Happy New Year!

Today, we're speaking with Dr. Anu Taranath, a speaker, facilitator, and faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she teaches about global literature, race, and equity, and directs study abroad programs on human rights.

Anu is the author of Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World, a book that puts our movement across the world in a larger context of systems of power. She also writes a column for AFAR Magazine.

We're closing the year with a conversation that's full of lightness, joy, and delight. I hope you enjoy it!

Reminder:

We are running a 10-day trip to Jordan from June 5-14, 2026. We'll visit the Dead Sea, Petra, Wadi Rum, Amman, and many off-beaten spots in between. We'll meet a renowned artist who designed the country's newest currency, spend time with the Bedouins in the desert, and more.

Go to https://goingplacesmedia.com/jordan for details on early-bird booking, which ends on Jan 4, 2026.

Going Places is an audience-supported platform. You can become a member for as little as $6 a month. Visit us at goingplacesmedia.com to learn more.

Thanks to our Founding Members:

RISE Travel Institute, a nonprofit with a mission to create a more just and equitable world through travel education
Radostina Boseva, a film wedding photographer with an editorial flair based in San Francisco

Today is the last episode of the season! Thank you so much for listening. We’re taking a break and will be back with new episodes this Spring.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

The origins of Anu's justice work: too foreign to be an American
Growing up in a South Asian family in Texas
How Anu creates spaces of belonging from New York to New Delhi
What the hyper-individualistic U.S. culture teaches us about community
The politics of travel: how power structures shape the way we travel
Anu reads an excerpt from her book
Helmet-to-cheek: looking for sweetness, lightness, and joy wherever we go

Featured on the show:

Follow Anu on Instagram: @dr.anutaranath
Read Anu's book, Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel In an Unequal World
Check out Anu's column at AFAR Magazine
Watch our panel with Anu: Travel, Power, and the Role of Creators in a World on Fire
Join me in Jordan next June

Going Places is a reader-supported platform. Get membership perks like a monthly group call with Yulia at goingplacesmedia.com!

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

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Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more.

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.