Podcasts about Afar

How can two rums taste completely different even though they're both made from sugar cane? What makes Jamaican rum so famously funky, and what does a dunder pit have to do with it? How does the type of ice you use change the strength, temperature, and texture of a cocktail? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Kara Newman, the author of eight cocktail books. You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks.   Giveaway One of you is going to win a copy of one of Kara Newman's The Cocktail Cabinet. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at natalie@nataliemaclean.com. I'll choose two people randomly from those who contact me. Good luck!   Highlights How did writing about stocks, bonds, and commodities eventually lead Kara to a career covering cocktails and spirits? Why does Kara see cocktail recipes as a starting point rather than a strict set of instructions? How does writing cocktail recipes on individual cards change the way Kara approaches storytelling? How can two rums taste so dramatically different when they're both made from sugar cane? Why did early Tiki pioneers blend multiple styles of rum into a single cocktail? How did the fierce rivalry between Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic help shape Tiki cocktail culture? What gives rhum agricole its distinctive grassy, funky character? What exactly makes Jamaican rum so funky, and what does a dunder pit have to do with it? Why does the Three Dots and a Dash cocktail literally wear its name in its garnish? Why did Don the Beachcomber impose a two-drink limit on his famously potent Zombie cocktail? How does the type of ice you use change a cocktail? Why should you stop thinking of rum as one category from one part of the world?   About Kara Newman Kara Newman reviews spirits for Wine Enthusiast magazine, where she's also a writer-at-large covering cocktails, spirits and bar culture, from Cuban rum to the world's tiniest two-seat bar. Her work also appears in publications including Afar, Bloomberg Pursuits, Food & Wine, PUNCH, and the Wall Street Journal and BBC Travel. She's the author of seven cocktail books -- soon to be eight!         To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/409.

Welcome to episode one of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel: the history, the ambition, and the glamorous, multicultural city it's become today. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene and the Dubai-based travel writer Nicola Chilton set the stage: They walk through how a fishing village and pearling outpost became one of the fastest-changing cities on Earth—and what it's actually like on the ground today. Halfway through, Aislyn hands the mic to Nicola—who will host the remaining three episodes—for a conversation with her longtime friend, Sahar Parham Al Awadhi, an Emirati chef born and raised in Dubai. They take a deeper dive into the city's history along Dubai Creek: the abra boats, the spice trade, and the neighborhoods where "old Dubai" is still very present. Together, they set up the rest of this Dubai series: three more episodes on the city's architecture, food, and culture, all filmed in the same studio, so you can watch as well as listen on YouTube. This week's guests Nicola Chilton is a UK-born travel writer who has lived in Dubai for more than a decade and will be hosting the rest of this series. Sahar Parham Al Awadhi is an Emirati chef, the first Emirati chef at the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab, and the founder of Abra, a new restaurant inside Dubai's Etihad Museum. Plan your own Dubai trip First, begin with these essential Afar resources, including the best hotels to book (and why hotels are so much more than a place to stay), a guide to the evolving food scene, and how to spend four days in Dubai, according to locals. Where to stay, what to do, and what to eat from this episode Jumeirah Beach — base yourself here for easy access to Dubai's best hotels, restaurants, and free public beaches. Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab — opened just over a year ago, directly across from the iconic Burj Al Arab. Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort — about an hour from the coast, inside the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, where gazelles and Arabian oryx wander past your private plunge pool. Dubai Creek — hop an abra, the little wooden boats that cross between Bur Dubai and Deira, for about 30 cents. Al Fahidi historical neighborhood and Al Shindagha Museum — Bur Dubai's restored old neighborhoods, now galleries, cafés, and museum houses. Karak tea — Dubai's ubiquitous, inexpensive spiced milk tea, best bought roadside from a canteen window. Abra — Sahar Parham Al Awadhi's new restaurant inside the Etihad Museum⁠, built around “new Emirati cuisine.” XVA Hotel — a boutique stay inside a heritage house near Dubai Creek, with its own gallery and café. Arabian Boutique Hotel — another heritage-building stay near the water, home to Arabian Fish House. One&Only One Za'abeel — for skyline views from one of Dubai's newest towers. Hatta — a mountainous exclave about 90 minutes from the city, popular with residents for hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Dubai 00:03:00 From Bangkok to Eleven Years In 00:06:00 After the Spring Unrest 00:08:00 Beaches, Desert Camps, and Mountains 00:14:00 Enter Sahar Parham Al Awadhi 00:19:00 Reviving Emirati Cuisine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crystal Orderson speaks to Yonas Yizezew about the renewed fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and the risk of a wider conflict in the Horn of Africa. Presenter John Maytham is an actor and author-turned-talk radio veteran and seasoned journalist. His show serves a round-up of local and international news coupled with the latest in business, sport, traffic and weather. The host’s eclectic interests mean the program often surprises the audience with intriguing book reviews and inspiring interviews profiling artists. A daily highlight is Rapid Fire, just after 5:30pm. CapeTalk fans call in, to stump the presenter with their general knowledge questions. Another firm favourite is the humorous Thursday crossing with award-winning journalist Rebecca Davis, called “Plan B”. Thank you for listening to a podcast from Afternoon Drive with John Maytham Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 15:00 and 18:00 (SA Time) to Afternoon Drive with John Maytham broadcast on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/BSFy4Cn or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/n8nWt4x Subscribe to the CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/sbvVZD5 Follow us on social media: CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia between Tigrayan forces and the national army is threatening a return to civil war after four years of peace. On Thursday, The Ethiopian National Defense Force siad it had killed hundrends of Tigray fighters and captured a large number of others. The military described its activity as a counter-attack. Fighting is also escalating in Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia. We hear from a resident in Mekelle, Tigray's capital and what this means for the peace and stability of the country. And New York is hosting world leaders for the UN General Assembly. We get on a discussion with Africa's young people to understand if they connect with the policies that affect their future.Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producer: Rukia Bulle, Bella Twine and Keikantse Shumba Technical Producer: Herbert Masua Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga Editors: Daniel Dadzie and Maryam Abdalla

Afar contributing writer Emma John road-trips the Great Victorian Bathing Trail, uncovering the best spa towns in Victoria, Australia—from thermal springs on the coast to century-old bathhouses inland. A traditional spa vacation was never Emma John's thing—she needs to be on the move to relax. So when she set out to explore Victoria Australia spas along the newly opened Great Victorian Bathing Trail, she brought her road trip instincts with her: 250 miles of driving, looping from Melbourne down to the Mornington Peninsula, across Port Phillip Bay by ferry, and back up through the best spa towns in Victoria, Australia—Hepburn Springs and Daylesford. On this episode of Unpacked, host Katherine LaGrave talks with Emma about what she learned when a self-described spa skeptic spent a week soaking, swimming, and drinking mineral water across the state with Australia's highest concentration of natural springs. THIS WEEK'S GUEST Emma John is a contributing writer to Afar based in London. For her story on the Great Victorian Bathing Trail, she looped through Victoria's most notable bathing destinations—geothermal spas, sea pools, mineral springs, and lakes—timing her trip around a six-week cricket series between Australia and England. What began as a well-earned reward after weeks of demanding sports coverage turned into a deeper reckoning with what wellness travel actually means. IN THIS EPISODE Why Victoria, Australia, has the country's highest concentration of natural mineral springs, and how the Great Victorian Bathing Trail links geothermal spas, sea pools, and lakes across the state Alba Thermal Springs & Spa on the Mornington Peninsula, where automatic doors and unfamiliar bathing etiquette left Emma completely disoriented—and how she started letting go of the need to get it "right" Hepburn Springs and Daylesford, the twin towns at the heart of Victoria's spa country, home to 80 percent of Australia's mineral water and the 1895 Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa—Australia's oldest Drinking straight from the source: the sulfurous Soda, Locarno, and Sulphur Springs pumps scattered through Hepburn's town park, and why locals still fill their bottles there every week A 45-minute private mineral bath that changed Emma's mind about "forced relaxation"—and the moment she realized her real obstacle wasn't the spa, but her own instinct to rush The layered history beneath the trail: a walk with guide Rob Hyatt of the Koorie Heritage Trust, who explains how the Yarra River's true name is Birrarung, and how Lake Daylesford's creation displaced the Dja Dja Wurrung people from land and water they'd relied on for generations Why Emma's top recommendation for skeptics isn't a spa at all: the Searoad Ferry between the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas, where a pod of wild dolphins showed up uninvited Dinner at Kadota, a Japanese restaurant in Daylesford run by chef Aaron Schembri and his wife Risa Kadota, plus an unplanned stop in the town of Trentham that Emma's still thinking about CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00:00 Introduction: A Road Trip Built Around Water 00:04:00 Hepburn Springs: Australia's Oldest Bathhouse 00:08:00 The freedom of road trips and letting go 00:10:30 The history of these Australian waters 00:17:00 The Searoad Ferry and an Unexpected Pod of Dolphins 00:19:00 Drinking the Springs in Hepburn's Town Park 00:22:00 Kadota, Daylesford, and an Unplanned Stop in Trentham 00:23:30 How Emma's Idea of Wellness Changed LINKS & RESOURCES Emma John's Afar story: An Australian Road Trip Built Around Swimming, Soaking, and Sauna Alba Thermal Springs & Spa Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa Lon Retreat & Spa Koorie Heritage Trust Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is your ex watching your stories? Why is your ex stalking your socials? Why does your ex keep asking about you? This podcast will help if you're a dumpee and want to get your ex back after a breakup.

The sermon explores the divine command for Moses and the leaders of Israel to worship God at a distance, emphasizing that corporate worship is a profound privilege rather than a mere obligation. By contrasting the freedom of worship in the United States with the restrictions faced by believers in countries like Vietnam, the message highlights the joy and gratitude that should characterize the assembly of God's people. The text references Psalm 122 and Hebrews 10 to illustrate that gathering together is both a source of delight and a biblical mandate. This pastoral tone encourages listeners to value the opportunity to sing praises and hear the Word, urging them not to take such liberties for granted. The sermon concludes by setting the stage for a deeper study on Moses' subsequent interactions with God on Mount Sinai.

The sermon explores the divine command for Moses and the leaders of Israel to worship God at a distance, emphasizing that corporate worship is a profound privilege rather than a mere obligation. By contrasting the freedom of worship in the United States with the restrictions faced by believers in countries like Vietnam, the message highlights the joy and gratitude that should characterize the assembly of God's people. The text references Psalm 122 and Hebrews 10 to illustrate that gathering together is both a source of delight and a biblical mandate. This pastoral tone encourages listeners to value the opportunity to sing praises and hear the Word, urging them not to take such liberties for granted. The sermon concludes by setting the stage for a deeper study on Moses' subsequent interactions with God on Mount Sinai.

The Loyal King does everything right. He writes ahead to Shanghai to announce he's coming – as a friend! And only for the Qing parts of the city! His standing orders: no firing on the foreigners, you get your head chopped off. He even signs off wishing them all good health until he can meet them in person. It's returned unopened. As is the second one. And so, in the third week of August 1860, an army marching under orders not to shoot back spends 5 days being shelled outside the walls of a city they thought friendly… all culminating with the French burning the suburbs to the ground, with everyone still inside. And those soldiers holding that wall on the Qing's behalf? They're the rear echelon of an expedition sailing north to burn down the dynasty's capital.Time Period Covered:June-Aug. 1860 CE Major Historical Figures:The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:Hong Rengan, the Shield King (Gan Wang), Prime Minister [1822–1864]Li Xiucheng, the Loyal King (Zhong Wang) [1823–1864] The Qing:Xue Huan, acting Governor of JiangsuWu Xu, the Shanghai DaotaiYang Fang, banker; head of the merchant syndicateHe Guiqing, cashiered Governor-General of Liangjiang [1816–1862] The Foreigners…At Shanghai:Frederick Bruce, British Minister to China [1814–1867]Thomas Taylor Meadows, acting British Consul at Shanghai [1815–1868]Frederick Townsend Ward, commander, Shanghai Foreign-Arms Corps [1831–1862]Thomas Francis Wade, first British Inspector of Customs at Shanghai [1818–1895]Horatio Nelson Lay, British Inspector of Customs from 1855 [1832–1898]Savage, English coastal pilot in Taiping service [d. 1860]In the North:James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, British High Commissioner; Frederick Bruce's elder brother [1811–1863] Major Works Cited:Fairbank, John King. Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast: The Opening of the Treaty Ports, 1842–1854.Jen, Yu-wen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement.Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I–III.Murphey, Rhoads. Shanghai: Key to Modern China.Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.Twitchett, Denis, and John K. Fairbank, eds. The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10: Late Ch'ing, 1800–1911, Part 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's hard to imagine a more beautiful place than Costa Rica. With its hot springs, beaches, volcanoes, wildlife, and wonderful food, the country truly is the definition of paradise.Host Angie Orth continues her conversation with travel journalist, author, and TEDx speaker Jen Ruiz, who has written about her adventures for outlets such as The Washington Post, AFAR, and Condé Nast Traveler.Today she takes us to Costa Rica, sharing her favorite moments from her recent cross-country road trip, including restaurant and zip line experiences no traveler should skip.What You'll Learn:40:29 The natural force that powers the renowned hot springs41:14 The must-see national park with an equally cool restaurant44:19 A quick guide to zip lining at one of Costa Rica's most sought-after locations45:29 Quintessential wildlife to look out for Connect with Jen Ruiz:Instagram: https://instagram.com/jenonajetplaneX: https://www.twitter.com/jenonajetplaneFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenonajetplaneYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUhkH8oFJZxsJCxu6nGVcLQWhat's on your Costa Rica bucket list? Zip lining, rainforest hikes, volcanoes? Tell us about it in the comments!Connect with AAA:Book travel: https://aaa-text.co/travelingwithaaa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AAAAutoClubEnterprisesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AAAAutoClubEnterprisesPodcast: TravelingWithAAA.com 

Travel journalist Kathryn Romeyn shares how to find Thailand off the beaten path—from Nan Province night markets to Khao Sok's rainforest—plus the best time to visit Thailand if you want fewer crowds and lower prices. This week on Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene explores Thailand off the beaten path with journalist Kathryn Romeyn, who's covered Southeast Asia since 2014 and calls Bali, Indonesia home. Kathryn returned to Thailand again and again since her first real trip in 2018, and wrote Afar's guide to seeing the country differently. In this episode, part of Unpacked's Off the Tourist Trail series, she and Aislyn dig into Bangkok's overlooked neighborhoods, the north's least-visited provinces, and—critically—the best time to visit Thailand if you want to skip both the crowds and the price surge of high season. THIS WEEK'S GUEST Kathryn Romeyn is a Bali-based travel journalist who has covered Southeast Asia since 2014. After spending years visiting nearly every other country in the region—Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam—she finally gave Thailand a real chance starting in 2018, and has been chasing its lesser-known corners ever since. IN THIS EPISODE Why finding Thailand off the beaten path means letting go of five-star expectations—and how a $50-a-night, family-run guesthouse can outshine a luxury resort The best time to visit Thailand: why the shoulder seasons (roughly March–July and October–November) beat the crowded, expensive December–January peak, and why to avoid the hot, rainy August–September stretch Inside Nan Province, in Thailand's mountainous north near Laos—road-tripping through opium-turned-coffee country, staying in teak bungalows, and meeting a local guide from the Karen community Local flavors worth seeking out: sai oua northern-style sausage, chicken wings crusted in makhwaen (a wild jungle pepper related to Sichuan pepper), and the tamarind crunchy shrimp at Thanyamundra that Kathryn can't stop thinking about  A nightly ritual in Nan: communal floor dinners at bamboo khantoke tables between two illuminated temples, complete with live folk music and unmatched trash-sorting discipline Why Koh Yao Noi—a small island with one gas station and one doctor—offers an escape from the group-boat crowds hitting Phuket's more famous islands Skipping the standard Phuket–Krabi–Chiang Mai loop for Khaosok National Park where limestone karsts rise out of Cheow Lan Lake and langurs swing through the jungle canopy Why hiring a private guide or outfitter (like Smiling Albino or Red Savannah)—rather than a big-group tour—unlocks the kind of moments you can't find with an internet search CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Rethinking Thailand's Reputation 00:02:00 A Freelancer's First Real Trip 00:07:00 Getting Lost in Bangkok on Purpose 00:11:00 Island Escapes and the Road to Nan 00:16:00 Guesthouses Over Five-Star Hotels 00:21:00 Night Markets and Local Food Secrets LINKS & RESOURCES Kathryn Romeyn's AFAR story: How to See Thailand's Wonders Without Feeling Like a Tourist Thanyamundra Organic Resort Nan Seasons Boutique Resort Cape Kudu Hotel Koh Yao Noi Smiling Albino Red Savannah Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan Van Allen grew up on the Jersey Shore with the food and drama of an Italian American household. Her maternal grandparents emigrated from southern Italy, and that inheritance became the compass for her life's work. For fifty years she's been returning to Italy, up and down the boot, chasing its beauty, its culture, and — always — its deliciousness.Her award-winning travel writing has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, BBC Travel, and AFAR, and she's the author of four books on Italian travel, including 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go. She also designs and leads Golden Weeks in Italy: For Women Only Tours, giving travelers an insider's, femme-friendly way into the Bel Paese.In this episode, Susan and I talk about what fifty years of returning to the same homeland has taught her — about roots, about women traveling on their own terms, and about why some places get under your skin and never let go.

The spices in your cabinet are probably five to seven years old—and that's not an accident. On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene sits down with Sana Javeri Kadri, founder of Diaspora Spice Co., who spent nine years dismantling a 500-year-old system and replacing it with something radically different: direct relationships with regenerative spice farming partners across India and Sri Lanka. What starts as a question about how old the spices in your cabinet really are unfolds into a conversation about colonialism, cultural erasure, and what it actually takes to trace a turmeric root back to the family who grew it. THIS WEEK'S GUEST Sana Javeri Kadri founded Diaspora Spice Co. in 2017 at age 23, after discovering that the global spice trade—largely unchanged since European colonization took hold roughly 500 years ago—left farmers earning almost nothing while spices sat in warehouses for five to seven years before reaching store shelves. Sana built the company around regenerative spice farming partnerships, working directly with 140 farmers across India and Sri Lanka to source turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, and more, paying farm partners an average of 4x commodity price. Sana splits time between Mumbai and the Bay Area and is the author of The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook, a book five years in the making and built entirely around the farm families behind the spices. IN THIS EPISODE How Sana Javeri Kadri traced the spice trade's roots back 4,000 years—and how colonization, not commerce, is what broke it roughly 500 years ago Why regenerative spice farming partnerships let Diaspora Spice Co. pay farmers well above commodity price, and what that income jump has meant for farming families year over year The 14-month search for pesticide-free cardamom, and what it actually takes to find a handful of true regenerative spice farming partners out of dozens of samples collected Inside Eko Land's cinnamon and clove processing facility in Kandy, Sri Lanka, where quality control means tasting bark from individual trees—and why true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is almost impossible to find in the US What 9 years of relationship-building with Pragati Turmeric farm partner Prabhu Kasereni has looked like, from a 23-year-old showing up unannounced to writing a cookbook credited entirely to the farmers themselves CHAPTERS 00:00:00 The Age of Your Spice Cabinet 00:03:00 The 500-Year-Old Trade Problem 00:10:00 Building Diaspora and Regenerative Farming 00:18:00 The Search for Cardamom and Pepper 00:26:00 Pragati Turmeric in Andhra Pradesh 00:34:00 Cinnamon and Cloves in Kandy 00:42:00 Nine Years, One Family's Story 00:48:00 The Cookbook and What Comes Next INKS & RESOURCES Diaspora Co. The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook Pragati Turmeric Guntur Sannam Chilli 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

Costa Rica's signature phrase, pura vida, captures the spirit of the country and its many adventures: coastlines where monkeys swing through the trees, zip lines stretching across iconic cloud forest canopies, and gorgeous views of volcanoes. Costa Rica's natural beauty is unmatched, and it keeps travelers coming back.In this episode, host Angie Orth is joined by Jen Ruiz, a travel journalist who recently completed a road trip across Costa Rica. Her work has appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, AFAR, and Condé Nast Traveler. She's also the author of several books, including The Solo Female Travel Book and You Need a Vacation! How to Travel with a Full-Time Job. Beyond her writing, Jen is a three-time TEDx speaker known for championing the power of solo travel.Jen recounts her cross-country trip, highlighting Costa Rica's must-see destinations and sharing tips to make the most of your experience. From navigating potholes to hiking through the rainforest and finding the best zip line, she covers the essentials for every type of traveler seeking to explore the country.What You'll Learn:3:45 What makes Costa Rica special and why people love coming back17:41 Why Treetopia is one of the best places to zip line in Costa Rica20:17 The must-see small town that's filled with exciting activities25:51 What to know before visiting the national parks34:04 The best way to plan your Costa Rica tripConnect with Jennifer Dombroski:Website + Blog: https://luxeadventuretraveler.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luxeadventuretrvlr/What's on your Costa Rica bucket list? Zip lining, rainforest hikes, volcanoes? Tell us about it in the comments!Connect with AAA:Book travel: https://aaa-text.co/travelingwithaaa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AAAAutoClubEnterprisesFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AAAAutoClubEnterprisesPodcast: TravelingWithAAA.com 

An African safari doesn't have to mean a traffic jam. On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene travels to Tanzania's southern circuit—visiting two parks most first-time safari-ers never consider—and discovers what happens when you trade the famous Great Migration crossing for a dry riverbed with not another human being in sight. To get there, she consulted Elizabeth Gordon, co-founder of Extraordinary Journeys, who helped reframe what an African safari could be. What followed was eight days in Ruaha National Park and Nyerere National Park: a walking safari with a guide who reads the wind with a pouch of ash, a river full of hippos and crocodiles that Aislyn took to calling "danger soup," and a fly camp on a lake where a ranger stayed up all night speaking hippo so she didn't have to. Come back next week for a bonus episode about what happens when a lion leaves the park—and meets a herd of cattle. THIS WEEK'S GUESTS Elizabeth Gordon is the co-founder of Extraordinary Journeys, a bespoke travel company designing African safari itineraries—and trips throughout South America and Asia—for travelers who want more than the standard route. Born in Kenya to a mother who joined the Peace Corps, earned her pilot's license, and built a house on a game park outside Nairobi, Elizabeth grew up between Kenya and France, studied in Beijing, and managed safari camps in Namibia before launching the company with her mother. Pay Mbaryo is a walking guide and naturalist with Nomad Tanzania in Ruaha National Park. A farmer's son who grew up in the Gorongosa district, he has spent 15 years in the bush and navigates unmarked wilderness using what he calls a natural GPS. In a decade of guiding, he has never once had to use his rifle. Gerald is a guide with Nomad Tanzania in Nyerere National Park, in his fourth year on the Rufiji River. He can identify a hippo's path out of the water by sight and smell—and he was the one who handed Aislyn a hippo skull to explain exactly why you don't want to be in that path. IN THIS EPISODE Why Tanzania's Southern Circuit—specifically Ruaha National Park and Nyerere National Park—offers a better African safari experience for first-time visitors than the Great Migration crossing: fewer people, better guides, and wildlife that doesn't know you're there What a walking safari in Ruaha actually feels like: reading the wind with a pouch of ash, approaching a mother elephant and her calf without being detected, learning to make a toothbrush from a tree, and discovering the Small Five How Pay spent 15 years learning that birds, buffalo, and elephants are all sharing information with one another—and why walking safari means becoming part of that conversation rather than watching it from a Jeep The Rufiji River at Nyerere: a wide, curving expanse of "danger soup"—filled with hippos and crocodiles—and what an afternoon on the water teaches you about the elephant as a keystone species What fly camping looks like when Nomad's team digs a bathroom into the sand, rigs a hot shower, serves gin and tonics under the stars, and a ranger stays up all night so you can fall asleep to the sound of the hippo brass band CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00:00 Introduction: African Safari, But Different 00:04:00 Why the Southern Circuit 00:08:00 Arriving in Ruaha 00:12:00 Walking Safari With Pay 00:20:00 The Small Five and the Keystone Species 00:26:00 Nyerere and the Rufiji River 00:33:00 Danger Soup: Life on the Water 00:38:00 Fly Camping With Hippos LINKS & RESOURCES Extraordinary Journeys Nomad Tanzania Nomad Kigelia Camp, Ruaha Nomad Sand Rivers Camp, Nyerere Ruaha National Park, Tanzania Nyerere National Park, Tanzania View From Afar—Great Migration episode 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

The devoteonal centers on the necessity of personal, intimate worship with God, contrasting the Israelites' desire for a mediated encounter with God through Moses to the call for individual, private communion. Drawing from Exodus 24, it emphasizes that true nearness to God comes not in crowds or collective worship alone, but in intentional solitude, where one prepares through worship, listens attentively, and records divine revelations. The passage highlights the transformative power of such encounters, as seen in Moses' radiant countenance, demonstrating how time alone with God shapes one's character and enables authentic spiritual leadership. The message calls believers beyond passive attendance to active, personal engagement with Scripture and prayer, where God speaks directly and personally. Ultimately, it urges a shift from worshipping from afar to drawing near in quiet intimacy, where divine truth is received, preserved, and shared with others.

The devoteonal centers on the necessity of personal, intimate worship with God, contrasting the Israelites' desire for a mediated encounter with God through Moses to the call for individual, private communion. Drawing from Exodus 24, it emphasizes that true nearness to God comes not in crowds or collective worship alone, but in intentional solitude, where one prepares through worship, listens attentively, and records divine revelations. The passage highlights the transformative power of such encounters, as seen in Moses' radiant countenance, demonstrating how time alone with God shapes one's character and enables authentic spiritual leadership. The message calls believers beyond passive attendance to active, personal engagement with Scripture and prayer, where God speaks directly and personally. Ultimately, it urges a shift from worshipping from afar to drawing near in quiet intimacy, where divine truth is received, preserved, and shared with others.

Rev. Seth Yi

Two MPs gave valedictory statements to their colleagues on Wednesday, but illness forced one of them to say haere rā via a video link. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kenny Stokes | The Letter to the Hebrews | Downtown

Kenny Stokes | The Letter to the Hebrews | Downtown

By the end of this century, half of the world's 7,000 languages could be gone. On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene hands the mic to travel writer Lucy Kehoe for a conversation about saving language with journalist Sophia Smith Galer, author of the new book How to Kill a Language. For Sophia, saving language is personal: her Italian grandmother spoke Emilian, one of Italy's Indigenous tongues, and it's quietly slipping away. To understand what we lose when a language dies, Sophia traveled from the mountains of Oman to the hills of California, seeking out endangered languages and the communities fighting—or grieving—for them. She and Lucy get into why these languages matter to every traveler, how language and landscape are woven together, and what it means to travel thoughtfully to a place whose language is at risk—beyond learning a few phrases. It's a conversation about treating language as part of the culture we come to experience, and about meeting it with curiosity and respect rather than as something quaint. THIS WEEK'S GUESTS Sophia Smith Galer is an award-winning journalist and author whose new book, How to Kill a Language, traces the forces—colonialism, globalization, migration, and war—pushing thousands of the world's languages toward extinction. Multilingual in English, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic, she reported it across California, Oman, Ghana, Ecuador, Italy, and Greece, meeting speakers of critically endangered languages in person to capture not only their words but their connection to a place. Lucy Kehoe is a London-based journalist who covers travel, food, and the environment, with a particular interest in how people relate to landscape and place. IN THIS EPISODE The statistic that stopped us cold: by 2100, up to half of the world's 7,000 languages could vanish, and the rate of loss is expected to triple over the next 40 years Why a language is far more than a way to order coffee—Sophia's case that it holds the past, present, and future of a people connected to a place, from Oman's Jibbali (with distinct words for animal versus human shelter) to a California tribe down to 12 adult speakers What it really asks of travelers: not memorizing phrases, but bringing respect and dignity to an endangered language, and asking who profits from "language tourism" and whether speaker communities are truly part of it Where to find language on the road—Planet Word in Washington, D.C., the Armenian alphabet monument outside Yerevan, a Ukrainian language tour in Kyiv, and Oman's frankincense heritage experience The range of feelings Sophia found among speakers themselves—pride, determination, and quiet resignation—and why she believes the fate of each endangered language belongs to its own community to decide 00:00:00 A Grandmother's Vanishing Tongue 00:04:00 Why Endangered Languages Matters 00:06:00 Words Shaped by Place 00:10:00 Tourism Done Respectfully 00:16:00 California's Last Speakers 00:24:00 Ladino, Museums, and Hope LINKS & RESOURCES How to Kill a Language by Sophia Smith Galer — buy on Bookshop Sophia Smith Galer's website Lucy Kehoe's website Planet Word, the language museum in Washington, D.C. Armenian Alphabet Monument, outside Yerevan Museum of the Frankincense Land, Oman 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

This kind of Japan travel doesn't show up in guidebooks. In January 2024, a major earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula, lifting the seabed 15 feet into the air and exposing an ocean floor that locals walked across—harvesting octopus and abalone—to get home. This week on Unpacked, Five Questions, host and Afar executive editor Katherine LaGrave is joined by Afar contributing writer Ryan Knighton, who recently wrote a feature about traveling along the peninsula. Ryan, who is blind, visited Noto two years after the earthquake on a slow walking tour, drawn by the parallels between this remote coastal peninsula and his own earthquake-prone home on Vancouver Island. What he found was a place not broken, but mid-repair—and a Japanese art form that made sense of everything. THIS WEEK'S GUEST Ryan Knighton is an author and Afar contributing writing whose stories consistently find the textures, flavors, and human stories that sighted travelers walk past. A former English teacher in South Korea, he brings a slow, sensory approach to Japan travel and beyond—listening to sushi chefs talk about their knives, walking earthquake fracture lines with his feet, and finding the people who hold a place together.  IN THIS EPISODE What blind travel in Japan actually looks like: why guides, sushi chefs, and strangers become the mediators of a place, and what it feels like to walk an earthquake fracture line with your feet instead of seeing it with your eyes Why Ryan chose the Noto Peninsula for his Japan travel debut: a remote, earthquake-prone coastal community with striking geographic parallels to his own home—and a story of post-disaster recovery he felt compelled to witness in person The food that made the trip: Tokyo-style sushi whose origins trace directly to a 1923 earthquake, Japanese barracuda, Noto sea salt gelato at 10 a.m. in a parking lot, and a tuna described by his wife as looking like a ruby The scene that didn't make the final cut: a couple walking home after the earthquake on a newly exposed seabed—15 feet of ocean floor lifted overnight, scattered with octopus and abalone, with kids too excited about sea creatures to be scared How kintsugi—the Japanese art of repairing broken objects with gold—became the metaphor that unlocked the entire story, and why it took a gold leaf factory on day one to understand what Noto was actually about LINKS & RESOURCES Ryan's Afar story on Noto, Japan Walk Japan Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture Somamichi Restaurant 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake — background CHAPTER MARKERS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:00 Japan Travel on Foot and Without Sight 00:05:00 The Ethics of Disaster Tourism 00:07:00 Food as Craft, Craft as Place 00:10:00 The Scene That Didn't Make the Cut 00:12:00 Walking the Fracture Line 00:14:00 Mr. Squid and the Spirit of Noto 00:16:00 Kintsugi as Metaphor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the past several decades, writer and editor Lavinia Spalding has championed women's travel writing. She's helmed seven editions of the Best Women's Travel Writing—the celebrated Traveler's Tales anthology—including the latest, released on June 9th. Over the years, she's read hundreds of submissions a year from women around the world and distilled them into one essential collection. So host Aislyn Greene sits down with Lavinia to talk about what two decades of editing these stories has taught her about how women explore the world, and why amplifying those voices matters more than ever right now. THIS WEEK'S GUEST Lavinia Spalding is the author of Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Keeping Traveler , seven-time series editor of The Best Women's Travel Writing, and co-author of With a Measure of Grace, This Immeasurable Place, and two editions of the Frommer's EasyGuide to New Orleans. She has been teaching for more than 30 years and leads writing workshops online and around the world. She lives with her family in New Orleans. Watch her TEDx talk here, and subscribe to her Substack newsletter for updates and essays. IN THIS EPISODE How Lavinia shapes each volume of Best Women's Travel Writing like a playlist—balancing place, tone, voice, and the ratio of dark to light—and why this year's theme might be best described as "flashes of insight that arise from connection" The essay that has never left her: Sandra Gail Lambert's pre-dawn solo kayak trip through the Florida Everglades, written from a wheelchair, with stakes so high that every preparation detail becomes profound What two decades of reading women's travel writing has taught Lavinia: never underestimate a woman, and women who write about travel tend to be actively seeking transformation, not just sights How the legacy of male-dominated adventure travel writing—conquest narratives, man-versus-place drama—may have conditioned women to fear solo travel, and what it looks like as that changes Why a women's travel writing anthology still matters in 2026: to amplify voices of autonomy and adventure at a moment when women's rights and freedom of movement are under pressure CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Young, Fearless, and Filled With Wonder 00:03:00 How a Volume Comes Together 00:07:00 The Traveler She Was, the Traveler She Is 00:10:00 Building the Playlist 00:14:00 The Stories That Live Inside Her 00:19:00 Never Underestimate a Woman 00:23:00 Who Gets to Be an Adventurer 00:28:00 Why It Matters Now LINKS & RESOURCES Best Women's Travel Writing, Volume 13—Bookshop.org Traveler's Tales Lavinia'swebsite Lavinia'sWriting Away Substack Lavinia's essay for Afar and Aislyn's essay for Afar West With the Night by Beryl Markham Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buffalo, New York might be the greatest architecture city you've never heard of. In the fourth and final episode of our Unpacked by Afar series, we explore how this Rust Belt city became one of the richest showcases of American architecture anywhere in the country. Host Aislyn Greene tours Buffalo with Ed Howard, a docent and guide with Explore Buffalo. Ed shares that Buffalo was one of the wealthiest cities in America and drew the biggest names in architecture to build here. Stand on a single downtown corner and you can see work by the architects behind the Flatiron Building, the Twin Towers, and the first true skyscraper. Buffalo is also one of only two American cities with major works by the "holy trinity" of American architecture, Louis Sullivan, H.H. Richardson, and Frank Lloyd Wright, whose Martin House is here. Then come the surprises: the industrial grain elevators that inspired modernist masters, and the Frederick Law Olmsted park system that led the man who designed Central Park to call Buffalo the best-planned city in the country. It's a story of boom, near-ruin, and hard-won revival, a city that nearly lost its treasures and fought to save them. This is cultural travel at its most rewarding, a piece of American travel culture hiding in plain sight. If great architecture is a reason you travel, Buffalo belongs near the top of your list of American travel destinations. Meet this week's guest Ed Howard, docent and tour guide at Explore Buffalo Chapters 00:00 — A Secret Architecture City 03:32 — Five Masters, One Corner 06:40 — The Holy Trinity 11:05 — Saving the Landmarks 17:00 — Grain and Grass Where to go to explore Buffalo's architecture Explore Buffalo — Walking, bus, and boat tours led by local guides; the single best way to take in the city's architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House — Wright's Prairie-style masterpiece, fully restored, and one of his finest residential works. The Guaranty Building — Louis Sullivan's 1896 skyscraper, once nearly demolished, now restored to its original glory. Richardson Olmsted Campus — H.H. Richardson's monumental former hospital; part is now a hotel, and Explore Buffalo runs hard-hat tours of the unrestored wings. Buffalo Central Terminal — The grand 1929 Art Deco train station, mid-restoration. Silo City and Duende — The towering grain elevators that awed modernist architects, with a bar tucked right among them. Delaware Park and the Olmsted parkways — The green system that earned Buffalo its "best-planned city" title. Go deeper at buffaloah.com, a database of hundreds of Buffalo buildings, and plan your trip with our Buffalo travel guide. This is the fourth and final episode of our Buffalo series. New here? Go back for Buffalo's food scene, its neighborhoods, and its Black history. And follow Unpacked, a travel podcast from Afar, for more unique travel experiences around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Drive opened the show explaining how the story of Bieniemy keeping tabs on the offense and holding people accountable being done virtually is the Chiefs propaganda machine working hard.

Another San Diego Comic-Con, another year The Guys watch from afar.  (It's not too early to sponsor a 2027 trip, wealthy listener!)  But they're still interested in the news, and this event does bring the news.   Here are some of the “news”: new Black Panther, new Ghost Rider, new cosplays, new Doomsday announcements, new trailers, new stars roaming the hallways in costume, and a new first-time whopper of a guest.  Plenty of things for The Guys to ramble on about after they lament a bit because rambling is all they could afford to do.  (Did we mention that we are open to travel sponsors?)   On the homefront, Robbie advocates for his buddy Claude, Art looks forward to the next iteration of Blade Runner, and Jay reads a book in a new genre the kids call LitRPG, and the one he picked is coming to Peacock.  It's a wild episode despite the distance from the San Diego Zoo.   

"We Were Made For These Times" It's been 40 years since the Grammy-Award winning band the Klezmatics formed in the East Villag. In the same way the Pogues fused Irish folk with punk rock, the New York klezmer outfit have grafted centuries-old Yiddish music with iterations of contemporary music including jazz, gospel, punk, classical, Latin, and Balkan styles. With nearly twenty albums under their musical belts, including Rhythm and Jews, Jews With Horns, Letters to Afar and their wonderful new one, We Were Made For These Times, the Klezmatics remain one of the most spellbindingly singular bands on the planet. Over the course of their career they've collaborated with Arlo Guthrie, Allen Ginsberg and Itzhak Perlman, played shows in over twenty different countries, performed on PBS' Great Performances, recorded a live CD at New York City's Town Hall and snared a Critics Award as well as a New York Jewish Music Award. Their music has appeared everywhere from Sex and the City to Late Night With David Letterman and their new album continues to add to their winning legacy. A stirring, inspiring and soulful offering that, in the band's words is, "rooted in protest, hope, and resilience, We Were Made For These Times pairs Black gospel, Latin American, and avant-jazz voices with Yiddish folk and the results are joyful, life-affirming and brimming with optimism. The L.A. born vocalist, accordionist, pianist, guitarist Lorin Sklamberg is a lovely guy and this is a great chat. www.klezmatics.com (http://www.klezmatics.com) www.bombshellradio.com www.stereoembersmagazine.com (http://www.stereoembersmagazine.com) www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com) Threads + BLUESKY + IG: @emberspodcast Email: editor@stereoembersmagzine.com

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

On July 9, Mark Carney became the first Canadian Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia in 26 years — a Royal Palace meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, thirteen commercial agreements the PMO values at over $1 billion, and one sentence doing all the work: publicly condemning countries from afar is “an ineffective strategy.”In 2018, Canada spoke up about Saudi Arabia's human rights record and paid for it — an expelled ambassador and a five-year diplomatic freeze. In 2026, the lesson appears to have been silence.I walk through what was signed, what wasn't disclosed, the strongest case for the trip, and the question nobody at the press conference asked:Who sets the price of Canada's word?CHAPTERS0:00 Twenty-six years, one handshake0:45 What happened in Jeddah2:00 The sentence4:00 2018, told cold6:00 The thirteen agreements8:00 The pattern this week proves12:00 The government's best case — and my answer14:30 Who sets the price of Canada's word?17:30 What you do with thisSOURCESAP via ABC News — full trip report:https://abcnews.com/Business/wireStory/canadas-carney-defends-visit-saudi-arabia-slams-criticism-134635098Buy me a coffee! - https://buymeacoffee.com/kelsisherenLet's connect!Substack: https://substack.com/@kelsisherenRumble - https://rumble.com/user/TheKelsiSherenPerspectiveInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/thekelsisherenperspective?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw%3D%3DX: https://x.com/KelsisherenSUPPORT OUR PEOPLE - - - - - - - - - - - -Ketone IQ- 30% off with code KELSI - https://ketone.com/KELSIGood Livin - 20% off with code KELSI - https://www.itsgoodlivin.com/?ref=KELSIBrass & Unity - 20% off with code UNITY - http://www.brassandunity.com

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

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 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 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

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

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

In this episode, Danielle Wiley and Casey Benedict delve into the latest trends and debates from the Cannes conference, exploring authenticity, vanity metrics, influencer discovery, and the evolving landscape of influencer marketing. 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 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

https://cdn.enduringword.com/audio/devotional/Devotional06232026.mp3 The post To All Who Are Afar Off – Acts 2:38-39 – June 23, 2026 appeared first on Enduring Word.

If you want to know how to improve cognitive function, you probably already know the basics. You need to eat well, get regular sleep, exercise consistently and maintain social connections. That last point hits me hard because as someone who has taught memory improvement for fifteen years, I recently moved away from all my friends. And I’m definitely feeling the impact of that decision. And we’re all facing the consequences of the decisions we make because everything influences the quality of our minds. So if you’d like to know what I’m personally doing to maintain focus as I age while leading an unusually isolated life, today I’m sharing my research and experiences. It’s a bit unique because I’m the author of multiple memory improvement books, an independent memory researcher and someone with a reputation to maintain in the field of mental performance. And since we all need to preserve our reputations, how I’m tackling my own concentration, memory and focus challenges might help you along your own journey. Let me share this proclamation loud and clear as we begin: Tackling challenges to my own concentration and focus is my passion. And it has to be a passion and a mission because I intend to enjoy a very focused mind with strong recall abilities for as long as I possibly can. Ready to explore some of the best, science-backed strategies that are helping me? Let’s dive in! What Is Cognitive Function? And How Does It Relate To Memory? “Cognitive function” is a term used in a variety of fields, from memory science to Jungian psychology. For Carl Jung, cognition boiled down to how your mind processes and experiences emotional feeling, intuition, a variety of sensations and thought. When it comes to memory in the realm of learning, cognitive function specifically refers to: Attention and how you focus on information like hearing someone’s name Working memory so you can temporarily hold an instruction or phone number in mind Long-term memory for accessing facts like names and locations Processing speed for thinking efficiently Executive functions like planning or switching between tasks Holding focus during conversations or while studying Speaking languages Navigating a variety of places Most importantly, cognitive function governs how we use memory techniques to remember things, specifically information related to data like numbers and information related to our professional work and studies. Why Cognitive Function Slips (According To Science) First things first: If you’re concerned about your memory, please see a doctor. Or, if you’re concerned for a loved one, assist them in doing so. Generally, the reason most of us have issues is because we distract ourselves with multitasking. Good recall begins with paying attention. But far too often we clutter our lives with social media, creating digital amnesia. This is a term that literally refers to Internet-induced forgetting. The good news is that we can improve. Like focusing on diet, exercise, sleep and socializing, paying attention is a behavior. This was a point made by memory expert David Berglas in A Question of Memory. He’s worth listening to because his memory stayed sharp up until a very old age indeed. How do you turn paying attention into a behavior? Start making an effort to remember names, for one thing. Yesterday at the bank I did just that, and the clerk delighted in covering up her name tag to test me several times. You can also engage in activities like memorizing scripture. Or other forms of long-form verbatim memorization, like poetry. For an inspiring outcome from one of my students who was recovering from cardiac arrest, check out the memory improvement case study and scripture demonstration provided by Matt Barclay. There are a few more activities to consider that I’ll cover below, but let’s look at what happens to our brain cells next. It will provide more context to this mission-critical aspect of our mental lives and why maintaining memory is so valuable throughout life. Cellular Aging Judith Campisi was a pioneer in the field of cellular senescence. As one of her papers described this term, cellular senescence is “when bad things happen to good cells.” It’s bad no matter where it happens in the body. But there are two ways it can affect memory: Reducing the functioning of your brain cells Creating pain and stress that distract you and reduce focus If you find yourself dealing with cellular senescence, diet might help improve your cognition. This study found that adopting a ketogenic diet improved memory in aging mice. Anecdotally, I’ve eaten either an entirely keto or near-keto diet for years. I have to regulary eat yogurt now, and that unfortunately causes some brain fog. But during the years I ate near-totally keto, I was sharper than I ever felt in my life. Genetics We often think that things are just the way that they are. Our genes above all cannot be changed. Assuming this is true now, will it always be the case that we have to just deal with the cards we’ve been dealt in the game of life? Scientists are hard at work answering this question. One interesting study on animals has shown promise with respect to potentially treating neurocognitive deficits with gene therapy. In this case, spatial memory was studied in particular, and treated animals were able to navigate mazes better. In humans, how we use memory to navigate space is only starting to be understood. The science writer Christopher Kemp wrote a lovely book on the topic and shared his findings on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. Although it’s not entirely clear that Kemp’s personal struggles with navigation are genetic in nature, Dark and Magical Places is well worth reading because some scientists have shown a substantial relationship between place cells and memory. I’d be surprised if gene therapies didn’t emerge in the future that improve both spatial and other types of memory, giving them greater longevity in our lives. Environmental Factors One of the hardest things for many of us to change is our environmental conditions. As I mentioned, I moved away from the city and did not anticipate just how out of touch this would put me with my friends. I also did not anticipate that it would be such a challenge to make new ones. It’s critical that I take care of this soon, however. As this study shows, poor social connections are a strong predictor of cognitive decline. Another study found that people with stronger social networks have a lower mortality risk. The catch is that “naturally occurring social” relations are at the core of the benefit. Corny “interventions” by community groups or the recent explosion of rent-a-friend and rental family services don’t show much promise. Quite the opposite, as this Afar story details. If it’s true that people work ten-hour days only to carry on eating and relaxing with their co-workers, that sounds like a very challenging environment to live in. And that’s not to mention the possibility that worries over climate issues are causing anxiety-induced memory loss. If you’re struggling to think clearly and remember, you might want to think about how this kind of environmental issue might be affecting you. Research into eco-anxiety is underway at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences and likely to grow in importance as a field of therapy over the years to come. How Memory Improvement Activities Can Improve Your Cognition (Even As You Age) Now that we’ve covered some of the key reasons mental sharpness slips throughout our lives, let’s look at activities that will help restore and improve your cognitive function. Obviously, diet and nutrition for cognitive enhancement are assumed. And again, please consult a doctor for advice that directly addresses your personal situation. Likewise with the following activities. If you have doubts, always run each past a qualified professional before engaging in them. Even though I engage in them myself, critical thinking remains important and I always encourage you to seek at least one professional opinion before taking any action. One: Mindfulness And Meditation I’m a strong proponent of meditation for concentration as a key activity for improving attention and memory. Not only does my book, The Victorious Mind cover much of the key research on the benefits of meditation. I wrote it because combining meditation with memory training helped me in a variety of ways. The key is to understand that there are many forms of meditation to explore. Not just sitting or chanting mantras. For example, benefits of mindfulness on your cognitive function will likely start to flow for you through: Sitting meditation Walking meditation Breathing exercises Journaling for reflective thinking exercise Going on a retreat Practicing mindfulness while eating Yoga for concentration and memory Various practices that can help regulate your dopamine levels Although studies like this one show that meditation can increase your working memory, there’s a catch. As these researchers recommend, meditation routines generally need to be systematized and conducted routinely. I’ve certainly found that my own practices need to be consistent. That’s why I optimize my environment to remind me of my meditation practice. I have my journal always in sight, the place I sit and the book of mantras I’m memorizing from. Two: Have A Purpose As You Age I know it sounds cliche. But the findings of the Rush Memory and Aging Project demonstrate that having a goal linked to purpose is associated with lower incidences of Alzheimer’s Disease and related issues. Interestingly, the study also demonstrated that “purpose in life was also associated with a reduced risk of incident disability and risk of death.” I was fortunate to spend time speaking with the memory experts Tony Buzan and Harry Lorayne. They both were incredibly sharp when I met them, despite being in their seventies and eighties respectively. Why? It was not just the fact that they both engaged in regular memory training. In my view, their strong sense of purpose was a huge part of it. Tony had the World Memory Championship he helped found, along with his work in mind mapping and his polymathic personality. For his part, Lorayne wrote and published books and performed card magic almost until the end. I myself have made teaching as a mnemonist and understanding as much as I can about memory science my purpose. It’s not clear yet that I’ll last as long as they did or make a similar mark. That doesn’t matter nearly as much to me as enjoying the benefits that doing my best in this field brings. So your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to craft your own vision statement and work on your purpose. From there on in, it’s just a matter of consistent execution. If you’d like some help with this piece of the puzzle, check out: My detailed training on crafting a vision statement The mind mapping for my business I did under Tony Buzan’s tutelage Three: Engage in Regular Language Learning Activities Another reason you might suffer cognitive decline stems from not taking on enough challenges that create mental stimulation. Few activities offer more variety and challenge than learning a new language. The problem is that many people cringe at the first sign of challenge. Yet, the challenge itself is what’s so helpful for restoring and maintaining cognitive function! As part of my mission and purpose, I’ve created many tutorials on language learning that will help you. Many of these lessons are geared to reduce the challenges and speed up the process based on my personal experiences with applying memory techniques to language acquisition. But that’s not to remove challenges altogether. In many ways, it’s more about keeping the challenges fun and eliminating the boredom of rote learning. Quick Memory-Based Exercises That Restore Concentration We’ve just covered three areas of activity to engage in over the long-term. They’re not quick fixes, but tactics and strategies to explore across a lifetime. What about things you can do within a few minutes a day and get some benefit? Well, as I talk about here, completely crossword puzzles likely isn’t one of them (though they can be fun). It also isn’t fiddling with online brain games (which have been shown not to work very well). Instead, give these quick activities a try. Four: Repeat Conversations Silently In Your Mind I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get caught up in thinking about what I’m going to say next instead of focusing my mind on my conversation partner’s exact words. To combat this, years ago I started repeating what people were telling me in my mind. Memory expert Jim Samuels teaches something similar in his book, Re-Mind Yourself. It’s a quick exercise that focuses your mind and leads to remembering more from conversations. You can also practice this repetition game while listening to podcasts or watching movies. It’s powerful. Five: Kirtan Kriya According to the Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation, just twelve minutes a day with this ancient concentration technique helps improve your memory while reducing stress. Dr. Gary Weber teaches it in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehvokeZnXMM I’ve practiced it for years and it really helps. Usually I combine it with my walking meditation sessions. Six: Incorporate Mnemonics Into Your Daily Life Although it takes a bit of setup, applying mnemonics to everyday learning tasks is easy. You can use them to remember appointments, where you parked and your shopping list. Every time you do, you’re getting in a bit of cognitive exercise. Seven: Listen Like An Audiophile Music has become ubiquitous in our society. You almost can’t go anywhere without hearing it. But that doesn’t mean it has to be background noise. Pay attention deeply to the rhythms you hear. Repeat the melody in your mind. When I do this, I find that my irritation with music I don’t want to hear goes away. Even better, it connects me more deeply with music itself. And studies like this have shown that music is linked to memory in a variety of ways, including episodic memory, semantic memory and explicit and implicit memory. Just by listening to music in a serious way, you’re giving your memory a huge workout. On another level, I try daily to listen seriously to music I’ve never heard before. Luckily, there are bloggers and vloggers who share their most recent acquisitions. Within seconds, I have them playing on Bandcamp or YouTube. Then, the steps are simple: Close your eyes Listen deeply Imagine the different instruments (even if you don’t know what they are) Call back melodies later in the day to exercise your recall abilities For an extra boost, read biographies about musicians. Go through their music in historical order. Read the assessments of professional critics about them during their era. This simple act contextualizes the music and exercises your brain’s unique ability to make connections and expand with new learning. If music isn’t your interest, you can do something similar by looking at and recalling art. Or even going to indoor or outdoor art galleries. I’ve got a whole tutorial on how to use art galleries as part of your lifelong memory improvement journey. One simple exercise is to just think back to a painting or sculpture you’ve seen. In the feature image above, I’m standing under a sculpture in Brisbane, and I’ve combined it with the music exercise. I just asked what it reminded me of and thought instantly of the Canadian band Voivod, which I know from my reading has a relationship to Metallica. Since the sculpture looks like a big M, I then turned it into a kind of virtual Memory Palace, a final type of mental exercise we’ll discuss briefly next. Improving Cognitive Function Can Be Easy & Fun As you’ve seen, there are simple ways to combat cognitive decline. The trick is putting aside the time and being consistent about the activities. I’ve shared some of the strategies I’m using to keep my brain sharp, and you’re welcome to explore even more. Keep in mind that consistency is helped by a variety of cognitive activities, not getting stuck in just one or two. There are also benefits to be had by rotating between several, especially those where learning is involved. This is shown by the principle scientists call interleaving. But you know, my favorite tactic of all is to use my memory in a variety of ways. And for that, I like to have multiple Memory Palaces. These mnemonic tools are very old and really fun to use. To learn more about how to incorporate them in your quest to improve your cognitive function, get my free memory improvement course: It will give your brain a workout with four free videos and some worksheets you can complete. If some of the steps you discover in that course present a challenge, now you know that this is a good thing. Lean into it and enjoy the results that taking on challenges brings to the long-term sharpness of your mind.

