Chile was one of my favorite episodes to direct in the entire series, and the observatory sequence at the end may be my favorite single segment we ever captured. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The episode follows three stories that reflect Chile's defining characteristic: a nation that punches well above its geographic weight through relentless international collaboration. At Colbun's solar farm in the Atacama north, we explored how AI-driven prediction models are accelerating Chile's already remarkable push toward renewable energy. On a family-run organic lemon farm, we watched a startup called Kilimo help reduce water consumption by 12% without sacrificing a single lemon. And at the European Southern Observatory, we found scientists using cloud technology and machine learning to scan millions of stars in search of planets that might harbor life — including, as our interviewee enthusiastically noted, space cows.

As with every episode in this series, there were no location scouts. We worked from whatever images we could find in advance, then made quick decisions on arrival about how to use each space. Our lemon farmer was visibly nervous at the outset, and our co-host — who grew sharper and more comfortable with every take — helped ease the room considerably. Movement and meaning were the goal at every location, and I think we found both.

The observatory, though, was something else entirely. We arrived to discover we had far less time inside the telescope than anticipated. When the telescope itself began moving during the interview — a routine mechanical test the team hadn't warned us about — we leaned into it rather than stopping. It became an unexpected (literally) and dynamic moment in the episode.

The outdoor portion presented a different challenge entirely. Observatory protocol requires near-total darkness to protect the telescopes, which rules out standard lighting. My solution was to add small lights to the hats our host and guest were wearing, giving just enough illumination for the camera while keeping the environment intact. The resulting shot — two figures walking among the telescopes beneath an extraordinary Chilean sky — was almost exactly what I had imagined. Almost. The sky was better.

Add in Corey dancing with street performers in Santiago and our co-host presenting him with a traditional Chilean poncho and hat at the Baha'i Temple at sunset, and this episode felt complete in a way that's genuinely hard to plan for.