Unpacked by AFAR

For 185 years, some of the most important chapters of American history have unfolded on a few blocks of Buffalo's East Side. In the third episode of our four-part Unpacked by Afar series, we walk the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor, the beating heart of Buffalo Black history, with the man who has made preserving it his life's work. Executive director Terry Alford grew up on these streets and is now leading their revival. He guides host Aislyn Greene through 185 years of Buffalo Black history: a church that was one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad, the home where the Niagara Movement was born, the club where jazz greats jammed until dawn because they weren't allowed to sleep in the hotels they had just played, and the radio station that became the megaphone of the Civil Rights movement. Then he shares how urban renewal nearly erased it all, and how he is fighting to bring it back, guided by the Ghanaian principle of Sankofa: move forward, but never forget where you came from. This is cultural travel at its most moving, a piece of American travel culture far too few people know. It is also one of the most powerful travel stories we have told, and a lesson in responsible travel: how to visit a place and honor the people whose stories made it. If Buffalo Black history is not yet on your list of American travel destinations, this episode, and this corridor, will change that. Meet this week's guest Terry Alford, executive director of the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission Chapters 00:00 Buffalo's Black History 04:19 Underground Railroad to Jazz 10:02 Loss and Revival 13:42 A Vision for 2030 Where to go to explore Buffalo's Black history Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor — Start at the visitor center and tour the anchor sites, all just steps apart. Michigan Street Baptist Church — Built in 1845, one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad, with a newly restored interior. Nash House Museum — The preserved home of Rev. J. Edward Nash and Frances Nash, plus the Frances Nash community garden and Tuesday farmers market. The Colored Musicians Club & Jazz Museum — The only continuously running, all-Black-owned club in the U.S., with Sunday night jam sessions and a jazz museum. WUFO Black Radio History Collective — The historic voice of Buffalo's Civil Rights movement. The Freedom Wall — The AKG's 28-portrait mural of Black Civil Rights figures, at the corridor's northern entrance. Read more in Afar's guide to Buffalo's Black history along the Michigan Street corridor, and plan your trip with our Buffalo travel guide. This is episode three of a four-part series. Next week, we explore Buffalo's astonishing architecture, one of the best-kept design secrets in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the final stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina, and we're heading for the trees. In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene laces up for Asheville hiking, and discovers why the oldest mountains on Earth are also some of the most beloved. On a tour with Hike Bike Kayak Asheville that takes Aislyn and guide David into the Pisgah National Forest, Aislyn learns that Asheville hiking means far more than a simple walk in the woods. These are among the oldest mountains in the world, cloaked in one of the most biodiverse forests in North America, home to thousands of plant species and waterfalls around nearly every bend. David leads her to quiet swimming holes and points out plants that grow nowhere else on Earth. She stands beneath Looking Glass Falls and hears how a single valley packs in world-class rock climbing, fly fishing on the Davidson River, and a 60-foot natural water slide called Sliding Rock. Zoom out, and the scale is staggering. The Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway are among the most visited places in the entire national park system, and Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, rises just up the road. It helps explain why so many people who come here for Asheville hiking end up never wanting to leave, and why the outdoors are one of America's great travel destinations. It's a landscape you can dip into for a single afternoon or disappear into for a week. It all adds up to a rich piece of cultural travel and a fitting finale to our guide: a reminder that in Asheville, the wild is never far away. Whether you want a gentle waterfall stroll or a hard climb to a summit view, the trailheads are closer than you think, and the payoff is some of the most beautiful country in the eastern United States. Consider it your guide to where to go and what to know. Unpacked by Afar is a travel podcast that unpacks one destination at a time. That's the end of our Asheville audio guide, so catch up on the whole series in the feed. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Older Than the Atlantic 00:02:30 Meeting My Guide 00:06:30 The Blue Ridge Parkway 00:11:00 Looking Glass Falls 00:13:15 Wildflowers and Orchids 00:16:15 Behind Moore Cove GUESTS | David Teafatiller of Hike Bike Kayak Asheville, our hiking guide PLACES WE VISITED Pisgah National Forest Looking Glass Falls Sliding Rock Davidson River Blue Ridge Parkway Great Smoky Mountains National Park Mount Mitchell State Park MORE FROM AFAR Asheville Travel Guide 10 Travel Itineraries for Exploring Asheville Your Way (includes an outdoor itinerary) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the fourth stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina, and it may be the tastiest one yet. In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene digs into Asheville food, and the surprising reason this mountain city punches so far above its weight at the table. Aislyn joins a walking food tour with Sita of Eating Asheville, eating her way through a town where farm to table isn't a slogan but a fact of geography. Along the way she: Discovers that Asheville food can be a real relief for anyone with dietary restrictions at the celiac-run kitchen of Strada Italiano Hears the moving, Helene-shaped story behind Mehfil from its owner, Raj Tastes mountain-grown rice at the farm-to-table cornerstone Table with chef Catherine Smedley Forages Appalachian flavors at Luminosa And finishes with a former science teacher turned chocolatier, Melissa Quinn, at Asheville Chocolate. It's a scene built on tight relationships between kitchens and the farms a few ridges away, where the rice on your plate might have been grown just up the road, and where a devastating hurricane the year before only deepened the sense that these restaurants belong to their community. But great Asheville food is also a question of who gets to make it, and whose history gets remembered. In a segment on the region's Black foodways, Aislyn talks with two of the city's most celebrated chefs, Ashleigh Shanti of Good Hot Fish and Rakim Gaines of Capella on 9, about Affrilachian cooking, representation behind the stove, and the stories layered into every plate. Their conversation is a reminder that a food town's story has to include the people history has too often left off the menu. It all adds up to a rich piece of cultural travel and a portrait of one of the best small food towns in the country. Whatever you come hungry for, consider this your guide to where to go and what to know. Unpacked by Afar is a travel podcast that unpacks one destination at a time, with a real love of food and travel. This Asheville audio guide has one more episode to go, so look for it in the feed. CHAPTERS 00:00 A Real Food Town 03:00 Strada's Gluten-Free Surprise 05:00 Mehfil and Raj's Story 09:45 Table's Mountain Rice 12:40 Foraging at Luminosa 18:15 Cooking on The Block 23:15 Dessert With Melissa Quinn 26:00 Come Hungry GUESTS Sita, operations manager and tour guide, Eating Asheville Walking Food Tours Raj, owner, Mehfil Indian Restaurant Catherine Smedley, chef de cuisine, Table Chef Sean McMullen of Luminosa Melissa Quinn, head chocolatier and owner, Asheville Chocolate Ashleigh Shanti, chef and owner, Good Hot Fish Rakim Gaines, executive chef, Capella on 9 PLACES WE VISITED Strada Italiano Mehfil Indian Restaurant Table Luminosa (in the Flatiron Building) Asheville Chocolate Good Hot Fish Capella on 9 MORE FROM AFAR Asheville Travel Guide A Local Chef's 2-Day Travel Guide to Asheville Immerse Yourself in Asheville's Culturally Diverse Experiences Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the third stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina, and it takes us just outside the city to the small mountain town of Black Mountain, North Carolina. In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene goes looking for the creative soul of the region, and finds it everywhere: in the galleries, in the glass studios, and above all in the music scene. Aislyn starts with breakfast at Cousins Cuban Cafe, then walks a town so small you can cross it in a few minutes, passing murals of Black Mountain's famous daughter, the late Roberta Flack. She also traces the ghost of Black Mountain College, the radical, short-lived arts school just outside town that helped shape modern American art before it closed and all but disappeared. She plays with fire at the North Carolina Glass Center alongside executive director Candace Riley and glassblower Mark DeShields, learning how the quartz buried in these mountains helped turn the region into a glass capital. Over dinner at Hell or High Water, chef Eric Morris explains how Appalachian food ways, and a hurricane, gave the restaurant its name. But the heart of the episode is music. At a listening room called White Horse, Aislyn meets managing director Zach Hinkle, who traces the surprising, and nearly lost, blues and gospel roots of Asheville music, and explains why this corner of the Blue Ridge has always pulled creative people in. The episode ends inside a benefit concert, where the whole community turns out to keep a beloved venue alive. It all adds up to a rich piece of cultural travel: the story of why a tiny mountain town became one of the most quietly influential creative places in America, one of the South's most surprising travel destinations, and why the Asheville music scene still draws people to these hills. Consider it your guide to where to go and what to know. Unpacked by Afar is a travel podcast that unpacks one destination at a time. This Asheville audio guide continues, so look for the rest of the series waiting in the feed. CHAPTERS (00:00) Welcome to Black Mountain (01:30) Breakfast at Cousins Cuban and a walk through town (04:00) Playing with fire at the North Carolina Glass Center (06:30) The quartz that made a glass capital (11:00) Dinner at Hell or High Water (13:30) A restaurant named for the storm (17:00) Inside the White Horse listening room (19:00) The nearly lost blues of these mountains (22:00) A benefit concert, and why the music survives (27:00) The creative soul of Black Mountain GUESTS Candace Reilly, executive director, North Carolina Glass Center Mark DeShields, glassblower, North Carolina Glass Center Eric Morris, executive chef, Hell or High Water (Foothills Local Meats) Zach Hinkle, managing director, White Horse Black Mountain Featured musicians at the White Horse benefit: Robin Bullock, Bill Maddox, Dr. Bill Bares, Peggy Ratusz, and Chris Rosser PLACES WE VISITED Cousins Cuban Cafe North Carolina Glass Center Hell or High Water Trillium Table White Horse Black Mountain (performing at the Monte Vista Hotel during renovations) Stay: Peri Social House MORE FROM AFAR Asheville Travel Guide 10 Travel Itineraries for Exploring Asheville Your Way⁠ (including a music itinerary led by Virtuous) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina, and it reaches back a lot further than you might expect. In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene unpacks the long, strange story of Asheville wellness, and why doctors have been sending patients to these mountains for more than a century and a half. To understand where Asheville wellness began, Aislyn talks with David Freedman, an infectious disease physician and travel medicine expert who retired to the city. He explains the era of climatotherapy, when clean mountain air and a just-right altitude were prescribed for the respiratory illnesses of the Industrial Revolution, and for the deadliest disease of the 19th century, tuberculosis. It's a history written into the architecture itself, from buildings angled toward the prevailing wind to the once-ubiquitous sleeping porch, and even into the phrase “health resort,” which Asheville helped invent. Then Aislyn brings the story to the present, where Asheville wellness has grown into one of the most diverse scenes in the country. She heads into the Asheville Salt Cave and Spa, surrounded by 30 tons of ancient Himalayan salt, and hears from owner Jodie Appel about the surprising family story that started it all. She also sits in on a sound bath with sound therapist Kristin Hillegas, and gathers the full, wonderfully weird range of what you can try here, from hydrotherapy and aura photography to a practitioner known as the Breath Nurse. It all adds up to a rich piece of cultural travel and a portrait of a place locals call the Happy City. Whatever draws you to these mountains, it's a reminder that the best travel experiences often start with simply feeling better, and that knowing where to go can be its own kind of medicine. Unpacked by Afar is a travel podcast that unpacks one destination at a time. This Asheville audio guide continues across three more episodes, so look for the rest of the series waiting in the feed. GUESTS David O. Freedman, infectious disease physician and travel medicine expert, Asheville Jodi Appel, owner, Asheville Salt Cave and Spa Kristin Hillegas, sound therapist, who runs Serenity Sound Healing of Asheville and leads sound baths at the Center for Spiritual Living Asheville Tebbé Davis, guide and storyteller, Asheville By Foot walking tours (returning from episode 1) PLACES WE VISITED Asheville Salt Cave and Spa Center for Spiritual Living Asheville Serenity Sound Healing of Asheville The Spa at Omni Grove Park Inn CHAPTERS (00:00) A century-old prescription: go to the mountains (01:40) A sound bath to begin (02:10) Meet David Freedman and the science of climatotherapy (03:40) Fresh air, altitude, and the architecture of breathing (07:50) Tuberculosis and the “Robber of Youth” (09:20) John Dickson's “cure” and the birth of the “health resort” (11:10) From sanitariums to a modern wellness scene (11:20) Inside the Asheville Salt Cave (13:00) Jodi Appell on salt, her father, and opening the spa (17:00) A sound bath, up close (19:00) Why Asheville calls itself the “Happy City” (20:45) People still come here to feel better MORE FROM AFAR Asheville Travel Guide 10 Travel Itineraries for Exploring Asheville Your Way (includes a restorative, wellness-minded itinerary) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the first stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina. And where better to start than at the beginning? In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene sets out on foot to trace Asheville history from the ground up, and to answer a simple question: How did a remote, hard-to-reach valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains become one of the most creative small cities in America? Aislyn's first guide reveals the deep Asheville history hiding in plain sight downtown. There are the ancient mountains and rivers, the Cherokee crossroads that predated the city by thousands of years, the rowdy cattle-drive era that gave the town its early reputation, and the arrival of the railroad in 1880, which brought the Vanderbilts, the Groves, and the money that built landmarks like the Grove Arcade. From there, Aislyn drives out to the Biltmore Estate, America's largest privately owned home, to meet Chase Pickering, a fifth-generation member of the Vanderbilt family. He shares what it was like to grow up on the estate, and why stewardship and sustainability still shape the property today. But no honest telling of Asheville history is complete without the Black community that helped build the city, including Biltmore itself. Aislyn rides through the historically Black neighborhoods of Eagle Street and Burton Street with DeWayne