Hear how surviving political violence reshaped his ideas about privilege, impact, and designing a more intentional life. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Jonathan Kalan takes us on his journey of international travel, journalism, entrepreneurship and co-founding “Unsettled”—a global travel community of 2,000+ people from 80+ countries who are redefining the terms of their own work and lifestyle. Jonathan explains how, after college, he moved to Tanzania to open a pizza shop, and eventually transitioned into international journalism for major outlets like the BBC, Al Jazeera, and New York Times. After unexpectedly getting caught up in both the Egyptian coup in 2013 and the Al Shebab attack on the WestGate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, and seeing dozens of people get killed, he began heavily reflecting on his ‘privilege’ and how he could make the biggest impact on the world. He tells the story of meeting his co-founder and ultimately doing a TED Residency to incubate the idea for his company “Unsettled”, and delivering a TED Talk at the end that. Jonathan then talks about the evolution of Unsettled, the steps taken to prioritize diversity and to ensure that participants are connected with locals in the ground, and how they facilitate that in places like Beirut, Lebanon. He then explains the types of travel experiences currently offered by Unsettled for one week, two weeks, and month-long durations. He then explains Unsettled’s virtual “Lifestyle Incubator” program that helps participants audit themselves, envision their ideal career and lifestyle, and then create an achievable action plan with timeline and accountability mechanisms to achieve it. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU See my Top 10 Travel Apps See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

"Unsettled" Co-Founder Jonathan Kalan on Building Lifestyle Incubators and Organizing Transformative Travel Adventures (Ep 73)

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Hear how surviving political violence reshaped his ideas about privilege, impact, and designing a more intentional life.  ============================  Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.  ============================  ON THIS EPISODE  Jonathan Kalan takes us on his journey of international travel, journalism, entrepreneurship and co-founding “Unsettled”—a global travel community of 2,000+ people from 80+ countries who are redefining the terms of their own work and lifestyle.  Jonathan explains how, after college, he moved to Tanzania to open a pizza shop, and eventually transitioned into international journalism for major outlets like the BBC, Al Jazeera, and New York Times. After unexpectedly getting caught up in both the Egyptian coup in 2013 and the Al Shebab attack on the WestGate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, and seeing dozens of people get killed, he began heavily reflecting on his ‘privilege’ and how he could make the biggest impact on the world.  He tells the story of meeting his co-founder and ultimately doing a TED Residency to incubate the idea for his company “Unsettled”, and delivering a TED Talk at the end that. Jonathan then talks about the evolution of Unsettled, the steps taken to prioritize diversity and to ensure that participants are connected with locals in the ground, and how they facilitate that in places like Beirut, Lebanon. He then explains the types of travel experiences currently offered by Unsettled for one week, two weeks, and month-long durations.  He then explains Unsettled’s virtual “Lifestyle Incubator” program that helps participants audit themselves, envision their ideal career and lifestyle, and then create an achievable action plan with timeline and accountability mechanisms to achieve it.  → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.  ============================  FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE  Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.  ============================  FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU  See my Top 10 Travel Apps  See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel  See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)  Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn  See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend  See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)  ============================  ENJOYING THE SHOW?  Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation  Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally  Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

The Maverick Show is a global travel podcast about what really happens when people cross borders and build lives across cultures. Hosted by full-time world traveler Matt Bowles, each episode features intimate, unfiltered conversations (often over a bottle of wine) exploring the human stories behind global travel and what the journey teaches us about the world and ourselves.  Guests include expats, digital nomads, women and diaspora storytellers, worldschooling families, and human rights advocates, all sharing travel stories that are funny, moving, and deeply human.  In addition to hearing about extraordinary places and the people who live there, you’ll learn what it’s really like to move abroad, build an expat life, or travel long-term, as guests open up about their personal journeys navigating culture, race, power, identity, and belonging in an unequal world. If you’ve ever felt that travel changes you in ways no one talks about, you’re in the right place.  The Maverick Show hit the Top 100 on Apple Podcasts (including #1 in Places & Travel), was ranked in the Top 1% of podcasts globally by Listen Notes, and was named the #1 Digital Nomad Podcast and #1 Remote Work Podcast by Million Podcasts — with hundreds of five-star listener reviews.

The Maverick Show: Global Travel Stories & Life Beyond Borders

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