Amateur Traveler Podcast (iTunes enhanced) / Travel for the Love of It
Studio: Chris Christensen
Category: Places & Travel
What It Is
Host Christensen talks with an expert guest about wonderful travel destinations all over the world.
Technical Details
New episode every Saturday. Episodes run around forty minutes or so. The show is at over 450 episodes and iTunes has right around 300 episodes. So, not the complete archive (which you can get at the show’s website), but pretty darn good.
What About It
Christensen is a really bland host, in my opinion. So, it’s a good thing that the guests are usually interesting and, even more important, the locations the show focuses on are fantastically interesting. The guests typically go through the locations in a sort of non-touristy way, ie. they go into the places that most people might miss, places where you’ll have a real cultural experience. Christensen has a few stock questions that he asks at the end of every show and I really find them all interesting. For instance: “You’ll know that you’re in *insert location* when you . . .?” “Describe *insert location* in three words.” “You’re looking at the most beautiful thing in *insert location*. What are you looking at?” He always gets really interesting answers on those questions. Best one: a guy talking about Vienna answered the final question by saying that he was looking at the beautiful girls walking down a particular street. Christensen then said, “You’re WITH YOUR WIFE, looking at the most beautiful thing in Vienna.” Good stuff. I love travelling, but don’t get to do nearly as much as I’d like and this podcast kind of serves as a vicarious experience.
Essential If
You’re a billionaire and plan to go to every single location the show has covered.
Avoid Like the Plague If
By God, there’s nowhere more beautiful than your own damn neighborhood!
Best Entry Point
I’d recommend just going to the archives and going through the list and finding an episode with a location that you’re interested in. If I have to recommend one myself, I’d go with AT #383 – Travel to the Navajo Nation (Arizona). I found that one really interesting. I love the stark, strange landscapes of Arizona, so it was cool to hear people really go into detail talking about them.
Whatever. 2 ½ stars.
Next time, well, how about another niche show? I love food; could a podcast all about creating food get a win from me? Well, we’ll see.