S2E15: Why We Travel

Why do we travel? Does travel make us happier? Smarter? Braver? Or, given the current climate crisis, why should we travel? What's the difference between a tourist and a traveler? And what's a Digital Nomad and why does that term make some people cringe?

These and many other key, core questions are answered by Nathan James Thomas, editor of the Intrepid Times, and author of Travel Your Way and Untethered, and Dr. Andrew Stevenson, a Professor of Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University and author of the new book The Psychology of Travel, alongside host Tony Fletcher.

Some of the subjects, people and places covered in this episode:

• "The Sheltering Sky" by Paul Bowles
• The sugar ants of the Northern Territory in Australia
• The joys of buying a brown paper bag in Mexico
• Flight shaming and why it's a red herring
• Nathan's travels through China, South America, Central Asa and why he now lives in Poland
• Andrew's cycling tours through Malaysia, Corsica, France and England
• Researching educational psychology in Guatemala
• Why countries like Iran are not the scary, evil, ominous places they are presented as.
• Running in Sandakan, Borneo and Yuksom, Sikkim, India.
• Why walking can be an act of rebellion
• How to spell "eudemonic," what the heck it means, and why it won't give you a hangover.
• Do long-term travelers tend to come from unsettled family homes - or have they all just broken up with a partner and want to get the hell out of dodge?
• Why encountering people from different cultural groups is a proven way to reduce prejudice...
• ...But why we need to encounter them on equal terms.
• Why staying home can be as bad for the environment as getting on a plane and seeing the world
• Monks in Myanmar, and Marmite in Malaysia.

Nathan James Thomas' books Travel Your Way and Untethered are available through:

https://exislepublishing.com/product/travel-your-way/

https://exislepublishing.com/product/untethered/

The Intrepid Times is https://intrepidtimes.com and @IntrepidTimes across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Dr. Andrew Stevenson's book The Psychology of Travel is available through

https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Travel/Stevenson/p/book/9781032104799

and he can be found through https://www.mmu.ac.uk/research/research-centres/hpac/staff/profile/index.php?id=829

Theme song "A Word That Doesn't Rhyme" by The Dear Boys. Listen to the whole song here.

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