The Big Travel Podcast

Picture the scene... Lisa and Simon Hunter (Madrid based journalist) are in the centre of Madrid at the fabulous Ocean Drive Hotel with a balcony over- looking over the Opera square having a chat about politics, celebs, nightclubs, tapas and more before heading up to the rooftop pool for a Vermouth...On this episode we talk..the short trip that turned into a lifetime love of Madrid, becoming the go-to person for British news on Spanish TV, big stories in the busy newsroom in El Pais, the surprise abdication of King Juan Carlos, Spain’s mad politics, the eerie quiet over the city at the time of the 2004 bombings, the violent ETA period, spending ‘several years’ in Spanish nightclubs, beautiful beaches in Cadiz, arguing over sun loungers in Benidorm, old sherry bars and ‘la hora del Vermouth’ Simon’s fantastic ‘Walk & Eat’ tapas tours, oh and Simon’s new abs! So much to unpack there. Join us in Madrid now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbara Buczek spent ten years in the management team at the Port of Dover but over two years ago moved continents to establish Saudi’s new cruise scene with Cruise Saudi. Born in Poland she felt that travelling at an early age to Kentucky to attend a US high school gave her the travel bug. On this episode we talk about the special relationship with the UK have with Dover, the emotional tug of those white cliffs, how travelling by sea gives you a different perspective, feeling like she is living through history witnessing the cultural changes in Saudi, climbing to Everest Base Camp, jogging through a Taiwanese forest, the unbeatable feeling of running the London marathon and much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ash Bhardwaj travel-writer, film-maker & author of the new book Why We Travel is today’s wonderful guest – discussing… the rugby trip to New Zealand that changed his life, walking the Nile with his friend Levison Wood, getting dangerously lost Walking the Himalayas, the magical Sufi festival in the Sudanese desert,  the pilgrimage with his father’s ashes to the Ganges, an 8500km route through Russian borderlands, ayahuasca therapy in Geneva, the curiosity gene which makes people more likely to travel, the mindset of wonder and awe & much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Faisal Sheraiff, influencer and entrepreneur, lives in Saudi Arabia with his fashion designer wife and two children. He was born in the US to a diplomat father and an anthropologist mother and has travelled to 50 countries. We discuss Saudi’s changes and international tourism, living in Jeddah by the sea, beach days, coffee shops, large family gatherings, Cristiano Ronaldo, F1, tennis & golf, the bustling old markets in Jeddah and Riyadh, the dream-world desert landscapes of Alula and wanting to be the person that trawls ancient world markets and shipping back the antique artefacts but actually coming home with a fridge magnet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back for our new season and starting with an extra special episode recorded in the beautiful Maldivian resort of Dhigali where our presenter Lisa recently spent an idyllic week. Who better to give us a real look at life in the Maldives than resort manager Hassan Saeed who, having dropped out of school age 14 and one of 11 siblings, very quickly had to start start work. We talk growing up in the islands, happy days working in his grandfather’s tin workshop, how the arrival of tourism changed the Maldives, entering ‘a completely different world’ in tourism, spending a year at sea, being on a ferry at the time of the 2004 tsunami, navigating Covid, ‘island culture’s’ happy laid-back attitude, feeling incredibly proud of the beautiful resort he has helped create and the power of loving the community you live in.  Lisa travelled to Dhigali and Velassaru Universal Resorts with the wonderful Kuoni www.kuoni.co.uk. It was utter paradise! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are happy to announce the imminent arrival of our new season of episodes and as usual we have a few wonderful surprises for you – some on location episiodes from destinations as varied as Copenhagen to the Maldives – some new partners for sponsorship and also a very exciting annoucment as to what Lisa is up to with some travel plans that can also involve you! Yes you. Watch this space. In the meantime feel free to say hello on social media - Lisa Francesca Nand - and subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss us! x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello and welcome to The Big Travel Podcast Christmas Special 2023 special…featuring the Casual Birder Podcast’s Suzy Buttress on celebrating the winter solstice in Antartica, Countdown’s Rachel Riley and her husband’s post-Strictly wind down in the blue lagoon in Iceland, musician and writer Nitin Sawhney having a Hallmark picture perfect Christmas in the US, actor Warwick Davies being towed on sledges behind huskies in Lapland, motoring journalist Ben Oliver on a Marrakesh rooftop accompanied by the atmospheric sound of the call to prayer, singer songwriter Freya Ridings’ memorable childhood Christmases round the piano at her Nana’s house in Coventry and Robert Munns from charity Oceans of Hope UK, spending every Christmas with his parents in the same house in Northamptonshire and this year watching the KING’S speech! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nitin Sawhney’s Kent childhood included regular attacks by racists, but he threw himself into music, joining school friend James Taylor’s band. Flying to India via Kabul aged 8 he found himself a child mascot riding horseback through the streets, he felt liberated by Liverpool at university, he studied accountancy but ending up creating a hit comedy show with Sanjeev Bhaskar, he’s recorded with indigenous musicians the world over, including Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Spain, interviewed Nelson Mandela at his home in Johannesburg and worked with just about every important figure in modern day music. Discussing everything from the connection between Flamenco and Rajasthani gypsies, working with Gary Lineker and refugees on his new album, Identity, being withheld at security in LA before being sent to hospital and so much more.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Motoring journalist Ben Oliver was born amid the troubles in Belfast with the family moving to ‘slightly dull Reading’ when he was 6. On this episode we talk about his life-changing teen travels to Israel, Syria, Gaza & Kurdistan, the glory 90s and noughties days of magazine journalism, how LA porn sets are like a clinical operating room, driving an open-top Bentley up ‘the blood highway’ to the Arctic Circle in winter, the road sliding away in the Monsoon on an insane Himalayan trip in a Mini to the highest driving point in the world, North Korea being one of the most bizarre travel experiences, the joys of EVs and much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor Warwick Davis' first trip abroad was to California at the age of 11 to star in Star Wars, a big jump from his day to day childhood in Surrey. On this episode we talk…Carrie Fisher feeding him cookies in the Redwood forest, sweltering in a rubber head-mask in the deserts of Tunisia, being a Goblin with David Bowie, causing mayhem in India on An Idiot Abroad with Karl Pilkington, entering a panda enclosure dressed as a baby panda in China, family holidays in Dubai, the poignant trip to Auschwitz he made for his brilliant documentary The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz, the ‘majestic’ pencil museum in Cumbria and so much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rachel Riley, Maths expert, Gadget Show & Countdown host, MBE for services to Holocaust education grew up in Essex by way of Manchester. We talk about the astonishing story of her Jewish mother’s family escaping from what’s now Russia, the family member who was stabbed by a mounted Kossack and ended up a Gaucho in Argentina, taking in Ukrainian refuge, spontaneously marrying her Strictly co-star, Russian dancer Pasha Kovalev in Las Vegas, roping in Robbie Williams for the entertainment, wildlife watching in the Galapagos…using maths to get good travel deals and so much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Munns, CEO of sailing charity Oceans of Hope UK, left the graft and glamour of West End theatre for a life on the seas. He’d not long had a shock diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis when a chance encounter in a harbour changed the course of his future. Rob and Lisa talk West End theatre’s transformation, working with Madonna, happy days sailing the Med, the ‘raw shock’ of his diagnosis, the physical and emotional enormity of sailing across the Pacific (with or without MS!), committing to life again, watching other MS sufferers transform with sailing and how making conscious decisions (along with the more ‘floaty’ subconscious ones) can help us through even the most challenging of times.  