Barton of Hood Huggers, meets community elder Clifford Cotton, grandson of the pioneering entrepreneur E.W. Pearson, and hears a song from Asheville artist Virtuous. It all adds up to a rich piece of cultural travel and the story of how Asheville became Asheville: a place ringed by mountains where people have both passed through and put down deep roots. Consider this your starting point for planning Asheville travel, and your first look at one of the South's most distinctive travel destinations. It's also your reminder that the best trips start with knowing where to go and why a place is the way it is. Unpacked by Afar is a travel podcast that unpacks one destination at a time. This Asheville audio guide continues across four more episodes, so look for the rest of the series waiting in the feed. GUESTS Tebbé Davis, guide and storyteller, Asheville By Foot walking tours Chase Pickering, Vice President of Guest Experience at the Biltmore Estate, and fifth-generation Vanderbilt family member DeWayne Barton, founder, Hood Huggers Clifford Cotton, community elder and grandson of E.W. Pearson, Burton Street Community Center Virtuous, songwriter and performing artist PLACES WE VISITED//WHERE WE STAYED Grove Arcade Biltmore Estate Eagle Street Basilica of Saint Lawrence Burton Street Community Center Peace Gardens & Market Stay: AutoCamp Asheville, Airstream lodging on the river Stay: The Windsor Boutique Hotel, apartment style lodging downtown CHAPTERS (00:00) Welcome to Asheville (01:05) The oldest mountains in the world (02:40) A Cherokee crossroads and the “Las Vegas” of the 1800s (05:00) Inside the Grove Arcade (10:40) The Vanderbilts and the Biltmore Estate (12:10) Chase Pickering on five generations at Biltmore (17:50) The Black community that built Asheville (19:00) Riding with Hood Huggers through Burton Street (21:40) E.W. Pearson's legacy and the Royal Giants (24:40) The Peace Gardens Sculpture Park (27:15) How Asheville became Asheville MORE FROM AFAR Asheville Travel Guide Immerse Yourself in Asheville's Culturally Diverse Experiences 10 Travel Itineraries for Exploring Asheville Your Way (including a music itinerary led by Virtuous) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buffalo, New York has called itself the City of Good Neighbors since 1940, and in 2023 Reader's Digest even voted it the nicest city in America. But is it true? In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene turns a Buffalo travel story into a bigger question: what does it actually take to turn a stranger into a neighbor? We begin 150 years ago, on the East Side patch that grew into the second-largest Polish community in the world and the birthplace of Dyngus Day, one of the most joyful traditions in American travel culture. Then we follow that same ground to today, where newcomers from Burma, Congo, Iraq, and Afghanistan are remaking the city block by block. This is cultural travel at its richest: the refugee resettlement workers who set up a family's home before they arrive, the volunteers who knock on the door, and one man's first snow-covered year going from guest to Buffalonian. If you love travel stories about the people who make a place, this Buffalo travel episode is a love letter to the city's neighborhoods and the neighbors rebuilding them. It's also a reminder that the most meaningful, responsible travel often means slowing down to notice who actually lives somewhere. Where to go to explore Buffalo Dyngus Day — The water-and-pussy-willow spring celebration through the Historic Polonia District, the largest Dyngus Day anywhere outside Poland. Broadway Market — The 130-plus-year-old public market at the heart of the old Polish East Side, still going strong. Buffalo Central Terminal — The grand, once-abandoned Art Deco railroad terminal now being restored, and where the Dyngus Day parade ends. Journey's End Refugee Services — Learn about the Home Again program, volunteer, or donate to help welcome Buffalo's newest neighbors. Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens — Where Ko Ko finally found a mango tree, and a green escape from a long Buffalo winter. Plan your own trip with our Buffalo travel guide. Chapters 00:00 — Dyngus Day 02:00 — City of Good Neighbors 06:00 — Building Polonia 14:00 — A New Wave 22:00 — From Guest to Buffalonian Follow Unpacked by Afar for more on where to go next, and let this be your guide to a side of Buffalo travel most visitors never see. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everybody knows Buffalo, New York, for the chicken wing. Fewer people know the real story behind the wing—or the full story of Buffalo's food scene, which is grounded in tradition and full of innovation. In the first episode of our four-part Unpacked by Afar series on Buffalo, we start where you should always start: at the table. Host Aislyn Greene digs into a food scene that has quietly become one of the most surprising in America, shaped by waves of immigrants and refugees, a fiercely independent streak, and chefs who don't need anyone's permission to be great. Meet this week's guests Francesca Bond, food and drink reporter at the Buffalo News Jessica Forster,  partner, wine director, and sommelier at ⁠Waxlight Bar à Vin⁠ Lina Brown-Young, founder of John Young's Original Topics covered The history of food in Buffalo Why serious restaurants are betting on Buffalo's food scene The real story of the Buffalo chicken wing The best traditional foods to try, inclbeef on weck, the Tom and Jerry (a Christmastime drink), and the deep-fried pizza log. Why Buffalo turned down a spot in the Michelin Guide (for now), and what that choice reveals about how the city sees itself. Where to go to explore Buffalo's food scene Southern Junction — Chef Ryan Fernandez's nationally acclaimed "Tex-ish" barbecue, blending Texas smoke with South Indian (Keralan) spice. Waxlight Bar à Vin — Owner-operated wine bar in Black Rock with an ever-changing, French-ish menu, with a happy hour that lets you taste the ambition for around $12. John Young's Original — Lina Brown-Young's bottled mumbo sauce (original and spicy), plus pop-up wings at the Broadway Market. The Wing Ride (Buffalo Bike Tours) — A bike tour into the true, complicated history of the Buffalo wing, featuring a stop with Lina Brown-Young and her father's recipe. West Side Bazaar — A small-business incubator and international food hall built by refugee and immigrant entrepreneurs Duende at Silo City — A bar and gathering space set among Buffalo's historic grain silos on the river. Anchor Bar — The wing's long-credited "official" birthplace, for the other side of the story. ⁠ Find more in this afar.com guide to Buffalo's food scene and be sure to explore our Buffalo travel guide This is episode one of a four-part series that includes travel tips to help you explore Buffalo. Next week, we walk the neighborhoods of the self-described "City of Good Neighbors." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Unpacked Five Questions, a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of one great travel story. In this episode, executive editor Katherine LaGrave sits down with writer Latria Graham, Afar's Unpacked columnist. Latria spent seven weeks driving the nearly 5,000-mile Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail—alone—to report a story about the Corps of Discovery's most essential and least credited member: York, an enslaved man whose skills, knowledge, and presence helped make the entire expedition possible. Latria traces the trail from Kentucky to the Pacific Northwest, stopping at massacre sites, Indigenous mounds, sunflower fields, and a 50-foot statue of an Indigenous woman with a star quilt—asking what it means to travel responsibly through landscapes layered with historical trauma, and the questions that still remain about York's life. Meet this week's guest Latria Graham is a writer and Afar's Unpacked columnist, whose work turns over some of travel's biggest and most difficult questions—from whether we should visit museums with complicated histories to how we can better support hospitality workers. Follow her on Instagram at @missgraham. Episode highlights Why York—the enslaved man who traveled the entire Corps of Discovery expedition—was essential to its survival, and how historical accounts minimized him for generations while Black historians have spent decades restoring his full dimensions What Latria found at the statue of York in Louisville, the Dignity of Earth and Sky sculpture in Chamberlain, South Dakota, and Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in North Dakota: three sites that grappled honestly with what the trail erased How to travel responsibly through landscapes layered with trauma: spending money with local restaurants and farms, practicing leave no trace principles, sitting with hard history in small museums, and knowing when not to take the riskier hike Why the rivers mattered most: every confluence, every overlook, every moment the water changed direction—the one thing on the trail that was there before the history and will be there after it The questions the trail left open: what actually happened to York after the expedition ended, whether a GIS map or an app might tell these stories better than a book, and what it means to make sure history lives as fully realized human lives rather than names and dates Links & resources Follow Latria Graham on Instagram Read her Lewis and Clark trail story for Afar Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LGBTQ+ Americans are more than twice as likely as the general population to hold a valid passport. That stat sits at the heart of (Out )on the Road: The Radical Joy of Queer Travel, a new book from writer Lindsey Danis that's part memoir, part guide. Most conversations about queer travel start and end with safety. Lindsey wanted to write past that, toward joy, belonging, and power. In this episode, they and Aislyn talk about the honeymoon trip that reshaped Lindsey's whole life, the research that turns fear into freedom, and why traveling as exactly who you are is its own kind of homecoming. Meet this week's guest Lindsey Danis is a writer and the author of (Out )on the Road, a travel memoir and reported guide written by and for LGBTQ+ travelers. Their work explores queer travel, belonging, and the search for joy on the road. You can find their work at lindseydanis.com. In this episode you'll learn Why Lindsey scrapped an entire early draft that was a straightforward travel memoir, and what they wrote instead. How research becomes the bridge from fear to joy, and the two tools Lindsey relies on before every trip. Why a honeymoon in Vietnam and Thailand changed not just how Lindsey travels, but where and how they live. What Lindsey hopes allies take away from the book, including readers who never expected to see themselves in it. Episode chapters 00:00 A Surprising Stat 02:00 The Book They Needed 05:00 Scrapping The Memoir 09:00 Hiding And Choice 12:00 On Passing 16:00 Two Favorite Tools 18:00 A Toast In Vietnam 20:00 The Honeymoon Shift 25:00 The Galapagos 27:00 A Note For Allies 30:00 Next Stop, Sri Lanka Resources Movement Advancement Project — a color-coded database comparing US state laws on gender identity and sexual orientation: mapresearch.org EqualDex — a country-by-country index of LGBTQ+ rights and attitudes worldwide: equaldex.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Travel to Listen, a new Unpacked series hosted by veteran music journalist Tim Chester. Over four episodes, Tim took us into the cities where music is more than entertainment—it's the shortcut to a place's soul. In this season finale, he heads to Detroit to explore the legendary Motown sound—and to find out what's next for the little house on West Grand Boulevard that started it all. Meet this week's guests Adam White is the author of Motown: The Sound of Young America, co-written with former Motown president Barney Ales. A former editor-in-chief at Billboard, Adam has spent 40 years exploring the Motown story and writes a weekly blog about the label at adamwhite.com. Robin Terry is the chairwoman and CEO of the Motown Museum—and Berry Gordy's great-niece. Raised by her grandmother Esther Gordy Edwards, who founded the museum, Robyn is currently leading the $75 million expansion. Guest host Tim Chester is a freelance travel and culture writer who has spent the past 20 years exploring the world through the lens of music. His reporting has appeared in NME, Spin, and Afar, and his travels have taken him from Manhattan to Malawi and Beijing to Berlin in search of the festivals, scenes, and stories that reveal a city's soul. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Detroit 00:02:00 Why Motown Endures 00:04:00 The Detroit Advantage 00:07:00 The Motown Family 00:09:00 Inside Hitsville USA 00:12:00 Psychedelic Soul 00:16:00 Hitsville Next A Music Fan's Travel Guide to Detroit Detroit's Motown story is anchored to one street, but the city's music scene runs much deeper. Here's how to experience it. Start here: the essential stops Hitsville USA / The Motown Museum — Berry Gordy's original house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard, where Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Temptations, and Martha and the Vandellas all got their start. Note: the museum is closed during its $75 million expansion, but the plaza in front of Hitsville is open and activated with food trucks and live performances all summer. Esther Gordy Edwards Center for Excellence — the nearby space hosting the museum's first major exhibition, Psychedelic Soul, running through September 2026. A deep dive into Motown's overlooked '70s era, Norman Whitfield, and the Temptations. Michigan Central Station — the newly restored Beaux-Arts landmark that anchors Detroit's broader reinvention. A short drive from Hitsville and worth the detour. Hear live music Smokey's Soul Town on SiriusXM — not a venue, but essential listening before and during your trip. The show is recorded at the museum and hosted by Levi Stubbs III and John Mason. The Current (Twin Cities) — if you're road-tripping from Minneapolis, keep this on. Their gig listings track what's happening across the Midwest music scene. Go deeper Standing in the Shadows of Motown — the book and documentary that finally gave names and faces to the Funk Brothers, the studio musicians behind the sound. Hitsville Next — the Motown Museum's emerging artist community for singers, songwriters, musicians, and engineers. hitsvil​leusa.com The full Travel to Listen series Episode 1: Macon, Georgia — Little Richard, Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers, and the small Southern city that punches far above its weight. Listen now. Episode 2: Minneapolis — Prince, the Minneapolis sound, and a city still making music history a decade after his death. Listen now. Episode 3: Southern California — the spacey, grungy desert rock scene beyond Coachella. Listen now. Episode 4 (this one!): Detroit — Motown, Hitsville USA, and what comes next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the last Feel-Good Friday before host Aislyn and producer Nikki take a summer break. And they're sending the season off with two of summer's great pleasures: a viral World Cup food obsession and a very American bourbon. First, why international soccer fans are falling hard for ranch dressing—and getting stopped at airport security over it. Then, a first-of-its-kind whiskey blended from all 50 states, arriving just in time for the Fourth of July and America's 250th birthday. This week's Feel-Good Friday stories International visitors flooding the US for the World Cup have discovered ranch dressing, and they want to take it home by the bottle. Aislyn and Nikki tackle the great World Cup ranch debate. An independent bottler spent five years and a cross-country road trip visiting more than 100 distilleries to create the first whiskey ever blended from all 50 states. PLUS a limited 1776 edition drawn from the original 13 colonies, made to mark the country's 250th. Bonus: A couple of cautionary tales about packing wine home in your luggage, and a solemn vow never to pair good bourbon with ranch. That's a wrap on Feel-Good Friday for the season. Aislyn and Nikki will be back after a summer break — until then, happy Fourth of July, and happy summer. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Friday 00:02:00 The Great Ranch Debate 00:05:00 Liquid Smuggling Confessions 00:07:00 United States of Bourbon 00:10:00 Cheers to Summer Stay connected Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland hit the road in Michigan and find epic adventures, gorgeous waterways—and a new way to connect. Join them as they follow Michigan's mitten counterclockwise, exploring the state's many waterways. They paddle the Au Sable River, flying over the Lake Huron shipwrecks of Thunder Bay, ferry over to the car-free Mackinac Island, savor, the deep quiet of Drummond Island—and the sparkling-wine country of the Leelanau Peninsula. It's a Great Lakes road trip built on short drives, Up North history, and the kindness of strangers, and it turns into a case for why traveling this way might be one of the best ways to build a friendship. Meet this week's guests (aka our new Michigan friends) Adam Hume runs Oscoda Canoe Rental on the Au Sable River. Kathy Erickson helps put on the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon, the 120-mile overnight race she lovingly calls the world's toughest spectator sport. Stephanie Gandulla is a maritime archaeologist at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Captain Richard Biffle pilots the glass-bottom Lady Michigan for Alpena Shipwreck Tours. Patrick Conlon is the general manager of The Inn at Stonecliffe on Mackinac Island and one of roughly 500 people who live on the island year round. Emily is the wine club manager at MAWBY on the Leelanau Peninsula. You'll also hear from Jared, the pilot who flew Aislyn and Nikki over the wrecks in a 1975 Cessna, and Sarah, the guide who showed them around Alpena for the afternoon. This summer (or next fall...or spring...) plan your own Michigan road trip, hitting the spots featured in the episode Detroit: Start in the Motor City with Afar's Detroit guide. Oscoda and the Sunrise Coast: Paddle the Au Sable River with Oscoda Canoe Rental and sleep on Lake Huron at the Sweetwater Sea Bed & Breakfast. Time your visit to the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon if you can; this year's race starts July 25. Alpena and Thunder Bay: Start at the free Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, then ride the glass-bottom Lady Michigan with Alpena Shipwreck Tours over the wrecks of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and climb the New and Old Presque Isle lighthouses. Mackinac Island: Stay at The Inn at Stonecliffe (a humanitarian hotel), bike the 8-mile car-free loop on M-185, and sample your way through the island's famous fudge shops. Drummond Island: Base at Drummond Island Resort and walk the Maxton Plains, one of the world's rare alvar grasslands. Leelanau Peninsula: Taste sparkling wine at MAWBY, the oldest winery on the peninsula. The stops that didn't make the episode but are worth a visit! The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie Traverse City, home to delicious restaurants, fantastic cider, tall-ship sails, the annual cherry festival, and so much more Saugatuck, where Nikki and Aislyn stayed at the retro Pines Motor Lodge And Dablon winery in Baroda, which is part of the Lake Michigan Shore AVA (find more wineries to explore in the region) Plan the whole route with Afar's Michigan guide and Afar's guide to road trips. Stay connected Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Feel-Good Friday, and Unpacked host Aislyn and producer Nikki are joined by a guest they've been waiting weeks to record with: Afar senior editor Lucy Kehoe, who also edits our UK sister title, Suitcase. Three stories, all good news, landing fittingly on Juneteenth. This week's stories: A landmark opening in Chicago lands right on Juneteenth: a nearly 20-acre campus on the South Side, a decade in the making, that's less presidential library and more civic gathering place, right down to an Oval Office anyone can sit in. Five new museums are arriving in one famously museum-rich city this year, from a vertigo-inducing glass storehouse where you can watch conservators at work to a love letter to teenage subcultures, Walkman included. A newly protected stretch of the South Pacific roughly the size of the Amazon rainforest. One that's Indigenous-led, tourism-friendly, and home to about three-quarters of the world's coral species. Plus: Nikki's very specific dream of finally meeting a dugong in the wild. Tune in every Friday through June for a fresh trio of stories from Afar's favorite travel writers and editors. We'll see you next week. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Friday 00:02:00 You Are America 00:04:00 London's Museum Boom 00:08:00 Protecting the Coral Triangle 00:11:00 In Search of Dugongs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What makes a hotel the best? Not just new, not just beautiful, but worthy of a list that thousands of travelers plan their year around? For Afar senior deputy editor Jennifer Flowers, it comes down to a single test: does this hotel have a story? Not a marketing story—a real one, rooted in the place it sits, the community around it, or the history in its bones. In this episode, Afar editorial director Billie Cohen sits down with Jenn to go behind the scenes of the 2026 Best New Hotels list, one of the biggest the team has ever assembled at 40 properties. Jenn explains how the year-long vetting process actually works (yes, every hotel was personally visited), why she pairs the right writer with the right destination, and what separates a genuine standout from a merely beautiful place to stay. Along the way, Billie and Jenn travel from a nonprofit lodge reachable only by boat or seaplane at the edge of British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest, to a working dairy farm in Japan's Tohoku region, to a six-suite, solar-powered lodge on regenerating land in South Africa. They dig into the year's biggest themes: the rise of women hoteliers at the founder and CEO level, the surprising number of “new” hotels that are actually painstaking restorations of centuries-old buildings, the reinvention of the all-inclusive, and a growing hunger for ethical access to the world's wild places. See the full 2026 Best New Hotels list at afar.com/bestnewhotels. Chapters 00:00 — What Makes the Best 02:00 — The Story Test 08:00 — A Sleeper Hit 10:00 — Reviving an Icon 14:00 — Earning Your Luxury 18:00 — Part of the Place 20:00 — Surprised in Palm Beach 23:00 — New Hotels, Old Souls 28:00 — All-Inclusive, Reimagined 32:00 — Why Humans Still Matter Stay connected Follow Afar on Instagram and TikTok Follow Billie Cohen on Instagram Follow Jennifer Flowers on Instagram Stay connected Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to "Travel to Listen," a new Unpacked series hosted by veteran music journalist Tim Chester. Over four episodes rolling out every other week, Tim takes us into the cities where music is more than entertainment—it's the shortcut to a place's soul. This week, he heads into the high desert of Southern California to find out why the Mojave has been spawning some of rock's most original sounds for decades. Along the way, he discovers a landscape that's every bit as wild and inspiring as the music it produces. In this episode What “desert rock” actually means—and how the Mojave Desert's extreme heat, isolation, and silence forged a uniquely sun-baked, heavy sound that's impossible to replicate anywhere else The family tree of the genre: from Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age to Fu Manchu and a sprawling network of bands centered around Joshua Tree and 29 Palms The Mojave Experience, a two-day desert rock festival organized by Patrick Brink of the band Volume—and his plans to bring it back bigger next year Why the California desert has drawn musicians, filmmakers, and creatives for decades: from Gram Parsons' storied final days—and why Roc Gardner left New York to build a creative retreat called Escape in the desert Where to go and what to do: Joshua Tree National Park, Pioneertown, Pappy & Harriet's, generator parties under the stars, and why the area rewards a few slow days off the beaten path Meet this week's guests Patrick Brink is the frontman of Volume, a desert rock band from 29 Palms, California. He organized the Mojave Experience, a two-day desert rock festival featuring Kyuss alumni and scene veterans, and plans to bring it back bigger in spring 2027. Roc Gardner is a songwriter, entrepreneur, and the founder of Escape, a creative retreat for musicians, artists, filmmakers, and thought leaders set on the high desert outside Joshua Tree. A former New Yorker, Roc has hosted everyone from Usher to the Arctic Monkeys since opening. Guest host Tim Chester is a freelance travel and culture writer who has spent the past 20 years exploring the world through the lens of music. His reporting has appeared in NME, Spin, and Afar, and his travels have taken him from Manhattan to Malawi and Beijing to Berlin in search of the festivals, scenes, and stories that reveal a city's soul. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to the Desert 00:01:00 What Is Desert Rock? 00:02:00 Volume and the Mojave Experience 00:03:00 The Scene's Family Tree 00:04:00 Isolation, Extremes, and the Desert Sound 00:05:30 Space, Dynamics, and the Mojave Aesthetic 00:06:00 Desert Spirituality: the Integratron and Giant Rock 00:07:00 Generator Parties and Local Radio 00:08:00 Rock and Roll History in the Desert 00:09:00 Roc Gardner and Escape 00:10:30 The Creative Pull of the High Desert 00:12:00 Why You Should Visit A Music Fan's Travel Guide to the California Desert The high desert around Joshua Tree rewards slow travel. Most of the key spots are within easy reach of the town of Joshua Tree or 29 Palms. Here's how to do it like a fan. Start here: the essential stops Joshua Tree National Park—a designated Dark Sky Park and one of the most visually distinctive landscapes in North America, where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet. Hike, climb, and stay after dark for the stars. Pioneertown—an original 1940s cowboy movie set built by Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, still largely intact and walkable. The Integratron—a dome-shaped structure built by UFO enthusiast George Van Tassel in the 1950s. Book a sound bath and let the acoustics do their work. Giant Rock—one of the largest freestanding boulders in the world, a sacred site for the Serrano people and a legendary UFO gathering spot in the 1950s. Earthless played an immense show here. It's on YouTube. Hear live music Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace—the legendary honky-tonk saloon and music venue a mile outside Pioneertown. Paul McCartney has played here. Capacity: 300 inside, 1,000 outside. If anyone serious is touring through the desert, they're playing Pappy's. Local Show on Z107.7—Pat Kerns curates a two-hour showcase of local desert bands every Sunday on the area's community radio station: folk, punk, spaced-out psychedelia, and everything in between. The Mojave Experience—Patrick Brink's desert rock festival, planned to return in spring 2027. Check the website for lineup and dates. Stay and create Escape—Roc Gardner's creative retreat for musicians, artists, and anyone looking to swap city static for desert silence. Used by Usher, the Arctic Monkeys, and a long list of creatives. Rancho de la Luna—the legendary desert recording studio that inspired Escape, used by artists across the rock spectrum for decades. Go a little deeper Desert rock playlist—check the show notes for a curated playlist featuring Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Volume, Earthless, and more. Load it up for the drive in. Gram Parsons shrine—the small shrine behind a rock in Joshua Tree National Park, marking where rock's greatest cosmic cowboy spent his final days. Worth finding if you know where to look. Generator parties—informal outdoor concerts powered by generators, a desert tradition going back decades. Check local listings for upcoming shows, especially in fall and winter. Up next on Travel to Listen Tim heads to Detroit to hear big news at the Motown Museum—and to find out what's driving a musical renaissance in one of America's most storied music cities. New episode in two weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Feel-Good Friday, when your Unpacked host (Aislyn) and producer (Nikki) get together to swap the stories making them feel good this week. And this week they're joined by Afar's director of photography, Michelle Heimerman. They share three stories that are making them feel optimistic this week. Stories like... Some genuinely good news for anyone who loves a beach: one of the world's most beach-blessed countries has spent the past decade quietly turning the tide on plastic pollution — and the playbook is more doable than you'd think. A high-altitude adventure that trades the summit selfie for something quieter and more lasting — proof that you can chase a punishing challenge purely for the experience, not the applause. Meet the women rewriting who gets to lead a safari — and why the guides who didn't grow up in the bush might just be the best ones behind the wheel. Resources Learn more about Bartek Ziemski Read more about Australia's plastic decrease Listen to the episode about ABC's female guiding program The Afar Nepal cover shoot ⁠video⁠ Ridwell, the recycling service Chapters Tune in every Friday through June for a fresh trio of stories from Afar's favorite travel writers and editors. Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does a safari look like when the guide isn't a man? Award-winning writer and editor Ellen Carpenter went to Botswana's Okavango Delta to find out. (To learn more, read her Afar story about the experience.) Meet this week's guests Ellen Carpenter is a New York–based culture and travel journalist. She served as editor in chief of Hemispheres, United's inflight magazine, for seven years, and before that was an editor at Rhapsody, Nylon, Spin, and Rolling Stone. Baemule "Bae" Siethuka, 32, grew up in Tutume in northeastern Botswana and was working in HR when she saw African Bush Camps' guiding program posted on Facebook. She became the program's first graduate in 2025 and is now a junior guide at Atzaró Okavango. Tshidi Phalaagae, 28, is a trainee guide from Gaborone, Botswana's capital — a true city girl who came to the program with, in her words, "zero knowledge of nature." At the time of Ellen's visit, she was just a few weeks shy of graduating. Jessica Motshegwa, 26, is a trainee guide from Mmadinare, Botswana, who joined the program in 2025. She once tried to enlist in the Botswana army. A Facebook link from her cousin changed her path. In this episode you'll learn Why more than 90 percent of African safari guides are male — and what one company is doing about it How African Bush Camp(ABC)'s three-year female guiding program works, from theory exams to practical training to first solo drives What it was like for Bae, ABC's first female guide, to complete her training while pregnant — and earn her license when her son was six months old Why Dutch Kasale, ABC's head guide and mentor, says training women from the city is often easier than training men who grew up in the bush What makes a female guide's approach on the game drive feel different The moment Bae manifests a leopard into view About African Bush Camps ABC was founded in 2006 by Beks Ndlovu, one of a handful of Black Africans to own a safari company. He launched the female guiding program in late 2021 with an ambitious goal: 50 percent female guides across all 18 camps in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia by 2030. There are currently 12 women in the program — eight trainees and four qualified guides. Chapters 00:00 — Into the Okavango 02:00 — The Case for Change 06:00 — Meet Tshidi 08:00 —Bae Siethuka Takes the Wheel 13:00 — Tracking the Leopard 16:00 — Inside the Program 21:00 — Bae's Big Moment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Feel-Good Fridays. This week, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland are joined by Afar executive editor Kathrine LaGrave—and the three of them are ready to carry you into the weekend a little lighter, with stories about line dancing, travel with your dog, and the surprisingly simple science of being happy. The happy news Country line dancing is having a queer renaissance. Kathrine shares the story of Stud Country, a New York–based group offering country dancing parties and classes rooted in queer cowboy culture—open to everyone, from regulars to curious first-timers. It's getting a whole lot easier to travel with your dog. Nikki reports that searches for pet-friendly travel are up year-over-year, and a new wave of hotels isn't just tolerating four-legged guests—they're actively celebrating them, with welcome treats, room amenities, dog spas, and yes, an official Director of Pet Relations. Aislyn brings us back to Yale happiness researcher Laurie Santos, who went viral for teaching the most popular course in the university's history—and whose 2026 take on happiness comes down to one thing: more friction, more connection, less optimization. Travel, she argues, is one of the best tools we still have for getting out of our own way. Plus: a spirited debate about cowboy boot colors, a Yappy Hour proposal, and a vision for the ultimate Feel-Good Friday field trip—all dogs welcome. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Friday 00:01:00 Boots, Belonging, and Stud Country 00:05:45 The Great Boot Color Debate 00:06:00 The Happiness Researcher You Need to Hear 00:10:00 Dogs Welcome: The New Pet-Friendly Hotel Era 00:14:30 Yappy Hour and Other Good Ideas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would happen if you called your grandmother out of the blue and asked her to go camping that night? For Brad Ryan, that impulsive phone call sparked a seven-year journey across all 63 U.S. national parks. Along the way, he and Grandma Joy, now 96, healed old wounds, faced down lifelong fears, and became unlikely internet stars. Brad's new book, Grandma Joy and Me: A Journey of Healing One National Park at a Time, out June 16th, tells the whole story. In this episode, Brad talks with host Aislyn Greene about what he witnessed in his grandmother over those years—the phenomenon he describes as reverse aging, the way movement and purpose and intergenerational connection seemed to make her healthier and more coordinated over time, not less. He also reflects on the healing that happened in the car: the long stretches of road through South Dakota, the yellow line hypnosis, the conversations that finally surfaced after years of silence. And he shares what he learned writing the book: about his father, about his family's Irish roots, and about what it means to find pride in an imperfect lineage. In this episode Why Brad made the call—and what was happening in his life that led him there What Joy said when he pitched 63 parks How road trips create the conditions for conversations that can't happen anywhere else What the national parks offer as a place for connection across every kind of divide Grandma Joy's relationship with fear—near-drowning as a child, white-water rafting in Alaska at 90 Why Brad thinks the loneliness crisis among older Americans is something the parks could actually help address Resources Grandma Joy and Me: A Journey of Healing One National Park at a Time by Brad Ryan, out June 16th Read the Afar story about Brad and Joy Follow Brad and Grandma Joy on Instagram Check out Brad and Grandma Joy's summer 2026 book tour (stops in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, and California) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to "Travel to Listen," a new Unpacked series hosted by veteran music journalist Tim Chester. Over four episodes rolling out every other week, Tim takes us into the cities where music is more than entertainment—it's the shortcut to a place's soul. This week, he heads to Minneapolis to hear how a community center, a cold climate, and a once-in-a-generation genius combined to create one of the most distinctive sounds in American music, plus how the city is celebrating a decade since Prince's passing. In this episode How the Minneapolis sound emerged from the Great Migration, housing segregation, rock radio, and a community center called The Way, where a teenage Prince jammed alongside Morris Day and Terry Lewis Why Paul Peterson (dubbed St. Paul by Prince himself) believes the Minneapolis sound is joyous, funky, and built to last, and how his supergroup, the Minneapolis Funk All-Stars, is carrying it forward The story of historian Kristen Zschomler: how grief over Prince's death led her to track 50+ locations across Minneapolis where he lived, worked, and recorded, and her ongoing mission to get them on the National Register of Historic Places What Prince mastered at his childhood home in North Minneapolis. Plus, why Sound 80, the studio where he cut his first demo tapes at 19, was the launchpad for everything that followed How to experience Minneapolis in 2026: from Paisley Park to First Avenue, Bunkers Music Bar to the Dakota, and the five-day Prince Celebration festival in June marking the 10th anniversary of Prince's death Meet this week's guests Paul Peterson is a musician, songwriter, and former Prince collaborator, dubbed "St. Paul" by the Purple One himself. He was a member of The Time and The Family, appeared in Purple Rain, and is now the leader of the Minneapolis Funk All-Stars, an all-star alumni supergroup dedicated to keeping the Minneapolis sound alive. Kristen Zschomler⁠ is a historian and co-founder of the International Center 4 Prince Studies. She gives guided tours of Prince's Minneapolis and created Sound Around Tours, a self-guided audio tour app. She has researched and documented over 50 locations tied to Prince's life and work, and has successfully advocated for two of them to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Guest host ⁠Tim Chester⁠ is a freelance travel and culture writer who has spent the past 20 years exploring the world through the lens of music. His reporting has appeared in NME, Spin, and Afar, and his travels have taken him from Manhattan to Malawi and Beijing to Berlin in search of the festivals, scenes, and stories that reveal a city's soul. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Minneapolis 00:01:00 The Minneapolis Funk All-Stars 00:03:45 Music as Healing 00:06:45 What Made Minneapolis a Crucible 00:09:30 The Way and the Scene's Roots 00:12:45 Prince's Landmarks 00:15:30 Celebrating a Decade Since Prince A Music Fan's Travel Guide to Minneapolis Minneapolis is a walkable city with a thriving live music scene, and the landmarks of the Minneapolis sound are spread across a compact, navigable footprint. Here's how to do it like a fan. Start here: the essential stops Paisley Park—Prince's home, recording complex, and creative sanctuary in Chanhassen, just outside the city. Now a museum and events venue. Prince's childhood home—the North Minneapolis house where he mastered the piano, decoded albums note by note, and became Prince. Sound 80 Studios—the recording studio where a 19-year-old Prince cut the demo tapes that landed him his Warner Brothers contract. First Avenue—the venue Prince made famous in Purple Rain (he also recorded the song there, performing it live for the first time on that stage). Hear live music Bunkers Music Bar & Grill—the historic North Loop spot where Dr. Mambo's Combo plays every Sunday and Monday night. The Dakota—an intimate downtown jazz club with a packed calendar every night of the week. The Green Room—the venue where St. Paul and the Minneapolis Funk All Stars frequently play Plan for June Celebration 2026—the annual Prince estate event runs June 3–7 this year as a five-day gathering with concerts, dance parties, and unseen footage. The International Center 4 Prince Studies has programming June 1–2 as well, and a new community museum opening in North Minneapolis that flips the curatorial lens: instead of Prince's instruments, it collects the stories of the people he touched. Artists to watch L.A. Buckner and Big Homie David Feily Cory Wong Dylan Salfer Chris Lawrence Alex Rossi Nur-D Nunnabove Up next on Travel to Listen Tim heads to Southern California to explore the spacey, grungy desert rock scene—and to find out there's a lot more to the region than Coachella. New episode in two weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Feel-Good Fridays. This week, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland are bringing you a special road trip edition — recorded live from the car somewhere in the forests of Michigan, microphones balanced on laps and sunscreen close at hand. It's a two-story episode today, and both come straight from the headlines of everyday life: Sunscreen use is up worldwide — and it's not just public health messaging that's doing it. Better formulas, the global influence of Korean and Japanese skincare, and a generational shift in sun-safety habits all play a role. Nikki and Aislyn dig into the data, swap their favorite SPF picks, and make the case for hand cream on road trips. The millennial song debate: NPR music journalists went looking for the one track that defines a generation, and landed on...well, we can't reveal that. But Aislyn and Nikki compare notes (Evanescence, No Doubt, Usher, J.Lo all make appearances), and share a playlist to soundtrack your own summer drive. Tell us your pick. Tune in every Friday through June for a fresh trio of stories from Afar's favorite travel writers and editors. We'll see you next week. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Fridays (On the Road Edition) 00:01:00 Sunscreen Use Is Up — Here's Why That's a Big Deal 00:04:30 SPF Picks for the Road 00:05:30 The Millennial Song Debate 00:08:00 Why “Paper Planes” Won 00:09:30 Closing Out the Era: “I Love It” 00:10:30 Our Personal Millennial Anthems Stay Connected Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Feel-Good Friday. Every Friday through the end of June, Unpacked is popping into your feed with a brand-new series designed to carry you into the weekend a little lighter. Each episode, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland are joined by a different Afar staffer to share three travel stories that made them smile, tear up (in a good way), or rethink what's possible. Funny, inspiring, heartwarming—the only rule is no downers. This week, we're joined by Afar's deputy editor, Jennifer Flowers, and the three of us travel from the Himalayan foothills to the African savanna to the rolling hills of Sonoma. Together, we share: A corner of northern India that's quietly becoming a model for sustainable tourism, with tourism up 60 percent since 2018 and a network of community-run homestays that let you walk between guesthouses through pine and oak forests. The story of Craig, a celebrity super tusker elephant whose long, peaceful life in the wild is itself a conservation victory, and what his legacy says about decades of work in Kenya's Amboseli ecosystem A Sonoma incubator quietly rewriting who gets to make California wine, with one-of-a-kind small-batch bottlings to look out for from Leap of Grapes, Ward 4 Wines, and Mad Marvlus Tune in every Friday through June for a fresh trio of stories from Afar's favorite travel writers and editors. We'll see you next week. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Friday 00:01:00 Sustainable Tourism in Uttarakhand 00:04:00 Meet Craig the Super Tusker 00:06:30 A Conservation Win for the Wild 00:09:30 Down a California Wine Rabbit Hole 00:11:20 The Vanguard of Small-Batch Wine Stay Connected Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Travel to Listen, a new Unpacked series hosted by veteran music journalist Tim Chester. Over four episodes rolling out every other week, Tim takes us into the cities where music is more than entertainment—it's the shortcut to a place's soul. This week, he goes to the source in Macon: meet the people keeping the city's legendary songbook alive, and find out why a trip here might be the most soulful detour you've never considered. In this episode How the Macon Music Revue transforms songs by Little Richard, the Allman Brothers, and R.E.M. into something new—without losing what made them legendary Why Charles Davis believes there's “something in the water” in Macon—and how the city's Indigenous roots may be part of its musical soul The story behind the new Otis Redding Center for the Arts: from a 1965 music camp at Otis's ranch to a full museum and education hub that opened in March 2025 What visitors to Macon often don't know about Otis Redding—the savvy businessman, devoted family man, and farmer who owned cows, chickens, and horses Where to eat, drink, and hear live music in Macon: from Capricorn Sound Studios to H&H Soul Food, where the Allman Brothers ate when they were broke Meet this week's guests Charles Davis is the frontman of the Macon Music Revue, a band that reinterprets the city's iconic catalog with a soul-forward sound all their own. A longtime Macon radio voice, Charles is one of the city's most active stewards of its musical legacy. Justin Andrews is the director of special projects and outreach at the Otis Redding Foundation, and the grandson of soul legend Otis Redding. He helped bring the Otis Redding Center for the Arts to life when it opened in March 2025. Guest host Tim Chester is a freelance travel and culture writer who has spent the past 20 years exploring the world through the lens of music. His reporting has appeared in NME, Spin, and Afar, and his travels have taken him from Manhattan to Malawi and Beijing to Berlin in search of the festivals, scenes, and stories that reveal a city's soul. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Macon 00:01:15 Inside the Macon Music Revue 00:04:15 Something in the Water 00:06:15 A Tour Through Southern Rock 00:09:45 H&H Soul Food and the Allman Brothers 00:10:30 Otis Redding's Vision Comes Home 00:13:45 The Man Behind the Music 00:15:00 Where to Hear Otis in Macon A Music Fan's Travel Guide to Macon Macon is walkable, the downtown is compact, and most of the music landmarks sit within a few square miles. Here's how to do it like a fan. Start here: the essential stops Capricorn Sound Studios & Museum—the birthplace of Southern rock. The Allman Brothers Band Museum at the Big House—the Tudor-style house where Duane, Gregg, Berry Oakley, and their families lived from 1970 to 1973. The Otis Redding Museum—View plane tickets, telegrams, the briefcase from the wreckage, and pictures pulled from Zelma Redding's personal archive. The Otis Redding Center for the Arts (ORCA)—The newest piece of the puzzle, opened March 2025: a youth music education hub, the O3 Recording Studio, and the outdoor Zelma Redding Amphitheater, where a bronze statue of Otis now welcomes visitors. Hear live music Grant's Lounge—the historic dive that served as an audition spot for Capricorn Records. The Douglas Theatre—built in 1921 as a venue for African American performers during segregation, and where a teenage Otis Redding won the teen talent competition so many times the organizers asked him to stop entering. Hargray Capitol Theatre—a beautifully restored downtown venue that brings in touring acts across genres. Eat and drink like a local H&H Soul Food—the legendary downtown spot started by Mama Louise and Mama Inez, who fed the Allman Brothers when they were broke. The Rookery—Get the burger, stay for the music, and listen for the Otis Redding song that always seems to be playing when you walk in. Go a little deeper Rock Candy Tours—weekly guided walking tours that connect the dots between the studios, homes, and venues. The Macon Music Trail—a self-guided trail of 43+ music sites with a free companion mobile app, including the Little Richard House and Rose Hill Cemetery, where Duane Allman and Berry Oakley are buried. The Macon Music Revue (Terminus Records, 2024)—listen to Charles's reinterpretations of “Losing My Religion,” “Stand Back,” and more. themaconmusicrevue.com Up next on Travel to Listen Tim heads to Minneapolis to get bright and bouncy with the city's funk scene—and to hear how the city is planning to mark the 10th anniversary of Prince's untimely passing. New episode in two weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Feel-Good Fridays! Every Friday through the end of June, Unpacked is popping into your feed with a brand-new series designed to carry you into the weekend a little lighter. In each episode, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland are joined by a different Afar staffer to share three travel stories that made them smile, tear up (in a good way), or rethink what's possible. Funny, inspiring, heartwarming—the only rule is no downers. This week, they're joined by Afar's editorial director, Billie Cohen, and the trio covers all the elements: water, sky, and land. Together, they share: A Pacific Northwest conservation project that turns one of nature's most epic journeys into something you can actually root for, fish by fish The pilot who spent more than 50 years chasing a childhood dream—and just made history at one of the country's biggest airlines A weekend tradition in rural Minnesota where you can follow hand-painted signs from studio to studio, and the Estonian summer ritual Billie shared in a recent Travel Tale. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Friday 00:01:00 Rooting for Baby Salmon 00:05:00 United's First Female Captain 00:08:30 Quirky Local Trail Season 00:10:30 Open Cafés in Estonia (00:00) Welcome to Feel-Good Friday (01:00) Rooting for Baby Salmon (05:00) United's First Female Captain (08:30) Quirky Local Trail Season (10:30) Open Cafés in Estonia Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In last week's episode, host Aislyn Greene shared the story of towing a 20-foot Airstream down the Oregon coast in an all-electric Rivian truck — the campsite mishaps, the strangers who became friends, the joy of slow travel. This week, she's back with the practical guide: how an EV road trip actually works when you're towing, and what to know before you try one yourself. Aislyn sits down with Sarah Eslinger, who heads up Rivian's Adventure Network, to talk about how the company has been quietly building fast-charging infrastructure in the places EV drivers actually want to go — not just along interstates, but on the edge of Death Valley, outside Yellowstone, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and yes, all along Oregon's Highway 101. They get into why 70 percent of Adventure Network sites are trailer-friendly, how the built-in trip planner factors in elevation, heat, and trailer weight, and why Rivian tested its charging bays with an Airstream. Then Aislyn shares the five things she wishes she'd known before hitching up — from how much range to expect when towing, to the adapter you need to charge overnight at a campsite, to the trailer mirrors that will change your life. Whether you're EV-curious, RV-curious, or just love a good road trip, this one's a window into how the infrastructure for adventure travel is changing — and how much easier it's getting to take the scenic route. Chapters 00:00:00 Bonus Episode Setup 00:01:08 Inside Rivian's Adventure Network 00:03:15 Why the Trip Planner Works 00:05:08 Towing-Friendly by Design 00:06:50 Five Things to Know Before You Tow 00:09:25 The Verdict and What's Next Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Feel-Good Fridays. Every Friday from now through the end of June, Unpacked is popping into your feed with a brand-new series designed to carry you into the weekend a little lighter. Each episode, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland are joined by a different Afar staffer to share three travel stories that made them smile, tear up (in a good way), or rethink what's possible. Funny, inspiring, heartwarming—the only rule is no downers. For our debut episode, we're joined by Afar's Michelle Baran, who brings her own dose of feel-good to the mic. Together, the three of them share: – A celebrated food writer's reintroduction to her own hometown, and what travel can teach us about grief, grace, and seeing familiar streets with new eyes – A long-awaited transit milestone in a famously car-bound American city—and what it could mean for one of the world's biggest upcoming sporting events – A Vienna café where the pastries come with a side of intergenerational wisdom (and the bakers might just remind you of your own grandmother) Plus: a childhood alter ego involving wigs, doorbells, and a traveling comedy duo we did not see coming. Tune in every Friday through June for a fresh trio of stories from Afar's favorite travel writers and editors. We'll see you next week. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Friday 00:01:30 A Food Writer Rediscovers Her City 00:04:30 LA Finally Builds the Train 00:09:00 The Grandmas of Vienna 00:12:30 A Childhood Story We Had to Share Resources – Yewande Komolafe's writing for The New York Times – LA Metro's D Line extension (opened May 2026) – Vollpension, the granny-run bakery and café in Vienna Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when the person who knows how to tow has to leave — and you're left with a 5,000-pound Airstream, an electric truck, and 800 miles of Oregon coast ahead of you? On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene shares the story of the eight-day road trip she and her wife Jeannie took down the Oregon coast in August — towing an Airstream Basecamp 20 XE with a Rivian Tri-Motor R1T, with exactly zero towing experience between them. What was supposed to be a fully sustainable cycling-and-camping trip with friends became a crash course in trailer physics, EV charging, and the unexpected generosity of the RV community. In this episode you'll learn How Aislyn and her partner, Jeannie, went from zero towing experience to navigating a 5,000-pound Airstream down 500 miles of Oregon coast—and what actually made it possible The RV community secret nobody tells first-timers: once you've parked, everyone sits back and watches you do it Why the Rivian R1T's onboard charging calculator made range anxiety a non-issue, even towing a trailer across eight charging stops What Fort Stevens, Nehalem Bay, Cape Lookout, and Sunset Bay State Park each taught them about slowing down and asking for help The case for traveling in a way that forces you to rely on strangers—and why it felt especially powerful right now Plan your own Oregon coast trip Stay at the campgrounds we loved: Fort Stevens State Park, Nehalem Bay State Park, Cape Lookout State Park , and Bay Point Landing in Coos Bay. For your sunset swim: Sunset Bay State Park, south of Coos Bay. Plan your Oregon trip with Afar's Oregon guide. Read more about Afar's guide to road trips, including EV trips Borrow or rent a Rivian R1T and explore the Rivian Adventure Network — many sites along Highway 101 are designed for trailer-friendly pull-throughs. Tow an Airstream Basecamp 20 XE — Airstream's small, off-grid-friendly trailer built in partnership with REI. Chapters 00:00:00 The Plan vs. The Reality 00:03:30 Picking Up the Airstream Alone 00:06:10 First Drive on the Highway 00:08:30 Our First Parking Angel 00:11:00 The Nehalem Bay Disaster 00:14:30 Cape Lookout, Finally 00:18:30 A Bolt Falls Out 00:20:30 Why the Rivian Was the Hero 00:23:30 Sunset Bay 00:25:30 Coming Home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Unpacked, Five Questions, a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of one great travel story. In this episode, executive editor Katherine LaGrave sits down with documentary photographer Nathalie Mohadjer, whose images of the desert oasis of Siwa appear in Afar's winter 2026 issue. For four weeks in Siwa, an ancient town some 450 miles from Cairo, Nathalie traded the typical three-day shoot for a slower kind of immersion — sharing breakfasts in the old town, spending afternoons with a local woman named Fatima, and bathing in a hidden cold spring with her family's kids. She talks with Katherine about photographing a community where Siwan women are rarely seen by outsiders, why patience and respect matter more than the camera itself, and how losing your sense of time in the desert can change the way you see a place. She also shares advice for travelers heading to Siwa — and the one moment she chose not to capture. Meet this week's guest Nathalie Mohadjer is a German-Iranian documentary photographer based in Paris whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Monocle, and Le Monde. Episode highlights How a stranger waving from a window in Siwa's ruins led to weeks of access to a local family's home, kitchen, and hidden swimming spots Why Nathalie spent nearly four weeks in Siwa — and what that kind of time reveals about a place that most visitors see in three or four days The ethics and art of photographing people in other cultures: when to put the camera away, and how to earn the moment rather than take it What makes Siwa's community so distinct from the rest of Egypt — and the Berber and Tuareg roots that shape its culture Nathalie's practical advice for travelers heading to Siwa: slow down, talk to strangers, and don't be afraid to follow an unexpected invitation Links & resources Follow Nathalie Mohadjer on Instagram Explore her visual story about Siwa, Egypt on Afar Explore her photographs of Oman in her first Afar feature Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:00 Arriving in Siwa 00:09:00 Meeting Fatima 00:17:00 Photographing with Patience 00:24:00 Timelessness and Culture 00:30:00 Advice for Travelers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Hope Choi plans every trip the same way: open a Google doc, start with food, and build outward from there. As a former Bon Appétit editor, 13-year restaurant industry veteran, and author of a travel memoir, she has strong opinions about Michelin guides (skip ‘em), low-rated restaurants (sometimes worth it), and why you should always follow your optician's food recs. She also edited Afar's debut Travel to Eat series, which includes three stories: Jeju black pork and a life-changing soup, Sherpa cuisine in the Rockies, and why Portland, Maine, might be America's best bakery town. Meet today's guest Jennifer Hope Choi is a senior editor at Afar and the architect of its Travel to Eat series. A former Bon Appétit editor and 13-year restaurant industry veteran, she is also an award-winning writer and author of the travel memoir the Wanderer's Curse. Her work spans food and culture, and the messy, joyful overlap between the two. In this episode How Jen's latchkey childhood, early Food Network shows, and her Korean grandmother's pancakes shaped a lifelong obsession with eating Why the Google doc comes first: Jen's method for building food-forward itineraries from Reddit threads, local papers, and stranger recommendations The case against Michelin stars, lines around the block, and treating a trip like a personality — and what to do instead Inside the three stories of Afar's Travel to Eat series: a transcendent bowl of Jeju black pork soup, Sherpa cuisine taking root in the Colorado Rockies, and the baking scene quietly transforming Portland, Maine Jen's #1 travel food tip: ask the shop clerk, not the algorithm Links & resources Read the Travel to eat series: ⁠America's best bakery town⁠, a life-changing pork soup, and the rise of Sherpa cuisine in the Colorado Rockies Read Jen's memoir, The Wanderer's Curse Follow Jen on Instagram Read MFK Fisher's The Art of Eating, Jen's favorite food book Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:30 Growing Up Food-Obsessed 00:06:30 How to Eat Your Way Through a City 00:11:30 Lists, Stars, and Letting Go 00:21:30 The Travel to Eat Series 00:30:00 Tips for Eating Well on the Road Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It started as an abandoned ukulele on a wall. Afar's Aislyn Greene hadn't touched it in two years — but that idle instrument sent her down a rabbit hole into one of the most joyful origin stories in music. The ukulele arrived in Hawai'i on a Portuguese immigrant ship in 1878, got a royal endorsement from a king and queen, fell into obscurity, and then took over the world. Along the way, a family of master craftsmen has been hand-finishing every instrument for over a century, and one of the greatest string players alive still can't believe people underestimate it. Meet today's guests Roy Sakuma is a musician, educator, and founder of Roy Sakuma Ukulele Studios, Hawaii's most famous ukulele school with four locations. In 1971, he launched the Ukulele Festival Hawai'i, now the state's top summer event, and has spent 50 years making the case that the ukulele is no toy. Chris Kamaka is the third-generation owner of Kamaka Ukulele, the oldest continuous ukulele manufacturer in the world, founded in Honolulu in 1916. Each of the 1,000–1,500 ukuleles they produce annually is hand-played by Chris before it leaves the shop. Jake Shimabukuro is a virtuoso musician widely regarded as the greatest ukulele player alive. He has sold out concert halls worldwide and recently collaborated with Mick Fleetwood on a Blues album. In this episode How Portuguese immigrants and Hawaiian royalty together created — and named — the ukulele Why Kamaka Hawai'i still air-dries koa wood for up to six years before touching it How Roy Sakuma's free Ukulele Festival in 1971 sparked a global revival from his backyard Jake Shimabukuro on recording a tribute to Christine McVie with Mick Fleetwood — and why low expectations are a gift What it's actually like to take a ukulele lesson from Roy Sakuma (Aislyn finds out live on mic) Resources Listen to Afar's ukulele playlist Sign up for lessons at Roy Sakuma Ukulele Studios Explore the instruments at Kamaka Ukulele Listen to the music of Jake Shimabukuro Visit the Ukulele Festival Hawai'i Chapters 00:00:00 The Ukulele's Origins 00:02:00 Hawaii's Royal Endorsement 00:03:30 Inside the Kamaka Workshop 00:06:00 Roy Sakuma and the Festival 00:09:30 Jake Shimabukuro's Journey 00:13:00 A Lesson With Roy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the secret to a great trip was leaving your phone in airplane mode — forever? Journalist Lisa Abend has been doing exactly that, arriving in cities she's never researched, GPS turned off, without a hotel reservation or itinerary of any kind. The result isn't chaos; it's the kind of travel that actually surprises you. In this episode, Lisa makes a compelling case for leaving the phone out of the travel process. Meet this week's guest Lisa Abend is a Copenhagen-based journalist and former Time magazine correspondent who covers food, culture, and travel across Europe. She is the creator of The Unplugged Traveler, a Substack newsletter in which she visits a new European city each month without internet access, a booked hotel, or a plan, and writes about what she finds. In this episode How social media and over-researched itineraries have stripped travel of serendipity, and what Lisa is doing about it The step-by-step logistics of arriving in a foreign city with no hotel, no map, and no plan — and why it's less stressful than it sounds A birthday coincidence on a Cotswolds hiking trail that felt like the universe intervening Why "second cities" — not capitals — are the ideal places to try unplugged travel for the first time How nearly two dozen phone-free trips have changed the way Lisa navigates daily life Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:00 Backpacking Before the Internet 00:04:30 What the Internet Took From Travel 00:09:30 The Unplugged Traveler Newsletter 00:13:00 How to Choose a Destination 00:15:30 Arriving With No Hotel Booked 00:20:00 A Cotswolds Birthday Surprise 00:27:00 Finding Food Without the Lists 00:32:00 Travel as Meditation 00:35:30 Tips for Going Unplugged Resources Subscribe to Lisa's ⁠The Unplugged Traveler newsletter on Substack⁠ Read Lisa's travel stories for Afar Use ⁠Skyscanner — flight search tool Lisa uses to find cheap fares⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've got more booking tools than ever — so why would you hire a travel advisor? In this episode, Afar editorial director Billie Cohen sits down with travel journalist and matchmaker Wendy Perrin, founder of wendyperrin.com, to answer the questions travelers actually have: What can an advisor do that you can't do yourself? When does it make sense — and when doesn't it? How do you find a good one, interview them, and understand what you're paying for? From crowd-skipping at Venice to landing the perfect Egyptologist, Wendy makes the case for what truly expert trip planning looks like. In this episode Why connections (not booking tools or AI) are the real currency of great travel The difference between advisors who specialize in you vs. those who specialize in a place How to interview a travel advisor (and what their answers reveal) What travel actually costs — and why it often isn't itemized Why multi-gen