Back in February, we interviewed Nell McShane Wulfhart, host of the Decision Coach podcast. She was a fantastic interview—lively, funny, and passionate about helping people make big decisions. She’s also the first one to say she’s really just a “professional bossy boots”—it’s not like you can go to the university of decision-coaching—but over the years, she’s honed her advice-giving skills. And out of all that came her podcast, which features six people who are on the cusp of life-changing decisions and need a little help.

Well, this week, we get to hear one of those episodes. It’s the very first of her show, and in it, she coaches an Australian actor in his mid 40s who wins the United States green card lottery. He’s had a lifetime dream of making it big in Hollywood, but to do so, he’d have to spend his entire savings. Throughout the 30-minute episode, Nell helps him untie the “Gordian knot” of his life and past choices, and figure out how to move forward, all the while offering tips for listeners who may be struggling with their own decisions—maybe even travel decisions.  

Meet this week’s guests

• Nell McShane Wulfhart, podcaster and travel writer

Resources

• Listen to Nell’s episode on Unpacked. 
• Follow the Decision Coach podcast. 
• Check out Nell’s work in travel and decision making. 
• Follow the podcast to ensure you don’t miss an episode. 
• Subscribe to AFAR’s YouTube channel for a full video of the conversation.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which

How often do you do something that scares you? This week on Travel Tales by AFAR, Jeff Jenkins—host of the National Geographic show Never Say Never—reminds us that life begins where our comfort zone ends.

On his show, Jeff tests the limits of his physical and mental abilities. He climbs mountains, cave dives, learns to sumo wrestle, races in a Maori canoe (called a waka), and does basically anything else that is likely to terrify-slash-excite. 

His adventures also serve another purpose: as representation for plus-size travelers. Jeff is the founder of Chubby Diaries, a community he built after he realized that no one in travel media looked like him. He has since used his platform to build that representation and to push for the travel industry to be more inclusive.

Don't miss these moments!

• 3:34: What Never Say Never is all about
• 4:29: The scariest moment of his first season
• 6:34: What it was like to learn to sumo wrestle
• 12:56: His first trip to Japan as a young adult
• 16:52: How he became a travel writer and influencer
• 19:29: The importance of representation for plus-size travelers
• 28:37: How the travel industry could better support plus-size travelers

Meet this week’s guest

• Jeff Jenkins, host of the National Geographic show Never Say Never

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Watch Never Say Never on Disney+.
• Explore the Chubby Diaries. 
• Follow him on Instagram and YouTube.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

Amazon Music link: www.tryamazonmusic.com/KjWPGN

The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the most spectacular, pristine protected places in Canada. But it wasn't always this way. Kevin Smith, a boat captain who grew up in British Columbia and now owns and operates Maple Leaf Adventures, was instrumental in helping turn the local economy from extraction (logging) to tourism. Since then, he's guided thousands of travelers through the wilds of the rainforest and helped build relationships with the Coastal First Nations who have lived there for thousands of years and now steward the land. During the pandemic, he also helmed the largest coastal cleanup ever embarked upon, which is part of his mission to only participate in regenerative tourism.

Don't miss these moments!

• 4:02: The beginning of the Q&A with Kevin.
• 4:31: What it was like growing up on a Canadian island.
• 6:46: Why the Great Bear Rainforest is so important.
• 11:00: Why regenerative tourism matters.
• 14:22: Kevin's Travel Tale.

Meet this week’s guest

• Kevin Smith, owner of Maple Leaf Adventures

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Explore the Great Bear Rainforest.
• Listen to Kevin’s TED Talk.
• Learn about Maple Leaf Adventures’ tours.
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Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

Amazon Music link: www.tryamazonmusic.com/KjWPGN

Can geometric shapes heal the world? That's what the artists of the De Stijl movement—which came of age in the Netherlands after World War I—believed. Piet Mondrian is one of the most famous members of this group, which forbade circles and embraced light, color, and geometry as a way to move past the chaos of the war. As AFAR contributing writer Chris Colin discovers on a trip to Utrecht, that's not quite as bizarre as it sounds. And as he bicycles through quaint streets, meditates along charming canals, and visits the De Stijl artifacts that still exist, Chris learns that, just maybe, De Stijl's philosophy is still applicable today.

Don't miss these moments!

• 3:31: The beginning of Chris's Q&A.
• 7:55: What he appreciated most about the city.
• 9:47: Why De Stijl's art has endured.
• 14:25: Chris's Travel Tale.

