
Note: This post was originally published in May 2020 as a compendium of radio and podcast reports that date back to 2017. It is updated regularly as new audio content becomes available. –KH April 2026
When we travel, we consider ourselves luckiest when we get into conversation with people we meet along the way. The flip side of that coin is when someone genuinely wants to hear about our experiences and those conversations.
Among many fortuitous meetings was our virtual connection with Graeme Kemlo of Travel Writers Radio out of Melbourne, Australia. His show is broadcast weekly on JAIR radio in Melbourne and archived on Soundcloud. Since that first introduction, I've contributed close to 100 radio episodes, including travel stories, interviews, and on-the-scene reports. Special thanks for Graeme's patience and guidance over the years.
We're also proud to have contributed to the award-winning Amateur Traveler Podcast. It's a great resource for trip planning. Just visit the podcast and search for your intended destination, and you'll be treated to a recommended itinerary from those who've been there.
Apart from pure travel destination reporting, we occasionally report on current events from “middle America” – or wherever we happen to be. And, now and then, Tom and I are interviewed by other podcasters about our background and travel lifestyle. We've included some of those here.
With each audio report, we include links to Travel Past 50's related articles, when available. Choose your medium, and enjoy your reading or listening.
Table of Contents
2026
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Audio to follow. See our post, Things to Do in Buenos Aires: Food, Wine, Tango, and Day Trips.
Santiago Chile
April 2026, Travel Writers Radio
A small Travel Past 50 Tour group visits Santiago, Chile, with stops in the wine country, Isla Negra, and Valparaiso. Reference: Santiago de Chile Itinerary: Neighborhoods and Day Trips.
Puerto Rico
March 2026, Travel Writers Radio
A quick visit to Puerto Rico's west end.
2025
Sligo, Ireland
November 2025 for Travel Writers Radio. A unique small group visit to Sligo, Ireland. Based in Temple House, an 18th Century manor home, this hyper local visit to Sligo included meet-ups with local artisans, visits to neolithic ruins, and warm fireside conversations. Reference: Things to See in Sligo, Ireland: An Insiders Guide
Montpelier, France
November 2025 for Travel Writers Radio. Scholarly travel with Elective Study Abroad, focusing on their course on the Art of Living. Reference: Reinventing Study Abroad for Adults
Vail, Colorado
July 2025 for Travel Writers Radio. Summertime in Vail is a great time to visit. Find outdoor activities, cultural events, top restaurants, and outstanding accommodations. Reference: Summer in Vail, Colorado: Best Things to Do Off-Season
St. Paul, Minnesota
June 2025. No Kings Day Rally, St. Paul, Minnesota. #Worth1000Words
June 2025. America's Mood Under Trump.
Valencia, Spain
April 2025. Valencia, Part I, for Travel Writers Radio. Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast, is Spain's 3rd largest city, and is known as a culinary capital and the birthplace of paella. Kris identifies the best places to eat and explains why Valencia is also a design center and a European Green City. References: “Find Top Things to See and Do in Valencia, Spain”; “The Fallas Festival of Valencia, Spain”; and “The City of Arts and SCiences, Valencia, Spain”
May 2025. Valencia Part II
Bratislava, Slovakia
March 2025. Bratislava, Slovakia, is just a short distance from Vienna and conveniently located on the Danube River. Kris discusses the history, museums, cultural sites and the food with Graeme Kemlo of Travel Writers Radio. Reference: “Three Days in Bratislava, Slovakia: Top Things to Do”
Ancestry Travel
January 2025 for Travel Writers Radio. A lively discussion about ancestry travel with the story of Kris's unplanned discovery of her family homestead and church records with help from friendly neighbors, plus Graeme's exploration of his Scottish Kemlo heritage in Australia. Read our related post, Finding My Ancestors in Skåne, Sweden.
2024
Mallorca, Spain
November 2024. For Amateur Traveler Podcast. Kris and Courtney Drake McDonough from realfoodtraveler.com chat with Chris Christensen about the best of Mallorca. Read our related post, Mallorca Spain: Best Things to See Across the Island.
October 2024 for Travel Writers Radio. We chat about Mallorca, the largest, most populated, and most visited of Spain's Balearic Islands. Kris discovers Mallorca does not feel at all like a touristy beach destination if you avoid peak travel months and choose the right places to see. What it does offer is dramatic scenery, historic mountain villages, luxury hotels, sports, and very fine dining. Read our related post, Mallorca Spain: Best Things to See Across the Island.
Menorca, Spain
For Travel Writers Radio. Menorca is Spain's Nature Reserve Island. We discuss the wide range of attractions in Menorca, from the Cami des Cavalls hiking trail, to the UNESCO World Heritage archeological sites, to the booming contemporary arts scene. Read our related post, Best Places to See in Menorca, Spain's Nature Reserve Island.
December 2024. Reporting for Amateur Traveler Travel Podcast. A conversation with Chris Christensen about all the things to include in your itinerary to Menorca, the northernmost of Spain's Balearic islands. Read our related post, Best Places to See in Menorca, Spain's Nature Reserve Island.
Eurail Travel
December 2024. Reporting for Travel Writers Radio. Kris talks about the benefits of traveling with Eurail's Global Pass, touching on some of the destinations along her Central and Eastern Europe itinerary. Read our related post, Tips for Train Travel in Europe with a Eurail Pass.
Extramadura Spain
June 2024 for Travel Writer Radio. A return to Spain's Extremadura region impressed us with Roman ruins in Mérida and excellent food in Cáceres. Read our related posts, Great Food and Top Things to Do in Cáceres, Top Things to Do in Jerez de la Frontera, and What to Do in Mérida: Three Days of Roman History.
Interview: John McKeon, Polar Latitudes
March 2024 for TWR. Following up our travel to Antarctica, we spoke with Polar Latitudes president and IAATO executive John McKeon. In this interview he talks about citizen science and responsible travel: the need to leave a place better than when it was found. Read our related post, “Best Antarctica Cruise: Immersive Polar Expedition”
Douro River, Portugal
February 2024 for TWR. A river cruise on Portugal's Douro River differs from other European river cruises. The river is smaller and less populated than most others, but the shore excursions are every bit as interesting. Visits to Coimbra, Guimaraes and the Coa Valley Archeology Museum stand out, as do extra days in both Lisbon and Porto. Read our related post, “Relax on a Douro River Cruise: Visiting Portugal”
2023
Winnipeg, Manitoba
August 2023 for Travel Writers Radio. Winnipeg Manitoba has much more to offer visitors than one might expect. Kris offers a quick overview of favorite attractions – indoors and out! Read our related post, Top Places to Visit in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Interview: Margit Sperling on food in Madrid, Spain
August 2023 for TWR. We love taking walking food tours to learn about local history, food, and small family-run businesses. And Madrid is about the best city we know for exploring neighborhoods and food. Kris speaks with Margit Sperling of Walk and Eat Spain about the ever-changing tapas and foodie scene in Madrid.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
July 2023. Kris follows up with Travel Writers Radio about how the city of Minneapolis is working on tourism recovery after the significant negative impacts following George Floyd's murder, on top of COVID effects. The city's new ad campaign rolled out this spring.
Road Trip: White Villages, Ronda, and Málaga, Spain
January 2023. A fun chat with Graeme about our little road trip in southern Spain, from Sevilla to a couple “white villages” of Cádiz, and a stop in Ronda. Also get details of the Picasso 2023 Celebration in Málaga and elsewhere.
2022
Cruise Great Lakes, Canada and U.S.
August 2022. For Travel Writers Radio. Brand new expedition-style cruising, combining luxury amenities and service aboard a working scientific research vessel, is the topic of the conversation with Graeme Kemlo (based in Melbourne, Australia). Kris reports on Viking Octantis's Great Lakes options as well as its longitudinal itineraries connecting to Antarctica. Read the related post about the Octantis expedition ship here, and about the Great Lakes destinations in U.S. and Canada here.
Northern Spain Cuisine
June 2022. We chat with Graeme at Travel Writers Radio about the great food along Spain's north, loosely following the Camino del Norte from Cantabria across Asturias and to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Read more about the full travel experience in The Northern Way to Santiago.
Kenya Safaris
May 2022. Visiting family in Nairobi, Kenya, led to two wonderful photo safaris. Here we chat with Travel Writers Radio about our multi-gen experience in the Mara North Conservancy bordering the famous Maasai Mara National Park. Read more about the Mara safari here, and about what we did and saw (and ate) in Nairobi, here.
2021
Zaragoza, Spain
November 2021. While visiting Zaragoza (Aragon) Spain, we joined Jorge Acero for a cooking class and an intro to the excellent gastronomy of Aragon. You'll find the recipe for tortilla española in this post which also recaps our interview. Buen provecho!
Interview: Beyond the Nest Digital Nomad Retreats
June 2021. We chat with Travel Writers Radio about Beyond the Nest retreats and digital nomad resources for all ages. See our post for more information on Beyond the Nest retreats.
Interview: Leif Pettersen, Author
April 2021.Leif Pettersen talks about his latest book, The First (Failed) Travel Food Show, his career as a travel writer and marketer, the state of travel, living in Romania, and his hobby juggling. For the full uninterrupted interview with more background info, see our post: Interview, Leif Pettersen and the First Food Travel Show. . The same interview was posted on SoundCloud in two parts by Travel Writers Radio:
Leif Pettersen, Part II
Interview: Belize Hospitality Start-Up
March 4, 2021. An interview with Brian Montgomery about his Sirenian Bay Resort in Belize, and coming through the pandemic with property improvements and more highly trained staff.
2020
Election Day USA
November 2020. Speaking with TWR's Graeme Kemlo about the USA election 2020, just as polls are closing in the eastern half of the country.
Interview: Lauren Aloise, Devour Tours
August 2020. Normally, Madrid-based Lauren Aloise operates food tours in eight European cities. These days, she's seeing the increased popularity of her food blog, Spanish Sabores. The blog and its regular newsletter are filled with recipes from around Spain, and spiced up with stories about Spain's history and culture and destinations. Read more about Lauren and our favorite Spanish cuisine here.
Interview: Iceland ProTravel CEO Gudmundur Kjartansson
July 2020. Since we aren't able to circumnavigate Iceland this year as planned, we spoke with Iceland ProTravel CEO Gudmundur Kjartansson about the current and future state of tourism in Iceland.
Planning Safe Road Trips
July 2020. Discussing how to plan for safe road trips, a la 2020.
Interview: Caroline and Craig Makepeace of YTravelBlog
May 2020. Australian couple Caroline and Craig Makepeace have been traveling for the better part of 20 years, and manage the award-winning blog called YTravelblog.com. Craig and Caz talked with us from their home in Raleigh, NC. Their recent projects include a major RV road trip across America with their two daughters. Since getting green cards in the US last fall, and entering the coronavirus era, their current travel world involves online schooling, a focus on travel closer to home, a new podcast, and the launch of a new website, ThisisRaleigh.com.
Interview: Cedar Swan of Adventure Canada
May 2020. Adventure Canada is a small adventure tour company started in the late 1980s by brothers Matthew and Bill Swan and their friend Dave Freeze. While it originated as guided travel to remote wilderness areas and concentrated on rafting and hiking, it evolved over the next decade to exploration of Canada’s three coasts, its Arctic and native communities, and eventually to sailings beyond.
