The Thinking Traveller

Palladio was the most influential architect of the Italian Renaissance, and his buildings were perfectly proportioned, intelligent and gracious yet unpretentious and practical. In our latest episode, Dr Nick Gordon explores Palladio’s life and career, and explains why his books and buildings continue to influence architects today.

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

Mayflower, the ship that carried the Pilgrims from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in September 1620. More than 30 million Americans can now trace their ancestry to the 102 passengers on that ship. On the 400th anniversary of that iconic voyage, Dr Matthew Laing explores the story of the Pilgrims and explains why the Mayflower looms so large in the history of the United States.

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

Royna McNamara joins us today to trace the footsteps of Giacomo Puccini and Maria Callas, and discuss the events that helped shape their musical lives. We begin on the picturesque shores of Lake Massaciuccoli in Torre Del Lago, where Puccini lived and composed for 30 years, before heading to the magnificent Arena di Verona. 

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

Three months out from the American election, the polls have Joe Biden ahead of Donald Trump in every State. But can we believe the polls? Is Trump in trouble? Have COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement changed the dynamics of American politics? Will Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris for Vice President have a big impact? What will it mean for America – and the world – if Trump is re-elected in November? And is it the end of America’s world dominance whoever wins?  Dr Matthew Laing is here to answer these questions and many more about Trump, US politics and the 2020 election.

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

It’s known as the Guggenheim Effect – the extraordinary impact that the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao had in revitalizing the Basque city into an international arts destination. Initially, the idea for the museum generated so much controversy and opposition that it nearly didn’t happen. Dr Jeni Ryde joins us today to explain why Bilbao, as she puts it, is a phoenix rising from the ashes. 

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

In the 1920s, a cultural movement emerged in uptown New York. For the first time in history, African Americans were living in large urban areas, economically independent, and becoming producers and patrons of the arts. Dr Matthew Laing joins us today to trace the rise and fall of the Harlem Renaissance, and explain its importance in the development of black identity in the United States.

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

Dr Estelle Lazer joins us today to discuss Sir Douglas Mawson’s colossus legacy in Antarctic exploration. Estelle was the first archaeologist to work at the site associated with Mawson's Australian Antarctic Expedition at Cape Denison on the Antarctic mainland. She has travelled to Antarctica seven times, including four summers camping and working on the ice at Cape Denison.

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

Lake Mungo, in outback NSW, is one of the most significant archaeological sites in Australia. One of the Willandra Lakes, listed by UNESCO as a place of world heritage, it has been described as “the land frozen in time”. Rich in Aboriginal heritage, Dr Chris Carter joins us today to discuss the history and importance of Lake Mungo and the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area.

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

When we talk about the Italian Old Masters we immediately think of Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto and Caravaggio. All men. But there were more women painters than you might imagine during the Italian Renaissance. Dr Kathleen Olive introduces us to some of them and explains how their work is now being revisited, restored and re-evaluated.

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/

Tenzing Norgay Sherpa is a household name to many. In 1953, he and Edmund Hillary became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. It was Tenzing’s lifelong dream and his seventh attempt. Historian Judy Tenzing joins us today to discuss the story of the illiterate, humble yak herder who rose to make his mark in history.

Academy Travel is a leading specialist in small-group cultural tours, allowing you to travel with like-minded companions and learn from internationally renowned experts. Like our podcast, our tours are designed to appeal to travellers with a strong interest in history, archaeology, architecture, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Learn more here - https://academytravel.com.au/