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Armchair Explorer: Travel and Adventure Inspiration

Armchair Explorer: Travel and Adventure Inspiration

By: Armchair Productions
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 Award-winning podcast featuring interviews with the world’s greatest adventurers, immersive travel documentaries recorded on location, deep dives into cultures around the world, and inspiration for how to life to the fullest. Hailed as “inspiring storytelling” by the New York Times, and “Ear candy for listeners” by the Washington Post, past guests include Conrad Anker, Ed Stafford, Kristine Tompkins and many more legends of travel and adventure.© 2023 Armchair Explorer Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • IMMERSION: Exploring Rocky Mountain National Park’s Living Lab

    IMMERSION: Exploring Rocky Mountain National Park’s Living Lab
    Sep 30 2025
    In this episode, recorded on location, we’ll discover a side to Rocky Mountain National Park that most people don’t even know exists. Beyond the beautiful mountains and trails, the park is a Living Laboratory of science with about 100 scientific projects happening at any one time. Some of the most cutting-edge ecology, biology and conservation in the world is being done right here. Rocky Mountain National Park may feel isolated from the cities and industry of the plains, but it’s not. It’s part of inter-connected system in which every piece is dependent on one another. And to understand how that works, and why that’s important, we’re going to hike up to more than 10,000-feet to one of the most remote research stations in the country to find out about an experiment that has been going on in the park for more than 38-years. It’s one of the longest running ecological research studies in the world and it’s changing the way we understand the park, the plains and even our own relationship to the wild places we love. FOLLOW US: Instagram: ⁠@armchairexplorerpodcast⁠ Facebook: ⁠@armchairexplorerpodcast⁠ Newsletter: ⁠armchair-explorer.com⁠ CONNECT WITH US: If you enjoy the show, please subscribe on whatever podcast player you’re reading this on right now. Go on, do it! It helps us grow the show and continue to bring inspiring travel stories your way. Check out the Smart Travel Podcast: This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here. Armchair Explorer is produced by ⁠Armchair Productions⁠. Aaron Millar wrote and presented the show, Charles Tyrie did the audio editing and sound design. Jason Paton is our lead producer, and our theme music is by the artist ⁠Sweet Chap⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • BEST OF EXPLORER: Land of the Thunder Dragon: Exploring Bhutan

    BEST OF EXPLORER: Land of the Thunder Dragon: Exploring Bhutan
    Sep 22 2025
    Bhutan is the last of the great Himalayan kingdoms. Still largely untouched by outside influences, shrouded in mystery and magic, this Buddhist country, hidden for centuries on the roof of the world, is like nowhere else on the planet. Follow British Travel Writer of the Year Emma Thomson as she explores the culture and majesty of Druk Yul, Land of the Thunder Dragon, as it's known by its people. Shunning the usual group tour, Emma stays with local families miles from the tourist trail and discovers, because of that, a glimpse of the real Bhutan most travellers will never see. But this is more than just an adventure. Cut off from the rest of the world until 1974, and surrounded by virtually impenetrable Himalayan peaks on all sides, Bhutan has remained culturally intact for centuries. It is a real-life Shangri-La, a kind of fabled mythical kingdom hidden in the mountains, where spirituality and happiness are more important than money and economic development. Intrepid travellers whisper its name in hushed and reverent tones for a reason. Bhutan is, perhaps, the most enlightened country on Earth, and when we visit some of that wisdom and inspiration becomes a part of us too. Highlights include: • Staying with two local Bhutanese families in remote rural villages, far off the usual tourist trail • Experiencing real Bhutanese daily life: tending the fields, bathing in hot stone baths and helping to prepare the meals - fresh dumplings, curries, chillies and cheese • Exploring Punaka Dzong, the most beautiful of all of Bhutan's fortress temples • Trekking to the Tiger's Nest Monastery, which clings to the face of a sheer cliff and is the holiest site in the country • Visiting Bhutan's head of astrology, which is usually forbidden to tourists and discovering a surprise message there that might just shake your scepticism. • Be inspired by the peace and serenity of the most enlightened country on Earth, and learn how to take that wisdom and stillness into your own life too CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST Instagram: @emmathomsontravels SPONSORS: This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at ⁠⁠⁠⁠betterhelp.com/ARMCHAIR⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get on your way to being your best self. This week's show is also supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel at the link below: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    39 mins
  • CONNECTION: Life Lived Wild with Rick Ridgeway

    CONNECTION: Life Lived Wild with Rick Ridgeway
    Sep 15 2025
    "A life worth living is lived at the edges, where it is wild" - Rick Ridgeway Rick Ridgeway is one of the greatest mountaineers of all time. In this in-depth interview he shares the adventures that have come to define his life, and the wisdom he has learned along the way. Highlights include Getting lost while sailing across the Pacific Ocean in search of Tahit.i Taking the famous newscaster Tom Brokaw to the summit of Mount Rainier with legendary climbers Yvonne Chouinard and Doug Tompkins. Nearly dying of hypothermia while kayaking across a frozen lake in Chilean Patagonia. Discovering what it feels like to be trapped in an avalanche facing certain death. The most profound adventure of his life, a journey through the Himalayas in search of a lost friend. Learning the wisdom of a life spent in the wild and how nature can be our greatest teacher CONNECT WITH RICK Rick's latest book is called 'Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map'. It is a beautiful memoir of a life lived to the full, immersed in the beauty and adventure of the natural world. Through this episode we will also hear some of Rick's other favorite tales of adventure and learn the wisdom those wild places have given him. More info at www.patagonia.com CONNECT WITH US If you enjoy the show, please subscribe on whatever podcast player you’re reading this on right now. Go on, do it. It means you get to choose what episodes you listen to, rather than the algorithm guess (wrongly) and kick us off your feed. Facebook: @armchairexplorerpodcast Instagram: @armchairexplorerpodcast Special Offer: we’ve revived our NEWSLETTER! (scroll to the bottom of our homepage to sign up). And contact us for a free copy of our my ebook: The 50 Greatest Wonders of the World Award-winning travel journalist Aaron Millar reveals the greatest wonders of the world and the insider secrets on how to see them. From where to catch the perfect sunrise over the Grand Canyon to how to swim up to the very edge of the Victoria Falls, this is a road map for discovering the greatest experiences of your life. Armchair Explorer is produced by Armchair Productions. Aaron Millar presented the show, Charles Tyrie does the audio editing and sound design. SPONSORS: This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at ⁠⁠⁠⁠betterhelp.com/ARMCHAIR⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get on your way to being your best self. This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel at the link below: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    45 mins
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