Speaking of Travel® With Marilyn Ball

Some conversations feel like catching up with an old friend. And that's exactly what it was like welcoming Katie Cole back to Speaking of Travel .  Katie is not only a remarkable singer-songwriter, she's one of the kindest, most genuine people you'll ever meet. From her years touring with the Smashing Pumpkins to performing the iconic music of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit be...

The world teaches us how to move forward, but it rarely teaches us how to heal. But healing may be one of the most courageous adventures we ever undertake. On this deeply human episode of Speaking of Travel, meet Anthony Dyer , whose extraordinary journey from military service to healing is a powerful reminder that our most important journeys are often the ones no one else can see. Originally from...

What happens when a love of food becomes a passport to the world? On this episode of Speaking of Travel , we're joined by Liisa Andreassen and John Godts, the husband-and-wife team behind Cottage Cooking , whose adventures have taken them across six continents and more than 40 countries. What began as a creative way to fund their travels has evolved into a meaningful journey centered on food,...

Some journeys change the way we see the world. On this episode of Speaking of Travel , we're setting sail along the coast of Maine with Justin Schaefer and Jocelyn Schmidt, owners and captains of the historic Schooner J. & E. Riggin . Together they've created an experience where the wind sets the pace and the sea shapes each day. And how the simple moments become the memories that st...

What if time isn't something to chase, but something to experience? In a world that constantly urges us to move faster, do more, and keep up, this conversation with Ryan Enslin offers a different perspective. A gentler one. As a journalist and photographer from Johannesburg, South Africa, Ryan has learned that some places seem to exist outside the pace of modern life. One of those places is S...

Some places do not ask for your attention. They change you quietly. You arrive carrying noise, deadlines, distractions and the weight of everyday life. And then somewhere between the trees, the silence, the air itself, something begins to soften. You remember there is another way to live in the world. More connected. More awake. More human. This episode of Speaking of Travel lives inside that feel...

Some conversations stay with you because of what a person has accomplished. Others stay with you because of who that person became along the way. Internationally acclaimed bassoonist Frank Morelli is both. His story is about far more than music. It’s about what happens when a lifetime of dedication shapes not only an artist, but a human being. There’s something deeply moving about a person who spe...

There’s something deeper unfolding at the Asheville Regional Airport and you can feel it the moment you step into this conversation with Angi Daus, VP of Air Service and Corporate Communications. This isn’t surface-level support. It’s a lived commitment to Western North Carolina, shaped through real relationships and a genuine presence in the community that shows up in how they collaborate and how...

There’s a moment in travel, maybe you’ve felt it, when everything shifts. The view is stunning, but that’s not what stays with you. It’s the feeling. A quiet awakening that expands the world in front of you while something inside you expands, too. On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we step into that space where travel stops being about the plan and becomes a way of seeing and living. It become...

On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we move beyond destinations and into something deeply human... food as a living expression of memory, identity, and belonging. Chef Nathan Davis shares his story shaped by the land, where hunting, fishing, and foraging were not choices, but teachings guiding him to understand food as relationship, responsibility, and respect. With formal training from Le Cord...

In a time shaped by rapid change and constant headlines, this conversation invites us to pause, to listen, and to look beyond perception into lived experience. My guest, Rihab Abouzaki , is an advertising strategist and Director of This N That Communications. She works at the intersection of culture, business, and global storytelling. Moving between the United States and the Gulf region, she bring...

There’s something quietly extraordinary unfolding in Italy, inside museums, churches, and hidden archives where history has long rested in silence. For centuries, luminous works of art created by women were tucked away, overlooked, or forgotten. Not because they lacked brilliance, but because their stories were never fully told. And still, they remained, waiting, holding their place in time. Today...

Sometimes it’s not one big moment that shapes us, but a series of experiences that quietly stay, like traveling far from home at a young age, listening to stories passed down at the kitchen table, beginning to understand that where we come from carries more meaning over time. In this episode, I’m joined by Yoon Kim , a journalist, storyteller, and event producer whose work is grounded in curiosity...

