Welcome to The Escape Artist, a podcast for the culturally curious traveller. Each week travel journalist and photographer Edwina Hart interviews a special guest who has mastered the art of escape. The series explores how travel has influenced their lives and creative endeavours. Edwina is joined by an exciting line-up of artists, tastemakers and travel insiders whose love affair with travel will transport you to enchanting, far-flung corners of the globe. This podcast is pure escapism for those always dreaming of their next destination.
Today’s guest is one of the world’s greatest living photographers. So, in this very special season finale, we’re going to look at travel through the lens of the legendary visual storyteller Steve McCurry.
We’ll delve into the story behind the photograph that defined his career: the portrait of a young Afghan girl (Sharbat Gula) with her torn shawl and piercing green eyes that appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine in June 1985. It’s one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century and easily one of the most recognizable magazine covers ever printed. The portrait is likened to a modern-day Mona Lisa due to her captivating gaze.
Steve McCurry has captured many powerful and poetic photographs over an exceptional career that spans five decades. He’s devoted a lifetime to documenting the essence of humanity with a sharp focus on conflicts, vanishing culture and ancient traditions, as well as scenes from contemporary life.
His long-held fascination with photographing far-off places began when he quit his job at a local newspaper and bought a one-way ticket to India. In this episode, you’ll get a snapshot of Steve’s most memorable travel moments as we hitchhike across the USA, pick fruit on a kibbutz in Israel, swim with sea lions in the Galapagos and accidentally spend the night in a Buddhist monastery in Ladakh.
Of course, some of Steve’s adventures aren’t for the faint-hearted – he’s covered extreme weather events and warzones, survived a plane crash in Slovenia and got his big break as a photojournalist in 1979 after crossing the border into Afghanistan disguised as a mujahideen rebel.
STEVE McCURRY’S CULTURE GUIDE
Monsoon photo-essay in Life Magazine (1961) by Brian Brake
DESTINATION INSPIRATION
Ragusa, Sicily
Philadelphia
South Carolina
London
Stockholm
Amsterdam
Israel
India
Slovenia
Afghanistan
Chitral, Pakistan
Peshawar, Pakistan
The Galápagos Islands
Ladakh, India
Cuba
Mandalay, Myanmar
Iran
For a real visual treat visit stevemccurry.com or look out for Steve’s brand-new book In Search of Elsewhere, which is a unique and brilliant collection of previously unseen images from over forty years of travel. Buy it here.
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com
Thanks so much for listening to the podcast over the past few months. See you soon for more wild and whimsical adventures in 2021 for Season Two of The Escape Artist!
Escape with travel writer and author Sophy Roberts
Season 1 · Episode 13
Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • Duration 01:02:16
Today’s guest is British travel journalist and author Sophy Roberts.
It takes a special kind of person to hear the sentence ‘the lost pianos of Siberia’ uttered in casual conversation and have those words ignite an obsession that eventuates in a three-year odyssey across the vast, white wilderness of Siberia in search of a piano.
Sophy’s self-described ‘oddball quest’ is documented in her debut book The Lost Pianos of Siberia, which has been received with critical acclaim.
Sophy Roberts is one of the finest travel writers of our time, having carved out an exceptional career as an editor-at-large for titles such as Condé Nast Traveller and Departures magazine, and a columnist for the Financial Times' How to Spend it.
In recent years she’s felt a call to the wild, trading the glitzy hotels and glamorous getaways for a chance to tell untold stories from remote parts of the world, reporting on wildlife conservation, threats to eco-systems and fragile cultures.
SOPHY ROBERTS’ CULTURE GUIDE
The Road to Oxiana (book) by Robert Byron
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (book) by Laurie Lee
In Patagonia (book) by Bruce Chatwin
The Magic Faraway Tree (book) by Enid Blyton
The Story of Doctor Dolittle (book) by Hugh Lofting
The Secret Garden (book) by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Sakhalin Island (book) by Anton Chekhov
The Princess of Siberia (book) by Christine Sutherland
DESTINATION INSPIRATION
West Dorset, England
Andalucía, Spain
Escape with travel blogger Brooke Saward
Season 1 · Episode 4
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 • Duration 50:53
Today’s guest is one of the world’s most successful travel bloggers, Brooke Saward.
