Chance Encounters

By CNN Podcasts

The unexpected connections you make while traveling can change your life: from romance that sparks at 30,000 feet to unlikely friendships that begin on the road. Chance Encounters, the podcast compani... more

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FAQs about Chance Encounters:

How many episodes does Chance Encounters have?

The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.

Chance Encounters episodes:

August 01, 2025 English Channel: The Summer Spark That Never Ended
American Kerri Cunningham fell for Brit Dirk Stevens when they met as teenagers on vacation. They were each other’s first love but lived on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Then almost three decades later, they unexpectedly reunited.
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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Episode photo: iStock/Getty Images

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23min
July 25, 2025 Pittsburgh: Our Five-Minute Airplane Chat Led to Lasting Love
Hunter Smith was working the gate, John Lihas was working the flight. The two had a five-minute conversation that set in motion an unexpected travel love story that’s still going strong today.
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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Episode photo: iStock/Getty Images

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17min
July 18, 2025 London: Standby Airplane Tickets Changed Our Lives
American Southerner Vickie Moretz didn’t know what “standby” meant when she booked a cheap flight to London in 1982. Just before takeoff, she was rushed onboard and seated beside Graham Kidner—a 22-year-old Brit. That last-minute seat sparked a connection that’s lasted over 40 years.
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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Episode photo credit: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

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20min
July 11, 2025 Mazatlán: The Summer I Ran Away with a Yacht Captain
Bob Parsons was an American yacht captain. Beverly Carriveau was a Canadian librarian. One summer in Mazatlán, Mexico, a “thunderbolt" passed between them, and their lives were never the same again.
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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25min
July 04, 2025 Yellowstone: We Bonded Over Ice Cream, Then Eloped
American hiker Andrew McGowan and Taiwanese student Shallen Yu spent one glorious day together eating ice cream, stargazing and bonding over peach cobbler in Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2013. They were determined to be together against the odds.
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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Episode photo: Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images

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23min
June 27, 2025 Rome: We Fell in Love at the Trevi Fountain
American Catherine Tondelli won a trip to Rome, Italy in the summer of 1999. On her first night, she threw three coins in the city's Trevi Fountain and came to face-to-face with her future husband, Italian local Fausto Mezzana. Here’s how a vacation romance turned into a love story spanning 25 years and counting.
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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Episode Photo: Steve Christo/Corbis via Getty Images

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24min
March 17, 2025 "I'll take a chance, hop on the back of his motorcycle."
When Rachel Décoste traveled to West Africa’s Republic of Benin in 2018, she was anticipating a life-changing trip. Then she jumped on the back of Benin local Honoré Orogbo's motorbike and the trip changed her life in more ways than she ever could have imagined.

Read Rachel & Honoré's story on CNN.com
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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22min
March 10, 2025 “After that night we were instantly like best friends.”
Adopted from South Korea to the US as a baby, Linsay DeBates returned to her birth country for the first time in 2000, aged 19. By chance, she met fellow American Doug Gist during the trip and a friendship began that continues 25 years later.

Read Linsay & Doug's story on CNN.com
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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20min
March 03, 2025 “I found the guy I'm going to marry on a trail.”
Trish Salazar and Aaron Toro connected instantly while trekking in Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park. Within days, they were committed to a long-distance relationship and planning a future together. Then life took another unexpected turn.

Read Trish & Aaron's story on CNN.com
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
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19min
February 24, 2025 "We went out skinny-dipping that night."
Canadian student Bianca Gignac only had a few days left in Italy when she crossed paths with Italian local Alessandro Morelli in the beautiful Cinque Terre region. Here's what happened when she decided to stay longer.

Read Bianca & Alessandro's story on CNN.com
Read more Chance Encounters by Francesca Street
Share your Chance Encounter with CNN

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20min

FAQs about Chance Encounters:

How many episodes does Chance Encounters have?

The podcast currently has 13 episodes available.