Meet this week’s guest

• Chris Colin, AFAR contributing writer 

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Enjoy Chris’s book Off, a picture book about an analog world.
• Visit Utrecht and explore De Stijl for yourself. 
• Listen to Chris’s other Travel Tales about renting a friend in Tokyo and grappling with the mystery of train travel on the Coast Starlight.
• Follow him on Instagram. 

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

Amazon Music link: www.tryamazonmusic.com/KjWPGN

For writer Ryan Knighton, surfing is one of the rare occurrences where he feels completely free. Because, in addition to being an excellent writer, a dad, and a curious individual, Ryan is blind. But that's never stopped him from exploring the world. So more than a decade ago, he learned to surf and has been riding the waves near his home in British Columbia ever since. But he’s always had a hankering to surf in a location he doesn’t know intimately. So this year, he traveled to Kaua‘i, where he found a guide—a surfer named Johnny—who pushed both of their boundaries so that Ryan could ride a new wave.

Don't miss these moments!

• 4:21: An interview with Ryan about how he learned to surf and what it's like to spend most of your life on other people's elbows.
• 24:03: Ryan's travel tale, read by actor Andrew Galteland

Meet this week’s guest

• Ryan Knighton, AFAR contributing writer 

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Read Ryan's story about going on safari in Zimbabwe, his trip to Jordan, and his original Spin the Globe in Cairo.
• Listen to Ryan's original Travel Tale.
• Read Ryan’s book, Cockeyed: A Memoir.
• Watch Billions. 
• Follow him on X. 

A special thanks to Andrew Galteland, who read Ryan's story for him. You can follow Andrew on his podcast, Looters, a sci-fi western role-playing show. Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

Amazon Music link: www.tryamazonmusic.com/KjWPGN

What's it like to eat your way along France's Vallée de la Gastronomie, a 400-mile food trail that begins in Dijon and ends in Marseille? That's the question we're exploring in this week's episode of Travel Tales by AFAR. Host Aislyn Greene, who spent some formative time in France as a 20-something, returns to hunt truffles, meet famous French cows, and taste wine in a cave.

Don't miss these moments!

• 2:25: Her introduction to French food
• 8:13: Truffle hunting in Burgundy with the world's cutest truffle dog
• 18:32: Lyon's most famous food tradition
• 21:32: An introduction to spelunking—and wine-tasting
• 25:59: The magic of Aix-en-Provence

In the episode, you'll understand how to better explore this trail, which invites travelers to get to know France's most famous gastronomic regions in new ways.

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Explore the Vallée de la Gastronomie.
• Follow me on Instagram.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

Amazon Music link: www.tryamazonmusic.com/KjWPGN

The Great Smoky Mountains have had an outsized impact on Dolly Parton—they shaped the way she grew up, influenced her music, and are the only place where she feels truly restored. Which is why she has spent her adult life giving back to the region, primarily through tourism. On this week's episode, we travel to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the unveiling of Dolly's new hotel, HeartSong Lodge & Resort. She shares what makes the hotel special, what's coming next, and sits down with our journalist to talk about how travel has influenced her.

Don't miss these moments!

• 4:35: Dolly welcoming everyone to her hotel press conference
• 7:34: What's next for her tourism efforts
• 11:52: What Dolly looks for in a hotel (it might surprise you!)
• 14:11: How travel can be an education
• 17:33: Dolly sings Heartsong

Meet this week’s guest

• Dolly Parton. Need we say more? 
• Elaine Glusac, a travel journalist who writes for the New York Times and AFAR.

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Learn more about Dolly’s new hotel, HeartSong Lodge & Resort.
• Read Dolly’s new book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. 
• Listen to the song that inspired the name for the hotel, Heartsong. 
• Follow Elaine on Instagram.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

This year, you can follow us on Amazon Music!

After 15 years of living in the United States, food writer—and author of the new cookbook My Everyday Lagos—Yewande Komolafe finally revisited her home city: Lagos, Nigeria. In this episode of Travel Tales by AFAR, we hear the story of that journey and how it helped her heal, and how it helped her reconnect with the Nigerian foods she grew up with. On that first trip back home, she discovered:

• The things that make home feel like home, even when it doesn't look the same
• A new connection with Nigeria's Yoruba traditions
• How food could help her unite her many selves

Don't miss these moments!

• 2:59: An excerpt from Yewande's new cookbook, My Everyday Lagos
• 5:19: Her arrival in the United States as a teenager
• 6:53: How she fell in love with food
• 12:22: Her first trip back to Nigeria
• 18:30: How all of that came together in her new cookbook

In the episode, you'll learn more about Nigerian cuisine, Yoruba traditions, and how, for one traveler, returning home was the catalyst for deep change.

