At the beginning of this year, Sarah Khan decided to settle down—well, at least get an apartment of her own to call a home base after eight years of traveling and subletting full time, thanks to her job as a travel writer. She didn't plan to take a trip until March, a travel hiatus that's now been extended indefinitely due to coronavirus. As she stays put for the longest time in almost a decade, we caught up with the Condé Nast Traveler contributor to see how she got her start in travel writing, chat about her most memorable assignments, learn how she's managing her time at home, and discover who's inspiring her virtual wanderlust right now. 

Find a full transcription of the episode (and that photo of Mostar we mention) here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-i-became-a-travel-writer-sarah-khan-on-life-on-the-road-podcast

We're back—albeit this time from a closet in Dallas and a Brooklyn living room, rather than the podcast studio. This week, we're joined by comedian and actor Jenny Slate, who, despite growing up thinking the only way to have a relaxing vacation was at the beach, has traveled everywhere from Norway's Lofoten archipelago above the Arctic Circle to Chilean Patagonia. Along the way, she's come to terms with the fact that she may be the world's worst packer—and that feeling lonely on a solo trip doesn't have to be a bad thing. In our latest episode, we talk to her from her Massachusetts home about how she's learned to lean into adventure trips, what she treats herself to when she's on vacation, and how she's coping with social distancing and self-isolation. 

Find a full transcription and links to book Jenny mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/jenny-slate-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Meredith: @ohheytheremere

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We sat down with Samin Nosrat just after the premiere of her Netflix show, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, to talk about how she managed to transform a cookbook into a piece of television in such a short amount of time, how growing up eating Iranian food informed her own cooking, and why, in her opinion, a PB&J counts as a legitimate dinner option. Most importantly, though, she explains why she chose to eschew restaurants in favor of focusing on home cooks and artisans—the majority of whom are women—on the show.

This week's episode is a rerun from December 2018. We'll be back with new episodes (recorded from home) next week.

This week's episode is a rerun from October 2019. We'll be back with new episodes (recorded from home) soon.

As we all spend more time taking solitary walks—and relishing in Facetime and Zoom-based friendships—it made sense to share this episode where two best friends practice the French art of flaneuring, or wandering without intention. Since most of us have been forced to slow down, here’s an episode all about doing just that. We were joined by Erika Owen, author of "The Art of Flaneuring: How to Wander with Intention and Discover a Better Life," and sex and wellness writer Laura Delarato to talk about how we all need to just slow down a bit when we’re traveling. The key takeaways? It's fine to give yourself permission to do less,

Find a full transcription of this episode and the show notes here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-we-all-need-to-slow-down-when-we-travel-women-who-travel-podcast

As we mention in the intro to this week's episode, we recorded this installment of Women Who Travel well before the coronavirus has changed the landscape of our day-to-day lives. But in a world where we still dream of our next trip, we wanted to continue to share our tips on where to go next for you to squirrel away for when the time is right. So, this week, we're back with a Frequently Asked Questions episode, to answer your burning questions, pulled from our Facebook group. In it, we zip from where to vacation in Greece, what to do with a teenager and five weeks of vacation, and how to bring yourself out of a solo travel-induced funk. 

Find more about this episode and a full transcription here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/we-answer-your-frequently-asked-travel-questions-part-5-women-who-travel-podcast

At 19, Jen Gotch had a panic attack in the airport, just ahead of boarding a flight back to college. "I, on a cellular level, felt like I was going to die if I got on that airplane," says the Ban.do founder and author of the soon-to-be-released Upside of Being Down: How Mental Health Struggles Led to My Greatest Successes in Work and Life. Now, years later and hundreds of flights under her belt, that anxiety has shifted, evolved, and—most recently—waned, as she's found strategies to stay calm on the road. (One life-changing tool? TSA PreCheck.) This week, we sat down with Jen to talk through how she continues to tackle her travel anxiety, why vacations (even if they're just on our own couches) are good for our mental health, and why she stopped working on her days off. 

Find a link to preorder Jen's book, out March 24, and a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/bando-founder-jen-gotch-on-anxiety-and-the-power-of-mini-vacations

In the third installment of our "How I Became" series, we're focusing less about traveling around the world—and more about traveling up the corporate ladder. In conversation with Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Celebrity Cruises' president and CEO and the first woman to hold that title in industry history, we look back at how she started her career and rose to the top with no female mentors or advocates in sight. Along the way, we chat about handling rejection—both 35 years ago, when first trying to get into the cruise industry, and five years ago, when she was told "no" three times before finally getting her spot in the C-suite. 

Read a full transcription of the episode and find links here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-i-became-the-first-female-ceo-of-a-major-cruise-line-women-who-travel-podcast

Follow Meredith at @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale at @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel at @womenwhotravel

Follow Lisa at @lisalutoffperlo

When we read a preview of Everything I Know About Love, the debut memoir from Dolly Alderton, we knew we had to bring her on the podcast. The book, which charts her love life (romantic and platonic) from her teens until now, centers strongly on female friendships and the highs and lows of travel—both on your own and with friends. (There's a chapter near the end set in the Orkney Islands that is particularly moving. You'll just have to read it.) This week, we sit down with Alderton to celebrate her book's U.S. release, and chat about everything from the time she cried while interviewing Elizabeth Gilbert to why the world is still uncomfortable with women traveling on their own. 

Find a full transcription of the episode and a link to pick up Dolly's book here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/author-dolly-alderton-on-growing-into-solo-travel

Follow Meredith at @ohheytheremere

Follow Lale at @lalehannah

Follow Women Who Travel at @womenwhotravel

Follow Dolly at @dollyalderton

This week, we're having all of the awkward conversations that come with budgeting for travel. How do you even start saving for your next trip? What do you do when you can't afford a group trip? What do you prioritize spending money on when you vacation? What do you do when you don't qualify for a travel-friendly credit card and can't cash in points and miles? We've tapped the experts—Samantha Barry, Glamour's editor-in-chief and host of the She Makes Money Moves podcast, and Travel Channel's Oneika Raymond—to answer these and more.

Find links to items mentioned and read a full transcription here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/an-honest-conversation-about-saving-and-budgeting-for-travel

This episode originally aired in February 2019.

We didn't always feel so gung-ho about traveling the world with a group of strangers or about giving up control over the itinerary on a group trip. In fact, just like with almost everything in travel, it was the mental hurdle—the thought that we might not like group trips—that kept us from doing it. But, we all got over it. (Strip naked in front of a group of gals at a Japanese onsen and you'll get over those reservations really fast.) To commiserate and compare stories, we brought community editor and trip lead Megan Spurrell and El Camino founder Katalina Mayorga on to talk about the pros, cons, and what it took to change our minds.

Join Women Who Travel on a trip to Colombia in September or November. Learn more here: https://www.elcamino.travel/women-who-travel