The Maverick Show: Global Travel Stories & Life Beyond Borders

Hear how immersive travel experiences challenged stereotypes and deepened Marissa’s commitment to community-led tourism.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Travel creator Marissa Strang shares how immersive travel experiences across Cuba, Egypt, Jordan, Iceland and India shaped her approach to culture-first travel and community-led tourism. She reflects on studying Afro-Latin dance in Cuba, taking her first solo trip through Iceland, honeymooning in Egypt, and experiencing Jordanian hospitality while challenging common Western stereotypes about the Middle East. Marissa also discusses visiting women-led businesses in India, learning about tourism as a tool for economic empowerment, and using travel storytelling to highlight local communities and underrepresented perspectives. This episode explores cross-cultural travel, women-led tourism, identity, hospitality, and the impact of intentional travel experiences on the way we understand the world.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

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FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

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ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

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Hear how 20 years of travel to Jordan reshaped Janine’s view on the Middle East, media narratives, and human connection.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Born and raised in Jamaica, Janine Jervis spent nearly two decades helping lead tourism marketing for Jordan while returning to the country dozens of times and building deep relationships there. In this episode, Janine shares stories from Jordanian Bedouin communities and reflects on how travel transformed her understanding of the Middle East, Palestine, identity, belonging, and cross-cultural connection. She also talks about growing up between Jamaica, Trinidad, and Washington D.C., witnessing the rise of anti-Arab sentiment in the United States after 9/11, speaking out about Palestine within the travel industry, and ultimately returning to live in Jamaica after 25 years abroad. Along the way, Janine reflects on Black travel, media perception, community, and the power of authentic storytelling to bridge cultures across borders.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn how immersive storytelling, local connection, long-term travel & nomad life after 60 reshapes belonging abroad.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Palle Bo shares what a decade of full-time world travel has taught him about identity, connection, and building a life beyond borders. After leaving Denmark at age 50, Palle has now visited 127 countries and evolved from fast-paced travel to a more intentional, slow travel lifestyle—recently establishing a base in Chiang Mai while continuing to explore the world. He reflects on how immersive travel and local relationships challenge assumptions, reshape perspectives, and reveal the deep similarities between people across cultures. Palle also takes us behind the scenes of his podcast, The Radio Vagabond, explaining how field recordings and spontaneous conversations with locals create powerful human stories—and how travel podcasting opens doors to experiences most travelers never access. Along the way, he shares insights on staying connected while living abroad, navigating aging as a digital nomad, and why some of the most meaningful moments on the road begin with simply saying yes.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn how solo travel, living abroad, Spanish fluency & cultural immersion unlock deeper connections around the world.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Kylah Williams shares how she transformed Spanish fluency into a global career and a deeper way of experiencing the world. From traveling through Cuba without data to forming meaningful human connections in Guatemala and pushing her limits on Peru’s Rainbow Mountain, she reflects on how solo travel and cultural immersion reshape the way we see people, identity, and belonging. Kylah shares stories from living in Mexico City and lessons from navigating cross-cultural marketing and the nuances of Spanish dialects around the world. She explains the evolution of her platform “That Bilingual Chick,” and shares her experiences connecting with Black traveler communities globally.  She also reflects on how stepping outside her comfort zone—from everyday interactions to adrenaline-filled moments like paragliding in Colombia—can unlock deeper, more meaningful travel experiences.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Hear how studying, living and working abroad helped Kylah reinvent herself across cultures and continents.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Kylah Williams shares how Spanish immersion shaped her global journey—from growing up in a bilingual program in Sacramento to studying, living, and working abroad in Chile and Spain. She reflects on how language opened doors to deeper cross-cultural connection, from comparing Tagalog and Spanish during her travels in the Philippines to navigating the cultural, business, and marketing nuances across Latin America and Europe. Kylah also discusses her experience living in Chile during the 2019 uprising, building community through sports, and ultimately reinventing herself abroad. Along the way, she breaks down how culture shapes communication, trust, and consumer behavior—and how speaking multiple languages can transform not just how you travel, but how you see the world.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn how real travel experiences can transform the way you see impact, responsibility and your role in the world.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

