Armchair Explorer: Travel and Adventure Inspiration
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.
Episodes
July 1, 2025 • 35 mins
Follow Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras on a quest to discover South America’s hidden wonders. From the Last Incan Bridge and the Machu Picchu of the North to the Everlasting Lightning Storm and a statue of a squid fighting a whale the size of the statue of liberty (yes, you read that right), this is an epic ride through Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru’s weirdest and wildest wonders. The stuff glittering in the shadows t...
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June 25, 2025 • 53 mins
"We paddled out to the first net, and there were 12 pilot whales huddled up against it, completely traumatized because they could hear the other 40 members of their pod being massacred yards away. They were screaming. I remember a little baby pilot whale breached and stuck her head out to look at us with curiosity. I took as a request - a sacred compact to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves…to try and give voice to the...
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June 14, 2025 • 28 mins
It might’ve been my first rodeo, but it won’t be my last!
“It’s part action movie, part rock show blurring into the superbowl. It feels modern, but bull riding itself goes back to the bronze age. And that’s true for rodeo contests in general: bull riding, barrel racing or wild cow milking, they’re all based on tradition, and in keeping those traditions alive.
‘Let ‘Er Buck’ makes a lot of sense from the back of a bull. But ...
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June 11, 2025 • 38 mins
Every month on Pathways, host Aaron Millar and producer Jason Paton crack open a few stories, play their favorite clips, and take you on a whirlwind preview of what’s coming up this month on Armchair Explorer. It’s part travel hangout, part behind-the-scenes, and a whole lot of part “wait, you did what?”
Special Offer: we’ve revived our NEWSLETTER! (scroll to the bottom of our homepage to signup)
And contact us for a free cop...
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June 11, 2025 • 31 mins
We’ve got something a little different but very special for you today. This episode comes from Winging It, a travel podcast hosted by my friend James Hammond, who you’ll hear from shortly. He takes us on an immersive, on-location audio adventure through San Salvador, El Salvador – and trust me, it’s a journey worth tagging along for.
James has a brilliant way of mixing practical travel tips with rich, ambient storytelling. Think t...
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June 2, 2025 • 38 mins
We're back for part two of our Discover series on the less travelled, but adventure-rich state of South Australia. Our Discover Guides are deep dives into new destinations, where we interview experts to get the ‘drum’ on the places they live and love. This series is produced as a road trip through a lesser-known part of Australia filled with natural wonders, wildlife and more than one hilarious Aussie character.
And don't miss our...
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May 31, 2025 • 43 mins
“At home, mindfulness is an app, a tool to fight the noise. In the wild, peace and calm rule by default … Out in the open, my mind is released from the noise. It sways with the trees and flows with the rivers. It blows over snow tipped mountaintops and down into wide sunlit valleys expanding to fill its surroundings. The vistas are bigger, but there is less to know.”
- Jude Kriwald
Today, we are taking a journey to one ...
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May 26, 2025 • 46 mins
G’day and good onya! Our Discover Guides are deep dives into new destinations, where we interview experts to get the ‘drum’ on the places they live and love.
Today we’re excited to share the first of two episodes exploring South Australia, a less-trodden state rich in adventure, wildlife and natural beauty. This two-part series is produced as a road trip through a lesser-known part of Australia filled with natural wonders, wildli...
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May 22, 2025 • 29 mins
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system in the world. Covering an area of 135,000 square miles, it is bigger than the United Kingdom, Holland and Switzerland combined. Lay it out across Europe and it would reach from London to Moscow, making it is the largest living structure in the world and the only one visible from outer space.
Today, we’re going to the best place in the world to experience it: Tropical North Quee...
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May 20, 2025 • 42 mins
Today, we are sharing an episode of Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, the chart-topping and Webby Award-winning podcast from our friends at Nature on PBS. Back for a brand new season, Going Wild features some of the coolest champions of nature – like a former butterfly technician who
saved an endangered species while incarcerated, and a marine ecologist
who worked as a featured diver in the documentary Enslaved with Samuel L Ja...
