David Shams

My cheeky request for you to fill out this damn survey and tell me what you want more or less of, or just tell me how much you love what I’m doing. And yes, that’s a pic of me next to a pic of me on an ad board at a Beijing brewery. And yes, my beard is in fact filled with flecks of gray.

To the 112 of you... No fluff, no marketing jargon. Just an honest check-in to make this the best part of your Friday routine.

No stadium security, no segregated fan zones, and opposing supporters sharing pre-match pints on the same barstools.

My latest travel essay takes a deep dive into the unique, beautiful culture of Irish Gaelic games.

If you've ever wanted to experience the "real" Ireland outside of the usual tourist hotspots, this dispatch from the Irish Midlands is for you.

35 Years to Tullamore: Closing the Loop on a Childhood Dream Decades after stumbling upon a bizarre, beautiful sport on ESPN, I finally stood on an Irish terrace to witness it live.

If your mental image of Dublin is frozen in a postcard of 19th-century pubs and old stereotypes, it’s time for an update. I spent last week on the ground in Ireland, and my first major observation was just how beautifully diverse it has become. Walking down O’Connell Street felt like watching a kaleidoscope of global faces and languages navigating the city with total ease.

But the most beautiful part? Rather than losing their heritage in a globalized world, modern Dubliners are using their past to forge an incredibly inclusive future.

Read my latest travel essay on what it actually looks like to walk the streets of modern Ireland today:

How Ireland is Forging the Future (Without Forgetting the Past) Unlike the US, where we often treat change as a violation of history, Ireland is using its past to push its future forward.