You can find out about how to support Oceans of Hope by visiting their website www.oceansofhope.co.uk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Freya Ridings’ beautiful, heartfelt music, gives you a wonderful sense of her warm and open personality and you’re going to LOVE Freya’s stories here on the podcast; Learning to play on her Nana’s piano, growing up in a musical, talented family (her Dad is the voice of Daddy Pig!), Lost Without You being played on Love Island, getting engaged in Lake Como, battling back from Australia before lockdown, struggling to allow herself to travel for fun, but, how the beauty of travel allows for (and I quote) ‘time outside your environment to think new thoughts and have new ideas’. Full of wonderful thoughts, ideas and indeed music for the release of her new album Blood Orange, we are delighted to have Freya Ridings on the podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a passion for birding and indeed podcasting that lead Suzy Buttress to establish the wonderful Casual Birder podcast, for which she travels extensively, tracing birds and indeed other wildlife around the world. We discuss her recent expedition cruise to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica, dealing with anxiety when having heard two people sadly lost their lives on the same journey, how whale-watching in Baja California brought her to tears, the truly awesome experience of witnessing a solar eclipse in Oregon, feeling the fear and doing it anyway and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With… Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos in New Zealand, podcaster & author Iszi Lawrence in Australia, charity founder Kevin Chaplin in Cape Town, celebrity vet Marc Abraham building a sand Christmas tree in Thailand, author Hannah Bourne-Taylor rescuing a pangolin in the rainforest in Ghana, Hollywood actor Minnie Driver on beach Christmases in California, comedian & podcaster Cally Beaton ice skating in Central Park, singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt’s winter wonderland in Iceland, contemporary artist Firouz Farman Farmaian in the family riad in Marrakech, campaigner Jamie Klingler remembering Philadelphia book stores with her mom, Ibizan DJs The Mambo Brothers drinking cold beer on the beach in Rio, Hotelier Marc Rahola on family Christmas in Ibiza, international travel nanny Nanny Sharz in Jamaica, singer-songwriter Foy Vance wishing he’d not gone to Lanzarote, abandoned places explorer ‘Greg Abandoned’ on a Christmas nightclub romance in London and Big Brother star Pete Bennett with a drunk Santa in the Caribbean. What’s not to love??? Happy Christmas from us here at The Big Travel Podcast xx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Chaplin left behind his banking career to establish South Africa’s Ubuntu Foundation and rescue the Amy Foundation, named after American student, Amy Biehl, from bankruptcy. Kevin and I talk about growing up under apartheid, the hardship of life in the townships, the challenges faced by Cape Town’s children and young adults, taking a team of young singers to LA, taking a team of young hockey players to Northern Ireland, his book Can Do – Making the Impossible Possible and how the boys who killed Amy Biehl turned their lives around.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author, historian, comedian, podcaster and co-presenter of the travel that doesn’t actually go anywhere – ‘Your Place Or Mine’ with the wonderful Shaun Keavney – Izsi Lawrence is on the Big Travel Podcast. Iszi and Lisa talk… Britain’s most fixable landmarks, The British Museum, Ju Jitsu fighting suffragettes, de-colonising history, dinosaurs, earthworms, the slave trade, Charles Darwin, Bovril, flying solo to AUSTRALIA age 6, the Moroccan side of her family and so much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Michaelides finds it uncomfortable to call himself legendary, as one would, but he is indeed legendary in the music business…promoting acts including U2, The Stone Roses, David Bowie, New Order, The Police, Depeche Mode, Simply Red, Bob Marley, Massive Attack, REM, Matchbox Twenty, The Pixies, Elvis Costello, Genesis, Johnny Cash, Whitney Houston, Annie Lennox, Tom Petty, Peter Gabriel…and many more.  Born in Manchester he resolutely made it his mission to promote home grown bands and ended up creating a Sony Award winning music show on Manchester’s biggest commercial station. His book ‘Moments That Rock’ and the podcast of the same name regale some of his brilliant stories and you’re absolutely going to love him on this episode.