Some journeys don’t begin with a plan. Some just begin with a song, a street corner, a moment that simply says go. In this episode of Speaking of Travel, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, shares a life shaped by following the music and trusting where it leads. What stays with you isn’t just the story of the road. It's more the way he moves through the world. From busking days to the guid...

What if the way we travel could actually help restore the planet instead of slowly wearing it down? On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we explore how every choice we make, where we go, how we move, where we stay, and how we show up, creates a lasting impact. Travel today is no longer just about seeing the world. Each of us has a responsibility to care for it and protect it. And we must become...

Today’s Speaking of Travel episode is a heartfelt reminder that the spirit of travel doesn’t fade, but rather deepens, shifting, growing, and finding new meaning with every chapter.  Cary Lowe and his wife Trish share the remarkable story of a life shaped by exploration, where each journey has strengthened their bond and expanded their connection to the world, as beautifully captured in his book O...

Welcome to the island of Madagascar, a place that feels both distant and deeply connected to the rest of the world. Through the lens of food, culture, and community, guest Emmanuel Laroche invites us to look beyond familiar ingredients and discover the stories, people, and landscapes that shape them. Born in France and now based in New Jersey, he has spent years exploring the world through taste,...

In a world that rarely pauses, this episode of Speaking of Travel is an invitation to breathe. To slow down. To remember that wonder still lives just outside our door and within our own hearts. Meet Sue Wasserman, Travel and Tourism Director for Explore Burnsville, NC, a writer, nature photographer, devoted critter sitter, and a self-described general meanderer who knows how to pause for life’s mo...

What if the greatest stories on Earth aren’t written in the sky but carved in stone beneath our feet? On this illuminating episode of Speaking of Travel , we shine a light on the extraordinary underground ecosystems that hold the living history of our planet. My guest is David Foster, President and CEO of the American Cave Conservation Association and steward of Hidden River Cave in Kentucky. Once...

Travel has a way of waking us up and inviting us to slow down, breathe more deeply, and reconnect with what truly makes us feel alive. In this episode of Speaking of Travel , we welcome Nancy De Losa , Co-Founder of A’qto Italian Cycling Tours , whose work beautifully blends cycling, culture, community, and mindful travel across Italy. Nancy shares how exploring Italy by bike becomes far more than...

What if listening deeply could carry us across centuries? In this Speaking of Travel episode, cellist Louise Dubin invites us into a world where travel, music, and historical discovery intertwine, reminding us that the most meaningful journeys reconnect us with voices nearly forgotten. Performing across solo, chamber, orchestral, and Broadway stages, including Radio City, Louise brings audiences b...

Some people take trips. Evlyn Mondo built an entirely new life through travel. Her journey from science labs and academic classrooms in Quebec to leading a luxury villa in Barbados is a story of reinvention guided by courage, intuition, and heart. As CEO and Managing Director of Villa Casablanca at Sandy Lane , Evlyn is redefining what luxury truly means by shifting the focus from opulence to conn...

We often think of travel as moving across maps with new cities, new landscapes, new horizons. But the most profound journeys happen in ways you cannot trace on a globe. They happen through music. Through sound. Through the stories hidden in every note. Pianist Terry Eder lives life and art emboding this idea. Her performances have taken her from Carnegie Hall to Alice Tully Hall and beyond, but sh...

Asheville Regional Airport (AVL ) stands out because it understands its role as more than a transportation hub and more like an active member of the Western North Carolina community it serves. AVL is intentionally doing the work to ensure that its customers are, quite literally, served by their neighbors.  The team at AVL operates as a community within a community, grounded in shared purpose, mutu...

Meet Karen Urosevich , founder of Well Placed Travel , where she helps people discover the places that bring them purpose, peace, and joy. After a 20+ year career leading global design and development projects, Karen followed her calling, and her own wanderlust, to help others explore the world in ways that transform, restore, and inspire.  With nearly 40 countries explored and certifications in y...