Meet this week’s guest

• Yewande Komolafe, food writer and cookbook author

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Learn more about Yoruba traditions in Nigeria. 
• Read Yewande's column and recipes in the New York Times.
• Buy Yewande’s cookbook, My Everyday Lagos.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

Writer and avid hiker Peggy Orenstein is exactly the kind of person you should send off into the wilderness with an iPhone and a pair of hiking boots. And for this episode, we did just that. In October 2022, Slovenia rolled out the 167-mile Juliana Trail, a route that circles Slovenia's Triglav National park and the Julian Alps and takes walkers back in time. Peggy tackled a portion of the trail and along the way, she found:

• Well-preserved remnants of World War I.
• A rich farm-to-table cuisine.
• Cultural legacies, including a lengthy history of beekeeping.
• Fantastic hiking, that leads along the Sava River and through icon spots like Lake Bled.

Don't miss these moments!

• 2:37: An interview with Peggy.
• 8:15: Her first day on the trail.
• 11:27: How the Juliana Trail came together.
• 14:33: Exploring Slovenian culture along the trail.
• 19:31: Visiting Lake Bohinj.
• 21:08: Losing her phone on the trail.
• 26:47: Toasting with a septuagenarian on a mountaintop.
• 30:58: The last day on the trail.
• 34:16: Peggy's ode to American pop music

In the episode, you'll understand what it's like to hike the Juliana Trail, the trail's highlights, and how Peggy faced down her inner overachiever.

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Learn more about the Juliana Trail and plan your own hike. 
• Read Peggy’s other AFAR stories: hiking the Kumano Kodo trail in Japan, horseback riding in Wyoming, and exploring Yunnan, China. 
• Buy Peggy’s latest book, Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

How does a place change when the person who defined it for you is now gone? That's the question we're exploring in this week's episode of Travel Tales by AFAR. Author Shruti Swamy grew up in the United States, but her parents grew up in Mumbai, India, so she has a unique relationship with the city, in some ways intimate and in some ways totally distant.

Her aunt, Ila Mami, was the person who helped her find Mumbai’s pulse, who helped her fall in love with the city’s colors and tastes and smells. When Ila Mami passed away, Shruti wasn’t sure what Mumbai would hold for her. So she traveled to Mumbai to find out—with her four-year-old daughter in tow. Along the way, she discovered:

• What it's like to visit a place after the loss of a loved one.
• Her favorite memories of exploring Mumbai with her aunt
• How creating new memories with her daughter redefined the city for her in new ways. 

Don't miss these moments!

• 3:31: How writing nonfiction is different than writing fiction
• 6:01: Her expectations for the trip
• 7:16: Her daughter's memories of the trip
• 8:35: The hardest part of the trip
• 10:01: The beginning of Shruti's travel tale

In the episode, you'll understand how one traveler coped with grief and created new memories in Mumbai. You'll also get an insider's look at the vibrant, busy, full-of-life city on the west coast of India.

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Read the story Shruti wrote for the magazine
• Buy Shruti’s novel, The Archer, and short story collection, A House Is a Body.
• Follow Shruti on Twitter.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

50 years after Picasso’s death, AFAR associate editor Mae Hamilton traveled to Spain and France to retrace his life in Europe. She started in Málaga, Spain, where Picasso was born, and ended in Mougins, where Picasso spent his final days. As an art lover, she believes that art is one of the best ways to get to know a place. In this week's episode of Travel Tales by AFAR, Mae shares her story as well as: 

• The ways that art can help us understand a place more deeply. 
• Mae’s favorite places on her Picasso art tour. 
• How the places that Picasso lived are reflected in his art. 
• The places that impacted Picasso the most throughout his life. 

Don't miss these moments!

• 1:56 An interview with Mae about her trip 
• 11:27 The beginning of Mae’s travel tale, in Málaga, Spain, where she explored bull-fighting culture and its impact on Picasso
• 20:04 Mae’s visit to Barcelona, where Picasso began to rebel
• 24:18 Her visit to Paris, where Picasso rose to international fame
• 28:02 The last spot she visited in Nice, France, where Picasso spent his final days in Antibes and Mougins

From Mae, you'll learn how art can shape our perception of place, the ways that the cities Picasso lived in affected his art, the more complicated parts of Picasso’s legacy, and much more.

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Read Mae’s story about following in Picasso’s footsteps and book your own tour. 
• Read Mae’s essay about growing up in Texas. 
• Follow Mae on afar.com. 
• Follow Mae on Instagram. 

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.