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May 15, 2025 • 29 mins
Welcome back to the Hidden Trails of Oregon! In the first episode
of our new season, host Aaron Millar heads to the eastern edge of the
state, far from the bustle of coastal cities and the craggy heights of
the cascade mountains.
We're going on location in the traditional lands of the Nez Perce to
uncover a piece of history unknown to most outsiders. In the
late 19th century, the Wallowa Band of the Nez Perce tribe were driv...
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May 12, 2025 • 37 mins
In this episode, we’re heading to the city of Victoria on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. They call this the place where ‘land and sea meet, and cultures converge’. Victoria is a city surrounded by wild nature on all sides, from the tranquil waters of the Salish Sea to the mighty rainforests of Vancouver Island.
Our Discover Guides are deep dives into destinations we love. Think of them like a cross between...
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May 9, 2025 • 43 mins
Every month on Pathways, host Aaron Millar and producer Jason Paton crack open a few stories, play their favorite clips, and take you on a whirlwind preview of what’s coming up this month on Armchair Explorer. It’s part travel hangout, part behind-the-scenes, and a whole lot of part “wait, you did what?”
In this episode, we’re going from the dreamtime waters of the Great Barrier Reef to the quiet strength of Chief Joseph’s legacy ...
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May 1, 2025 • 37 mins
Today we are taking a journey to the arctic circle, in the far north of the American continent. This is a story about climbing, and surviving, one of the tallest mountains on Earth. It’s about paddling through the most remote national park in America, the Gates of the Arctic; and it’s about finding wonder and hope in places where that hope is nearly lost.
Taking us on this journey is mountaineer, writer and arctic explorer Jon W...
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April 14, 2025 • 43 mins
In this episode, we’re heading deep into the wilds of Tropical North Queensland, Australia—where the oldest rainforest in the world meets the greatest reef on the planet. We’ll be connecting with an Aboriginal guide to learn indigenous perspectives on the land; doing something called ‘River Drifting’ through the ancient forests of Daintree; seeing the Great Barrier Reef from the sky and under the waves, and lots more.
Our Discover...
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April 10, 2025 • 28 mins
This is your monthly guide to the world’s wildest travel stories – one adventure at a time.
Every month on Pathways, host Aaron Millar and producer Jason Paton crack open a few stories, play their favorite clips, and take you on a whirlwind preview of what’s coming up on Armchair Explorer. It’s part travel hangout, part behind-the-scenes, part “wait, you did what?”—and all of it is designed to help you find your next great escape....
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April 3, 2025 • 14 mins
"I've been guiding or working around whales now for almost over just about over a decade, and I still am in awe at all of the experiences that we have. It's just a wonder of a magnitude that people don't really get to experience anywhere else in urban life" – Nik Coutinho, Prince of Whales
In this Bucket List episode, produced in our immersive documentary style, whale watching guide Nik Coutinho shares some of his favorite experie...
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March 29, 2025 • 37 mins
In today’s episode, we’re joined by Rob Pope, the first person in the world to complete the legendary run made famous by one of Hollywood’s most beloved characters – Forrest Gump. Yes, you heard that right. Rob took on the challenge of following Forrest’s route mile by mile, crossing the country not once, but FIVE times. That’s like running from the North Pole to the South Pole, and then some.
But this story isn’t just about physic...
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Follow best-selling travel author Brian Thacker on a unique, mad-cap adventure to three of the remotest countries on Earth. Inspired by the intrepid spirit of explorers of old, Brian decided to tear up the guidebook, switch off the phone and turn up to a country knowing absolutely nothing about it in advance.
He picked three countries at random: the east African country of Togo, the South Pacific islands of Wallis & Futuna and the...
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March 12, 2025 • 31 mins
At the start of every month, host Aaron Millar and producer Jason Paton preview what’s coming up on Armchair Explorer, play their favorite clips, and reveal the stories they’re most excited to share.
A cross between a highlight reel, an interview, and two people telling travel tales down the pub, our Pathways episodes are your guide to choosing your adventures with us.
MARCH EPISODES
ADVENTURE: No Guidebook, No Google, No Clue: ...
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