The Best Travel and Airport Podcasts
I spend a lot of time listening to music and podcasts during the week while I'm working. Many of the podcasts are related to travel (and airports, when I can find them). A great travel podcast is one that allows me to feel connected to travel - feeding my wanderlust between trips. Often this is while I'm deep in an art project or just daily family life.
The two best all-around travel podcasts, in my opinion, are Zero To Travel and Extra Pack of Peanuts. I've been a fan of their shows for a few years and they continue to put out great, engaging episodes.
Zero To Travel
Jason, host of Zero To Travel, is clearly passionate about travel and it comes through in his show. He does wonderful interviews with international travelers and shares a lot of useful tips along the way. He also talks about digital nomadism and location independence and, together with Travis of Extra Pack of Peanuts, runs Location Indie. The show covers a wide range of topics, from trekking episodes to quitting your job and affording to travel. Along the way, he introduces us to a passionate community of travelers.
Extra Pack of Peanuts
Travis interviews travelers, creative folks, and entrepreneurs on Extra Pack of Peanuts, but also does "Best of..." shows and destination specific episodes. Do yourself a favor and check out some of his old shows where he talks to adventurers who accomplished some amazing feats...like the two-part Dave Cornthwaite series, for instance. Want to start an adventure travel company or open a hostel, well Travis has interviewed people who have done just that.
Dots, Lines & Destinations
Dots, Lines & Destinations is a travel podcast with a small group of hosts that talk a lot about airline and airport news but also give some time to destinations (like the country of Georgia recently). One thing I like about it is that they include international travel - routes, airlines, tourism and airports. It's a fun, and hard to find, mix of aviation business and travel.
The Dirtbag Diaries
For those interested in adventure and the outdoors, I highly, highly recommend The Dirtbag Diaries. This professionally produced show features stories, mostly set in the US, focused around rock climbing, camping, kayaking, hiking, vanlife, and other outdoorsy topics. You get some really great storytelling on this podcast.
To The Best Of Our Knowledge
One specific airport podcast episode I'd really recommend is To The Best Of Our Knowledge's show on Airports that they did a while back. Alain de Botton, author of A Week at the Airport, and Christopher Schaberg, who wrote The Textual Life of Airports, were amongst the guests on that show.
The Terminal and The Travelers
Finally, I have a couple recommendations for podcasts that seem to be either on hiatus or stopped altogether. The short-lived aviation podcast, The Terminal, centered on airport management and it might be worth going through the archives to see if a subject catches your eye. And, the stellar podcast, The Travelers, has an interview-based format and I'm always in a great headspace after listening to it. Alas, it only comes out with new episodes sporadically these days.