Looking for neato travel inspo?
Need something to get you through a long layover?
Snack on these short and short-ish travel pieces.
Why big balls of string matter
Need inspo for the next adventure? A 15-minute diversion? The Atlas Obscura Podcast delivers gorgeous audio essays on people, places and things, with a twist. Elegant sound design and a short format keeps episodes from getting flabby.
How does a box of noses discovered in Copenhagen make us rethink beauty standards? What are recipe graves?
If an episode inspires a road trip, check Atlas Obscura for other attractions nearby, like the world’s heaviest ball of twine.
Trainspotting with a vampire
Train delays? Not good for a business meeting, especially with a vampire. In The Trainspotter’s Guide to Dracula, BBC reporter Miles Jupp traces Jonathon Harker’s journey, peppering the trip with interviews – and paprika-spiced meal reviews – along the way. A fascinating exploration of how Bram Stoker, a detail-oriented civil servant and artist, stitched the plot together with train tables and storyboards painted in words.
Contrapuntal, contemplative travel
In 1967, Canadian pianist Glenn Gould created an experimental recording exploring The Idea of the North. He overlaid interviews of people familiar with the region, fading tracks in and out to show movement, point, and counterpoint in what he called ‘contrapuntal radio’.
As any fan of TikTok sea shanty mashups knows, Gould’s ground-breaking technique shows up everywhere today.
Fans of the recording will be happy to hear that Gould produced two more episodes using this technique, forming his Solitude Trilogy.
The History of [Your Destination Here]
Before I get somewhere, I like to learn a little about the place. Somehow, listening to the history, say, of the engineering of Amsterdam makes the drudgery of The Week Before the Trip a tad easier. Also neat: connecting the history with the place, once you’re there.
The DNA of Cities is a newish podcast (2022) that aims to identify unique traits of specific cities, backed by history, geography, culture, and interviews with locals in the know. The production values could do with a bit of zhuzhing, but it’s promising. Shoutout to the creators for not just parroting facts, but talking about traits not so easy to identify: unique smells, fashion, and manners.
A brilliant blog from the bottom of the world
Brr follows an IT specialist on a 14-month stint waaaaay down south. Sorry penguin lovers, this blog focuses on daily life at Antarctic research stations and the infrastructure that keeps that happening. If you’re curious about how doors work in Antarctica or how the last egg for five months was prepared, delivered with dry-as-a-subzero-desert humour, this is your jam.
Audio souvenirs
In Berlin’s Hidden Soundscape, artist Kirap combines field recordings with images converted through computer magic to audio for an audio narrative of a day in the city. Start with birdsong, then a street market in supertrendy Neukölln, pop in for a protest, then catch a train to a club in Mitte. If travel ASMR is a thing, this qualifies.
Can’t find a soundscape of your destination? This piece provides an easy template to create one of your own.
What’s the rush?
Slow travel. In which the getting there is the there. One of my favourite books on the subject is Dan Kieran’s The Idle Traveller: the Art of Slow Travel. Tales of wonders, discovered thanks to a longer gaze. Chock-full of history, references to travel writing from across continents and the ages. Sadly, there’s no digital version, but maybe that’s the point: to mindfully experience the world around you.
Need a shortcut?
Look to the battleface Blog for tips on culture, safety, inspo, baggage requirements and more.
