Best Erik Lorenz Podcasts (2024)

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#37: The Power of Conservation Photography – with Cristina Mittermeier 53:01

26m ago53:01

53:01

A giant whale shark gracefully swims beneath a fishing boat, its massive form capable of capsizing the small vessel with a single movement. This captivating moment was captured by the renowned Mexican environmental photographer and marine biologist Cristina Mittermeier. Whether it's majestic whales, gigantic icebergs, or indigenous people – Cristin…

1
#36: Arctic Ascent – with Dr. Heïdi Sevestre and Alex Honnold 1:14:46

1M ago1:14:46

1:14:46

Steep rock faces, surrounded by vast glaciers and massive icebergs floating far below on the ocean - Greenland's nature is truly unique. Not only in terms of the landscape but also because Greenland’s glaciers and ice caps play a crucial role in climate change. However, exploring their condition can be extremely difficult as they are almost inacces…

1
#35: The Secrets of the Elephants – with Dr. Paula Kahumbu 1:09:53

11M ago1:09:53

1:09:53

Powerful, loving, and wise – elephants hold a great fascination for people worldwide. And yet they are threatened with extinction. Due to ivory trade and loss of habitat through humans, populations have been decreasing drastically in recent centuries. Kenyan conservationist Dr. Paula Kahumbu has made it her life’s work to prevent this. She is CEO o…

1
#34: Dr. Jane Goodall – Thoughts on a good life and a healthy planet 45:52

1y ago45:52

45:52

What does real success really mean? How can we effectively fight against climate change and for nature? And what to make of the protests of the "last generation"? Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE talks about all this and more in this episode of Unfolding Maps. She also reflects on her earliest animal-related childhood memories, explains what growing up dur…

1
#33: On the other Side of Fear – with Dwayne Fields 51:41

1y ago51:41

51:41

From a childhood close to nature in Jamaica, to a youth marked by violent experiences in England, to an unforgettable walk to the North Pole that would change everything – that's how you could describe the life of Dwayne Fields in a nutshell, the first Brit of color to reach the North Pole on foot. Since his march to the North Pole, one adventure f…

1
#32: A Life of Crime, Redemption and Hollywood – a Journey from Gangster to Movie Star with Danny Trejo 56:30

1y ago56:30

56:30

This time at Unfolding Maps - not a climber, not a cyclist, not a desert photographer, but: Hollywood's most famous and beloved villain! Danny Trejo was shot, stabbed, decapitated, blown up, hanged, flattened by an elevator and lost his life in some even less appetizing ways that I'd rather leave unmentioned here. He's been the record holder as the…

1
#31: A World in Crisis (and what to do about it) – with Jared Diamond 1:13:45

2y ago1:13:45

1:13:45

What can we learn from the tribes in the rainforest of New Guinea? What are the greatest dangers facing humanity and the earth today, and how can they be overcome? These are some of the many questions we address in this conversation with a leading scientist that has been voted one of the world's top ten intellectuals by various British and American…

1
#30: The Power of the Wild – with Bear Grylls 40:28

2y ago40:28

40:28

In this very special episode, we welcome a real survival icon: Bear Grylls has become known worldwide as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces, as part of the 21 SAS Regiment. It was here that he perfe…

1
#29: Shots of Adventure or the joy of surfing in ice cold water – with Chris Burkard 53:17

2y ago53:17

53:17

Chris Burkard, born in 1986, is many things: he is an adventurer, photographer, creative director, speaker, author, father, husband, surfer, certified yoga instructor ... and first and foremost, a storyteller. He travels much of the year to explore the most remote places on earth, capturing stories there to inspire people to rethink their relations…

1
#28: Euphoria and Terror – Crossing Antarctica with Felicity Aston MBE 1:17:22

2+ y ago1:17:22

1:17:22

“I just think back to that first time I got a proper look at Antarctica: There was something about the simplicity and the beauty and the perfectness of it all that made me want to scoop it all up and somehow contain it in me.” That's a quote from our guest, Polar explorer, Antarctic scientist, author, speaker and expedition leader Felicity Aston MB…

1
#27: Extreme Adventures, extreme Life – with Mike Horn 59:36

3y ago59:36

59:36

"One of the most amazing things about Mike Horn's life is that it still hasn't come to an end." This sentence sums up the life of this episode’s guest quite well: Mike Horn is introduced again and again as one of the world's most important explorers and adventurers of our time. What he has achieved and demonstrated in terms of endurance, determinat…

1
#26: Travel and what we can learn from it – with Erik Lorenz 1:53:39

3y ago1:53:39

1:53:39

In this episode the tables are turned. Instead of asking them, Erik answers questions – such as: What can we learn from travel? How can storytelling change the world? How do we experience adventures and what does that do to us? How can we travel in times of climate change? And what opportunities do we see within the challenges of the current pandem…

1
#25: A Journey to the Edge of Europe - with Kapka Kassabova 52:53

3y ago52:53

52:53

A childhood in the shadow of a Cold War border - this is how Kapka Kassabova grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria. After studying in Sofia and emigrating with her family to New Zealand, Kapka Kassabova, now a writer, poet and journalist, lives in the Scottish Highlands. From 2013 until 2015 she returned to the Balkans and embarked on a special journey into t…

