WanderLearn: Travel to Transform Your Mind & Life

Do you know people who wail about "the media"? Whenever that happens, it's always an incomplete sentence. They should say, "The media I disagree with." Saying "the media" implies there is only one media or that they have a united message.  Media isn't unified. Just skim the Internet for a few minutes, and you'll get wildly different points of view and reporting. In the mini-episode, I elaborate. T...

Simon & Schuster provided me with an advanced copy of the superb book  After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People , scheduled for release on July 8, 2025. The University of Texas authors, Dean Spears and Michael Geruso, have written a mind-blowing book! It's my second favorite book of 2025! My favorite 2025 book is They're Not Gaslighting You . Video https://www.youtube.com...

Happy 4th of July, 2025! Celebrate your independence by exploring outside! In 3 WanderLearn episodes, Alex Hutchinson and I discuss his new book,  The Explorer's Gene . This is the 3rd of 3 episodes. The Explorer's Gene examines human exploration broadly, going beyond traditional expeditions to investigate why humans explore everything from new foods to music. Watch my First Video Interview with A...

Michael Zervos is the fastest traveler ever! Watch the Video Now that Michael Zervos has traveled to all the countries faster than anyone else, what's next for him?  Additionally, what advice would he offer to anyone who wants to break his speed record?  Did you know Zervos has a book deal? Exciting!  We cover it all in 13 minutes! Timeline 00:00 Advice to the next person who tries to beat the rec...

I'm celebrating the 350th podcast episode with Michael Zervos! He did it! Many people try to travel to all the countries in the world quickly, but most fail. Therefore, when I met Zervos in Côte d'Ivoire in February 2024, when he was just 10% into his race, it seemed highly unlikely that he would succeed where so many others had failed. Still, there was something about Zervos that made me believe...

Nomadic Matt is a pioneering travel blogger. One day, we'll call him the grandfather of travel blogging during the Golden Era of travel blogs. He's not known for his travel feats but rather for the extensive tips he's provided on his popular website, which focuses on budget travel. Watch the Video The book's budget used to be $50/day, but inflation and a post-COVID world forced Matt to update his...

Nomadic Matt is a pioneering travel blogger. One day, we'll call him the grandfather of travel blogging during the Golden Era of travel blogs. He's not known for his travel feats but rather for the extensive tips he's provided on his popular website, which focuses on budget travel. Watch the video interview The book's budget used to be $50/day, but inflation and a post-COVID world forced Matt to u...

Battle of the Big Bang: The New Tales of Our Cosmic Origins examines the most profound idea: how did the universe begin? Watch the video , as it includes illustrations in the final 10 minutes. Although I'm not a physicist, I have read many books about the Big Bang, physics, and the universe. This book is an in-depth exploration of the competing models that hypothesize about our origins. I apprecia...

I’ve never highlighted a book as much as  They’re Not Gaslighting You: Ditch the Therapy Speak and Stop Hunting for Red Flags in Every Relationship .  It's my favorite book in 2025! Watch the Video Interview Author Dr. Isabelle Morley gives us a timely book that rejects the reckless proliferation of the following terms:  Sociopath Psychopath Love bomb Narcissist Boundaries Borderline Toxic Gasligh...

Charles Veley explains why having a travel checklist can be beneficial and how the MTP app helps. Charles Veley is often referred to as one of the world's most traveled people, but whether he is definitively the most traveled depends on the criteria used.  I've met Charles Veley four times, and for the fourth time, we recorded our conversation!  In 2005, Charles Veley founded the Most Traveled Peo...

Charles Veley and I discuss his mini-adventure at the Chile-Bolivia border. It illustrates how no matter how much you travel, you keep having fun and unexpected moments. Charles Veley is often referred to as one of the world's most traveled people, but whether he is definitively the most traveled depends on the criteria used.  I've met Charles Veley four times, and for the fourth time, we recorded...

Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau are the authors of Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier. The new book explains the business side of space. Watch all four videos about Space to Grow I interview Brendan Rousseau, one of the two co-authors. In this episode, we dive into the Kessler Syndrome, which might keep us stuck on Earth!  Watch our interview on YouTube ! In our second epis...

Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau are the authors of Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier. The new book explains the business side of space. Watch all four videos about Space to Grow I interview Brendan Rousseau, one of the two co-authors. In this episode, Brendan Rousseau discusses how close we are to having space hotels and joyrides. Is space tourism around the corner? See th...

In 3 WanderLearn episodes, Alex Hutchinson and I discuss his new book,  The Explorer's Gene . This is episode 2 of 3. The Explorer's Gene examines human exploration broadly, going beyond traditional expeditions to investigate why humans explore everything from new foods to music. Watch my 1st Video Interview with Alex   #2: Does Tech Impact on Our Desire to Explore? Is Exploration Required for Ful...

I interviewed Michael Zervos in Côte d'Ivoire 14 months ago. He was 10% done with his every-country-speed tour.  I interviewed him today, April 8, 2025, when he's over 90% done! Watch the Video Timeline 00:00 Only 23 countries to go 05:20 Time left 08:15 How he gets tourist visas 16:16 Greek Passport 20:00 Finish line Follow him on Instagram   More info To leave an anonymous voicemail that I could...

In 3 WanderLearn episodes, Alex Hutchinson and I discuss his new book,  The Explorer's Gene . The Explorer's Gene examines human exploration broadly, going beyond traditional expeditions to investigate why humans explore everything from new foods to music. Watch my Video Interview with Alex   #2: Does Tech Impact on Our Desire to Explore? Is Exploration Required for Fulfillment ? #3: Exercising Yo...

Charles Veley is often referred to as one of the world's most traveled people, but whether he is definitively the most traveled depends on the criteria used.  I've met Charles Veley four times, and for the fourth time, we recorded our conversation!  Watch it on YouTube   In 2005, Charles Veley founded the Most Traveled People (MTP) community. MTP divides the world into 1,500 areas. As of April 202...

Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau are the authors of Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier. The new book explains the business side of space. Watch all four videos about Space to Grow I interview Brendan Rousseau, one of the two co-authors. Brendan Rousseau shares his origin story and how he ended up at Blue Origin. He discusses why space isn't what it used to be. Watch the Vide...

This mini-episode is another Public Service Announcement from a grammar Nazi. It's my simple effort to clean up sloppy English. I explain why you should never say something is: Very Full Very Unique  Perplexity.ai elaborates: Very Full or Very Unique This mini-episode is another Public Service Announcement from a grammar Nazi. It's my simple effort to clean up sloppy English. I explain why you sho...

Major League Baseball, an exclusively North American league, says its best annual team is the "World Champions," having won the "World Series." No other continent is invited to compete. Similarly, the NBA's top team is called the "World Champions," even though, once again, only North American teams can compete. In 20 seconds, I complain about how North American leagues use the term "World Champs."...

Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau are the authors of Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier.   The new book explains the business side of space. I interview both authors.  Here's my interview with Matthew Weinzierl. Watch the Video Timeline 00:00 Intro 02:00 Low-hanging fruit 07:00 Surprises 09:30 Space is vast and crowded 11:30 Kessler Syndrome 16:30 What won't happen in space?...

When people win awards or are honored in some way, they often say they are "humbled" to receive the recognition. That's absurd. It's the wrong word. Say you're thrilled, happy, or honored, but don't say you're humbled! More info You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at  http://wanderlearn.com . If you like this podcast, subscribe and share!  On social media, my userna...

Happy Valentine's Day 2025! Matthew Halteman and I discuss his book Hungry Beautiful Animals . Professor Halteman mentions  NutritionFacts.org . See/Hear all four episodes with Matthew Halteman . More info You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at  http://wanderlearn.com . If you like this podcast, subscribe and share!  On social media, my username is always FTapon. Co...

Matthew Halteman and I discuss his book Hungry Beautiful Animals . Here's the timeline of our discussion in case you want to skip to a section. 00:00 Know yourself 05:15 Negotiating and compromising 09:15 Cognitive Dissonance    Have you tried lab-grown meat? It has many other names: Cultivated Meat: This term is increasingly favored as it accurately describes growing meat from animal cells in a c...

Lab-grown meat has many other names: Cultivated Meat: This term is increasingly favored as it accurately describes growing meat from animal cells in a controlled environment. Cell-Based Meat: This name emphasizes that the meat is derived from animal cells rather than whole animals, highlighting its scientific origins. Cultured Meat: Like cultivated meat, this term refers to meat produced through c...