Podcast
Speaking of Travel® With Marilyn Ball
Hosted by Marilyn Ball · EN
Founded in 2013, Speaking of Travel is a media platform dedicated to meaningful, responsible travel storytelling. Through conversations with global explorers, conservation leaders, cultural visionaries, world-changers, musicians, historians, conservationists, industry leaders, and everyday adventurers, we explore how travel connects people, preserves culture, and protects the planet.
After a decade of global change, including a pandemic and climate-driven disruptions, Speaking of Travel continues to lead the conversation on travel as a force for good.
Listen in, dream big, and let’s explore the world together. Because remember, life is short. Don't postpone joy!
Subscribe now and let the journey change you. 🌍✈️
31episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Quiet Magic Of The NC Arboretum With Drake Fowler
5d ago00:48:37Tap to summarizeSome places do not ask for your attention. They change you quietly.You arrive carrying noise, deadlines, distractions and the weight of everyday life. And then somewhere between the trees, the silence, the air itself, something begins to soften. You remember there is another way to live in the world. More connected. More awake. More human.This episode of Speaking of Travel lives inside that feeling.What unfolds here is more than a discussion about nature or stewardship. It is a reflection on presence, on caring deeply for the land and for one another, and on the quiet power of creating spaces where people can reconnect to something larger than themselves.Drake Fowler, Executive Director of The North Carolina Arboretum, brings a rare kind of humanity to this conversation... thoughtful, grounded, compassionate, and deeply aware of the relationship between the natural world and the human spirit. You can hear the sincerity in his story and feel the intention behind the work being done.At the heart of this episode is a sacred connection and understanding that nature is not separate from us, but essential to who we are as human beings. Through stories, reflections, and insight, we explore the ways wild spaces can restore us and reconnect us to ourselves and to each other.This conversation is filled with authenticity and quiet wisdom and reminds us that places created with intention and care can become sanctuaries where people feel seen and are welcomed. Through education, conservation, and community connection, the NC Arboretum has become a place where nature and humanity meet in meaningful ways.Drake extends the invitation to listen more closely. To reconnect with the earth. To honor stillness. To lead with kindness. And to remember that being fully human often begins by returning to the natural world around us.This is a beautiful and heartfelt conversation that will leave you inspired and comforted. And perhaps seeing the world a little differently.Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
Bassoonist Frank Morelli And The Journey Of A Life Well Played
2w ago00:48:01Tap to summarizeSome conversations stay with you because of what a person has accomplished. Others stay with you because of who that person became along the way. Internationally acclaimed bassoonist Frank Morelli is both. His story is about far more than music. It’s about what happens when a lifetime of dedication shapes not only an artist, but a human being.There’s something deeply moving about a person who spends a lifetime devoted to music and still meets the world with humility and a genuine sense of wonder. In this heartfelt episode of Speaking of Travel, Frank reflects on the deeper journey behind a life in music and the ways it shaped not only his career, but his understanding of purpose and gratitude.For more than 60 years, Frank’s path has carried him around the world, from concert halls and international performances to decades spent mentoring and encouraging young musicians. Yet what stands out most is not simply his remarkable career, but the kindness and sincerity he brings to every part of his life.There is a gentleness in Frank that immediately puts people at ease. Even after years of recognition and accomplishment, he remains deeply grateful for the experiences music has given him. His love for teaching shines throughout this episode, along with his belief that music can open hearts and create connection in ways few things can.This conversation moves beyond performance and into something far more human. It becomes a reflection on what happens when someone continues evolving through every season of life.“The longer I’ve lived with music, the less it feels like performance and the more it feels like gratitude.”Frank Morelli continues to inspire not only through his artistry, but through the quiet grace and humanity he brings to the world around him. 💕Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
The Asheville Regional Airport Reflects The Heart Of Western North Carolina
3w ago00:48:29Tap to summarizeThere’s something deeper unfolding at the Asheville Regional Airport and you can feel it the moment you step into this conversation with Angi Daus, VP of Air Service and Corporate Communications.This isn’t surface-level support. It’s a lived commitment to Western North Carolina, shaped through real relationships and a genuine presence in the community that shows up in how they collaborate and how they listen. And how they continue to grow alongside the people and businesses around them.As the airport continues through a major expansion and transformation, Angi shares how every step forward is being approached with intention. It’s not simply about building for today’s demand. They're creating an airport experience that reflects the future of the region while staying connected to the people who make this community so special.What really stays with you is how much they care about their partners and the steady focus on creating opportunity that reaches beyond the airport itself and into the lives of the people who call this place home.As Angi shares, “This community is at the heart of everything we do. When we grow, we’re growing together. And that’s what matters most.”This episode of Speaking of Travel opens the door to something bigger than travel. This is about connection that feels real and leadership that stays grounded. It’s about what becomes possible when people show up for each other in a meaningful way. ❤️A must listen! Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
Bryan Lewis Of Tenon Tours On Going Beyond the Destination
4w ago00:42:38Tap to summarizeThere’s a moment in travel, maybe you’ve felt it, when everything shifts. The view is stunning, but that’s not what stays with you. It’s the feeling. A quiet awakening that expands the world in front of you while something inside you expands, too.On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we step into that space where travel stops being about the plan and becomes a way of seeing and living. It becomes a way of loving the world with more courage and intention.Tenon Tours founder Bryan Lewis understands that shift in a deeply personal way. His story didn’t start with meaning but rather with movement. College trips filled with energy and spontaneity. Sun-soaked beaches and fast-paced adventure. Travel as escape. Travel as fun. Until it became something more.A transformative experience in France opened a deeper way of seeing. Then came a journey that changed everything... traveling to Russia to adopt two of his children. Not as a visitor, but as a father stepping into uncertainty, emotion, and connection that needed no translation.Those moments didn’t just shape his life, they shaped his purpose.What if travel could do more than show us the world? What if it could soften us and stretch us? What if it could challenge us in ways that bring us closer to each other and to ourselves?This conversation lives in that possibility. It’s about letting go of the checklist and choosing connection. It’s about releasing the need for perfection and embracing presence. It’s about stepping beyond certainty and staying open to curiosity.In Bryan's words, "The most powerful journeys aren’t measured. They’re felt in the moments that change how you see everything."Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
Indigenous Food, Modern Impact: A Conversation with Chef Nathan Davis
Apr 2400:48:36Tap to summarizeOn this episode of Speaking of Travel, we move beyond destinations and into something deeply human... food as a living expression of memory, identity, and belonging. Chef Nathan Davis shares his story shaped by the land, where hunting, fishing, and foraging were not choices, but teachings guiding him to understand food as relationship, responsibility, and respect.With formal training from Le Cordon Bleu, Nathan learned the language of technique. But it is his return to Indigenous foodways that gives his work meaning. His journey is one of integration, where tradition and innovation don’t compete, but inform one another. Through food, he is reclaiming culture, preserving knowledge, and creating space for stories that have always been there.Beyond the plate, his work with the American Indian College Fund reflects a deeper purpose expanding access to education and opportunity for Indigenous communities. Because when one person gains access, it doesn’t stop there. It becomes a ripple across generations.This conversation invites us to consider food not just as something we consume, but something that connects us to land, to history, and to each other. It reminds us that when we gather around a table with intention, we’re not just sharing a meal, we’re restoring relationship.As Nathan so beautifully says, “Food isn’t just what we eat. It’s who we are, where we come from, and how we remember.”Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
Connecting Cultures Across The Middle East With Rihab Abouzaki
Apr 2000:42:20Tap to summarizeIn a time shaped by rapid change and constant headlines, this conversation invites us to pause, to listen, and to look beyond perception into lived experience.My guest, Rihab Abouzaki, is an advertising strategist and Director of This N That Communications. She works at the intersection of culture, business, and global storytelling. Moving between the United States and the Gulf region, she brings a perspective rooted not just in strategy, but in humanity.Together we explore the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), made up of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, a region often viewed from a distance, yet deeply layered and evolving.We talk about what daily life actually feels like right now. About safety, continuity, and the quiet resilience found in ordinary moments, with good people going to work, families gathering, and communities caring for one another even while living near uncertainty.We also step into the spirit of the UAE through places like Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Dubai Frame, and the Museum of the Future, spaces that reflect both imagination and identity, honoring tradition while leaning boldly into what’s next.This conversation moves beyond headlines into something more human. It’s about perception and reality, about connection in times of tension, and about the small, meaningful ways people continue to show up for one another. It’s a reminder that travel can be more than movement and become an understanding, a bridge between worlds, and a way of seeing each other more clearly.A must listen! Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
Italy’s Lost Women Artists Are Being Found And Rewritten Into History
Apr 1500:46:31Tap to summarizeThere’s something quietly extraordinary unfolding in Italy, inside museums, churches, and hidden archives where history has long rested in silence.For centuries, luminous works of art created by women were tucked away, overlooked, or forgotten. Not because they lacked brilliance, but because their stories were never fully told. And still, they remained, waiting, holding their place in time.Today, that silence is beginning to lift.In this episode of Speaking of Travel, we’re joined by Jane Adams, co-founder and CEO of Artemisia Gold, and Susan Glimcher, whose work is helping to gently return these artists, and their voices, back into the world.As Jane shares, “It feels less like discovering something new, and more like listening… as if these women have been speaking all along, and we are finally quiet enough to hear them.”Together, they reflect on the beauty and emotion of restoration, not just of paintings, but of presence. Of stories re-emerging. We also explore the enduring legacy of Artemisia Gentileschi, whose life and work continue to resonate so deeply today, reminding us of the strength and resilience of women throughout history.This is more than art. It’s a return. A remembering. A quiet but undeniable shift in how we see, and who we choose to see, when we look at history. And now, as this movement grows, Italy opens its doors and invites you to step into these stories and witness history alive again.Ciao! Ciao! Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
Travel, Stories, And The Threads That Bring Us Together With Yoon Kim
Apr 800:43:05Tap to summarizeSometimes it’s not one big moment that shapes us, but a series of experiences that quietly stay, like traveling far from home at a young age, listening to stories passed down at the kitchen table, beginning to understand that where we come from carries more meaning over time.In this episode, I’m joined by Yoon Kim, a journalist, storyteller, and event producer whose work is grounded in curiosity and connection. His path has taken him across cultures and continents, but what stands out most is how he listens for the nuance, the history, and the humanity inside every story.We talk about his early travels with his father to places that felt both distant and eye-opening, and how those experiences shaped not just his worldview, but the kinds of questions he asks today in his journalism. There’s a depth to the way Yoon approaches storytelling, a sense that the real story is often just beneath the surface.At the center of our conversation are his grandparents and their work with the White Lamb textile factory, where fleeced cotton was first commercialized in the 50's. What begins as a story about innovation unfolds into a reflection on resilience, creativity, and the quiet influence of a life lived with purpose.Yoon also leads the Outdoor Media Summit, a gathering that brings together journalists, creators, and brands in the outdoor industry. We explore how his work in the industry continues to evolve, and why creating space for meaningful storytelling feels more important than ever.This is a conversation about paying attention to the stories that shape us, and recognizing their value while we’re still close enough to hold onto them.Only on Speaking of Travel! Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
Ketch Secor Of Old Crow Medicine Show Is Pure Soul
Mar 3100:45:03Tap to summarizeSome journeys don’t begin with a plan. Some just begin with a song, a street corner, a moment that simply says go.In this episode of Speaking of Travel, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, shares a life shaped by following the music and trusting where it leads. What stays with you isn’t just the story of the road. It's more the way he moves through the world.From busking days to the guidance of Doc Watson and the deep roots of MerleFest, this conversation opens into something more personal. Ketch speaks to honoring tradition while letting it breathe. Listening closely and remembering that music isn’t ours to own, but ours to carry and hold with care.There’s a steadiness in him. A generosity. A belief that art can hold people together in ways nothing else quite can.And when he says, “When you go into the tent, magical things happen,” you feel what he means. It’s that shared space where people come as they are and leave a little more connected. Where something simple becomes meaningful because we experience it together.This one lingers.It reminds us the world feels better when we show up open and when we let the music lead.A must listen! Only on Speaking of Travel. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →
Leave No Trace TV Shows Us How To Travel With Purpose
Mar 2800:43:04Tap to summarizeWhat if the way we travel could actually help restore the planet instead of slowly wearing it down? On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we explore how every choice we make, where we go, how we move, where we stay, and how we show up, creates a lasting impact. Travel today is no longer just about seeing the world. Each of us has a responsibility to care for it and protect it. And we must become more conscious of the footprint we leave behind.Join me in welcoming back Richard Crawford (Ricky), creator of Leave No Trace TV, whose work sits at the intersection of adventure, conservation, and responsible travel. Through his experiences around the world, Ricky shares what it really means to “leave no trace," not just as an outdoor ethic, but as a mindset and way of living. Together we talk about the difference between tourism that gives back and tourism that takes, how to recognize authentic sustainability, and why slowing down may be one of the most powerful ways to travel more intentionally.We also dive into the real changes happening across the planet, from environmental shifts to the growing responsibility of travelers and storytellers alike. If you’ve ever wondered how your travels can create something meaningful, this conversation is a great place to begin. It’s about moving through the world with awareness and realizing that every choice we make along the way carries weight.A must listen! 🎧Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.
Transcribe →