1
#24: Hope for our Planet – with Dr. Jane Goodall 46:38

3y ago46:38

46:38

60 years of research on social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees. And decades of commitment to animal welfare and environmental protection. This episode’s guest is the world-famous British ethologist and environmental activist, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE. Originally, she has been best known for her long-term study of wild chimpanzees in Tanzan…

1
#23: A Walk in the Woods – with Eric Adams (Manowar) 1:55:43

3y ago1:55:43

1:55:43

A winter walk in the woods with an icon of heavy metal: Eric Adams is world-famous as the singer of the American band Manowar. In episode 16 of Unfolding Maps, he has already talked about another passion that shapes his life besides music - his love of nature, wildlife and hunting. In this second interview, he now delves deeper into these topics. D…

1
#22: The Spirit of a Rock Climber – with Maureen Beck 59:36

3y ago59:36

59:36

Maureen (Mo) Beck was born without her left hand, but that didn’t stop her from starting to climb at the age of 12 – to prove everyone wrong, who thought this sport might not be for her. By now she has won multiple titles, including a gold medal at the 2014 Paraclimbing World Championships in Spain and a gold medal at the 2016 World Championships i…

1
#21: People of the Horse – with Erika Larsen 41:17

3y ago41:17

41:17

Over a two-year period, storyteller and National Geographic photographer Erika Larsen travelled to many locations in the western United States to learn about the significance of the horse in Native American tribes - culturally, spiritually, and economically. ⁠ ⁠ Along her journey she met many Native Americans who shared their profound stories and e…

1
#20: Rewilding the World – with Kristine Tompkins 1:05:52

3+ y ago1:05:52

1:05:52

She was a successful CEO of the clothing manufacturer Patagonia and played a decisive role in building the company. And then left everything behind to move to the wilderness of the actual Patagonia in Chile. For nature conservation – and for love. Our guest in this episode is Kristine Tompkins, an environmentalist and the president of Tompkins Cons…

1
#19: Fathoms – The World in the Whale – with Rebecca Giggs 1:01:18

3+ y ago1:01:18

1:01:18

"Fathoms - The World in the Whale": That is the title of Australian author Rebecca Giggs' first book (published by SCRIBE and Simon Schuster in April 2020) – and it is, indeed, the gate to a large world... In it, Rebecca blends natural history, philosophy and science to reveal an unexpected world in a stranded whale – with more cross-connections to…

1
#18: Living with Sami Reindeer Herders – with Erika Larsen 59:25

3+ y ago59:25

59:25

Sitting in a snow-covered tent, surrounded by a pretty harsh environment where no horizon can be seen, in the arctic circle. Cooking with reindeer blood and learning the fascinating Sami language. Photographer Erika Larsen experienced all this when she lived with the Sami people in Scandinavia for a total of four years. She had been looking for peo…

1
#17: The Search for Africa's Fighting Spirit – with Tim Butcher 49:22

3+ y ago49:22

49:22

For many years Sierra Leone and Liberia have been too dangerous to travel through. They were places of terrible violence – associated with child soldiers, prisoner mutilation and blood diamonds. With their wars officially over, Tim Butcher set out on a journey across both countries. In this episode, he remembers this journey. It is his second appea…

1
#16: Eric Adams (Manowar) – Outdoor Adventures & Hunting 52:44

3+ y ago52:44

52:44

(Rerelease of previously published Weltwach episode.) Eric Adams is world famous as the singer of the legendary American heavy metal band Manowar. Besides music however, another passion shapes his life: his love for nature, wildlife and hunting. This is what this episode of Weltwach is about: Eric Adams tells how his father once showed him the wild…

1
#15: Exploring Trails – with Robert Moor 1:11:14

3+ y ago1:11:14

1:11:14

An author that hiked the Appalachian Trail and then got obsessed with the history and creation of trails. This is how the book “On Trails” by Robert Moor could be summarized. Sounds a bit, boring, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t. Instead, “On Trails” is one of the most fascinating “outdoor books” of the past years. In it, Robert explores how trails help…

1
#14: Exploring the Deep-Sea – with Diva Amon 52:16

3+ y ago52:16

52:16

Imagine you are sitting in a telephone booth-sized bubble hundreds of meters deep in the ocean surrounded by darkness, in an environment where nobody has ever been before. Many of the things you see here no one has ever seen before. Every now and then shining deep sea creatures appear. Most of them are completely new to science. As a deep-sea biolo…

1
#13: Blood River – A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart – with Tim Butcher 1:11:07

3+ y ago1:11:07

1:11:07

As a war correspondent for the Daily Telegraph Tim Butcher quickly became obsessed with one of the world’s most war-ravaged countries – the Congo. Its rich and multi-layered history triggered him to dig deeper in his attempt to better understand “the heart of Africa”. After discovering a personal and direct link to a famous historical expedition, T…

