Hope & Generosity Tour

Stories found on the backroads

Brock Meeks and Josie, his 42-year-old VW Vanagon, set out with no fixed destination: only a plan to slow down, meet people, and listen for stories of hope and generosity across America’s small towns.

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A country road passing through a covered bridge in autumn

About the journey

Traveling in Josie is not an exercise in speed. With 67 horsepower and a top speed that rarely reaches 60 mph, the van makes room to absorb the landscape, take the smaller road, and hear what people have to say. These installments preserve that journey in the order it unfolded.

About Brock

Brock Meeks is an award-winning investigative journalist who pioneered online journalism by founding the groundbreaking publication CyberWire Dispatch in 1994. At its peak, CyberWire Dispatch reached more than 800,000 readers, exploring critical issues such as online privacy and free speech.

Meeks also worked as a Washington correspondent for Wired and MSNBC, where he developed the homeland security beat after 9/11. He has won several awards for his work, including recognition for his foreign reporting during the Afghanistan war and his coverage of national security issues.