Best Passport To The Unexpected Podcasts (2024)

1
Want to Get to the Soul of Switzerland? Jump Into a River. 20:43

2h ago20:43

20:43

Not only can you swim in the rivers of Bern and Basel— but thousands of locals regularly take the plunge. From a morning commute to a relaxing weekend escape, discover how rivers are at the heart of everyday Swiss life. In this episode of Travel Tales by Afar, Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim, follows the currents of Switzerland's alpine rivers i…

1
Only 10 People Have Walked Around the World—and One Dog. 48:20

5d ago48:20

48:20

Tom Turcich and his dog, Savannah, completed their world walk in 2022. On this week’s episode of Travel Tales, we hear their story. We first talked with Tom and Savannah back in 2021, when they were in Kyrgyzstan, six years into their journey, which began in 2015. They had been held up by the pandemic, which was only one of many ordeals they faced …

1
A Cross-Country Road Trip Helped Make the World Safer (and More Fun!) for Queer Travelers 18:34

7d ago18:34

18:34

Road trips are such funny things. They allow more room for whimsy and spontaneity. They can inspire frank conversation, sitting side by side with someone, looking out at endless stretches of highway. And they can be dull (all that endless highway) in a way that somehow opens your mind to other possibilities and maybe even other lives. That’s what h…

1
I Traveled the World With President Obama. Now, I Help Give Young Women the Same Chance. 23:44

14d ago23:44

23:44

Deesha Dyer never thought she’d wind up in the White House. As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, she desperately wanted to travel but it always felt out of reach. Until she landed a coveted internship in the Obama administration, working in the office that arranged all of the president’s travel. Over the next eight years, she would travel around th…

1
When Zebras Taught Me to Drive in Namibia 34:23

15d ago34:23

34:23

Imagine this: You’re slowly driving through Etosha National Park, Namibia’s renowned conservation area. There are elephants and zebras and antelopes and lions all around you. In fact, you’ve been warned not to exit your car because of those very lions, which are pros at camouflaging themselves in the desert landscape. And then your car stalls—becau…

1
Is This Europe’s Most Underrated Food Tradition? 24:16

1M ago24:16

24:16

Some of our favorite travel moments are the ones you’d never in a million years expect. These are where the best travel stories are born. And this week, Afar’s executive editor, Billie Cohen, has a very delicious, very serendipitous story for us. As you’ll hear in the episode, Billie was in Estonia (one of Afar’s picks for where to travel in 2024) …

1
In Mumbai, Everyone Thought I Was a Local. Here’s How I Became One. 19:27

27d ago19:27

19:27

When Afar editorial director Sarika Bansal was 22, she moved to Mumbai. As you’ll hear in her Travel Tale this week, she grew up in New York and visited India (where her parents were born) frequently. Yet the visits often felt cloistered. But many years later in Mumbai, she didn’t have to worry about meeting family expectations, and she was free to…

1
The Unexpected Magic of a Turkish Barbershop 20:20

2M ago20:20

20:20

When it comes to relationships, often there’s the planner—and then there’s the go-with-the-flow-er. And today’s episode of Travel Tales by Afar is all about what happens when the planner hesitantly chucks the travel to-do list and lets serendipity lead the way. Beth Santos is the planner in this particular story. She’s the founder of Wanderful, an …

1
Replay: Comedian Michelle Buteau, "I Got Stood Up in Paris!" 23:28

2M ago23:28

23:28

This week, we’re replaying one of our favorite Travel Tales episodes: Comedian and actress Michelle Buteau—and her best friend—fly to Paris to meet their supposed French boyfriends. Only things don’t exactly go to plan . . . Michelle Buteau is a comedian and actress, known for her roles in Always Be My Maybe, The First Wives Club, Someone Great, Ru…

1
Why This Man Biked Across the United States—Without Any Food or Money 35:21

2M ago35:21

35:21

In late 2016, Daniel Troia was struggling with grief. Grief over the loss of his parents and grief over the division he saw unfolding on his TV, night after night. It made him angry, and that made him want to do something to change things, or at least to change his perception of things. So, in 2018, he set out on a cross-country bike ride. His plan…