1
#12: The Sound of Journeys – with Jim Kroft 1:12:33

3+ y ago1:12:33

1:12:33

To musically capture the essence of a solo journey over around the world is a tremendous creative challenge. Musician, director and photographer Jim Kroft, our guest in this episode, has tackled it. His journey took him through the endless expanses of the Russian winter, but also into the loneliness of Chinese mega-cities. On the way, he saw with h…

1
#11: Long Way Up – New adventures on two wheels – with Charley Boorman 41:51

3+ y ago41:51

41:51

Two friends, two motorcycles and epic adventures all around the world. In episode 4 of Unfolding Maps, Charley Boorman talked about some of his most memorable travel experiences, many of which he has made with his best friend, the actor Ewan McGregor, known from movies such as Star Wars. These trips resulted in two hugely successful TV series: “Lon…

1
#10: The Last Whalers – with Doug Bock Clark 53:10

3+ y ago53:10

53:10

What is lost when a whole culture disappears? Award-winning journalist Doug Bock Clark has written an epic book about the Lamalerans, a tribe that lives on a remote, eastern Indonesian island. For half a millennium, they have fed themselves by hunting sperm whales, using small, handmade boats and handmade harpoons. And until this day, this is the w…

1
#9: We the Women of Afghanistan – Nahid Shahalimi 1:39:54

3+ y ago1:39:54

1:39:54

Being the daughter of one of the Afghanistan’s most influential and prosperous persons, Nahid Shahalimi grew up in the country’s high society. However, the life of her family took a dramatic turn when her father died and Nahid had to flee to Canada with her mother and sisters in the 1980s. Since then, she has lived in Pakistan, India, the USA, Spai…

1
#8: Feeding the World – with Aerial Photographer George Steinmetz 58:26

4y ago58:26

58:26

Known as 'the flying photographer', George Steinmetz is the natural world’s leading aerial artist, being famous for his trademark low altitude aerial photography, a special technique that he has invented and perfected. He has done much of his work with a foot-launched motorized paraglider, which he pilots while taking pictures, as well as using dro…

1
#7: Over Seven Summits around the World – with Helga Hengge 1:12:22

4y ago1:12:22

1:12:22

Mount Everest in the Himalayas, Mt Vinson in Antarctica - only two of the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. The former VOGUE fashion editor and today's extreme mountaineer Helga Hengge was the first German woman ever to successfully climb them all. She has experienced challenges that could not be more diverse, from the deep silence…

1
#6: Great and small adventures – with Alastair Humphreys 1:04:15

4y ago1:04:15

1:04:15

A passionate adventurer, author and film maker: Alastair Humphreys' explorations of the earth are manifold. He has spent over four years cycling round the world, a journey of 46,000 miles through 60 countries and five continents. He walked across southern India, rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, run six marathons through the Sahara Desert, completed…

1
#5: The Power of the Cold – with “Iceman” Wim Hof 1:12:29

4y ago1:12:29

1:12:29

A fascinating journey into the power that the cold, deep breathing and commitment can unleash together: Wim Hof is known as the “Iceman”, the reason being that he is able to endure the cold to an extend that was believed to be physically impossible before. Wim Hof has climbed Mount Everest to an altitude of 7.200 meters, dressed in nothing but shoe…

1
#4: Charley Boorman – On long Ways around the World 59:27

4y ago59:27

59:27

Adventurer, motorbike enthusiast, travel writer and TV presenter: Charley Boorman has explored the world for the past few decades. It all started in 1997 on a film shoot, when Charley met Ewan McGregor, known from Star Wars, Moulin Rouge, Trainspotting, Doctor Sleep and other films. Resulting from their shared love for motorbikes, they became frien…

1
#3: Laura Dekker – The world’s youngest circumnavigator 59:26

4y ago59:26

59:26

Laura Dekker is the youngest person ever to sail around the world solo – an impressive success for which she had to overcome many obstacles, at sea and on land. She has accomplished that some years ago, at the age of 14 to 16. In this episode of Unfolding Maps, Laura looks back to her upbringing, to all the things that let her to the point of feeli…

1
#2: Rolf Potts – The Art of Long-term World Travel 1:16:55

4y ago1:16:55

1:16:55

In his first book, the now iconic “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-term World Travel”, Rolf Potts promoted the ethics of independent travel. It was released in 2003 and – after more than 20 editions and many translations worldwide – had a huge impact on the global traveler scene. In this episode of Unfolding Maps, he talks about h…

1
#1: Steve McCurry – A Life of Photography 1:23:16

4y ago1:23:16

1:23:16

Known for the National Geographic cover “the Afghan Girl”, legendary photographer Steve McCurry captures the human element hidden amidst military conflicts, humanitarian crisis, vanishing traditions, as well as contemporary cultures. In this episode of Unfolding Maps, he reveals the story behind the iconic photo, how a chance encounter in Pakistan …

1
#0: Introduction 8:12

4y ago8:12

8:12

This new travel podcast travels the unbeaten path. Unfolding Maps talks to adventurers of all flavors about their expeditions and experiences that shaped them. Join the host, Erik Lorenz, in his conversations with globetrotters, who are best-selling writers, award-winning photographers, and critically-acclaimed filmmakers. Through the pens and lens…

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