Breaking Borders Episodes

Season 1, Episode 1

Mother of All Conflicts

Mariana van Zeller and Michael Voltaggio travel to Israel and Palestine to bring both sides together for a meal and conversation. They get caught in the streets of Hebron among locals, soldiers and settlers as they explore the holiest sites on Earth.

Season 1, Episode 2

Detained in Egypt

Mariana van Zeller and Michael Voltaggio visit Egypt to bring guests with rivaling views on the country's future together for a meal and debate. They are confronted by the police, have their passports confiscated and ride camels near the pyramids.

Season 1, Episode 3

Lebanon: The Power of Peace

Award-winning journalist Mariana Van Zeller and acclaimed chef Michael Voltaggio travel to Lebanon to explore a country surrounded by turmoil, one that's culturally rich but on the edge of explosive violence. Hezbollah, a history of civil wars and spillover battles from Syria threaten to destabilize Lebanon once again. Mariana and Michael tour through bullet-riddled Beirut, visit with desperate Syrian refugees, walk through Byblos, the oldest city in the world, and Tripoli, where the majority of the clashes occur. They discover why some see Hezbollah as the defender of Lebanon, while others see them as the disruptive power in their goal for peace. They sip wine in the Bekaa Valley, dine on fresh cheeses and fish, and hit the club district in downtown Beirut for cocktails. As the sun sets, their guests come together to dine on amazing food and to talk about the volatile future of their country.

Season 1, Episode 4

Bloody Saturday in Ireland

Mariana van Zeller and Michael Voltaggio travel to Northern Ireland to bring Catholics and Protestants together for a meal and conversation. They witness heated clashes during marching season, sip on Guinness and dine in the Crumlin Road Jail.

Season 1, Episode 5

Tears and Tunnel of Hope in Sarajevo

Journalist Mariana van Zeller and chef Michael Voltaggio visit Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to see how 3 groups coexist after ethnic cleansing wiped out thousands. They walk down Sniper Alley, visit the Tunnel of Hope, and hear the story of the "Romeo and Juliet" of Sarajevo.

Season 1, Episode 6

Tortured Past and Present in Kashmir

Journalist Mariana van Zeller and chef Michael Voltaggio visit Kashmir to learn about the conflict that threatens its existence: to be part of India, part of Pakistan or its own independent state. Mariana and Michael walk through heavily guarded streets and visit a floating market.

Season 1, Episode 7

Cyprus: Island of Hope

Mariana and Michael go to Cyprus, an island nation where religious violence split a city in two, creating tension and the need for UN protection. They explore an abandoned airport, fish near a ghost town, and dine in the buffer zone.

Season 1, Episode 8

Tigers & Terrorism in Sri Lanka

Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller and acclaimed chef Michael Voltaggio visit Sri Lanka to see how a country whose bloody civil war, lasting from 1983 to 2009, is fairing now. Close to 100,000 people were killed during the war between the majority Buddhist Sinhalese and the minority Hindu Tamils. Outside of Colombo, the capital city, Mariana and Michael meet with a Buddhist Sinhalese who truly believes that the mass scale of brutality was necessary to end the war. They head to Jaffna, the former capital of the Tamil region, to visit an orphanage housing over 200 children who's families were killed by the Sinhalese. They talk to a Hindu Tamil who believes that the Tamil Tiger's were not a terrorist organization, but a group of people that only did what was necessary to get what rightfully belonged to them. Back in Colombo, Mariana and Michael take a tuk tuk to the Yatagala Temple where Buddhism and Hinduism are still intertwined. This is a contrast to the reality of the past and present Sri Lanka. Upon leaving the temple, they visit Cinnamon Island, where Michael learns how to make cinnamon sticks from a tree. They talk to a Muslim who fears she is losing her rights as a citizen because of the Buddhist Sinhalese, then go on a fishing expedition on the coastline. After the 2004 tsunami wiped out most of the fishing industry, many fishermen resort to more primitive fishing techniques to survive, stilt fishing. The next day, their guests arrive to eat Michael's creations and discuss their past and present.

Season 1, Episode 9

Dying for the American Dream

Journalist Mariana van Zeller and chef Michael Voltaggio drive to the US-Mexico border to see a conflict that exists in our own backyard: immigration. Mariana and Michael talk to men who search for illegal immigrants and hear stories of migrants trying to cross the border.

Season 1, Episode 10

Vintage Cars, Cigars & New Freedom in Cuba

As the last TV crew into Cuba before news of lifting the 50-year embargo, Mariana and Michael go to the communist nation two times to talk about the state of the nation, what has changed, and the future expectations and hopes.

Season 1, Episode 11

Gorillas and Growth in Rwanda

Mariana van Zeller and Michael Voltaggio travel to Rwanda, which experienced unprecedented genocide in 1994. They visit the Nyamata Church, where thousands of Tutsis were killed, and trek through the mountains to get up-close with the amazing gorilla.

Season 1, Episode 12

Fields and Dreams in Cambodia

Thirty-six years after Pol Pot's reign of terror, Mariana and Michael visit a rebuilding Cambodia. They travel to the Killing Fields where millions of citizens were murdered, feed roaming moneys in Angkor, and dine with Pol Pot's assistant.

Season 1, Episode 13

Birth of Democracy in Myanmar

After 50 years of silence, Myanmar has declared itself a democracy. With an election coming, Mariana and Michael visit to see how the changes are affecting the citizens. They speak with monks and guerrilla leaders, and then they try pig eyeballs.