1
A Poet’s Pilgrimage to Italy’s Violin-Making Capital 30:12

2M ago30:12

30:12

When poet Tess Taylor’s son, Bennett, was three years old, he heard the violin for the first time. For weeks afterward, every day he asked her for a violin, so finally she took him into a local violin shop and asked for help. The shop owner put a tiny violin and bow in his hands and Bennett asked, “But how do I make it sound beautiful?” Fast-forwar…

1
Big Animals, and Even Bigger Adventures, in a Part of Argentina Few Travelers Visit 33:01

3M ago33:01

33:01

When most of us think about nature in Argentina, our minds go immediately to Patagonia—which is a spectacular place worth visiting (it’s one of the most memorable places I’ve been to). But in this week’s episode, we’re exploring two regions in Argentina that most travelers miss: El Impenetrable National Park in the north and Patagonia Azul in the s…

1
I’ve Made Polar Bears My Life’s Work. Here's Why Everyone Should Travel to See Them. 24:58

3M ago24:58

24:58

Today we’re launching Travel Tales, season five. And we’re kicking off this season with a roar, although the subjects of today’s episode (polar bears) are much quieter than you’d imagine. Nearly two years ago, host Aislyn Greene attended a TED Talk event in New York, held in partnership with the Canadian tourism board. There she met environmentalis…

1
The Plus-Size Traveler on a Mission to Change the World 36:53

9M ago36:53

36:53

How often do you do something that scares you? This week on Travel Tales by AFAR, Jeff Jenkins—host of the National Geographic show Never Say Never—reminds us that life begins where our comfort zone ends. On his show, Jeff tests the limits of his physical and mental abilities. He climbs mountains, cave dives, learns to sumo wrestle, races in a Maor…

1
A Canadian Grizzly Bear Changed My Life 35:28

9M ago35:28

35:28

The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the most spectacular, pristine protected places in Canada. But it wasn't always this way. Kevin Smith, a boat captain who grew up in British Columbia and now owns and operates Maple Leaf Adventures, was instrumental in helping turn the local economy from extraction (logging) to tourism. Since then, he's guided th…

1
Life Lessons From a Dutch Art Movement 31:42

9M ago31:42

31:42

Can geometric shapes heal the world? That's what the artists of the De Stijl movement—which came of age in the Netherlands after World War I—believed. Piet Mondrian is one of the most famous members of this group, which forbade circles and embraced light, color, and geometry as a way to move past the chaos of the war. As AFAR contributing writer Ch…

1
A Blind Surfer Takes on Kauai’s Legendary Waves 37:50

10M ago37:50

37:50

For writer Ryan Knighton, surfing is one of the rare occurrences where he feels completely free. Because, in addition to being an excellent writer, a dad, and a curious individual, Ryan is blind. But that's never stopped him from exploring the world. So more than a decade ago, he learned to surf and has been riding the waves near his home in Britis…

1
On France’s Newest Food Trail, Life Is One Long, Gorgeous Meal 32:17

10M ago32:17

32:17

What's it like to eat your way along France's Vallée de la Gastronomie, a 400-mile food trail that begins in Dijon and ends in Marseille? That's the question we're exploring in this week's episode of Travel Tales by AFAR. Host Aislyn Greene, who spent some formative time in France as a 20-something, returns to hunt truffles, meet famous French cows…

1
Dolly Parton Went From a One-Room Cabin to a Smoky Mountains Empire 22:08

10M ago22:08

22:08

The Great Smoky Mountains have had an outsized impact on Dolly Parton—they shaped the way she grew up, influenced her music, and are the only place where she feels truly restored. Which is why she has spent her adult life giving back to the region, primarily through tourism. On this week's episode, we travel to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the unve…

1
A Food Writer Returned to Nigeria. The Experience Helped Her Reclaim Her Roots. 25:46

10M ago25:46

25:46

After 15 years of living in the United States, food writer—and author of the new cookbook My Everyday Lagos—Yewande Komolafe finally revisited her home city: Lagos, Nigeria. In this episode of Travel Tales by AFAR, we hear the story of that journey and how it helped her heal, and how it helped her reconnect with the Nigerian foods she grew up with.…