Adventure Canada is now chiefly a small ship adventure company with an emphasis on arts and culture and connecting communities. The 2020 season, before it was held up by the coronavirus pandemic, included expeditions throughout Arctic Canada, through the Northwest Passage, to Greenland, Iceland, and– in the alternate season–to Antarctica.
Glamping: Interview with Anne and Mike Howard of Honeytrek.com
April 29 and May 6, 2020. Mike and Anne Howard, the travel-writing American couple who are on “the world’s longest honeymoon,” found themselves confined to their rented camper RV in Poland during these days of the pandemic lockdown. Mike and Anne aren’t exactly new to travel improvisation and making the most of a situation. Since setting out on their honeymoon in early 2012, they are still embracing travel, and each other. You can read all about Mike and Anne’s adventures on their blog, Honeytrek.com. The two have also published two books in these eight years of travel: The first, “Ultimate Journeys for Two: Extraordinary Destinations on Every Continent,” was published by Nat Geo Books. Then, three years ago, the Howards purchased an RV and covered North America to research the new glamping phenomena. Their second book, “Comfortably Wild: The Best Glamping Destinations in North America,” was released in 2019.
Part 1 Anne and Mike Howard of Honeytrek.com in RV Quarantine; Poland
Part 2 Anne and Mike Howard of Honeytrek.com in RV Quarantine; Poland
Bike Tours: Interview with Jim Johnson, BikeTours.com
April 2020. Jim Johnson of Biketours.com on the impact of the pandemic on his bike tour company and other small tour operators in the USA and Europe. To read more about planning and preparing for a bike trip, read our post about arranging your first European bike tour.
Trondheim, Norway
March 2020. Skipper Amanda shows us the ropes and the best options for visiting Trondheim, Norway. Read more about Trondheim in our post about the city and environs, “Many Ways to Visit Trondheim.”
Interview: St. Olav Ways pilgrim trails
March 2020. Mattias Janssen discusses the various St. Olav Ways pilgrim trails culminating in Trondheim, Norway. Read another take on St. Olav Ways pilgrim routes in Tom's post from Sweden, “St. Olav's Way: Hiking in Sweden and Norway,”, including a video interview about the history of the pilgrimage.
Big Bend National Park, Texas
January 2020. Read more about our visit to Big Bend NP and the surrounding area in “Visiting the Big Bend Area of Texas.”
2019 and Prior
2019
Bozeman, Montana, and Yellowstone National Park
2019.
We cover our stay in Bozeman, Montana, in this post.
Adirondacks Wilderness and Wellness, New York
2019. Read more about visiting the Adirondacks in our post.
Lafayette, Louisiana: History, Zydeco, and Food
2019. Read about our Lafayette travels, with photos, in this post, “Lafayette, Louisiana: Easy Road Trip near New Orleans.”
New Orleans, Louisiana
2019. Tips for a Short Visit to New Orleans, with John Boutte. Read more here: “Let New Orleans Work Its Magic on You.”
Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
2019. UNESCO World Heritage Site Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Read our travel planning tips for Siem Reap and Angkor Wat here.
Hanoi, Vietnam
2019. Our return to Hanoi with family. Enjoy more stories and photos in our post, “Hanoi Revisited: Returning to Hanoi with a new generation.”
Mekong River Cruise, Cambodia to Vietnam
2019. We write about our Mekong River Cruise with AmaWaterways right here.
Ernest Hemingway in Cuba
2019.Find more details about our travel to Cuba and its national parks in this post, “Cuba Vacations: Hiking National Parks in Cuba,” and in this overview of places to stay and eat, “Cuba Tours: Food in Five Cuban Cities.”
Madhya Pradesh, India
2019. Enjoy photos and details of our tiger safari in Madhya Pradesh, “An India Tiger Safari: What to Expect.”
Russia River Cruise: Moscow and St. Petersburg
2018. Enjoy photos and retails of our Viking River Cruise in Russia: “Russia River Cruise: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Waterways of the Tsars.”