trips and post-pandemic travel are driving a new wave of advisor use Chapters 00:00:00 Why Travel Advisors Still Matter 00:03:00 Advisors vs. Agents vs. Tour Operators 00:06:00 What a Great Advisor Can Do 00:13:00 Choosing and Interviewing an Advisor 00:24:00 Fees, Costs, and Transparency 00:28:00 Cruise Specialists and Misconceptions 00:33:00 Who's Using Advisors Now Links & resources Wendyperrin.com and Wendy's Wow List of top trip designers Listen to our Unpacked episode about cruise travel advisors Explore the Afar Travel Advisory Council Follow Afar at @afarmedia on Instagram and TikTok More travel planning resources at afar.com Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit California in Dallas, Texas. The event celebrated California's extraordinary creative landscape, and today's guest has been shaping the way Californians live, work, and gather for three decades. Barbara Bestor is the founder of Bestor Architecture, a Los Angeles studio she's led since 1995 — at a time when very few women were doing so. Her work spans coffee shops and corporate headquarters, wineries and community music centers, private homes and historic restorations. She's on the AD 100 list of top architects and designers and has been called one of the most influential architects working in LA today. In this episode, she shares her process, her influences, and the places in California that never stop inspiring her — from a former cult compound in Joshua Tree to a secret rooftop garden at Walt Disney Concert Hall. On this episode, you'll learn: • What "informal formalism" means — and why it's the best description of California's design DNA • How the LA fires, post-COVID remote work, and multi-generational households are reshaping what people want from their homes • Why adaptive reuse is finally having its moment in California • How to actually crack the code on Ojai and Big Sur (hint: find the vegan restaurant and ask your server) Travel recommendations from Barbara: Los Angeles Take the stairs at LA Phil to the rooftop garden Walk the Bradbury Building lobby (free; you'll recognize it from Blade Runner), then cross to Grand Central Market and ride Angel's Flight back up to MOCA. For neighborhoods: Melrose Hill is the current place to be; Magnolia and Victory Blvd in the Valley are time-capsule California. Northern California Stay in the original Charles Moore–designed Condominium One at Sea Ranch In the Bay Area, stay at the Julia Morgan–designed Berkeley City Club Ojai & Big Sur In Ojai, go to a vegan restaurant and ask your server where to go — that's how you find the hidden hot springs. Hotel El Roblar (designed by Ramin Shamshiri) is the new splurge hotel in Ojai. In Big Sur, Nepenthe is the move: a Wright-influenced 1950s restaurant with a giant patio and sweeping views. Joshua Tree Drive in from the top and exit at the low desert — two completely different biomes. Stay at the Institute of Mentalphysics, where the rooms were designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright Catch a show at Pappy and Harriet's in Pioneertown, then detour to Palm Springs and take the Sunnylands tour for "peak high-sixties modernist golf living." Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:00 From Cambridge to California 00:04:00 What Informal Formalism Means 00:06:00 Designing for How We Live Now 00:09:00 California's Architectural Legacy 00:16:00 LA Neighborhoods Worth Exploring 00:23:00 An Architecture Tour of California 00:34:00 Joshua Tree and the Desert 00:39:00 Where Barbara Goes to Recharge Resources Bestor Architecture Explore the ⁠⁠Afar guide to California⁠ Watch the live recording of our Dallas event on YouTube. Listen to our other Unpacked Live episodes featuring Roderick Wyllie and Obi Kaufmann. Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit California in Dallas, Texas. The event celebrated California's extraordinary creative landscape, and today's guest is one of its most original voices. Obi Kaufmann is a naturalist, writer, and illustrator whose California Field Atlas series has redefined what a nature book can be. His books — filled with hand-painted watercolor maps, poetry, and decades of ecological research — don't tell you where to go or what you're looking at. They ask why the landscape works the way it does, and what it means to truly belong to a place. In this episode, Obi talks about growing up exploring Mount Diablo in Northern California, what makes a field atlas, and why he believes the future of California conservation depends on better poetry. On this episode, you'll learn: What a "field atlas" is — and why Obi had to invent the genre himself How Indigenous stewardship and traditional ecological knowledge are reshaping conservation in California Why Obi, one of California's great wilderness writers, is a proud city dweller in Oakland What to expect from his next three books Where to go right now to experience California's wildflower season at its peak Travel Recommendations from Obi: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park — Keep your eye on the California Native Plant Society or CalFlora for super bloom alerts; the window can be as short as a week Death Valley National Park — Another prime super bloom destination; timing is everything Big Sur — Highway 1 is open again; Obi recommends climbing a mountain and watching for California condors, which have rebounded from just 17 individuals in 1987 to over 500 today Pinnacles National Park — The smallest and least visited national park in California, with condor sightings along the High Peaks Trail; Obi calls it "a beautiful gem of wilderness" Mount Diablo — Obi's home mountain, 25 miles east of San Francisco; a lifelong study in ecological wonder Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:00 Growing Up on Mount Diablo 00:05:00 Inventing the Field Atlas 00:10:00 Conservation and the Word "Wilderness" 00:30:00 Living as an Urban Naturalist 00:37:00 What's Next: Books 7 Through 10 00:41:00 Where to Experience California Now Resources Obi Kaufmann's website and books Explore the Afar guide to California Watch the live recording of our Dallas event on YouTube Listen to our other Unpacked Live episodes featuring architect Barbara Bestor and landscape designer Roderick Wyllie Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit California in Dallas, Texas. The event celebrated California's extraordinary creative landscape, and today's guest has literally shaped the ground beneath many Californian's feet. Roderick Wyllie is an award-winning landscape architect and founding partner of Surfacedesign Inc. A rare San Francisco native, he's helped design some of the Bay Area's most beloved public spaces, including the Lands End Visitor Center above Sutro Baths, a plaza at the Golden Gate Bridge, and Mission Bayfront Park. He also teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In this episode, Roderick talks about growing up in 1970s San Francisco, what it means to design with rather than against a place, and why he thinks California's greatest creative export might be optimism. On this episode, you'll learn: What it was like to grow up in San Francisco in the 1970s and 80s — and how that "wild frontier" shaped Roderick's creative practice Why Surfacedesign approaches every project like a crime scene investigation, searching for the story embedded in the land How Roderick thinks about water — both as a design tool and as a precious resource in a drought-prone state What he's learning from a current winery rethink at the iconic Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Where he sends travelers who want to experience California through the lens of landscape and design Travel Recommendations from Roderick: Wineries & Gardens Faust, Napa Valley — A Victorian estate with planting designed to move from light to dark, inspired by the mythology of Faust; beautiful valley views Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma — One of California's most historically significant wine sites, beautifully sited with two landmark historic buildings Scribe, Sonoma — A more informal, less precious winery experience; Roderick especially admires the landscape work by Terramoto Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek — A masterwork dry garden celebrating the succulent landscape; Roderick calls it "spectacular" Lotusland, Montecito — A fantasy of a California landscape with a larger-than-life history; the opera singer founder married nine times The Huntington, San Marino/Pasadena — Impeccably maintained, a spectacular garden destination Parks & Natural Spaces Golden Gate Park, San Francisco — "It always feels a little bigger than I think it's going to be" Point Reyes / Inverness — Roderick's favorite stretch of coast, particularly for seeing tule elk in the fog Blunk Space gallery, Point Reyes Station — A small gallery connected to the legacy of California sculptor JB Blunk Restaurants & Markets Valley Bar + Bottle, Sonoma — Informal, locally sourced, creative; Roderick's top pick Zuni Café, San Francisco — A California cuisine institution on Market Street; intimate despite its size Ferry Building Farmers Market, San Francisco — "Incredible to see these purveyors that are focused on peppers only or something like that" Modern Appealing Clothing (MAC), Hayes Valley — A quietly iconic SF clothing store recently named one of the 50 best in the US by the New York Times; Roderick designed a small interior garden inside the space Art & Culture Minnesota Street Project, Dogpatch — A collection of galleries with constantly rotating programming Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito — Roderick and his team designed eucalyptus-inspired play structures; worth a visit even without kids Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:00 Growing Up in San Francisco 00:05:00 How Surfacedesign Works 00:08:00 Iconic Bay Area Projects 00:14:00 Water as Design and Resource 00:20:00 Designing Winery Landscapes 00:27:00 The California Creative Mindset 00:35:00 Where to Go in California Resources Surfacedesign Inc. — Roderick's firm Explore the ⁠Afar guide to California Watch the live recording of our Dallas event on YouTube Listen to our other Unpacked Live episodes featuring naturalist Obi Kaufmann and architect Barbara Bestor Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Show Notes The World Cup is more than a soccer tournament — it's a mirror for geopolitics, national identity, and the power of global fandom. In this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene sits down with British journalist Jonathan Wilson, author of The Power and the Glory: The History of the World Cup, to explore the drama, corruption, and beauty that have defined the tournament across a century. In this episode, you'll learn: How hosting the World Cup has evolved from a nation-building tool to its current complex state — and who benefits now. What the expansion from 32 to 48 teams really means for the quality and spectacle of the game. Which teams Jonathan is watching in 2026, and the dark-horse picks you might not have on your radar. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to the World Cup Edition 00:01:30 Jonathan's Soccer Origin Story 00:07:30 Soccer, Politics, and Power 00:11:00 Who Actually Benefits From Hosting 00:21:30 The 2026 Expansion to 48 Teams 00:31:30 Teams to Watch in 2026 00:35:30 Stadiums With Stories Meet this week's guest: Jonathan Wilson, British sports journalist and author of The Power and the Glory: The History of the World Cup Resources: Explore Jonathan Wilson's books and writing on his website. Read The Power and the Glory: The History of the World Cup for the full sweep of FIFA history and drama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She's 104 years old, newly renovated, and she's ready for her close-up. On this episode of Unpacked: America 250, host Aislyn Greene talks about the newly renovated ⁠Castro Theatre⁠ in San Francisco, a $41 million transformation of one of America's most beloved LGBTQ+ landmarks. Aislyn sits down with Mary Conde, SVP at ⁠Another Planet Entertainment⁠, the independent concert promoter behind the renovation, to explore what it took to bring this icon back to life, and why this was always about more than a building. In this episode, you'll learn The history behind the Castro Theatre, from a Lebanese immigrant's grocery store to a 1,400-seat icon. How the Castro became the heartbeat of San Francisco's LGBTQ+ community. What a $41 million renovation actually looks like, from a peach-glazed ceiling to a color-changing chandelier. The story of the organs (yes, plural) that have defined the Castro's sound for decades. Why Another Planet Entertainment sees this as a gift to San Francisco, not just a business investment. Chapters 00:00:00 The Castro's Comeback 00:02:00 From Grocery Store to Icon 00:05:30 A Safe Harbor for a Community 00:09:00 Inside the Renovation 00:13:00 The Organ's New Life 00:15:30 What's Coming Next Meet this week's guest Mary Conde, Senior Vice President at Another Planet Entertainment and a lifelong San Franciscan who has shaped the city's music scene for decades. Another Planet is the independent concert promoter behind Outside Lands and the recent mayoral inauguration party, and the company that took on the Castro's renovation. Resources Read the transcript of this episode. Explore the history of the ⁠Castro Theater⁠. Buy tickets for upcoming ⁠Castro events⁠. Read about the ⁠Frameline LGBTQ+ Film Festival⁠. Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before you board an international flight, before you cross a border, you need a passport. But how much do you really know about the little book that controls where you can and cannot go in this world? On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene sits down with Patrick Bixby, an English professor at Arizona State University and author of the book License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport, which explores how a bureaucratic document became one of the most emotionally loaded objects in human history. In the episode, they discuss the passport as a paradox: a document that simultaneously promises freedom and enforces control, that carries the hopes of liberation and the machinery of surveillance. You'll come away seeing that little booklet in your drawer in a completely different light. In this episode, you'll learn Why the passport as we know it was born out of World War I — and why those wartime controls never went away. How the word "passport" dates to 15th-century France, and why Shakespeare wrote about it. What Frederick Douglass's passport journey reveals about citizenship, race, and the fight for identity.Why the US passport ranks around 30th in global passport power — and what that means for American travelers. What's coming next: digital borders, blockchain credentials, and the end of the stamp. Key chapters 00:00:00 The Paradox of the Passport 00:04:00 A History Older Than Nations 00:09:00 The WWI Origins of Modern Travel 00:11:00 Gender, Race, and the Document 00:16:00 What Makes a Passport Powerful 00:20:00 Stamps, Surveillance, and the Digital Border 00:26:00 Do You Believe in the Passport? Meet this week's guest Patrick Bixby, English professor, cultural historian, and author of License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport Resources Read the afar.com story about the world's most powerful passports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jet lag doesn't have to ruin your trip. On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene shares her game-changing experience using a jet lag protocol originally developed for Navy SEALs—and digs into the fascinating science of why it works. She speaks with Dr. Jamie Zeitzer, one of Stanford's leading circadian rhythm researchers, and Andrew Herr, the founder of Flykitt, who transformed military sleep science into a practical travel solution. In this episode, you'll learn What's really happening in your body when you cross time zones Why light exposure is exponentially more powerful than you think How psychology and expectation affect your jet lag experience The surprising role of inflammation in post-flight fatigue Episode chapters 00:00:00 The Unofficial Travel Tax 00:01:45 Inside Your Circadian Clock 00:05:30 Light, Food, and Melatonin 00:09:00 How Flykitt Was Born 00:11:30 The Protocol, Step by Step Meet this week's guests Dr. Jamie Zeitzer, Co-Director of the Stanford Center for Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Andrew Herr, Founder of Flykitt Resources Read Aislyn's full Fly Kit review and experience Try Flykitt yourself: Afar listeners get 10% off with promo code AFAR10 Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.  Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amsterdam is one of Europe's most overtouristed cities—but it's also so much more than the crowds in the city center suggest. On this episode of Unpacked—part of Afar's ongoing Off the Tourist Trail series—host Aislyn Greene is joined by journalist Blane Bachelor, who moved to Amsterdam during the pandemic and has spent years navigating life as a resident. She shares how to experience the real Amsterdam—the neighborhoods, restaurants, and rhythms that exist just beyond the tourist-packed city center.   In this episode, you'll learn •       Why Amsterdam's overtourism problem is really concentrated in just a few city-center neighborhoods—and how to avoid them •       The best neighborhoods to stay in, including the artsy Noord and the very-Dutch Oost •       When to visit for fewer crowds: the Amsterdam Light Festival in November and King's Day in April •       How to experience the Red Light District (De Wallen) thoughtfully and with historical context •       The unwritten rules of cycling in Amsterdam—and why this is not the place to shake off the cobwebs •       Where locals actually eat and drink, including a 17th-century gilded unicorn and a cash-only Dutch bar   Episode chapters 00:00 Introduction 04:30 Amsterdam's overtourism problem 12:00 Best neighborhoods to stay in: Oost and Noord 15:00 Best times to visit 21:00 Where to stay: hotels vs. Airbnb 24:30 First-timer tips for the Anne Frank House and Rijksmuseum 29:00 Navigating the Red Light District (De Wallen) 40:30 Dutch culture: directness, English fluency, and learning a few words 43:00 Cycling in Amsterdam: rules, etiquette, and survival tips   Resources •       Read Blaine's Amsterdam Off the Beaten Path story on afar.com •       Follow Blaine's Dutch adventures on Instagram •       Check out our Iceland and England Off the Tourist Trail episodes   Where to Stay •       Rosewood Amsterdam — The last hotel to be built in Amsterdam due to overtourism restrictions •       Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht — Playful Dutch-designed interiors; canal-view rooms feel like you're on the water •       The Hoxton, Amsterdam — Two locations; the Eastern Docklands outpost is a local favorite •       Hotel Arena — In Oost; known for its exceptional weekend brunch buffet   What to Do •       Anne Frank House — Book immediately; tickets drop every Tuesday at 10 AM Amsterdam time, six weeks out •       Rijksmuseum — Check for evening hours for a slightly less hectic visit •       Prostitution Information Centre (De Wallen) — A thoughtful entry point into De Wallen's history and culture •       Vintage salon boat canal tours — Go small and guided; avoid the large party “buses” •       Amsterdam Light Festival — November–January; illuminated art along the canals •       King's Day (Koningsdag) — April 27; street markets, orange everything, genuinely local vibe •       Free ferries from Amsterdam Centraal to Noord — Walk or ride your bike on; no ticket needed •       Tulip fields near Keukenhof — View from the field edges in spring; don't walk into the flowers •       SAIL Amsterdam 2030 — The world's largest maritime event, returning in 2030   Stay Connected •       Sign up for Behind the Mic, our podcast newsletter with episode news and behind-the-scenes details. •       Also from Afar: View From Afar (the future of travel) and Travel Tales (first-person travel stories).   Unpacked by Afar is part of Airwave Media's podcast network. To advertise, contact advertising@airwavemedia.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it okay to watch a violent movie next to a stranger's kid on a plane? Should you abandon your airline loyalty card? And wait—is March actually the real start of the new year? On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene is joined by Afar editorial director Billy Cohen and deputy editor Michelle Baron for a wide-ranging conversation tied to Afar's annual Plan Your Travel Year package on afar.com. Together they break down what travelers actually need to know heading into 2026—from the shifting airline loyalty landscape and the true cost of travel credit cards to the events, destinations, and flight routes worth planning around this year. Plus: Michelle debuts a very special musical interlude. You'll want to stay for that. On this episode you'll learn: Why February (or maybe March?) is the real time to start planning your travel year How the airline loyalty and travel credit card game has changed—and what to do about it Which destinations are worth getting to before they blow up (Malta and Panama are calling) What events—from the World Cup to America's 250th—are shaping travel in 2026 Tips for stretching your PTO using federal holidays strategically Don't miss these moments: [01:45] The lightning round: TSA PreCheck, window vs. aisle, and travel credit cards in one word (or two) [09:45] Why the airline loyalty game "isn't so loyal anymore" [16:00] The Chase Sapphire Reserve breakup, and what it means for your points strategy [25:20] Biometrics, face scanning, and how close we really are to a passport-free airport [30:00] The lounge wars—and the case for a family-friendly soundproof play area [33:30] America 250: Tall ships in New York, a new Roosevelt Presidential Library, and a reexamination of the Battle of Little Bighorn [38:00] World Cup 2026: How to get tickets, where to stay, and why Providence might be smarter than Boston [44:30] How to stretch your PTO using federal holidays—and why Terry Ward changed Michelle's mind [48:30] Places to go before they get popular: Panama, Malta, Warsaw, and more [54:00] Revisiting the lightning round—and Billy's unexpected in-flight encounter with a Mad Men star's dad Resources: Explore Afar's complete ⁠Plan Your Travel Year⁠ package on afar.com. Read our story about whether or not airline loyalty is still worth it. Read Terry Ward's story on ⁠how to maximize your PTO⁠ in 2026. Read Afar's guide to ⁠12 places to visit before they get popular⁠. Explore Afar's ⁠Where to Go in 2026⁠ list. Stay up to date with Afar's ⁠travel news coverage⁠, including airline routes, loyalty programs, and credit card updates. Use ⁠points.me⁠ or ⁠Points Path⁠ to help maximize your miles and points redemptions. Be sure to subscribe to the show and 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, ⁠Travel Tales⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and View From Afar, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Unpacked, Five Questions, a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of one great travel story. In this episode, host and Afar executive editor Katherine LaGrave sits down with contributing writer Lisa Abend, a Copenhagen‑based journalist known for her deep reporting on food, culture, and the ways travel shapes communities. For her latest Afar feature, Lisa embarked on an ambitious road trip across northern Spain to visit five tiny towns where some of the country's most exciting chefs are opening destination restaurants — and, in the process, helping revive regions long affected by depopulation. Lisa shares how she first discovered this movement, why these chefs are choosing villages of just a few hundred residents over major cities, and how their restaurants are sparking unexpected ripple effects — from new guesthouses to revived local food traditions. She also talks about the surprising absence of seafood in northern Spain's inland kitchens, the emotional family histories behind many of these restaurants, and why chatting with gas‑station attendants might be the best road‑trip advice you'll hear all year. On this episode you'll learn: Why some of Spain's most ambitious chefs are opening restaurants in remote villages How food tourism can help counter rural depopulation What makes northern Spain's regional cultures so distinct — from language to landscape to cuisine Why hyperlocal cooking in these towns often excludes seafood, even when the coast is close How family history shapes the stories these chefs tell on the plate Don't miss these moments: [03:00] The Madrid chef conference that sparked Lisa's reporting [05:00] How a single restaurant can create a ripple effect across a small town [07:00] The surprising reason none of these restaurants serve seafood [14:00] Lisa's best advice for road‑tripping across northern Spain [16:00] The gas‑station cherry exchange that became an unforgettable travel moment [21:00] The “pregnant bun” dish Lisa would eat again in a heartbeat [22:00] How family stories — and even abandoned villages — shaped the chefs' menus Resources Read Lisa's full Afar feature on Spain's small‑town culinary revolution Follow Lisa Abend for more food and travel reporting Explore Afar's Spain travel guides Visit the restaurants Lisa mentions in the episode and her story: Versátil, Monte, Arrea!, Ansils, Fuentelgato  Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming episodes and behind‑the‑scenes details. You can also explore our other podcasts: View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and Travel Tales, which celebrates first‑person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. To inquire about advertising, contact advertising@airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales to explore this year. Places like Saba, a tiny Dutch Caribbean island with no beaches, no cruise ports, and the world's shortest commercial runway—just 400 meters long. What it does have: lush volcanic landscapes, 20 hand-built hiking trails, and a population of just over 2,000. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with ⁠Bianca Bujan⁠, a Vancouver-based travel journalist who shares the thrilling 12-minute flight from St. Martin, the island's gingerbread-house architecture, and why her teenager called it his favorite trip ever—despite spotty wifi and no beaches. Plan Your Saba Getaway Stay ⁠Juliana's Hotel⁠ in Windward Side, a boutique property ⁠The Scenery Hotel, a new luxury boutique hotel opening in 2026 at the base of Mount Scenery Eat and Drink ⁠Tropics Cafe⁠ at Juliana's Hotel—popular with locals Try ⁠Saba Spice⁠, a local handmade spiced rum served on ice Time your visit for the ⁠Saba Rum and Lobster Festival⁠ in November See and Do Hike ⁠Mount Scenery⁠, technically the highest point in the Netherlands Try the ⁠Mas'Cohones Trail⁠ for spectacular views with a less strenuous climb Book a guided hike with ⁠Crocodile James⁠, a local legend, via the Saba Conservation Foundation Join a ⁠Sea and Learn Foundation⁠ workshop for hands-on experiences like wild clay pottery with locals Resources Follow Bianca on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ or read her work on her website Explore ⁠Afar's ⁠Where to Go in 2026 list⁠⁠ Follow us: ⁠⁠@afarmedia⁠⁠ Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: T⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E5: ⁠⁠⁠Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention ⁠⁠⁠ E6: ⁠⁠⁠Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting⁠⁠⁠ E7: ⁠⁠⁠The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret ⁠⁠⁠ E8: ⁠⁠⁠Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari ⁠⁠⁠ E9: ⁠⁠The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better ⁠⁠ E10: ⁠⁠The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing⁠⁠ E11: ⁠Malaysia's Most Overlooked Island Is a Feast for Every Sense⁠ E12: ⁠The Texas City Getting a Juneteenth Museum, FIFA World Cup Matches, and a Cowgirl Museum Expansion⁠ E13: ⁠The South Australian City That Punches Above Its Weight⁠ E14: East London's Olympic Park Has Transformed Into a Cultural Powerhouse E15: (this one!) The Five-Square-Mile Caribbean Island That's Nothing Like Its Neighbors Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠: 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales to explore this year. Like East London, where a billion-pound investment has transformed the 2012 Olympic Park into a creative powerhouse. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with ⁠Nick DeRenzo⁠, Afar's editorial director of newsletters (sign up here!) and a self-described Londoner at heart. Nick makes the case for hopping on the Elizabeth line and devoting time to the East Bank cultural quarter, where you can order a David Bowie costume at the V&A East Storehouse, dine on Chinese-Texas barbecue on a canal barge, and sweat it out in a community sauna. Plan Your East London Getaway (First, explore our ⁠London travel guide⁠.) Stay ⁠Moxy London Stratford⁠ for budget-friendly stays ⁠The Stratford⁠, an Autograph Collection hotel ⁠The Gantry⁠, a Curio Collection by Hilton property Eat and Drink ⁠Barge East⁠, a restaurant on a canal barge Chinese-Texas-style Uncle Hon's BBQ ⁠Badu Café, a Black-owned coffee shop run by a youth athletics nonprofit Snacks and drinks along ⁠Hackney Bridge⁠, an incubator space in an old candy factory See and Do Explore ⁠Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park⁠, the heart of the East Bank cultural quarter Visit the ⁠V&A East Storehouse⁠ to see 250,000 objects—and use the "Order an Object" program for a personalized curator experience Catch a show at ⁠Sadler's Wells East⁠, dedicated to non-ballet dance Soak at ⁠Community Sauna Baths⁠, a not-for-profit with Scandinavian vibes Dance at ⁠Coven⁠, London's first permanent Black-owned queer venue since the 1970s Coming in 2026 ⁠V&A East⁠ museum dedicated to East London design opens April 2026 BBC Music Studios moving to the area in 2027 London College of Fashion campus now open Resources Follow Nick on ⁠Instagram⁠ Explore ⁠Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list⁠ Follow us: ⁠@afarmedia⁠ Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: T⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠⁠⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠⁠⁠ E5: ⁠⁠Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention ⁠⁠ E6: ⁠⁠Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting⁠⁠ E7: ⁠⁠The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret ⁠⁠ E8: ⁠⁠Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari ⁠⁠ E9: ⁠The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better ⁠ E10: ⁠The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing⁠ E11: Malaysia's Most Overlooked Island Is a Feast for Every Sense E12: The Texas City Getting a Juneteenth Museum, FIFA World Cup Matches, and a Cowgirl Museum Expansion E13: The South Australian City That Punches Above Its Weight E14: East London's Olympic Park Has Transformed Into a Cultural Powerhouse (this one!) Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠. And in 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. So our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Places like Adelaide, Australia, a city within a park that punches above its weight with world-class wine, a booming food scene, and Australia's only UNESCO City of Music designation. In this episode, producer Nikki Galteland interviews host Aislyn Greene, who traveled to Adelaide last year. Aislyn shares why she waited 10 years to visit, what makes Adelaide different from Sydney and Melbourne, and how to engage with Aboriginal history—including a new $35 million cultural center. Plan Your Adelaide Getaway (First, explore our ⁠Australia travel guide⁠.) Stay Adelaide Marriott⁠ Eat and Drink ⁠Shobosho⁠, a Japanese izakaya with a custom yakitori grill ⁠Golden Boy⁠ for Thai food in an art-filled space Fino Vino⁠ for a daily-changing tasting menu Ondeen⁠ in the Adelaide Hills for fireside dining ⁠Salopian Inn⁠ in McLaren Vale Lino Ramble⁠ Wines—ask for the fortified arinto Explore Barossa Valley⁠ for world-famous Shiraz McLaren Vale⁠ and ⁠Adelaide Hills⁠ for boutique wineries Small Batch Wine Tours⁠ for off-the-beaten-path tastings The newly expanded ⁠Adelaide Central Market⁠ The Thebarton Theatre⁠, a 1928 theater reopened after an $8M renovation Kangaroo Island⁠ for wildlife The ⁠Eyre Peninsula⁠ for a coastal road trip The ⁠Flinders Ranges⁠ for Outback landscapes Engage With Aboriginal Culture ⁠Yipti Yartapuultiku⁠, the new $35.2M Aboriginal cultural center ⁠Bookabee Australia⁠ for the Adelaide Aboriginal Cultural Experience The Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery at the ⁠South Australian Museum⁠ Know Before You Go New: United flies direct from San Francisco to Adelaide Best time: Australian fall (March–May) for harvest and mild weather Or plan around ⁠Adelaide Fringe⁠ (Feb–March) or ⁠WOMADelaide⁠ (March) Very walkable; rent a car only for wine country and day trips Resources Follow Aislyn on ⁠Instagram⁠ Explore ⁠Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list⁠ Follow us: ⁠@afarmedia⁠ Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: T⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠⁠⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠⁠⁠ E5: ⁠⁠Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention ⁠⁠ E6: ⁠⁠Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting⁠⁠ E7: ⁠⁠The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret ⁠⁠ E8: ⁠⁠Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari ⁠⁠ E9: ⁠The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better ⁠ E10: ⁠The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing⁠ E11: Malaysia's Most Overlooked Island Is a Feast for Every Sense E12: The Australian City That Punches Above Its Weight (this one!) Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.  Explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠—24 emerging regions and overlooked locales to explore this year. Like Fort Worth, Texas, a city that blends its cowboy heritage with world-class museums, a thriving food scene, and major developments on the horizon. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with ⁠Nora Walsh⁠, a travel writer and podcast host who fell hard for the "Unexpected City." She took line dancing lessons at the world's largest honky-tonk and had a chance sauna encounter that connected her with a community of female entrepreneurs. She digs into the city's incredible museum district, the revitalized Stockyards, and how to get yourself a proper cowboy hat shaped to your head. Related reading: Circle L Five: The Oldest All-Black Riding Club in Fort Worth Plan Your Fort Worth Getaway (First, explore our Texas travel guide.) Stay —Check into Hotel Drover in the Stockyards for a luxe take on Western heritage —Book The Crescent Hotel, a new modern hotel across from the Cultural District museums —Stay at Bowie House, an Auberge hotel and resort —Try The Nobleman, which just opened in Fort Worth —Watch for the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Hotel opening in 2026 Eat, Drink, and Dance —Take line dancing lessons and boot scoot at Billy Bob's Texas —Have a drink at Low Doubt —Catch live music at Tulips FTW, a local live music venue —Explore the restaurants and bars along Mule Alley in the Stockyards —Visit the annual Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival Explore.... —The Fort Worth Cultural District, home to four world-class museums —The Kimbell Art Museum —American West art and photography at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art —Contemporary works at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth —The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame—expanding in 2026 —The National Juneteenth Museum breaking ground in 2026 i —The daily cattle drive in the Fort Worth Stockyards —The Cowtown Coliseum rodeo —The Cowboys of Color Rodeo in January 2026 Shop —Get a proper cowboy hat shaped to your head at The Best Hat Store —Shop City Boots for cowboy boots specifically designed for women —Pick up Fort Worth–branded gear at Morgan Mercantile in Southside Resources • Follow Nora's work on Instagram and her website and podcast • Explore all 24 destinations on Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list • Follow us on Instagram: @afarmedia Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: ⁠⁠⁠⁠This Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠⁠⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠⁠⁠ E5: ⁠⁠Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention ⁠⁠ E6: ⁠⁠Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting⁠⁠ E7: ⁠⁠The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret ⁠⁠ E8: ⁠⁠Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari ⁠⁠ E9: ⁠The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better ⁠ E10: ⁠The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing⁠ E11: Malaysia's Most Overlooked Island Is a Feast for Every Sense E12: The Texas City Getting a Juneteenth Museum, FIFA World Cup Matches, and a Cowgirl Museum Expansion (this one!) Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. In 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. So our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Places like Penang, Malaysia, a small island with one of Southeast Asia's most fascinating and underrated food and cultural scenes. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with Kathryn Romeyn, a Bali-based journalist who explored Penang for the first time last year. Kathryn shares what it's like to wander the UNESCO-listed streets of Georgetown. She digs into the food—from char kway teow to laksa to the elaborate Malaysian breakfast culture that UNESCO recently recognized—and shares what's new on the island, including boutique hotels and a weekend art market that's become a creative hub for locals and travelers alike. Plan Your Penang Getaway Stay —Book a room the Millen Penang, Autograph Collection, a hotel on Millionaire's Row —Watch for Soori Penang, a new 15-room boutique hotel opening in January 2025 Eat and Drink —Try char kway teow, the iconic Penang dish of flat rice noodles stir-fried over charcoal flames with prawns, cockles, sausage, and bean sprouts —Eat laksa, the spicy, aromatic noodle soup that's a Penang obsession —Visit Mum's, a beloved Peranakan restaurant serving home-style cooking —Experience Malaysian breakfast culture (a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage) See and Do —Visit Hin Bus Depot on weekends for the art market —Visit Kek Lok Si Temple, home to the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas —Ride the Penang Hill funicular, the oldest in Southeast Asia (opened 1923), for panoramic views —Join the local hiking community via the Facebook group "Hiking Trails in Penang" (nearly 50,000 members)—they've created trails in the shapes of animals like elephants, unicorns, and even Pokémon characters Resources • Follow Kathryn's work on Instagram • Visit Kathryn's website • Explore all 24 destinations on Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list • Follow us on Instagram: @afarmedia Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: T⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E5: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E6: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting⁠⁠⁠⁠ E7: ⁠⁠⁠⁠The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E8: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E9: The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better E10: The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing E11: Malaysia's Most Overlooked Island Is a Feast for Every Sense (this one!) Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.  Explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a fresh new year and this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list—but this year's picks are different. In 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. Our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Places like Da Nang, Vietnam's fifth-largest city and a coastal destination long beloved by Vietnamese travelers that's now drawing international attention with new luxury hotels, airline routes, and a Michelin-starred restaurant. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with Liz Provencher, a food, drink, and travel writer who spent several weeks exploring Vietnam in 2025. Liz shares why Da Nang offers the best of both worlds: a bustling city with motor taxis and night markets, plus 40 miles of coastline, one of the last coastal rainforests in Vietnam, and regional dishes you literally cannot find anywhere else. Plan Your Da Nang Getaway (First, explore our Vietnam travel guide.) Stay —Book a room at the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, located within the protected Son Tra Peninsula nature reserve, designed by Bill Bensley, the architect behind the White Lotus Thailand hotel —Watch for the Mandarin Oriental opening in early 2026 —The Nobu hotel is also coming in 2026—once complete, it will be the city's tallest building, located on the beachfront Eat and Drink —Start your morning with mì quảng, a turmeric noodle soup topped with shrimp (or chicken, pork, or frog), herbs, and a crispy rice cracker —Day trip to Hoi An for cao lầu, a noodle soup that can only be made there —Explore the night markets for street food and the bustling energy Vietnam is known for See and Do —Spend time on Da Nang's 40 miles of stunning coastline along the South China Sea —Hike the Son Tra Peninsula, a protected nature reserve in the northern part of the city that's home to one of the last coastal rainforests in Vietnam —Take a day trip to Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 30 minutes away —Travel the coast in style on the Vietage Train by Anantara, a luxury train service connecting Da Nang to other cities along the central Vietnam coast Resources • Follow Liz's work on Instagram • Visit Liz's website • Explore all 24 destinations on Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list • Follow us on Instagram: @afarmedia Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: T⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠⁠ E5: ⁠Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention ⁠ E6: ⁠Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting⁠ E7: ⁠The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret ⁠ E8: ⁠Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari ⁠ E9: The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better E10: The White Lotus Architect Designed a Hotel in This Vietnamese City—Now the World Is Noticing (this one!) Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.  Explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a shiny new year, so this month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's ⁠⁠Where to Go list⁠⁠. And this year's list is a little different. Because in 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. Our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. Like the Columbia River Gorge, a Pacific Northwest icon where waterfalls tumble from towering cliffs, the landscape shifts from rainforest to arid grasslands in under two hours, and a historic highway is being transformed into a car-free trail. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with Zoe Baillargeon, a Portland-based travel writer who has spent years exploring this 80-mile stretch of cliffs, rivers, and vineyards. Zoe shares what's new in the Gorge—from a glamping resort with stargazing tents and views of Mount Hood to a newly reopened hot springs spa with thousand-year-old Indigenous roots, plus a James Beard–recognized wine farm and a historic highway being transformed into a car-free trail. Plan Your Columbia River Gorge Getaway (First, explore our Oregon travel guide.) Stay —Book a stargazing tent at Under Canvas Columbia River Gorge, a new glamping resort on 120 acres near White Salmon —Soak in natural mineral hot springs at the newly refurbished Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa. Eat and Drink —Get in line early at Grasslands Barbecue, a Hood River food cart that sells out daily —Book a farm-to-table tasting experience at Hiyu Wine Farm, a biodynamic winery and James Beard semifinalist for outstanding wine program —Drive the Fruit Loop trail through the valley behind Hood River for wine tastings, u-pick fruit, and farm stands—stop at the Gorge White House for tastings and views See and Do —Drive the historic Columbia River Highway, the nation's first planned scenic byway, for waterfalls, forest views, and towering gorge walls —Hike or bike the newly opened Mitchell Point Tunnel section of the historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. —Watch (or attempt) windsurfing and kiteboarding in Hood River, one of the world's top destinations for wind sports —Visit the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles for regional history, or the Maryhill Museum of Art for an eclectic collection in a stunning setting Resources • Follow Zoe's work on Instagram • Explore all 24 destinations on Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list • Follow us on Instagram: @afarmedia Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: T⁠⁠⁠⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠ E5: Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention E6: Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting E7: The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret E8: Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari E9: The Pacific Northwest's 80-Mile Playground Just Got Even Better (this one!) Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.  Explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month on Unpacked, we're diving into Afar's just-released ⁠Where to Go list⁠—but this year's picks are different. In 2026, we want to lessen the burden on overtouristed destinations and expand visitation to other parts of the world. Our editors carefully selected 24 emerging regions and overlooked locales that will inspire your next great adventure. For Laikipia, that means looking beyond the overcrowded Maasai Mara to discover a Kenyan plateau where half the country's black rhinos roam, where you might be the only vehicle at a sighting, and where conservation and community go hand in hand. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene talks with Alexandra Owens, a travel writer who specializes in conservation tourism and sub-Saharan Africa. Alexandra shares why this network of community-run conservancies offers a model for what safari can be: high value, low impact, and genuinely beneficial to local communities. Plan Your Laikipia Safari (Listen to the View From Afar episode about the Great Migration controversy.) Stay —Book a stay at andBeyond Suyian, a new lodge that opened in July 2024 on Suyian Conservancy —Try Segera Retreat, a conservancy with a collaborative relationship with local communities and a new rhino sanctuary —Stay at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, one of the original conservancies in the region, known for its rhino protection program and house-made goat cheese See and Do —Visit Ol Pejeta Conservancy to see the last two northern white rhinos on Earth—a mother and daughter—and learn about groundbreaking efforts to bring the species back from functional extinction —Consider hiring a safari advisor, especially if visiting multiple conservancies—they can help with charter flights and insider experiences. Alexandra recommends Tamsin Fricker at Travel Artistry Africa and Chris Liebenberg at Piper & Heath Resources • Follow Alexandra's work on LinkedIn • Visit Alexandra's website • Learn more about Space for Giants, the elephant conservation NGO working in Laikipia • Explore all 24 destinations on Afar's Where to Go in 2026 list • Follow us on Instagram: @afarmedia Listen to All the Episodes in our Where to Go 2026 Series E1: T⁠⁠⁠⁠his Island in the Bahamas Promises Pink Sand, Historic Hideaways, and Perfect Solitude ⁠⁠⁠⁠ E2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Why Peru's Second City Might Be Its Best-Kept Secret⁠⁠⁠ E3: ⁠⁠⁠The New 170-Mile Hiking Network Connecting Stockholm's Dreamy Archipelago⁠⁠⁠ E4: ⁠Route 66 Turns 100—and Albuquerque Is Ready to Celebrate ⁠ E5: Why Morocco's Chill Capital Deserves Your Attention E6: Three Hours From Nashville, the South's Next Great Food Capital Is Waiting E7: The French Riviera's Last Stop Before Italy—and Its Best-Kept Secret E8: Skip the Serengeti Traffic Jams for This Under-the-Radar Kenyan Safari (this one!) Stay Connected Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.  Explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and⁠⁠ ⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us. Unpacked by Afar is part of⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices