A Way To Go

We said that these are really uncertain times for the travel industry as a whole, and we may not have realized how right we were. We've been impacted also.

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We’re a few weeks into the fast-moving coronavirus pandemic, and things that were looking rough a week ago seem dismal and dire today. As we’re all sheltering in place and struggling to find a new normal, we can’t help but wonder, are we ever going to travel again? We will, of course, but how? Just as 9/11 changed forever our experience at the airport, what impact with coronavirus have on the way we travel? In this episode, Fathom co-founders Pavia Rosati and Jeralyn Gerba look into their crystal ball to make predictions about what the future might hold.

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A few years ago, Brooklyn-based writer Glynnis MacNicol crossed the United States in a tiny yellow car with a very large dog. On a random pit stop at the oldest dude ranch in the United States, something unexpected happened: She fell in love with Wyoming — with its wide open spaces, with the horses trotting past her cabin at daybreak, with the intensity of being around so few people. In this episode, Glynnis explains to Jeralyn and Pavia how Wyoming gives her the freedom to live by her own rules — happily, and without children or a husband — as she defines the terms of her own odyssey. 

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When we hear about people being "bit by the travel bug," we think of them as having an appreciation of new places — not necessarily a compulsion to get up and go. The two go hand in hand for Tyler Wetherall, a travel writer who, as a child, moved 13 times across five countries and used a name that was different than the one on her passport. When she was nine years old, she learned why: Her father was a fugitive and the family was running from the FBI. Find out more about this episode at Fathomaway.com.

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How does the coronavirus affect travel? We're still in the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic, and many of us are asking ourselves the same questions: Is it safe to travel now? Will it be safe in the future? Am I staying home forever? These are issues best answered with rational thought and critical analysis, not fear and panic. So we turned to Dr. Jennifer Haythe of Columbia University Medical Center for expert advice. In this episode, she explains how viruses travel and offers tips for staying safe and healthy — right now and always — when traveling. Find links to the resources mentioned in this episode, along with Dr. Jenn’s go-to, must-have travel kit, in the show notes at Fathomaway.com. 

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At the end of 2018, Marcy DePina — an ethnomusicologist, DJ, podcast producer, and self-admitted workaholic — realized she had forgotten to take her vacation days, even though she loves to travel. So she set out to fix that situation by taking 12 trips in 12 months in 2019. And crush that travel goal she did, ranking up 17 trips for the year. As for 2020, she's setting her ambitions even higher and planning to discover more remote destinations. Here’s how she did it. Find more info about this episode at Fathomaway.com. 

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A luxury resort hotel moves into a destination that has never had one before. Hey now, great! So exciting!! But hang on — who will run this place, from bar orders at the pool to the reservations for spring break? And ensure that locals embrace the joint and its impact on their home turf? Harsha Chanrai’s innovative hospitality company Saira finds and trains the talent that ensures that luxury hotels in beautiful spots make headlines around the world and keep the travelers coming. Find more info about this episode at Fathomaway.com. 

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For many of us, travel is about vacations and special occasions. For 71 million refugees and displaced people around the world, travel is about survival. Susan McPherson, a board member for USA for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, shares what she’s witnessed in such global hotspots as the border of Venezuela and Colombia and the camps in Jordan — and gives us reasons for hope and strategies to help. Find more info about this episode at Fathomaway.com.

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Jill Kargman is many things to many people: comedic memoirist, cabaret singer, and the creator of the television series Odd Mom Out. But here are a few things she proclaims not to be: nature lover, sun worshipper, animal enthusiast. And yet, she recently ended up on safari in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia — not exactly her kind of bucket list adventure. She watched her 79-year-old father zipline over Victoria Falls, danced with locals under starry skies, wore earth tones, and lived to tell the tale.

Find more info about this episode at Fathomaway.com.

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Political commentator and community organizer Sally Kohn grew up on a steady diet of Disney World visits. Though these days she spends a lot of her time talking about political division, diversity, and identity, she also builds a strong case for vacationing in The Happiest Place On Earth, and shares tips for how to make it magical. Go ahead and act like a kid. It’s what you’re here for.

Find more info about this episode at Fathomaway.com.

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