Unpacked by Afar | Travel Smarter, More Responsibly

This week we’re chatting with comedian, activist, and podcast host Youngmi Mayer, who’s based in New York City’s Chinatown. Host Mae Hamilton, AFAR’s assistant editor, first came upon Youngmi on Instagram.

Youngmi’s post about not quite fitting in with Korean or American culture really resonated with Mae, and made her feel seen in a way she hadn’t before as a half Taiwanese and half white American person. Soon Mae began tuning in weekly to Youngmi’s podcast Hairy Butthole—based on the Korean saying “If you laugh while crying, hair will grow out of your butthole”—and quickly became a big Youngmi fan.

In this episode, Mae talks with Youngmi about a recent trip she took to her childhood homes in Korea and Saipan, an island near Guam. Youngmi had a traumatic childhood, a subject which makes a regular appearance in her standup. So returning home for her has always been a bit . . . complicated. So they discuss what it’s like to travel to a place that has emotional baggage for you and how to still find beauty in it. They also talk about Asian moms, what it’s like to be biracial and Asian American, and why these identities can be so complex.

Resources

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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Hiking Spain’s Camino de Santiago trail is one of the world’s great pilgrimages. And actor, writer, and director Andrew McCarthy has walked the 500-mile Camino Frances, not once but twice, most recently with his teen son. It’s a journey he documented in his new book, Walking with Sam (Grand Central Publishing, May 2023), and shares with us in this week’s episode.   

Some of you may know Andrew from his work in film and TV—he starred in such ’80s classics as St. Elmo’s Fire and Weekend at Bernie’s—but here at AFAR, we’re more familiar with his work as a travel writer and editor. In 2010, he participated in one of AFAR’s first Spin the Globe trips: We spun the globe and sent Andrew to Ethiopia with less than 24 hours’ notice—a trip that culminated in his near arrest. 

But his latest book is a quieter adventure. As his son took his first steps into adulthood, Andrew wanted to recreate his own first Camino walk—and cement their bond. As they walked (sometimes together, sometimes apart), they faced blisters and hours in the baking sun, the paradoxes of solitude and companionship, and the transformative power of the Camino pilgrimage.

Resources

Walking resources

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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Think back to the last time you stayed at a hotel: Did you notice the music playing? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, that music was likely highly curated. And this week, we explore how that music comes together—and the psychology behind it all.

Our guide is Rachel Parsons, a multimedia journalist and host of the solo travel series The Peregrine Dame. Rachel, who splits her time between London and L.A., was sitting in a hotel lounge when she overheard someone actively monitoring the music in the room. Suddenly, she was paying attention to the music in a way she never had before. And she wanted to know: What exactly is happening behind the scenes? To answer her question, she spoke with everyone from the CEO of a company that curates music for hotels to a music psychologist who shares why music is so effective in creating memories and moods.

Resources

Meet this week’s guests

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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How does the hotel that attracted luminaries like Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin, and Sid Vicious undergo a renovation without losing its gritty, celeb-packed history? In this week’s episode of Unpacked, we’re debuting “If These Walls Could Talk,” which shares the secrets behind iconic hotels, beginning with New York City’s legendary Hotel Chelsea. AFAR’s hotel editor Jennifer Flowers takes us behind the scenes, where ghosts, celebrities, and charismatic residents lurk.

Meet this week’s guests

Resources

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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What will the Earth look like in seven years, as climate change progresses, and what we can do about it? That’s the premise of the PBS show Changing Planet, now in its second season, which is tracking six of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems over the course of seven years. 

In season one, host M. Sanjayan—CEO of Conservation International—travels to the plains of Kenya and the rivers of California to explore the effects of climate change and meet the people fighting against them. In season two, which premiered on April 19, Sanjayan travels to Australia to meet with Aboriginal people training the government in traditional fire-burning practices. This week on Unpacked, we chat with Sanjayan about the importance of Indigenous wisdom, what each of us can do to help support the planet, and how he keeps going when despair looms.

Resources

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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We’ve all been there: Tossing and turning on a long-haul flight, or in an unfamiliar hotel bed. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Enter Anne Bartolucci, a licensed psychologist and a certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist. She’s the founder of Atlanta Insomnia & Behavioral Health Services, P.C. and the author of Better Sleep for the Overachiever. In other words, she knows her sleep—and she specializes in helping people improve their sleep without medication. 

In this week’s episode, host Aislyn Greene chats with Anne about the one thing everyone should bring on their next flight, the proper use of melatonin (turns out most of us don’t use it correctly), and yes, how to get a decent night’s sleep in a new destination.  

Resources:

Buy Anne's book on Amazon: https://geni.us/YgEIc

Listen to the audio book: https://geni.us/z97HgaD

Buy the book on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/2660/9781945074622

Explore her work at Atlanta Insomnia & Behavioral Health Services: https://www.sleepyintheatl.com/

Follow Anne on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/psychupacademy/

https://www.facebook.com/psychupacademy

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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This week, we’re heading to Iceland—well, kinda. We’re actually exploring the Viking hearts of New Icelanders, from Gimli, Manitoba to Mountain, North Dakota. Two towns divided by a border, but forever linked by their surprisingly storied and deep Icelandic roots. 

Liz Beatty, host of the North Americana podcast, will be our guide to foam swords, Icelandic folk songs no child should hear, and an epic Viking battle reenactment at Gimli’s annual Icelandic festival. We’ll also meet a real, live fjallkonan. Want to know what that means? Tune in to find out.

Bonus: This week, we’re hosting travel trivia at the end of the episode!

Resources:

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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In early 2020, journalist Emily Pennington set out on a year-long road trip to visit all 62 national parks in the United States. A few months into her journey the pandemic struck, turning her life upside down. She chronicled it all in her new memoir, Feral (Little A, February 2023). In this episode, Emily shares her journey, what our national parks can represent (or not), and what kept her going when it seemed like the wheels were about to fall off, metaphorically speaking.

Resources & book/audiobook links

Follow Emily's adventures: https://brazenbackpacker.com/

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/2660/9781542039710

Amazon: https://geni.us/inPj4

Audiobook: https://geni.us/4uQyqs

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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Kerala is one of the most striking states in southern India, with sandy beaches, lagoons, and cultural traditions that are magnets for travelers. But 15 years ago, tourism was taking its toll. Rice paddies were being destroyed to build resorts and hotels. Waste had become unmanageable. Locals weren’t benefiting economically. It’s a story that could’ve been a downward spiral, and yet it wasn’t. 

In this week’s episode, journalist Paige McClanahan—host of the Better Travel Podcast—travels to Kerala to learn how the government responded and to witness the radical changes that followed. As she explores temples, kayaks through lagoons, and speaks with residents, she discovers that those changes have vastly improved the lives of locals (and travelers)—and could have a profound impact on communities around the world.

Resources:

Meet this week’s guests:

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

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In 2015, Tom Turcich—and his dog, Savannah—left his home to begin a walk around the world that would span 7 years, 28,000 miles, 38 countries, and 6 continents. Over the course of those years, he spoke to Jason Moore—host of the Zero to Travel podcast—three different times. And over the course of the next two episodes, we'll hear those conversations.

If you haven't listened to part one, which we ran last week, we recommend you start there! In part two, Jason shares his first conversation with Tom, 15 months into the walk, and part of the second, about almost four years into the walk. Their conversations run from the logistics and reality (and pain!) of walking up to 20 miles every day to the lessons we can glean from these kind of journey—lesson that reveal what it means to be human.

Follow Jason Moore

Follow Tom Turcich (and Savannah)

And read the AFAR story that inspired the headline for this episode

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices