Lost & Found with Karmen Wiid

In this episode, we explore the cultural phenomenon and philosophical roots of main character energy, both its empowering promise and its dark underside.  Sparked by a moonlit conversation in Hanoi, this episode unspools into many threads.  We talk about: What main character energy really means (and why it matters) How to find joy and agency even in the absurd… yes, we’re talking The Myth of Sisyp...

You know how sometimes all you really need is something that shakes you by the shoulders and gets you so fired up you can’t not do the scary thing? And other times, you’re craving a deep, heart-expanding, soul-softening chat about life and meaning and why any of this matters. And then there are those times when all you want is an unhinged conversation with a friend that reminds you how young, dumb...

You’ve heard the rumours, right? Seen the movies with chaotic streets, overflowing trains, and spiritual awakenings. Heard the warnings: it’s too much, too unsafe, too overwhelming. Well, I heard them too. And I went anyway. This is what three months travelling solo through India as a woman really looks like. It was messy. It was heart-achingly beautiful. And it changed me in ways I never expected...

Ever felt like you're surrounded by people, but still weirdly alone? Like you're just... not quite you lately? Like something’s missing, but you can’t put your finger on what? This episode is about that feeling. The kind of loneliness and disconnectedness that leaves you feeling depleted and lost.   In this one, I get into: The different types of loneliness (and how to tell what yours is really as...

Recorded during a monsoon evening in Delhi with chai in hand and the world quieting outside my window, I read you one of my favourite short stories - a piece I wrote when I was 22, while riding Greyhounds across the American South with an uncharged phone and a journal in my lap.   Where the Women Go is a story about grief, sisterhood, memory, and the spaces that live between dreams and forests, li...

Tonight, I’m recording from a tiny apartment in Delhi, a little dazed after surviving what might’ve been the wildest overnight bus of my life. But also feeling grateful. Because I’m reminded, once again, that travel doesn’t have to be expensive to be extraordinary. In this episode, I’m answering a question I get all the time: How do you actually afford to travel long-term? The answer? It’s not a t...

📚 Some very exciting news: my book Untethered: A Beginner’s Guide to Solo Travel is officially available for pre-order on Kindle! It’s part handbook, part workbook, part travel memoir. Check out the preview on my website or pre-order on Amazon Kindle to be the very first to get the book when it goes live on Sunday, 29 June. ____   Do you feel like you have so many ideas but never follow through?...

Our desires, our turn-ons, our ideas of sex… where do they come from? And who benefits from them?   Because sex isn’t just an act. It’s an archive of cultural conditioning.   This episode is a crash course in feminist philosophy, critical theory, and the tangled relationship between sex, power, and culture. From shitty sex ed classes to porn culture, internalized scripts to embodied autonomy, we’r...

I just came out of one of the most inspiring conversations with a friend and had to hit record. So today, we're talking about the kinds of lessons that shake your worldview and leave you wondering how no one told you this sooner. Some of what we cover: The breakup question that answers itself How bitterness is often just blocked creativity Why your “cringe” phase was necessary What it means to wan...

What do you need more right now — to remember who you are, or to remember you're not alone? In this episode, we dive into the real differences between solo travel and group trips — not just the logistics, but the soul of the thing. From rooftop dance parties in Udaipur to quiet solo moments that changed me, I explore how each kind of journey offers its own kind of magic. Whether you’re craving dee...

We’ve forgotten how to rest and it’s costing us more than we think. In this episode, I dive into what it means to actually feel restored after the weekend, not just distracted, numbed, or hungover. Let's redefine what intentional rest looks like (spoiler: it’s not just doing nothing), we talk nervous system repair, dopamine menus, and why scrolling isn’t a hobby. This isn’t your typical productivi...

We think closure is a conversation. A final text. An apology. But more often than not, it’s silence—and confusion. In this deeply personal episode, I talk about the kind of closure I never got, what I learned from it, and why waiting for someone to explain their confusion might be the thing keeping you stuck. From messy endings to aisle-seat breakdowns to unexpectedly falling in love again—I take...

You can’t build a life that feels truly your own if you’re carrying things that don’t belong to you. In this episode — a part two to How to Build a Life That Feels Like Yours — I explore the emotional clutter we need to let go of: resentment, guilt-tripping, over-explaining, comparison, victimhood, fear of loneliness, and more. This one’s about radical self-responsibility. About learning to be una...

What if the version of success you’re chasing isn’t actually yours? In this episode, I talk about throwing out the blueprint, redefining your values, and choosing a life that makes you feel lit up, not burned out. I’ll walk you through: Signs you’re living on autopilot How to re-evaluate your values and beliefs My own turning point that made me question what I really wanted from work and life Why...

It’s 3AM in a tiny Airbnb in Rajasthan, India. I have a full travel day ahead, a 7AM meeting on the books—and yet here I am, recording the first episode of a podcast I’ve been dreaming about for months. Welcome to Lost and Found, a space for anyone navigating the beautiful, confusing mess of their twenties. In this raw, unscripted debut, I talk about what led me here—from solo travel to heartbreak...