Hear the surprising stories that drew him worldwide and what reporting from overlooked places taught him about travel. ============================ 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 Travel journalist and full-time digital nomad Joel Balsam joins Matt over a bottle of wine. He talks about his upbringing in Canada as the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and how that shaped his politics, his values, and his curiosity about the world. Matt and Joel discuss what they love about Bolivia and Joel shares his path to becoming a professional travel journalist. Joel then talks about some of the most interesting stories he has covered from the Creole Black cowboys in the American South, to surfing bore tidal waves in the Amazon, to venomous snakes that could cure cancer, to the mysterious naked night runners of western Kenya. He also shares his lessons on the politics, history, and travel experiences he had while writing the Lonely Planet guidebooks for Armenia as well as Albania and Kosovo. → 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!

Chasing the World's Most Interesting Stories as a Travel Journalist with Joel Balsam (Ep 266)

Spotify

Apple

Youtube Music

Amazon

Pocket Casts

CastBox

Podcast Addict

Hear the surprising stories that drew him worldwide and what reporting from overlooked places taught him about travel.  ============================  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  Travel journalist and full-time digital nomad Joel Balsam joins Matt over a bottle of wine.  He talks about his upbringing in Canada as the grandson of a Holocaust survivor and how that shaped his politics, his values, and his curiosity about the world.  Matt and Joel discuss what they love about Bolivia and Joel shares his path to becoming a professional travel journalist.  Joel then talks about some of the most interesting stories he has covered from the Creole Black cowboys in the American South, to surfing bore tidal waves in the Amazon, to venomous snakes that could cure cancer, to the mysterious naked night runners of western Kenya. He also shares his lessons on the politics, history, and travel experiences he had while writing the Lonely Planet guidebooks for Armenia as well as Albania and Kosovo.  → 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

All episodes