one night to celebrate a producer’s birthday, the staff at the restaurant brought out a cake and apologized for not having American flags to put on the table.
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