Welcome to Walking the Way. My name is Ray, and I really want to say thank you to everyone for listening in as we continue to explore what it means to have a regular rhythm of worship.  CreditsOpening PrayerRay BorrettBible verseEzekiel 5:15Thought for the dayRay BorrettBible PassageEzekiel 5GOD'S WORD Translation (GW) Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.Prayer Handbookprayer handbook WTW 2026.pdfSupporting Walking the WayIf you want to support Walking the Way, please go to: https://ko-fi.com/S6S4WXLBBor you can subscribe to the channel: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/walkingtheway/subscribeTo contact Ray: Please leave a comment or a review. I want to find out what people think and how we make it better.www.rayborrett.co.ukwalkingthewaypodcast@outlook.comwww.instagram.com/walkingtheway1

Three Rush fans — a father, a son, and Spartacus — walk into a podcast. There’s no punchline, just the tape rolling on a conversation that was going to happen anyway, and you get to be the fly on the wall. Two of them just flew home from LA, where they stood in the room and watched Rush kick off the tour nobody was sure would ever come. The third has been taking it all in from a distance, which is its own peculiar thing when you once mixed front of house for the band for years. You’ll get the origin stories — a kite-flying contest in early-seventies St. Louis, an R40 playlist that turned a kid into a lifer — plus enough on the drummer question (yes, Anika Nilles) and show-count stats to earn the Rush-nerd badge none of them will quite cop to. Then it gets real. This is a band that fans and insiders alike once quietly accepted was finished, now back out there proving otherwise, and that turns the talk toward something bigger than setlists. You get to do this. Whether it’s thousands of people or a Tuesday night for a dozen, that gratitude is the whole game — the reason to Always Be Performing no matter how rough the bus ride was. Stick around for a ten-year-old’s perfectly timed gut check that still lands two decades later. Press play, and join Lucas Hamilton, Robert Scovill, and Dave Hamilton for a tour through the opening of Rush’s comeback — from inside the room, and from afar. 00:00:00 Gig Gab 538 – Monday, June 15th, 2026 June 15th: British Beer Day Guest co-hosts: Lucas Hamilton and Robert Scovill 00:02:46 Rush Stats All three co-hosts have seen Rush live with 2 drummers Lucas and Anika are tied for Rush shows… as of this recording 00:04:39 Robert Scovill was living in St. Louis when he saw Rush with Rutsey KC Kite Flying Contest 00:07:31 Lucas's Rush origin story 00:08:31 About that whole live concert sound thing Spoiler: Rush always sounded good 00:11:02 Favorite Rush heirlooms 00:13:55 I want a Red Barchetta for my midlife crisis Rush 2026 Tour started with 12 dates 00:16:02 That opening song, that opening night Rick Beato's Breakdown of Xanadu 00:23:40 Anika Nilles' dropped stick recovery Getting the first mistake out of the way moments into the first song of Rush’s 2026 Reunion tour 00:27:21 Time Stand Still for those emotional moments 00:33:11 Lights and video for 2112 – in the cave! 00:34:00 Singing 2112: Presentation at the tops of our lungs 00:38:50 Moving Pictures to open night 3 set 2 00:40:13 Loren Gold's keys and vocal harmonies And Geddy Lee’s voice, too! 00:44:29 The composition of YYZ Alex Lifeson is the most underrated guitarist in rock and roll 00:45:48 Anika Nilles is just a star 00:49:25 Anika grooving during A Passage to Bangkok 00:52:22 The physicality of playing Rush music The wisdom of days off in between shows for the entire Rush Fifty Something tour 00:57:41 You know what we get to do today? We get to go play music in front of thousands of people! This is the best job on earth 01:01:23 Who is Spartacus? 01:03:33 Gig Gab 538 Outtro Follow Lucas Hamilton On Instagram Follow Robert Scovill On Facebook On Instagram On LinkedIn RobertScovill.com (where you'll find The Back Lounge) Contact Gig Gab! @GigGabPodcast on Instagram feedback@giggabpodcast.com Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List The post Three Rush Fans and Rush’s 2026 Comeback Tour: From the Room and From Afar – Gig Gab 538 appeared first on Gig Gab.