Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week.

Today, we're speaking with Katalina Mayorga, the founder of El Camino Travel, a travel community for women with a passion for culture.

Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. The last day to join our trip is Friday, April 18th.

Original Air Date: Oct 7, 2020.

• Growing up in a bilingual Colombian-American immigrant family
• What taught Katalina to be vocal from an early age
• The pressure of success as an immigrant in the US
• Katalina's human rights activism in Latin America and D.C.
• How Katalina disrupted a major coffee corporation during her college years
• The danger of the American Dream
• Happiness in Nicaragua versus the United States
• What it was like building El Camino Travel
• What being a global citizen means to Katalina

• Follow Katalina on Instagram | @theyoufinder
• Check out El Camino Travel
• Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May here

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week.

Today, we're speaking with Chicago-based journalist and photographer Karthika Gupta. Her work has been featured in Vogue, BBC Travel, USA Today, Condé Nast Traveler, Fodors, AFAR, Travel & Leisure, Robb Report, and more. Karthika is also the founder of Culturally Ours, a platform dedicated to promoting cultural understanding and celebrating global diversity. 

Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. The last day to join our trip is Friday, April 18th.

Original Air Date: Feb 28, 2024.

• Meet a sustainable farm by one of the smallest tribal nations in California
• The flower markets of Mumbai
• The misconceptions about traveling to the Middle East
• How Karthika travels with her two children

• Read Karthika's Vogue Story, How One of the Smallest Tribal Nations in the U.S. Is Redefining Sustainable Living
• Follow Karthika on Instagram: @karthikagupta
• Listen to Episode 07: You're Good Enough To Do This Work with Karthika Gupta
• Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May here

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week.

Today, we're speaking with Sarah Munir, a journalist and tech executive who split her time between Karachi and New York before moving back to Karachi full-time. 

Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. 

Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28.

Original Air Date: Oct 13, 2021.

• Sarah's philosophy: your life is always a work in progress
• Sarah's principle of failing forward
• Shuttling between New York and Karachi
• Why your passion and career don’t have to be the same thing
• Sarah's lessons from a career in media and journalism
• Why women enjoy sex (and other things) more as they age

• Follow Sarah on Instagram ​​@sarahmunir
• Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May here

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week.

Today, we're speaking with Lola Akinmade Åkerström, an award-winning storyteller, travel photographer, writer, creator, TED speaker, and multi-book author. She's a Hasselblad Heroine and she runs the Stockholm-based travel consultancy, Geotraveler Media and the Geotraveler Media Academy. 

In this episode, Lola shares how the manuscript for her novel was rejected 70 times (that’s right, seven-zero!) before being picked up and how the book is now out with four different publishers. We cover pitching, rejections, and being prepared when National Geographic comes knocking on your door.

Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. 

Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28.

Original Air Date: Aug 18, 2021.

• Lola shares the story behind one of her most memorable photographs
• Why Lola defines herself as a multipotentialite
• Lola's advice for those reliant on a job but eager to make the transition to full-time creative work: find anchor clients
• Tips for navigating rejection during the pitching process
• How to stop putting yourself in a box and live beyond the expectations of others; the power of asking “why not?”
• Why blindly following trends is like trying to swim in a raging sea; be a surfer
• Lola speaks candidly about the challenges she has encountered on her journey
• Why Lola believes that comparison does not benefit creative entrepreneurs

• Follow Lola on Instagram | @lolaakinmade
• Follow Lola on LinkedIn | Lola Åkerström
• Check out Lola’s website at akinmade.com
• Learn more about Geotraveler Media Academy
• Watch Lola's TED Talk, The power of asking "Why not?" 
• Order Lola’s book, In Every Mirror She’s Black on Amazon
• Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May here

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Note to listeners: we're currently on hiatus, returning with new episodes in April 2025. Until then, we're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive each week.

Today, we're speaking with Emy Rodriguez, a freelance journalist from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. His writing has appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, Fodors, and many more magazines. Emy currently lives in Barcelona, Spain, which is how we initially connected. 

In this episode, Emy shares his experiences as an immigrant in Barcelona and navigating the challenges and joys of living in a new country.

Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. 

Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28.

Original Air Date: Oct 11, 2023.

• The impact of AI on the writing industry
• How being part of the LGBTQ+ community influences Emy's writing
• Personal perspective versus objectivity in travel writing
• Dispelling misconceptions about the Middle East
• The vibrant creative scene in Amman, Jordan
• Yulia and Emy reflect on the privilege of being able to travel
• What it was like for Emy to relocate to Barcelona

• Follow Emy on Instagram @emyrodriguez
• Read Emy’s article in Condé Nast Traveler, Returning to My Hometown in Puerto Rico, Where I’d Struggled to Come Out as a Teenager
• Read Emy’s article in AFAR Magazine, What It’s Like to Be a Queer Traveler in the Middle East
• Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May here

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Today, we're speaking with Vanessa Abbe, a travel advisor who joined me on my trip to Jordan last October. In this conversation, which we had live on Instagram recently, I wanted to hear her take on what it’s like traveling in the country right now. 

Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. 

Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28.

