Armchair Explorer
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The world's greatest adventurers tell their best story from the road. Each episode is cut documentary style and set to music and cinematic effects to create an immersive storytelling experience. No long-winded interviews, just straight to the heart of the action.
Armchair Explorer
3d ago
“I'm sure bungee jumping is crazy and a real like adrenaline rush. But if you've never walked through Somalia with $15,000 in your backpack, you have never lived. You think you like adventure sports, but that is real, real pumping adrenaline.”
In this episode, American journalist Eric Czuleger takes us on a journey into the twilight zone of almost countries, the places in the world that are fighting for recognition: Kurdistan, Kosovo, Somaliland, and a tiny island called Liberland that has an insane story you will not believe.
We’re going to follow him into the throes of a politi ..read more
Armchair Explorer
1w ago
St. Patrick might be the most famous of the Irish saints...but he's far from the most interesting.
In 2023, St. Brigid’s Day was decreed a National Holiday in Ireland to honor Brigid. Over the millennia, this legendary woman has evolved into a figure encompassing myth, holy legend, pagan icon, and now modern feminist symbol.
But who was Brigid, really? To answer that question, travel writer Nicola Brady set off around Ireland to see how she’s celebrated, and she found that there’s not one simple answer. Because, as with everything in Ireland, you never know quite what’s around the corner ..read more
Armchair Explorer
2w ago
The Van Gujjar tribes spend half of each year living deep in the forests of northern India and the other half high on the mountain plains of the Himalayas. Herding water buffalo, whose milk nourishes and sustains their livelihoods, every Van Gujjar family makes an annual migration from their winter home in the forests to their summer grazing fields in the Himalayas.
That is -- until now.
Faced with the threat of losing their herds and their grazing lands to the development of national parks, many Van Gujjar families are facing an uncertain future. And when author Michael Benanav heard of their ..read more
Armchair Explorer
1M ago
This week we are going to Nashville, Tennessee The Country Music Capital of the World … but don’t worry you don’t have to love country to love Nashville. It is a music town. If you like listening to live music – who doesn’t? – then this is a musical odyssey you must take at least once in your life.
We’re going to have some fun, we’re going backstage at 3 rd and Lyndsey, one of Nashville’s most iconic venues, to meet the songwriters who are the beating heart of Nashville and hear a song or two. We’re going to stand on the stage of the legendary Ryman Auditorium, where everyone from johnny cash ..read more
Armchair Explorer
1M ago
"I will show you my Amazon - the Amazon that visitors never get to see."
When Alex Robinson heard those words, he knew he was in for the adventure of a lifetime. His guide, Saru Mundurucu, had recently founded his own adventure and travel company, Aracá Expeditions. As the first and only Amazon adventure company owned and operated by an indigenous Amazonian, Saru promised Alex an experience unlike any other - and he delivered.
Immerse yourself in rich, abundant landscapes as Alex he recounts his eye-opening voyage down the Rio Negro. You'll float along, sipping caipirinhas on the deck of Sar ..read more
Armchair Explorer
1M ago
Today, we're embracing our weird in Oregon as we explore the Northern Culture Trail!
We’re going to discover Portland’s favorite food carts, sample food from around the world and go on a secret bar crawl to hidden local spots. “Portland is the rebel base of the Star Wars universe, we’re sticking it to the forces of normal,” Dresden of Throw Snakes told us. We’re going to have some fun!
From there we hit the road south to the Willamette Valley to sip some of the most delicious Pinot Noir grapes in the world. But this isn’t pinky up drinking, this is down-to-earth wine-tasting in craft vineyards ..read more
Armchair Explorer
1M ago
Today we're journeying to Lake Baikal, the largest, oldest, deepest freshwater lake in the world...and to get there, we're crossing over a thousand miles in Mongolia and Russia by camel, horse, kayak, and rowboat.
Like all lakes, Lake Baikal exists because of a river. And in 2018, fishing and river guide Peter Fong led the first-ever expedition from the headwaters of Mongolia’s Delgermörön (Selenge) River all the way to Lake Baikal.
As Peter writes, "Rowing to Baikal is about the fish and wildlife that call the river home. About the personal risks of prolonged flooding and sudden snowstorms ..read more
Armchair Explorer
2M ago
Today, we're returning to the mountains of Colorado to hear about the adventures of Isabella Bird, a British explorer who famously ascended Longs Peak in 1873 with her guide and companion Jim Nugent.
The story of Bird and Jim illuminates the early history and character of Estes Park, as her writings helped establish the town as a tourist destination, and parallels with the broader historic myth of the frontier and the American west.
Bird remains an inspiration to the locals of Estes Park, including restaurateur Melissa Strong. We visit her new restaurant Bird & Jim to hear of her near-deat ..read more
Armchair Explorer
2M ago
When Alastair Humphreys was young, he craved something unknowable.
That something - adventure, excitement, wisdom, whatever it was - was close. But he suspected that in order to find it, he'd have to step outside of the familiar shapes of his routines. He'd have to break free from the expectations of his friends and family, of advanced degrees and office jobs and apartment living.
In his search for something, he moved to a rural village in Africa at 18. And after university, he cycled across 6 continents and pedaled the circumference of the globe. But he still hadn't quite found that somethi ..read more
Armchair Explorer
2M ago
"Humans are meant to excel. And when you start pushing that and seeing how capable we are, it's phenomenal what you can actually go and do."
-Justin Packshaw
When Justin Packshaw was trekking in Antarctica several years ago, he noticed something disturbing: The ice shelf had visibly melted since his previous visit, just a few decades prior. "In the grand scheme of how old our world is, and its present state, that's a really quite frightening thing," he said. And with that, he had an idea. Not all scientists have the time, resources, or, frankly, the stamina to conduct invaluable in-person res ..read more