1
Facing Mountains, Loss, and My Inner Overachiever on Slovenia’s Newest Hiking Trail 36:30

10M ago36:30

36:30

Writer and avid hiker Peggy Orenstein is exactly the kind of person you should send off into the wilderness with an iPhone and a pair of hiking boots. And for this episode, we did just that. In October 2022, Slovenia rolled out the 167-mile Juliana Trail, a route that circles Slovenia's Triglav National park and the Julian Alps and takes walkers ba…

1
Traveling With the Ghosts of Mumbai 27:55

11M ago27:55

27:55

How does a place change when the person who defined it for you is now gone? That's the question we're exploring in this week's episode of Travel Tales by AFAR. Author Shruti Swamy grew up in the United States, but her parents grew up in Mumbai, India, so she has a unique relationship with the city, in some ways intimate and in some ways totally dis…

1
50 Years After Picasso’s Death, I Retraced His Life in Europe 37:41

11M ago37:41

37:41

50 years after Picasso’s death, AFAR associate editor Mae Hamilton traveled to Spain and France to retrace his life in Europe. She started in Málaga, Spain, where Picasso was born, and ended in Mougins, where Picasso spent his final days. As an art lover, she believes that art is one of the best ways to get to know a place. In this week's episode o…

1
Comedian Baratunde Thurston Travels From Oregon to Maine to Tell a Better Story of America 44:11

11M ago44:11

44:11

Comedian and writer Baratunde Thurston wants to tell a better story of us. The narrative around the United States is often one of fracture and discord. So in his PBS show, America Outdoors, he travels around the United States to better understand Americans' deep connections with nature—and how that tells a more positive story of the country. In thi…

1
And We're Back! Introducing Travel Tales, Season 4 1:59

12M ago1:59

1:59

Tales Tales is back! Starting Thursday, October 5th, each week, we’ll share a story of someone who took a trip—and came home transformed. We’re going to be hearing about a whirlwind Picasso art pilgrimage, what it’s like to eat your way through France, how a blind surfer navigates new waves, and so much more. And this season, host Aislyn Greene is …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Passport To The Unexpected Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Passport to the Unexpected

Passport to the Unexpected

1
Travel Tales by AFAR

AFAR Media

1
Want to Get to the Soul of Switzerland? Jump Into a River. 20:43

1
Only 10 People Have Walked Around the World—and One Dog. 48:20

1
A Cross-Country Road Trip Helped Make the World Safer (and More Fun!) for Queer Travelers 18:34

1
I Traveled the World With President Obama. Now, I Help Give Young Women the Same Chance. 23:44

1
When Zebras Taught Me to Drive in Namibia 34:23

1
Is This Europe’s Most Underrated Food Tradition? 24:16

1
In Mumbai, Everyone Thought I Was a Local. Here’s How I Became One. 19:27

1
The Unexpected Magic of a Turkish Barbershop 20:20

1
Replay: Comedian Michelle Buteau, "I Got Stood Up in Paris!" 23:28

1
Why This Man Biked Across the United States—Without Any Food or Money 35:21

1
A Poet’s Pilgrimage to Italy’s Violin-Making Capital 30:12

1
Big Animals, and Even Bigger Adventures, in a Part of Argentina Few Travelers Visit 33:01

1
I’ve Made Polar Bears My Life’s Work. Here's Why Everyone Should Travel to See Them. 24:58

1
The Plus-Size Traveler on a Mission to Change the World 36:53

1
A Canadian Grizzly Bear Changed My Life 35:28

1
Life Lessons From a Dutch Art Movement 31:42

1
A Blind Surfer Takes on Kauai’s Legendary Waves 37:50

1
On France’s Newest Food Trail, Life Is One Long, Gorgeous Meal 32:17

1
Dolly Parton Went From a One-Room Cabin to a Smoky Mountains Empire 22:08

1
A Food Writer Returned to Nigeria. The Experience Helped Her Reclaim Her Roots. 25:46

1
Facing Mountains, Loss, and My Inner Overachiever on Slovenia’s Newest Hiking Trail 36:30

1
Traveling With the Ghosts of Mumbai 27:55

1
50 Years After Picasso’s Death, I Retraced His Life in Europe 37:41

1
Comedian Baratunde Thurston Travels From Oregon to Maine to Tell a Better Story of America 44:11

1
And We're Back! Introducing Travel Tales, Season 4 1:59

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