Lale chats with actor Arsema Thomas, who plays a young Lady Danbury in the soon to be released Netflix series Queen Charlotte - A Bridgerton Story, from Shonda Rhimes. Off screen, Arsema has spent large swathes of her life living in different countries across Africa—an experience that has informed her approach to acting, and the role she is now playing. She shares stories from Uganda, Nairobi, Cape Town, and more, and discusses filming the Bridgerton prequel inside English country homes, and the complex history behind them.

Few of us get to witness the rich and complex ecosystems that live below the oceans' surface—but for Zandile Ndhlovu, venturing deep underwater on a single breath is part of daily life. Lale chats with the South African free diver about her work running The Black Mermaid Foundation, witnessing coral bleaching first hand, weaving sustainability into her travels, and coming face-to-face with a shark. Plus, we hear from a New Yorker about restoring oyster reefs in and around the city.

Everyday we travel to far-flung places through our television screens, all thanks to the directors, location scouts, camera crews, and more who skillfully capture—or create—entire worlds for us to get lost in. One of those people is Lesli Linka Glatter, the award-winning director behind shows like Twin Peaks, Homeland, and Mad Men. Lale sits down with her to find out about how she bought to life 1970s Texas in the new HBO Max show Love and Death, what it's like to travel the world with a film crew, and the time she took a life-changing trip to Tokyo.

With summer only a few months away, now is the time to start planning that road trip—especially if you're based in the U.S., where one of the best ways to see the country is by car (there are so many iconic American road trip movies for a reason). Enter, our guest this week: Kristen Meinzer, an author and podcast host who has spent much of her travels road tripping around the Midwest and staying at kitschy motels. Lale chats with Meinzer about her favorite roadside attractions across the country (hello, Corn Palace), how she sniffs out a quality motel, Dolly Parton, and more.

We travel for all manner of experiences—culinary, adventure, music, and more. Mya-Rose Craig travels to spot birds. Lale chats with the 20-year-old ornithologist about birdwatching in some of the world's most spectacular places, sharing a platform with climate change activist Greta Thunberg, and her new memoir Birdgirl. Plus, we hear from Condé Nast Traveler contributor Betsy Andrews about her own birdwatching trip to Bonaire.

If you subscribe to this podcast, then you're familiar with our listener dispatches: unique, funny, and often deeply personal stories shared with us by the Women Who Travel community. Weaving them into the podcast is one our favorite things to do, which is why this week we're mixing up the format as Lale and the podcast's very own producer, Jude Kampfner, revisit some of their favorites—from a breakup in Paris and an intrepid solo hiking trip to a spooky encounter in Ireland.

If you’re lucky, you’ve gotten to experience some of the natural beauty found across America’s 63 National Parks, home to places like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Acadia, Maine. But few people have got to see as much of them as guest Emily Pennington, a regular Condé Nast Traveler contributor and author of Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks. Emily chats with Lale about surrendering herself to the wilderness, witnessing the Northern Lights first hand, and the profound impact Alaska had on her. Plus we hear from listeners about their own National Park adventures.

Travel is inherently absurd, amusing, chaotic, messy, embarrassing, and deeply nuanced. And sometimes, we go to places with built in prejudices that we haven't previously confronted—and hopefully overturn them in the process. Who better, then, to dive into a conversation about all of this than Chelsea Handler? The comedian, television host, and best selling author chats with Lale about wrapping up her 'Vaccinated and Horny Tour' across the U.S., rediscovering her hometown of Los Angeles, her eternal fear of snakes, and more.

We’re re-airing this episode which was first published 10/6/2022.

Lale talks to two of her favorite authors about two cities that she’s most connected with—Rebecca Meade about London and Elif Batuman on Istanbul—and asks the question: What do you learn about a city by walking around it instead of driving through it? "You want to knit yourself into the fabric of a place and see your story knitted into it," says Meade. Plus, listeners contribute their own walking stories about Budapest, Dubrovnik, and Malta—all solo travelers who had unforgettable experiences thanks to the decision to explore a new place by foot.

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In this week's episode, we travel to Australia to talk to dancer, choreographer, and storyteller Frances Rings, a descendant of the Wirangu and Mirning Tribes from the country's southern west coast, and the artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theater, Australia's leading Indigenous performing arts company. She explains the power of dance as a tool for healing—and shares stories of Indigenous Australia.

Out of respect for Indigenous Australian bereavement practices, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this podcast contains the name of someone who has died.