In Part 3 of this conversation, Priyanka Surio shares how her travels across Antarctica, South India, and Costa Rica reshaped her understanding of what it means to travel responsibly. She reflects on how the fragile ecosystems of Antarctica shaped her blueprint for “sustainable travel,”  and how participating in a community-led travel caravan in South India demonstrated what regenerative travel looks like in practice. Priyanka also recounts her experience engaging with Indigenous communities in Costa Rica and how those encounters challenged her to rethink tourism, reciprocity, and the role of travelers in local ecosystems. Along the way, she explores how music can create meaningful cross-cultural connection and explains how she builds community in an itinerant nomadic lifestyle. This episode offers a grounded look at how real-world travel experiences can transform the way we think about impact, responsibility, and connection across cultures.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn how to make travel choices that support local communities, avoid harm, and meaningfully give back around the world.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

In Part 2 of this conversation, Priyanka Surio shares her framework for thinking about travel as a form of activism and breaks down the difference between sustainable and regenerative travel. She outlines an 8-part model built around four sustainable mindsets and four world-changing forces that can help travelers make more intentional decisions about where they go, how they spend time, and who benefits from their presence. Drawing on examples from places like Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Comuna 13 in Medellín, Priyanka examines how tourism can either extract from or support local communities, and offers a more conscious approach to cross-cultural travel and global exploration. She also reflects on her own activism journey—including being arrested at Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, DC—and how these experiences shaped her belief that travel can be a tool for solidarity and collective impact. This episode explores how to align your travel lifestyle with your values and contribute meaningfully to the places you visit.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn how global diaspora connections & nomadic traditions can unlock new ways of building community across cultures.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Priyanka Surio reflects on growing up in Florida navigating a mixed Indian and Hungarian identity, and how early experiences of not fully belonging shaped her relationship to culture, travel, and self-expression. She shares stories from reconnecting with her heritage, including time spent in Hungary, studying abroad in India, and how these experiences informed her evolving sense of identity.  Priyanka reflects on studying the Year of Return in Ghana as a model for reconnecting diasporas and considers how similar frameworks could strengthen ties within Indian communities around the world.  She also discusses her travels in Ethiopia and her encounters with historically nomadic cultures in Mongolia and Morocco, examining how these experiences reshaped her thinking about movement, cross-cultural travel, and building community. She closes by reflecting on minimalism, intentional living, and how a life of travel can transform the way we understand identity, belonging, and connection across cultures.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Hear travel stories from Equatorial Guinea to Brazil & how Dash works to dismantle anti-Blackness in Latinx communities.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

In Part 2 of this conversation, Peabody Award–winning producer and historian Dash Harris unpacks the ideology of mestizaje and explains how narratives of racial mixing have obscured anti-Blackness across Latin America and its diaspora. She discusses why she rejects the umbrella identity of “Latina,” drawing on Black feminist scholarship, her workshops on dismantling anti-Blackness in Latinx communities, and her own experiences traveling and researching Afro-descendant cultures around the world. Dash tells stories from visiting Equatorial Guinea—the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa—and compares Afro-diasporic histories across continents. She also shares observations from Salvador, Brazil about tourism, memory, and the politics of Black cultural spaces. Finally, she recommends some of her favorite music—from Afro-Cuban traditions to Afro-Colombian and Brazilian sounds.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn how growing up between Brooklyn and Panama shaped Dash’s journey into documentary storytelling and global travel.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

============================

ON THIS EPISODE

Peabody Award–winning producer and historian Dash Harris tells stories about coming of age between 1990s Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn and Panama.  She reflects on navigating Black and Afro-Panamanian identity across cultures and how those experiences shaped her understanding of race, identity, and the global Black diaspora. Dash tells the backstory of filming Negro, her groundbreaking docu-series exploring race and anti-Blackness across Latin America. She also explains how filming the docu-series ultimately led her to co-found AfroLatinx Travel, a company that organizes trips centering the African roots of Latin America and connecting travelers with Black communities, histories, and cultural traditions.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!