After 72 countries and 80,000 kilometers on her Honda motorcycle, Crystal, who started out in California, is now exploring Kurdistan.

In this episode Hiwa Afandi, Head of Kurdistan Region's Department of Information Technology (DIT) tells us about the Region's digitalization journey, KRDPass and MyAccount projects, our place in the AI race and future outlook.

A group of more than one hundred students, graduates, and experts in different fields of Kurdish origin and some European friends visited the Kurdistan Region this month under the Confederation of Kurdistani Diaspora. For some, it was an exploration trip. For others it was reconnecting with the homeland. Listen to this special episode of Erbil Edition with some members of the group.

Lithuanian YouTuber Raimondas came to the Kurdistan Region for a short trip in the summer 2025 and we met in the old town of Akre. He tells us about his time in Kurdistan, his other world travels, Lithuanian winters, and the world of vlogging.

How crucial is water management for now and the future, and what we can learn from ancient wisdom to tackle water scarcity, biodiversity, and live sustainably with our greater natural world. A great conversation with Thomas Wilson, Climate Action Program Coordinator at IOM (International Organization for Migration.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg is an experienced journalist on the Middle East, particularly Iraq and Syria with a focus on Kurdish affairs. He’s covered the ISIS war and many different political and cultural stories. He’s been living in the Kurdistan Region for more than a decade and speaks the local dialects. He tells us about his work now and when he first came to Erbil on a training program from the Netherlands.

Sazan Mandalawi once wished Erbil was a proper city with shopping malls, gas stations and other conveniences. Having seen the city's transformation, this writer and youth development specialist now has a different look on a few things.

Consul General of the Netherlands in Erbil Adriaan IJsselstein speaks about thousands of Dutch-Kurdish citizens in the Kurdistan Region, supporting agriculture in Kurdistan, potato and dairy products, diplomatic and military ties.

Bayan Sami Abdulrahman is a seasoned Kurdish diplomat who has represented the Kurdistan Region in Washington and London and is now Senior Advisor to the KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Foreign Affairs and Climate Change. She tells us of lobbying in America, history of Kurdish-US relations, diaspora communities and Erbil's climate actions and efforts.

Filip and Marcus came to Kurdistan on a short trip but ended up staying and they opened a German bakery which they saw lacking. They bring their ingridients from Germany and Italy and are now opening more branches. In this episode they discuss coffee, food and culture.

Consultant physician and endocrinologist Dr. Handrean Soran tells his story of graduating as a doctor in Baghdad in the early 90s, practicing in Kurdistan and moving to the UK where has gained new and unique specialities. He explains the world of medicine in different countries and how the healthcare system in the Kurdistan Region has evolved in the last three decades.

Wildlife expert and herpetologist Daniel Jablonski tells us about the snakes of the Kurdistan Region, the different venomous and nonvenomous species, their habitat and challenges facing this essential member of the ecosystem. He and Kurdish researchers have just published a book on this topic.

Media expert Dr. Mohammedali Taha explains the history of media in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, its historical evolvement and connection to political parties.