Hosts Ryan Murdock and Gabbie Watts head to Microcon, a convention of micronationalists. Think Model UN meets ComicCon. We’ll engage in light diplomacy, explore invented histories and exchange gratuitous amounts of medals. Plus, there’s a taco bar! Among the characters you’ll meet are Zaq from Zaqistan, the President of Molossia, the Sultan of Slowjamastan, the Princess of Sancrotosia and a bunch of dictator-curious statesmen, all asking the question: if you could start a country from scratch, what would it look like?

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Ryan meets the team of misfits that will accompany him on the journey to rebuild Zaqistan. He gets schooled in Zaqistani history and applies for citizenship, as part of his ultimate quest to Become Zaqistani.

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Ryan heads off into the desert, finally! Along the way, he revisits the history of sketchy ebay land deals, the Bush era policy of not-nation-building, and the moment Zaq’s land became a country. The team encounters Ivo Zdarsky, an eccentric desert dweller who builds his own aircraft. And it turns out the road to Zaqistan is not paved with…anything. Nor is it much of a road at all.

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