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Instagram Expert, Creative Coach, Photographer and Author Sara Tasker spent lockdown obsessing about the perfect French house and if you follow her on @me_and_orla you know she’s an expert in making things look beautiful. We talk French bakeries, river beaches, Insta retreats, West Yorkshire, how she got into her work, the challenges she faces when travelling as a person with a disability, getting left on a plane due to her wheelchair in airports, growing up with parents that didn’t have passports, childhood holidays to Blackpool Pontins, our mutual embarrassment of ‘second home problems’ and so much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cyber Crime Expert, climber and caver Lisa Forte has been voted one of the 100 top women in tech, starting her career plotting against Somalian pirates in the Middle East. Having travelled extensively for both work and fun we talk offending the locals in South Korea, climbing frozen waterfalls in the Alps, scaling skyscraper-height granite in Kazakhstan, spending her 21st birthday on Kilimanjaro, the deeply humble experience of tracing journeys of long-ago Welsh miners deep underground, cyber security, getting attacked by a gang of squirrels and so much more…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt grew up half Swedish and half Scottish in a little Scottish village, kicking off her career age 15 on YouTube before very quickly making a name for herself. Nina talks about touring with Ed Sheeran and Example, overcoming stage fright, fainting in Hong Kong, the confusing familiarity of Australia, a surreal radio tour of the US, deep dish pizzas in Chicago, Philly cheese steaks, having her ex Ed Sheeran write a song about her and going straight to LA after recording this podcast to go on James Corden’s Late Late Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘Something special happens in Ibiza…’ say our guests on this episode and indeed it feels like this is true, especially for these lovely brothers. Born in Ibiza to a Scottish mum and Spanish Dad, with their parents’ Café Mambo attracting world famous faces from music, fashion, stage and screen, Christian and Alan Anadon aka Mambo Brothers, eagerly awaited boxes of the latest vinyls to be delivered from Scotland. We talk about their perpetual childhood on the magical island, touring the world as DJs and getting to know the soul of Brazil, Bali, Australia, Asia, Africa, the Americas, all over Europe to use these influences in their hotels, cafes and bars. Recorded at their wonderful Hostal De La Torre where the sunset is so beautiful it actually brought Lisa to tears, @mambobrothers @mamboibiza @latorreibiza Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ibizan hotelier Marc Rahola went from hotel telephone exchange boy to founder of a chain of boutique hotels and properties by, in his own words, making a series of happy accidents and mistakes. Od Hotels now have many properties all over Europe including the beautiful Ocean Drive Talamanca where Lisa and Marc have coffee and explore… how a Paris Hotel CD inspired Marc’s boutique hotel concept, expanding to the Cote D’Azure, Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, London and more, feeling at home in London’s Notting Hill, gigging with his band, Freddie Mercury and George Michael’s Ibiza, ALL the DJs, recommendations for hidden Ibiza and how Darwinian adaption and remaining curious can be the making of a game-changing business.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a series of tragic losses Mariellen Ward took a giant leap of faith and headed to India. Her six month plan has seen her now be there for almost 20 years, setting up the inspirational travel site, Breathe Dream Go and also tour company India For Beginners. We explore the alternative music scene in Canada, her year with a film director in Tokyo, the healing power of a warm breeze on a rather dangerously open-doored train through the golden light of the Indian countryside and also how, when your inner voice tells you to travel somewhere, you really should go.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Palin describes Trevor Dolby’s book, One Place de L'Eglise, as "a timeless story of what it is that makes France irresistible”. Former publisher, Trevor, and his wife Kaz discovered a medieval house in virtual ruins in Languedoc, just off the local village square and the resulting book, widely known as the new ‘Year in Provence’, follows them as they navigate language difficulties floods and freezing winters, colourful characters in the local bar…all with the backdrop of the scent of thyme and lavender, the warmth of sun on stone walls, nights hung with stars…and how they came to create the perfectly imperfect dream French home.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up in Northern Ireland, with his preacher father playing guitar and his granny always singing, for Foy Vance music and the nomadic lifestyle are somewhat ingrained. When Foy was a young boy his father moved the family to Oklahoma to build a church. Back in Northern Ireland he picked up the guitar and eventually immersed himself in the local music scene before moving to London (via a stint in Lanzarote!). He's travelled the US in search of music history, worshipped at the alter of Muscle Shoals, home-schooled his nine year old on a world tour with Ed Sheeran, hangs around with some of Hollywood’s royalty and, in true poetic style, calls a tiny village on the edge of the Highlands his ‘seabed’ home. A beautiful soul as well as one of our most heart-stirring singer song-writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the pandemic Jamie Klingler, underwent an incredible transformation from heavy-drinking party girl to sober, and losing 7 stone along the way. But it was the murder of Sarah Everard that led to her becoming the activist her mother always felt she should be and having co-founded Reclaim These Streets you’ll now see her all over the news battling for justice, women’s safety and more.  She grew up in Philadelphia, travelling the world working in media and events and was in the heart of New York City on 9/11. She’s traced her 3 adopted sisters’ heritage in China, spent time recovering in the Maldives, loves the Vietnamese fishing village of Hoi An, has followed in the footsteps of Steve Coogan in Italy and feels that fellow Americans need to travel more mindfully.  Watch Jamie’s inspirational Tedx here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtycbSeGp2I And find her here: https://jamieklingler.substack.com Athletic Greens, the ultimate daily nutritional supplement. To get a FREE one-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D, and 5 free travel packs with your first purchase, visit athleticgreens.com/bigtravel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Nand was just a young teen when the Beatles were at the start of their meteoric rise. Piling into her friend Jenny’s hearse to go watch the bands in The Cavern and other places across the city, hitching lifts home through the Mersey tunnel, being accidentally spat on the nose by none other than John Lennon, watching the debut performances of some of the UK’s most brilliant acts, rebelling on the Mersey Ferry, controversially dating then marrying Lisa's Indian-Fijian Dad and much more. Lisa talks to her mum in a home-coming trip to Liverpool and The Wirral! Athletic Greens, the ultimate daily nutritional supplement. To get a FREE one-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D, and 5 free travel packs with your first purchase, visit athleticgreens.com/bigtravel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might have seen recently a story that went viral, the woman who for three months let a baby bird nest in her hair. Of course the real story is a little bit more nuanced and to hear it directly from nature writer and conservationist Hannah Bourne-Taylor might well bring a little tear to your eye, On this episode, and in her book Fledging, Hannah tells the heart warming story of how, lonely and confused in Ghana, she rescued the little finch who in many ways actually rescued her.  This show wouldn't be possible without some amazing sponsors and for this episode our sponsor is the gorgeous jewellery brand Ana Luisa who create beautiful high quality jewellery using sustainable materials that - in every way – don’t cost the earth.   And we have a buy one get 40% discount for you by going to this link!  https://shop.analuisa.com/bigtravelpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marc Araham, OBE, aka Marc the Vet, was inspired by his Holocaust survivor grandmother to change UK law and dramatically improve how we treat our pets. He’s vaccinated dogs in Mumbai slums, rescued dancing bears in Ukraine, operated in Buddhist temples in post-tsunami Thailand, battled dog-meat farms in South Korea, travelled deep into the Amazon Jungle and even rehabilitated inmates with pit bulls in US prisons. Marc's new book 'Be More Mosquito: How You Can Campaign & Create Change' is out in June 2022. And he even brought donuts round to Lisa’s. What a guy!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stand-up comedian, star of comedy TV shows and host of the Namaste Mother******s Podcast, Cally Beaton, was a high flying TV exec until Joan Rivers noticed her comedic talent and gave her some life-changing advice. She’s partied at some of the world’s hottest events, knocked back Vodka with Madonna, refused to indulge Mariah’s puppies, narrowly avoided a panther on the loose in South Africa, almost been swallowed by a blizzard in Iceland after a boyfriend dumped her at the airport and much more. Recorded with Lisa in Malaga and Cally live from her laundry cupboard in Amsterdam.   www.callybeaton.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Nanny Sharz’ as she’s known is an international Nanny for the rich and famous, work which has taken her all over the world looking after other people’s children. Growing up in Birmingham and London she comes from a big, musical, cooking Jamaican family and has jetted away in private planes, had a pool in her hotel room, been escorted to reception by the Masai...all.in the likes of Tanzania, Nigeria, Oman, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Caribbean, all across the States and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On top of a building in Chernobyl, overlooking the destruction and devastation, Greg made a life-changing decision. From that moment on he would dedicate his life to exploring abandoned places, becoming 'Greg Abandoned'. He’s been shot at in Bulgaria, risked his life to trek to a Soviet-era abandoned space shuttle in Kazakhstan, explored countless deserted amusement parks in China and as a result has some of the most jaw dropping Instagram and YouTube footage and an incredible new book called Abandoned China. www.linktr.ee/gregabandoned Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lisa is utterly delighted to have Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos on the podcast to talk about growing up half Greek, the rock and rolls side of cheffing, how Franz Ferdinand partly emerged from a kitchen, Ethiopian instruments, Colombian bull’s testicle maracas, getting arrested as a spy in Moscow, being rushed to hospital in Budapest, learning how to say 'I have a peanut allergy' in every language, breaking down in a Lada on his way to his first Glastonbury and so much more.  Franz Ferdinand's greatest hits album Hits To The Head is also out this month. Get it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A childhood divided between her father’s home in Barbados and the cold grey of a wintery London gave Hollywood actor Minnie Driver a love for the laid-back sunshine of the coast of California. Minnie and Lisa talk America’s contrasts of rich and poor, the philosophy of travel, the highs and lows of boarding school, taking the train across Europe, getting beaten up in a bar in Greece, delivering food to stranded neighbours during the Malibu fires, exploring the Middle East with her documentary-maker partner and how she is happiest strumming away on her ukulele on a shady veranda in Hawaii.  Note: Lisa flew to LA with Virgin Atlantic and although she didn’t actually interview Minnie in LA (Minnie is recording in London and Lisa in Malaga, Spain) Lisa promised she would say thank you to the team at Virgin anyway as she had the BEST time on board and indeed in the sunshine in California. Anyway, as you were. (not a paid thing, just wanted to say thanks!). www.virginatlantic.com    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peace Activist and Nuclear Disarmament Expert, Dr. Rebecca Johnson, grew up in a Hutterite community in the rural US. After living in Japan and visiting Hiroshima she was moved to join the women’s peace camp at Greenham Common, protesting against nuclear weapons. She’s driven supplies into war-torn Bosnia, sailed the seas on Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior, worked with the UN in Geneva and spent time with the Fidel family in Cuba. In 2017 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside her ICAN team. Rebecca is also never far from the sea and a song and is a captivating story teller. An unmissable episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up on a Peckham council estate with his musician mother and a 'Lizzie-Anne the transvestite' childcarer led to Pete Bennett’s own love of quirk and music  Now an actor, director, voice over artist and of course musician (with his band Lovedogz), he first came to public attention in 2006’s Big Brother and really opened up the conversation about Tourette’s Syndrome. Pete tells hilarious stories about the crazy acid trip at a psychedelic rave which gave him a vision that he would win Big Brother, being suckered in by a stoned agent with nefarious intentions in Hollywood, surviving a forest fire on a weed farm in Santa Cruz, witnessing a chicken sacrifice in a Mexican church, narrowly avoiding eating a Golden Retriever in Vietnam and much more. A real treat of an episode with lots and lots of laughter. And LOTS of swearing! You have been warned. On this episode we talk:  Growing up on a council estate in Peckham  His musician mum touring with the Cure, Communards and Marc Almond Being brought up by a transvestite called Lizzie-Anne  Being threatened by ‘Fred the stick’ Not many serial killers called Bob Enjoying his Tourette’s  Swearing makes him happy  Dressing up in drag from a young age Martinique being like ‘Peckham on Sea’ Downtrodden and burnt out cars A natural progression for him to become a musician The crazy acid trip on which he predicted he would go on and win Big Brother (hold on for this one, it’s quite a ride!) How his friend's tragic death changed him Running around naked in a psychedelic trance rave  His beautiful experience spiralling to a vision of heaven Seeing Jim Carrey and