Europe Slow Travel: Touring by E-Bike
2018. We speak with Biketours.com's Jim Johnson about the appeal of touring by bicycle.
Read about our preparations for a bike tour in Italy here: “Planning Your First Europe Bike Tour.” And here's our story of training for the tour..
Italy Bike Tour
2018. More on bike touring, from Puglia.
2018
Food and Wine, Puglia, Italy
2018. Find photos and details of our ride through southern Italy here: “Eleven Things We Loved on Our Italy Bike Tour through Puglia”
Galapagos, Ecuador
2018. Part I, Pablo and the Galapagos.
Galapagos, Part II
Read our award-winning post about our travels to the Galapagos: “A Land-Based Tour of the Galapagos.”
Olympos, Karpathos, Greece
2018. Read all about our visit to Karpathos, including food, towns, swimming coves, day hikes, history, and friendly people. “Embracing Karpathos Island, Greece.”
Part II, Artisans of Karpathos, Greece
Jämtland and Värmland, Sweden
2018. Exceptional food in Jämtland and Värmland, Sweden. We write all about our first visits to upper Sweden regions, Jämtland and Värmland, including great food finds. Yum.
Citizen Science: Tom reports from Malawi
2018. Read Tom's full story on Malawi: “A Malawi Diary: 12 Days with Biosphere Expeditions'
2017. Discovering Salta, Argentina. Learn more about Salta, Argentina. 2017. Follow us on our travels to Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego. 2017. Here's our full story on one of our favorite cities, Buenos Aires. And we learned a bit about Malbec and other Argentinian wines, too! 2017 Fred Schlomka of Green Olive Tours, Israel and Palestine. For more background on Fred Schlomka and Green Olive Tours, read our post, “Crossing Barriers in Israel with Green Olive Tours.” 2017 We wrote about Croatia cuisine after visiting Dubrovnik and Split, and about post-Soviet era people and towns, “The Other Side of Croatia.” 2017. For photos and the story of our first Euro bike tour, check out our “Brittany Backroads” post.https://travelpast50.com/bicycle-tour-brittany-backroads/ We include more foodie details here in “Culinary Highlights” of our Brittany France bike tour. 2017. 2017. See more about the scenic drive, on the “Road Trip Between Music Cities.” Our road trip took us to “Tunica County and the Mississippi Delta Blues.” 2017 2017. Part I. ATTA's Casey Hanisko discusses adventure travel trends. Part II. Interview with Casey Hanisko, Adventure Travel Trade Association 2017. Tom writes about “A Golden Hour Tour with Agung Rai” in Ubud, Bali. 2017. Read our guide on things to do in Minneapolis and St. Paul, our home towns. 2017. Here's an index to the U.S. National Parks, with links to those we've photographed and written about. 2017. Lesser Known National Parks, USA. For more on one of our favorite ‘lesser known' parks, read about Lassen Volcanic National Park. In January 2020, we visited Channel Islands National Park April 2019. Kristin Henning discusses Responsible Tourism with Big Blend Radio 2017. Kris is interviewed by Veronica Matheson on being a nomad. Note: To listen to continuous episodes of our Travel Writer Radio reports, visit Kristin Henning's user page on Soundcloud. Got a comment on this post? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Threads and share your thoughts!
Ushuaia, Argentina
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Interview: Green Olive Tours, Israel and Palestine
Croatia
Biking Brittany, France
Canary Islands, Spain
Enjoy this post about Kris's time in the Canaries with her family. “Family Travel to Tenerife.”
Natchez Trace and Music Cities, Tennessee and Mississippi
Interview: Adventure Travel Trade Association
Ubud, Bali
Minneapolis, Minnesota
United States National Parks
Other Podcast Guest Appearances
Responsible Tourism
(Also featured in Park and Travel Magazine Spring/Summer 2019)
Nomadic Travels
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