WanderLearn: Travel to Transform Your Mind & Life

There are spoilers in this podcast! Watch this show on YouTube ! Around 1980, Linda Gambia was a Peace Corps volunteer in Gambia. In 2026, she had reflected enough about the life-changing experience to pen a memoir about it. It’s called The Geography of Desire . This is part two of a two-part podcast. Timestamps 00:00 Husband’s reaction 04:00 Kabir update 05:00 Senegambia 06:45 Book title 10:00 Sm...

In last week’s episode, Jost Kobusch, a 32-year-old German mountaineer who summited Denali in winter, said he had a 20% chance of summiting Everest in winter, alone, without supplemental oxygen, and following a rarely climbed route, the dangerous West Ridge. In today’s episode, I begin by asking him for his odds of death. Watch on YouTube Timeline 00:00 Chance of dying 03:40 Climbing in the dark 0...

In a few days, Jost Kobusch will arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal. He will begin his multi-month preparation for his radical goal: to climb Everest alone in winter without supplemental oxygen via the challenging West Ridge route. Watch on YouTube Timeline 00:00 Jost’s origins 05:00 What is the % chance of succeeding on Everest 08:20 Krzysztof Wielicki’s 1980 Winter Everest climb Subscribe to hear next w...

There are spoilers in this podcast! Around 1980, Linda Gambia was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Gambia. In 2026, she had reflected enough about the life-changing experience to pen a memoir about it. It’s called The Geography of Desire . This is part one of a two-part podcast. Watch the video ! Review of The Geography of Desire ‘The Geography of Desire’ is a quietly delicious memoir that transport...

In this video, I review Jared Diamond’s latest book, Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter ? I also reflect on the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Watch the video ! In this WanderLearn Show, I mention the following books: 1) Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 2) Collapse 3) Rachel Carson's Silent Spring TIME STAMPS 00:00 Great Man Theory 01:54 Si...

Scott Williams and I cover the following topics in 9 minutes: 00:00 Why Go to ALDHA West? 02:00 Aging Advice 05:40 Sweden's Green Ribbon Trail Watch on YouTube! What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my Substack newsletter . If you like this podcast, subscribe and sha...

Use the discount code FTAPON when you buy your ticket to the Extraordinary Travel Festival . Watch on YouTube! Timeline 00:00 ETF3 06:00 How do ETF members travel? 11:00 Ric’s road to 193 13:00 Saving the best for last 16:45 Top ETF Speakers What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon You can post comments, ask questions, and...

Use the discount code FTAPON when you buy your ticket to the Extraordinary Travel Festival . Watch the interview on YouTube ! The ETF is probably the best travel conference for adventurous travelers! I’ve spoken at two of the events, and you won’t want to miss the third! Timeline 00:00 ETF3 06:00 How do ETF members travel? 11:00 Ric’s road to 193 13:00 Saving the best for last 16:45 Top ETF Speake...

3-Step EMERGENCY for Bitcoin Coldcard users! 1) Move your funds from your Coldcard, especially the MK3 model. 2) Update your Coldcard firmware. 3) Generate a new seed phrase Watch the video of this podcast Get the new Coldcard firmware Coldcard Status Update and Coldcard Firmware Downloads If you want to get a new hardware wallet, consider the Ledger crypto hardware wallet : Now that so many eyeba...

What’s best: the AT, PCT, or CDT? I ask a 73-year-old hiker who has done all 3! Be sure to watch last week’s episode featuring Scott! Connect with Scott on FB ! Watch this episode Timeline 00:00 Arizona Trail 1:50 Favorite Triple Crown Trail Connect with Scott Williams on Facebook ! What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon...

I talk with renowned long-distance hiker & Triple Crowner, Scott Williams, about his experience on New Zealand's Te Araroa Trail. This is part 1 of a 3-part interview series featuring Scott. Watch this interview ! Scott's buddy, Sym Blanchard, explained why he disliked the Te Araroa Trail here: What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPip...

Most of the questions focus on the Balkans, which is ironic since Nenad spends little time there! Follow Nenad on FB & IG at whereisNenad . Watch this episode ! Timeline 00:00 What's going on in the Balkans? 01:40 Book recommendations 02:35 Life in Serbia 3:34 Souvenirs 4:20 Best kept secret in the Balkans 08:00 Balkan vibe now What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me...

Nenad Stojanovic is 42. He's been traveling the world nonstop for nearly 20 years. You can follow him on WhereisNenad on FB & IG. Watch this episode now ! Watch previous episodes to learn more about this remarkable traveler! Timeline 00:00 Travel plans 02:30 Favorite spots What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon You can p...

Couchsurfing isn’t simply a way to save money when traveling, but it’s mostly a way to connect with locals, to understand local culture, and see what you’ll never see in a hotel. Nenad seldom stays in a hotel. Watch this video to hear about his unique lodging experiences. Timeline 00:00 Couchsurfing tips 04:00 Chilling in Indonesia 6:45 Longest wait for a hitch What do you think? Put your thoughts...

Here are my 10 hitchhiking tips on Forbes . Nenad Stojanovic hitchhikes everywhere. He shares the joys of hitchhiking and why it's more fascinating than public transportation. At 9:00 he discusses money issues. Watch the video ! What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for...

I met Nenad Stojanovic in 2008 when he hosted me on Couchsurfing.com. He’s been traveling ever since! This is a 5-part series featuring Nenad, one of the world’s most fascinating travelers. This is part 1! Watch the video ! Timeline 00:00 Who is Nenad Stojanovic? 04:25 North American journey 05:25 Remarkable borders 08:20 China What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me...

I explained 6 years ago why Plan B’s Stock-to-Flow Bitcoin model was doomed and would fail. Few believed me. Most insulted me. Today, I can confidently declare that I was right and Plan B was wrong. Watch the video of this episode ! Also, watch my May 2020 video that started all the controversy and read the detailed article about why Plan B’s stock-to-flow model was doomed ! In mid-2026, with the...

My mom often says, “If I die….” I sometimes accidentally say the same thing. The “if” is a cognitive security blanket I pull over my head so I can pretend that death — the only thing every single human being who has ever lived has accomplished — might somehow not apply to me. As though the universe looked at my particular assortment of questionable decisions and said, “This one, we keep.” It will...

Sym Blanchard & Joan Chan discuss the ups and downs of their parenting journey. They are both around 72 years old. Each had a boy and a girl with their exes. Watch the video of this podcast ! They candidly share their mistakes and how things turned out decades later. Timeline 00:00 Two parents made 4 children 02:00 Sym’s daughter 04:20 Teenagers 06:00 Cultural difference 09:00 Change after 40 16:2...

Is grounding & earthing BS? I interview two skeptical elders: Joan Chan & Sym Blanchard. Hear what happened. Watch the video ! Timeline 00:00 Car accidents 04:55 Intro to Earthing 08:00 Placebo effect? 11:30 The Limits of Grounding 14:50 How to start What do you think? Put your thoughts in the comments. Connect Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon You can post comments, ask quest...

Sym Blanchard has appeared on many WanderLearn episodes. In this 3-part series, Sym appears with his sweetheart, Joan Chan. Both are in their early 70s. I love elders because they usually don’t give a f**k what others think of them. They’re the opposite of teenagers. Elders are genuine, transparent, and wise. They’re also human, as this three-part series will reveal. Watch it : Timeline 00:00 How...

Thank you, Sande, my 1,000th Substack subscriber! Naturally, the other 999 of you are equally valuable! Thank you to Adam Gasner for being my first Founding Member and Sym Blanchard for being my first paid member! When you create content, you often feel like you’re speaking to a wall. Even when you have 1,000 Substack subscribers or 4,500 YouTube subscribers , it’s sometimes a lonely endeavor: cri...

Dr. Sten Odenwald discusses The Essential Book of Black Holes . See my review of the new book below. But first, watch this video in which I interview Dr. Odenwald about his book! Timeline 00:00 Intro 2:15 Math & Black Holes 5:00 Holographic universe 5:50 Hypernova 9:05 White holes 14:45 Is our universe in a black hole? 17:50 Gravity is NOT a force 25:45 Galactic Power Plant Book Review of The Esse...

The term “Global South” is doing a lot of heavy lifting for a geographically illiterate phrase. Australia is in the Global South. So is New Zealand. Both are fabulously wealthy, stable democracies with excellent dental care. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is in the Global North. The “Global South” term was invented by diplomats who needed something that sounded neutral but meant “the countries that got co...

Rapido Trimarans Founder Paul Koch reveals the truth about their fast trimarans. There are many myths and misunderstandings that Paul seeks to shatter. Listen to this 30-minute interview with one of sailing’s greatest innovators, shot in Vietnam. Watch my interview with Paul Koch of Rapido Background Trimarans are boats with three hulls, whereas catamarans have two hulls, and monohulls have one hu...