Billy Idol in heaven  Hitting rock bottom after the trip Getting a vision of the Big Brother house and realising what he needed to do  The recent tragic loss of his former girlfriend and friend Nikki Grahame  Being invited to Hollywood by an agent  Who turned out to be a stoner with no contacts Finding Hollywood a dump  His job cutting weed on a farm in Santa Cruz Suddenly being engulfed by the snoke of a forest fire Thinking he was going to die in the fire Escaping in a truck over the top of the mountain  Mexico being the most beautiful place he has ever been  ‘Bright colours, midgets and everyone off their nut on tequila’   Dancing in the parades on the Mexican Day of the Dead  Watching a rather unusual chicken sacrifice in a church  Lisa’s brother doing gigs in cock-fighting rings in Mexico  Lisa and Pete not really knowing what a cock is (!) Golden Retrievers in cages in Vietnam  Eating a chilli burger and ending up in hospital  Being born because of an Indian curry  Wanting to go to India and eat all the chilli  Munching on cockroaches, duck’s head and jellified chicken feet  Singing us out to the Vietnamese ding dang dong song Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A year spent camping out in the bush in Cameroon led Will Bolsover from Natural World Safaris make travel his life’s work. From tracking tigers in Siberia, to finding hidden corners of Madagascar and most recently spending 48 minutes in the Antarctic followed by 11 nights in hotel quarantine…it’s not always straightforward but it certainly sounds absolutely magical.  www.naturalworldsafaris.com On this episode we talk: Launching Will’s own travel podcast for Natural World Safaris Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Polar Regions  From adventure through to luxury Guiding in Francophone Africa  Starting with primates and throwing in big cats and bears  The best way to see the Galapagos  How nobody combines being a vet and a priest How Madagascar is an unsung hero  Lisa’s low cultural references Up close and personal with wildlife in Madagascar  Lemurs bouncing across the lawns  The haunting calls of the teddy bear creature  Needing to be patient with the weather in the Polar regions  Spending 48 minutes in Antarctica!  Following by ten days in hotel quarantine outside Heathrow Hotel quarantine being not as bad as he worried it would be  Boling mulled wine in the kettle  Lisa finding home quarantine very difficult Doing a lot of solo travel  Tracking tigers in Siberia  Spending a year in the Bush in Cameroon  How the standout moment was going home! Building a football pitch The transient periods of travel can be challenging  How leaving on a plane can access intense feelings Balancing his work with children Swimming with whales in Sri Lanka And Sperm Whales in Dominica  How the community of conservationists is key  Stargazing in the middle of nowhere  The pandemic being a chance to re-set travel Travel bans affecting everyone from high end companies to the guides on the ground in Botswana  The travel industry needing industry-specific support  Morcheeba at sunset on the ridge of the Atlas Mountains www.naturalworldsafaris.com @willbolsover @portraitsonhumanity   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Authors Anne Sebba on the Royal abdication, Sathnam Sanghera's dismal Christmas restaurant, Lisa Jewell's Boney M in Barbados, adventurer Jamie Douglas-Hamilton rowing to the Antarctic, satirist Matt Forde in an NYC Irish bar, podcaster Olly Mann’s disappointing LA Santa, artist Firouz FarmanFarmaian Muslim Catholic Christmas in Marrakesh, adventurer Sam McManus's ancient Spanish fiesta, Festival promoter Huw Win's Thai rainforest & Nobel Peace Prize winner Rebecca Johnson's Christmas at Greenham Common. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Born in Tehran, the descendent of a nomadic tribe, Contemporary Artist Firouz FarmanFarmaian's family scattered after the Islamic Revolution. He grew up trekking mountains and deserts, touring with his Indie rock band and now with his internationally acclaimed art. With a gallery in Tarifa, Spain, and a new base in Athens, he travels the globe sourcing ideas and materials with craftswomen in remote regions and will be representing Kyrgyzstan at the Venice Biennale with the exhibition Gates of Turan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A journey through the maze of Marbella's 16th Century cobbled lanes surrounding the old 'Orange Square', encountering flamenco singers and opera stars and sampling some of the coast's most wonderful tapas. With tour guide Javier Gonzalez and staying at the stunning Anantara Villa Padierna Palace, with its classical Italian design and sophisticated yet arty vibe. Lisa stayed at the Anantara Villa Padierna Palace https://www.anantara.com/en/villa-padierna-marbella in Marbella courtesy of Anantara Hotels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian, political satirist and Spitting Image star Matt Forde talks accosting Billy Connolly in New York, 'dying' on stage in Luxemborg, pints of Carling in ex-pat clubs in Bahrain, Nick Leeson's luxury hotel dash around the world, spending 3 months locked in a first floor flat, an emotional pilgrimage to the Ghostbusters fire station, being the voice of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump (yes he does give us some excellent impressions) and posh people behaving badly on the podcast British Scandal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just as the world was closing Sam McManus from YellowWood Adventures took a daunting gamble and hopped on a plane to Costa Rica. We talk about how the pandemic can change travel (even for the better), tourism being potentially a means for good, eco-tourism and re-forestation, surfing, small pueblos in the green hills of Northern Spain, his wonderful travelogue about his explorations - Wax and Gold Journeys in Ethiopia & Other Roads Less Travelled - and feeling the pull of friends, family and home.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good news at least for those people who have had two UK administered vaccines. From 19th July we can now go to amber list countries without quarantining on return. BUT at the moment this is just for UK administered vaccines meaning the country is not yet open to inbound tourism. Travel needs to be two-way! We need people in the UK to support our business too. Whilst we are aware it needs to be done safely we also need to get aviation and travel moving even further. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Big Travel Podcast special on the latest UK Travel Update; the new rules, the changes in the traffic light ratings, vaccinations soon to be taken into account and much more. A ten minute episode of essential listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Olly Mann, from Answer Me This podcast fame, his new The Retrospectors and much more, loves nothing more than researching trivia especially with travel. We talk Wrigley’s chewing gum and decapitation, leaving your baby outside a pub, people who get erections on public transport, a love for Luton Airport, the misleading American Dream, cocktails worth shortening your life for, having a bottom accident on an African roadside (yes this episode does feature the S word) and much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Into The Wild Festival promoter Huw Wyn grew up in his mother’s hotel in Wales then moved to Spain. We talk growing up feral in Andalucia, hitchhiking across Europe, fish-packing in the Netherlands, Glastonbury, Arabian Nights in Cairo, the poetic side of being a London bin man, orphanages in India, Mother Theresa in Calcutta, meeting the Dalai Lama, studying Tibetan medicine in Scotland, the remote Buddhist kingdom in Ladakh, hitching 2000 miles through Nepal, Tom Hardy at his festival and much Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The author of one of Lisa’s favourite books, Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved and Died in the 1940s, Anne Sebba explores the lives of women ‘writers and fighters’. As a journalist and author she's worked in film-star-filled 70s Rome, moved to New York with a baby, camped in the Mexico desert with Wallis Simpson’s free-diving step-son, had her camera film thrown into the Ganges while tracing Mother Theresa and, for her most recent book on Ethel Rosenburg, to Belarus and Sing Sing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Internationally best-selling author Lisa Jewell is a Londoner through and through, yet her Anglo-Indian mother a rather traumatic upbringing in India. Lisa’s travelled far and wide – tracing her family roots in India, having rare-for-the-time childhood holidays in Barbados and was even inspired to centre one novel about an unknown woman sneaking into a posh beach resort in the south of France. But she’s in her holiday element when spending a couple of weeks chilling in a nice hotel in Lanzarote.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winning a Radio 1 competition age 15 to fly to LA first piqued Sathnam Sanghera’s taste for travel and journalism. His latest book EmpireLand: How Modern Britain is Shaped by its Imperial Past explores how the British Empire still shapes who we are. As well as the Empire, racism, Enoch Powell, Cambridge, 80s popular culture, the history of Brits Abroad and Boris Johnson needing therapy we chart Sathnam’s own journey from his Sikh community in Wolverhampton to journalist for The Times and more.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices