No Blackout Dates

No Blackout Dates

By Eben DiskinSociety & CulturePlaces & Travel
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No Blackout Dates episodes

  • S3, Ep. 7: What It's Like To Be a Foreign Correspondent

    Foreign correspondents have a unique role to fill – reporting on situations happening across the world, for an audience back home. Tommy Walker has spent over a decade overseas, covering everything from current events to travel lifestyle. Tommy joins No Blackout Dates to share the inside scoop on what’s it like to be on the ground covering breaking news. The discussion gets deep into how a Chinese encroachment on Taiwan could impact travel to the island, how travelers are punished for poor behavior around the globe, and being on the ground in and around Ukraine during the invasion.


    In Hot Takes, Tim and Eben discuss how to interpret state-issued travel advisories that pop up when planning a trip. The pair also discuss the idea of visiting Ukraine or Russia right now, and the ethics of visiting countries that currently are or recently have been embroiled in conflict.


    Relevant links: 

    • Tommy’s website
    • Tommy’s Twitter
    • US State Department travel advisories
    • Tim’s Instagram
    • Eben’s Instagram
    35 min
  • Stories From The Road: Sometimes a Dream Trip is One You've Already Taken
    On this week's Stories from the Road, Tim reads a story by Matador's Alex Bresler, in which she argues in favor of revisiting countries rather than always visiting new places. The piece questions our need to constantly be adding new countries to our "travel list," and explores the benefits of returning to an old favorite. One of these benefits? Really familiarizing yourself with a country, or city, on a more intimate level.
    8 min
  • S3, Ep. 6: Inside The Life Of A Traveling Exotic Dancer
    These days, more and more jobs can be done while traveling. That includes stripping – and today, Stella is here to talk about what it’s like to travel to different strip clubs around the country as a professional dancer. She’s worked at clubs from Florida to Chicago to the northeast, and she breaks down the differences in the job based on location, including some insight into how one should behave when on the other side of the performance. She supplements her income between travels as an OnlyFans creator.
    43 min
  • S3, Ep. 5: How to travel to the world’s most (allegedly) dangerous places
    Travel to places far off the typical tourist track – think Iraq, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia – is an increasingly common theme here on No Blackout Dates. As the founder of Untamed Borders, a tour operator that hosts guided trips to places like Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Yemen, and elsewhere, James Wilcox knows more about the logistics of visiting often misunderstood destinations than perhaps anyone. James has built an entire business around creating itineraries for intrepid travelers looking to explore countries we often perceive to be dangerous or inaccessible.
    42 min
  • Stories From The Road: Are Coworking Spaces Worth It Or A Waste Of Money?
    The second installment of Stories From The Road pits Tim and Eben against each other in one of their most classic debates: whether or not coworking spaces are worth the money. Tim is famously pro-coworking, having held memberships at spaces across the world from Bali to Oaxaca to Colorado. He credits coworking for helping him find friends, clients, and professional development while traveling abroad.
    Eben, on the other hand, takes a more pessimistic approach. He feels the coworking spaces are a scam -- that they charge way too much money for what is effectively a glorified coffee shop. Why pay money to go sit somewhere and be quiet, when you could do the same thing at a library -- and even take home a good book to read?
    14 min
  • S3, Ep. 4: New Year, Same Pod, Fresh 2023 Travel Takes
    To kick off 2023, Tim and Eben plunge into the depths of the travel industry – uncovering the trends they expect to see this year, along with their best travel stories from 2022. The hosts also break down the destinations doing things the right way – whether that be reframing an outdated image, innovating new ways to experience the destination, or just being a cool spot that offers a unique travel experience.
    36 min
  • S3, Ep. 3: On the Pacific Crest Trail, Kids Included
    Marketa and David Daley hiked 1,300 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail -- an impressive feat that is far greater than most will ever accomplish in the wild. But the Daley's did it with their three young children, a monumental undertaking that required guts, parental instinct, and a lot of pep talking. Marketa joins No Blackout Dates to discuss the expedition and what it meant for her family.
    40 min
  • S3, Ep. 2: In Search of the Loch Ness Monster
    Few myths are as world-renowned as the Loch Ness Monster. Willie Cameron is Nessie’s biggest advocate, a lifelong resident of the region surrounding Scotland’s most famous lake, and a pioneer of Loch Ness tourism. He joins the show to educate the curious and dispel any naysayers, shedding light on the legend of Nessie and why so many believe that she’s down there. He also discusses the power of myth and legend to turn an otherwise sleepy lake into an international tourism sensation. Eben first met Willie while visiting Loch Ness, and after sharing a wee bit of whiskey with him, decided the time had come for No Blackout Dates to settle the question once and for all: Is the Loch Ness Monster out there?
    42 min

About No Blackout Dates

From the publisher's feed

No Blackout Dates, hosted by Eben Diskin and Tim Wenger, is the official podcast of Matador Network and provides a truly unfiltered and honest look at the world of travel and adventure. Join these two…