The Trip That Changed Me

Today we are speaking with Bruce Wallin, an award winning editor, writer and producer and the host of the podcast,  Travel That Matters , which was named one of the 10 Best Podcasts for 2022 by Men's Journal. Bruce has made a name for himself as a leader in travel journalism, a reputation that began when he and a group of friends launched their own publication called,  Trip , in the 1990's. It was...

This week’s guest is TV writer Kristin Newman, who has spent the last 25 years working on shows like,  How I Met Your Mother, That 70's Show  and  Only Murders in the Building . As a lifelong traveler, Kristin used the breaks between seasons to explore the world, often alone, as more and more of her friends settled down. Her memoir,  What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding , details her years as...

Today's guest is the writer, Blythe Roberson, author of  How to Date Men When You Hate Men.  As you can tell from that title, Blythe is best known for her witty comedic voice and has contributed to publications like  The New Yorker, New York Magazine,  and  GQ . Her latest book,  America The Beautiful? , was inspired by a two-month road trip from Wisconsin to the West Coast and back again. The roa...

Today we are speaking with Meg Stafford, a clinical social worker, award-winning writer, and mother to two adventurous daughters. As a lifelong traveler, Meg has been on many expeditions with her kids over the years. One particularly meaningful trip would go on to inspire a memoir:  Who Will Accompany You? My Mother Daughter Journeys Far From Home and Close to the Heart.  When Kate's daughter opte...

Today's guest is Christine Winebrenner Irick, the entrepreneur behind the group travel company, Lotus Sojourns and the host of The Soul of Travel podcast, which features guests making a positive impact on the tourism industry. In this episode, Christine shares the story of her first big trip to Asia. In the midst of a period of rebirth, as her career and marriage were crumbling, Christine took ins...

Today we are speaking with Yulia Denisyuk, who was overworked and unfulfilled at her well-paid job as a brand manager when she took a trip to Morocco – a place she had always fantasized about visiting. It was an eye-opening experience from start to finish and one that would set her on the path to a whole new life. One starlit night in the desert, Yulia made the decision to leave her job and pursue...

Today we are talking with Jimmy Carroll, a former British Army officer who now puts his precision planning expertise to good use as the co-founder of Pelorus, a travel company that creates bespoke trips for travelers seeking unique experiences. In 2020, Jimmy and three friends embarked on the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, a 3,000-mile unsupported rowing race from the Canary Islands to Antig...

Today, Esme speaks with Samantha Brown, who is the host of some of TV's most popular travel shows. Samantha has been traveling the world professionally ever since landing her first job on the Travel Channel's show,  Great Vacation Homes . She has since visited 250 cities in 62 countries and has created over 160 hours of programming, including on PBS for her own Emmy award-winning show,  Samantha B...

In this episode, Esme speaks with writer and performer Lane Moore. Lane juggles multiple creative projects at the same time and earns rave reviews for all of them. She is the award winning former sex and relationships editor of Cosmopolitan magazine and the author of two books,  How To Be Alone , and the recently released,  You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Relationships as an Adul...

This week Esme is speaking with Lisette Austin, host of the award-winning podcast, The Globetrotter Lounge, which features diverse women sharing their most creative ways to travel. Lisette is best known for her travel hacking expertise – skills she shares in her online course, "Jetset 101: Becoming a Travel Hacker" – but it's her personal passion for DNA travel that she is sharing with us today. L...

This week Esme speaks to Pico Iyer, the prolific travel writer and brilliant mind behind 16 books, hundreds of essays, and several TED Talks. Pico's work touches on globalism, Islamic mysticism, the Cuban Revolution, and the Dalai Lama - a personal friend and travel companion of his. In his latest book,  The Half Known Life :  In Search of Paradise,  Pico weaves together travel experiences with th...

This week Esme speaks to Juliana Bühring, an ultra-endurance cyclist, best-selling author, and children's rights activist. Juliana's life story is one of triumphing over adversity. Raised in a cult known as the Children of God, Juliana developed the necessary survival skills of resilience and adaptability from a young age – qualities that would prove instrumental to her future achievements. After...