Brooke’s journey began when she started documenting her holidays on her blog World of Wanderlust back in 2012. The adventures of the Australian-born blogger have been followed by millions of readers across the globe.
Brooke’s travel tales will take you on a whirlwind journey from her quiet life in Tasmania to the electrifying city of Hong Kong, where she first caught the travel bug. Since then she’s visited over 70 countries and has relocated to Cape Town as a result of a storybook-style romance on an African safari.
Escape with TV chef and cookbook author Rachel Khoo
Season 1 · Episode 3
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 • Duration 25:10
Today’s guest launched an incredible culinary career from a tiny Parisian apartment.
Rachel Khoo is a British cookbook author and TV chef who packed up her life in London to pursue her dream of studying pâtisserie at the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris.
In 2012, Rachel became a household name with her bestselling cookbook, The Little Paris Kitchen, but it was her hit BBC TV show that had us falling head over heels for Rachel’s vintage style, Parisian lifestyle and simple French fare served with creative flair. Numerous cookbooks and television shows have since followed.
In the latest chapter of her gastronomic adventures, Rachel has bid au revoir to France and traded croissants for cardamom buns as she’s now settled in Stockholm. Her culinary journey takes us from the snow-capped Austrian Alps to deep within the Malaysian jungle. She also shares her fascination with Tokyo’s convenience stores and her love of long summer days spent foraging for cloudberries in the Swedish forests.
Today’s guest is internationally-acclaimed architect Bill Bensley.
It’s very likely that at some point on your travels you’ve come across a hotel that was dreamt up by the innovative Bangkok-based hotel designer. Bill Bensley’s work spans over 200 resorts and hotels in more than 30 countries, and he is famous for his eclectic, extravagant and eco-conscious designs. His signature style features flamboyant flourishes, up-cycled antiques and lush gardens.
Recently, Capella Ubud in Bali was named as Travel + Leisure’s ‘best hotel in the world’ for 2020, and his own Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild won ‘best new hotel in Asia’ in Conde Nast Traveler’s Hot List last year.
He’s a self-described “wide-ranging explorer” and his travel adventures will take you from the bustling streets of Bangkok to the endless expanse of Mongolia. Be warned, you better buckle up for this episode, as we ascend to dizzying heights with a haphazard hot air balloon journey across Burma and a flight over Peru’s mysterious Nazca Lines that doesn’t quite go to plan!
I'm excited to announce that our very first escape artist for the inaugural episode of the podcast is the 'Queen of Scents', perfumer Jo Malone CBE.
Most of us immortalise our favourite travel moments with a photograph, but my guest today captures the essence of a place... by bottling it as a fragrance.
Jo Malone’s extraordinary sense of smell and passion for perfume made her one of Britain’s most iconic figures in the beauty industry. Her travel stories take us from the jasmine-scented streets in the South of France, to the spice souks of Dubai, the mountains of Montana, and Jordan’s ancient ruins. Jo’s breathtaking fragrances are directly inspired by her aroma-fuelled adventures all over the world.
JO MALONE’S CULTURE GUIDE
Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
An Elephant in my Kitchen by Françoise Malby-Anthony
Welcome to The Escape Artist, a brand new podcast for the culturally curious traveller.
Each week, join Australian travel journalist and photographer, Edwina Hart, in conversation with a special guest who has mastered the art of escape. Season 1 promises an exciting line up of artists, tastemakers and travel insiders whose love affair with travel will transport you to exotic, far-flung corners of the globe.
We’ll unpack how travel has influenced their lives and creative endeavours. Each episode takes you on an enchanting journey through the guest's most memorable travel encounters, as they share the destinations that spark their imaginations and the ways in which travel inspires them.
Today’s guest Rhiannon Taylor is one of Australia’s most sought-after travel photographers. With a keen sense of style and an eye for design, she’s been a go-to editorial photographer for glossy magazines for almost a decade contributing to titles such as Condé Nast Traveler, Gourmet Traveller, Time, Vogue Living and Architectural Digest.
Meanwhile, her wildly successful blog, In Bed With, beautifully curates the most unique hotels from around the world.
If you’ve ever scrolled through Pinterest and found yourself in a daze of dreamy hotel suites in exotic locations – you’ve probably come across Rhiannon Taylor.