• How Vanessa approached the safety question of traveling to Jordan
• Gaining a new perspective on the region through long conversations
• The impact of tourism cancelations on Jordan's tourism community
• What it's like traveling in proximity to Palestine
• Meeting the people of Jordan: an Ammani photographer, a sustainable farmer in Madaba, the Bedouins of Wadi Rum
• Why hospitality looks like home-cooked meals in Jordan
• Why Petra By Night was one of the top experiences for Vanessa
• What Vanessa has to say to someone considering going to Jordan

• Follow Vanessa on Instagram: @adventures_vkabbe
• Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May here

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Today’s episode is a field guide for traveling to Jordan in 2025. We’ll answer urgent questions about travel safety in Jordan, look at some of the most incredible places in Jordan you shouldn’t miss, and hear from our past travelers who went to Jordan with me last fall. 

Reminder: I'm running a 10-day group trip to Jordan this May. The trip runs from May 18th to 27th and you can get all the information by visiting here. 

Throughout February, you can save $150 off your booking by using code GOINGPLACESFEB when you join our trip. The code expires on Fri, Feb 28.

• Is it safe to travel to Jordan in 2025?
• Flight disruptions and cancellations in Jordan
• Five places in Jordan that you should not miss
• How to get a different perspective on the Middle East
• Living close to nature versus an urbanized way of life
• What do The Dune, The Star Wars, and The Martian have in common
• How a stranger paid for our meal in Jordan
• Going Places travelers share their experience of traveling to Jordan

• Follow Rum Planet Camp on Instagram: @rum.planet.camp
• Follow Carob House on Instagram: @carob.house
• Check out my Condé Nast Traveler story, In Jordan, a Community Disrupted Awaits Travel’s Return
• Check out my profile of Jordan in AFAR's Where To Go In 2025 list
• Check out this Jordan Times article about the receding of the Dead Sea
• Learn more about our upcoming trip to Jordan in May here

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Today, we're meeting Dana Barqawi, a multidisciplinary artist and urban planner based in Amman, Jordan. Dana’s multimedia work challenges colonial narratives and explores Indigenous identities and aspects of womanhood and community.

Growing up with women who painted, sewed, designed, and made art, Dana has a long-standing fascination with detail. She works from a workshop studio in Jabal al Weibdeh - one of my favorite neighborhoods in Amman – fusing elements of painting, photography, and applied materials like gold leaves and beads in her politically and socially engaged artwork. 

Reminder: this May, you can join my 10-day group trip to Jordan where we'll meet artists like Dana and see their art. Get more details here.

• Dana's path from architecture and urban planning to socially engaged art
• The main element in Dana’s art
• The stories behind Dana's latest exhibit, (Re)Narrate: A Visual Commentary on Colonial Narratives in the Levant & Africa
• How the Black Panther movement in the US is connected to the Palestinian liberation struggle

• Follow Dana on Instagram: @dana_barqawi
• Learn more about Dana's work on her website
• Check out the (Re)Narrate exhibit
• Shop Dana's art posters

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Today, I’m sharing with you a conversation that is going to be quite different from anything we’ve done on the show to date. We’re going to do a studio visit to meet a dear friend, a renowned calligrapher, artist, and designer Hussein Alazaat who lives and works in Amman, Jordan. 

Hussein is the founder of Elharf Studio, a platform showcasing rare books, design products, and sources of Arab visual inspiration. Most recently, Hussein worked on a project of re-designing the Jordanian currency.

Hussein also teaches calligraphy workshops and travelers joining my 10-day group trip to Jordan this May 2025 will be able to meet him in person. The trip is now open and you can get more details here.

• The ancient civilization that made gods for people in the region
• The origins of the world's first alphabet
• Why Hussein is obsessed with coins
• Why a letter is a universe in itself
• How Hussein aims to preserve the vast trove of Arab cultural heritage

• Follow Hussein on Instagram: @hussein_alazaat
• Follow Elharf on Instagram: @elharfhouse
• Learn more about Hussein on his website
• Check out the Beautiful Book Trove project
• Read the article based on this interview, Guardian of Culture

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

Today, we’re continuing part two of our conversation with Justine Abigail Yu, a Filipina-Canadian storyteller, community builder, and activist. Justine is the founder of Living Hyphen, a community and multimedia platform that explores what it means to live in between cultures as a hyphenated Canadian – that is, an individual who calls Canada home but has roots elsewhere.

Get 20% off of any issue of the Living Hyphen magazine with code GOINGPLACES at the Living Hyphen online store. The beautifully produced magazine features artists and writers from all across Canada hailing from over 30 ethnicities, religions, and Indigenous nations who explore various themes of this multi-hyphenated identity in a collection of poetry, prose, photography, and visual art.

Announcement: my 10-day group trip to Jordan in May 2025 is now open! Get more details here.

• Seeing nature as a deity, rather than a resource
• How Indigenous languages shape our worldview
• Learning Chuvash language
• What radical imagination looks like to Justine
• Growing up in the Filipino diaspora in Canada
• Filipino identity versus Philippines as a place
• How we process our identity and look for belonging
• Weaving complexity

• Follow Justine on Instagram: @justineabigail
• Follow Living Hyphen on Instagram: @livinghyphen
• Learn more about Justine on her website
• Follow the work of Living Hyphen
• Check out the Living Hyphen podcast
• Read Justine's 3DR newsletter
• Check out Dismantling The Master's Tools by Mathura Mahendren
• Read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Get more information at: Going Places website

Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You’ll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!

Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. 

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.