Welcome to Season 4 of The Trip That Changed Me! Our first guest of the new season is Laurie Woolever, writer, editor, public speaker, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) in New York, and former assistant to Anthony Bourdain, with whom she co-wrote several books. The most recent of those books, World Travel: An Irreverent Guide , Laurie sadly had to...

Elizabeth Becker is an award-winning journalist and author who started out as a war correspondent at The Washington Post before going on to work for public radio and The New York Times. She is also the author of three books including Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism , which was an Amazon book of the year, and You Don’t Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War ,...

Colin O’Brady is probably best known for being one of the world’s most recognized endurance athletes and explorers. He’s a 10-time world record holder and two-time Everest summiteer, and the first person in history to cross the continent of Antarctica solo, unsupported and completely human-powered – an experience he wrote about in his best-selling memoir The Impossible First. In this episode, Coli...

Gabby Beckford is the Gen Z travel opportunity expert behind Packs Light, a content brand designed to empower others to seek risks, seize opportunity, skip debt, and see the world ASAP. Although Gabby was raised in a family of travelers, it was her first solo vacation – a backpacking trip through Iceland which she took right before starting college – that solidified her aspirations to see as much...

Rachel Signer was an aspiring author living in Brooklyn and cobbling together a living by freelance writing and working various jobs in hospitality when she was invited on a food and wine themed press trip to Burgundy and Paris. It was a trip that would affirm her deep appreciation for the French language, culture, cuisine, and wine – specifically, natural wine. Rachel spent the next few years fol...

Cheryl B. Engelhardt is a composer and songwriter whose new age, ambient music has been featured in films, ads, tv shows, and on meditation apps like Insight Timer. Cheryl began music lessons as a toddler; since then, her career has taken her all over the world but it’s always been unique places and experiences that inspire her most creative work – experiences like a nine-day, cross country train...

Michael Baldwin is a luxury real estate agent who made a lucrative living in Texas until the financial crisis of 2008 temporarily derailed his career. Ever the optimist, Michael decided to use the opportunity to live abroad, and set about speed-dating all the international destinations within a four-hour flight of Houston. Ultimately, it was Los Cabos, Mexico that stole his heart. In this episode,...

Ahmad Ward is the Executive Director for Hilton Head Island’s Historic Mitchelville Park. If you’ve never heard of Mitchelville, then prepare for an eye-opening history lesson. Established in 1862, a year before Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it was the first self-governed town of formerly enslaved people in the United States. In this episode, Ahmad shares how his five-year...

Today’s guest is Mario Rigby, an eco-explorer from Turks & Caicos who became famous in adventure-travel circles for walking the entire length of Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo. A goal-oriented mindset and ability to push his physical limits have always motivated Mario, who competed for the Turks & Caicos national track and field team in his youth. He was 30 years old and working for himse...

Today’s guest is Sebastian Modak, travel journalist and current editor-at-large at Lonely Planet. Born in the US to a Colombian mother and an Indian father, Sebastian was a world explorer from the get-go. During his formative early years, Sebastian’s family moved to new countries frequently, giving him an ability to bond quickly with others and an aptitude for observing and appreciating other cult...

Laura Edmondson is a digital creator, educator, organizer, podcast host, and owner of Cosmic Market, an online vintage jewelry shop. She’s also one of those adventurous travelers living the van life dream, roaming around the US working remotely on projects she’s passionate about with her two dogs, Willy and Stan. But before Laura set off for a life of endless freedom in her van, she was following...

Andrew Carmines is a successful business owner and pillar of the community on Hilton Head Island, where he was born and raised. As the President of Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks, founder of the Hilton Head Island Seafood Festival, and a board member of multiple conservation organizations, Andrew has his hands full these days... but he wasn’t always so focused and together. After almost faili...

You may already be familiar with today’s guest, Brian Malarkey. He’s a celebrated chef and TV personality, star of shows like Top Chef and The Taste, owner of multiple successful restaurants including the nationally acclaimed San Diego establishments Herb & Wood and Animae, and founder of Chef’s Life, a range of delicious oils that will change the way you cook. After attending culinary school...