Name any extravagant form of accommodation and she’s probably stayed there - African safari lodges, fairy tale palaces in India, Greek villas, Italian villages and ranches in Texan cowboy country. Then add Hong Kong high-rises, overwater bungalows in the Maldives and luxury tented camps set in the Australian outback. She’s certainly seen her fair share of canopied beds, French freestanding bathtubs, infinity pools and buffet breakfasts.
Just wait until you hear her pick for the most romantic hotel on the planet!
CULTURE GUIDE
The Darjeeling Limited (film) by Wes Anderson
Murder on the Orient Express (book) by Agatha Christie
Today’s guest is the tea-loving Londoner Henrietta Lovell, also known as 'The Rare Tea Lady’. Who, for the last 20 years, has traversed the globe in search of the world’s most exquisite teas.
Henrietta’s love of loose-leaf tea was awakened when a highflying corporate job took her to the dazzling harbour of Hong Kong, where a single sip of oolong transformed her life. She was seduced by the extraordinary flavour and set out to revolutionise the way we drink tea in the West by starting the Rare Tea Company.
Since then she has worked alongside the most celebrated chefs, such as Noma’s René Redzepi, Heston Blumenthal and Momofuku’s David Chang – who all seek her expertise in tea.
Henrietta’s quest to source leaves directly from farmers and connect with tea growing communities has enticed her to estates in some of the most remote and unlikely of places. Pop the kettle on and make a cuppa because I can feel a rather enchanting episode brewing!
Lonely Planet is a guidebook publishing empire that has shaped the travels of millions of people around the globe. Today’s guest is the founder of Lonely Planet, Tony Wheeler. He has been described by The New York Times as ‘the trailblazing patron saint of the world’s backpackers and adventure travellers’.
It all began when Tony Wheeler and his wife Maureen embarked on an overland odyssey driving a banged-up old car along the ‘Hippie Trail’; a popular route for free-spirits in the 1960s and 70s from Europe to Freak Street in Kathmandu. The Wheelers eventually arrived in Australia with only a few cents left in their pockets
Little did they know when they set off, that their adventure halfway across the world would take them on a much bigger journey from printing the first Lonely Planet pamphlet ‘Across Asia on the Cheap’ in 1973 to building a multi-million-dollar travel publishing giant.
TONY WHEELER’S CULTURE GUIDE
Space Captain (1970 song) by Jo Cocker ("Once I was traveling across the sky, this lovely planet caught my eye")
Siberia (using Anton Chekhov's description: 'The plain of Siberia begins, I think, from Ekaterinburg, and ends goodness knows where’)
Kamchatka, Russia
The Altai Mountains, Mongolia
Lake Baikal, Russia
The Kuril Islands
Taiga, Russia
The Trans-Siberian Railway
Socotra Island, Yemen
Curious to know if Sophy finds the piano she’s been searching for? Visit thelostpianosofsiberia.com or you can buy the book here.
Please support your local bookshop if you can! Independent bookstores are really struggling at the moment, let's keep them in business this Christmas!!
You might also like to follow sophy_roberts on Instagram, she takes spellbinding photographs on her travels.
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com
Join me next week for the final episode of The Escape Artist Season 1!
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit escapeartistpodcast.com
See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist!
If you’re interested in exploring whether going vegan will save the planet, you can find Rachel Khoo's new 8-part podcast series A Carnivore’s Crisis available on Audible. You can also keep up to date with her latest projects at rachelkhoo.com
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com
See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist!
You can learn more about Bill Bensley's design portfolio, conservation efforts and philanthropic projects at BENSLEY.
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com
See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist!
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com
See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist!
I thoroughly recommend visiting Rhiannon's blog In Bed With for a dose of escapism or keep up with the latest in boutique hotels on Instagram at @inbedwith.me
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com
See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist!
If our conversation has given you a taste for quality tea you can visit rareteacompany.com or uncover more of her stories in Henrietta's beautiful book 'Infused: Adventures in Tea' available here.
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com
See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist!
If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe, rate and review so others can discover this podcast as well. If you’re looking for some more travel inspiration, you can find me on Instagram @escape.artist.podcast or visit www.escapeartistpodcast.com
See you next week for another episode of The Escape Artist!
Discover shows related to The Escape Artist Travel Podcast, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
