The One Way Ticket Show – Details, episodes & analysis

Sophie Ibbotson is a Central Asia specialist who has worked in the region since 2008, focusing on economic development — in particular tourism development — and water security. Through her company Maximum Exposure, she is a consultant to national governments and to the World Bank, and is Uzbekistan’s Tourism Ambassador to the UK. 

Sophie is the author of six guidebooks for Bradt Travel Guides, and has written for Lonely Planet, National Geographic Traveller, and Culture Trip, amongst many other publications. 

She is also Chairman of the UK’s Royal Society for Asian Affairs, founded in 1901 as the Central Asia Society. 

On this episode of the show, Sophie shares her one way ticket destination is to Samarkand in the early 1420s, when Ulugbek - a grandson of Amir Timur (Tamerlane) - was governor. Sophie points out that at this point, before he became the Timurid Emperor, Ulugbek had just finished constructing his madrassa and astronomical observatory, solidifying Samarkand as one of the great intellectual and cultural centers of the Islamic world. 

In our conversation, Sophie also highlights:

• What surprises most visitors to Uzbekistan
• Why the Registan (central square) in Samarkand is one of the top 5 places in the world to visit along with Angkor Wat and the Taj Mahal
• Tashkent’s dazzling subway
• Bukhara's unique Jewish community and the city as the most beautiful on the Silk Road
• The backstory behind suzani textiles
• The world’s second largest collection of Russian avant-garde art is housed in the Savitsky Museum in the Karakalpakstan capital of Nukus (thus making it known as the Louvre of the Steppe!)
• The gem that is the walled city of Khiva
• What makes Sudan such a fascinating destination – apart from it having more pyramids than Egypt.

We wind down the conversation with Sophie sharing her philosophy on travel which is: “If you have the opportunity, go”! 

Follow Sophie on Instagram & X: @uzambassador

For more on Sophie, visit: www.uzbekistan.travel/en &

www.maximumexposure.co

A multiple Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter and producer, Peter Greenberg is America’s most recognized, honored and respected front-line travel news journalist. Known in the industry as “The Travel Detective,” he is the Travel Editor for CBS News, appearing on CBS Mornings, CBS Evening News, and Sunday Morning, among other broadcast platforms.

Greenberg produces and co-hosts an ongoing series of acclaimed public television specials, “The Royal Tour,” featuring personal, one-on-one journeys through countries with their heads of state. Along with such figures as the King of Jordan, Prime Ministers of New Zealand and Israel and Presidents of Mexico and Peru, and Tanzania.

The consummate insider on reporting the travel business as news, Greenberg also hosts the television show, “The Travel Detective with Peter Greenberg,” airing on Public Television. The series offers more than 50 half-hour episodes with cutting-edge travel information and insider tips you need to know before you ever leave home, plus in-depth reports on the good, bad, and yes, even ugly aspects of travel.

Greenberg also has launched a series of one hour specials called HIDDEN, revealing special destinations and unique experiences that you won’t find in the guidebooks or brochures. Destinations include Turkey, Poland, and Canary Islands, just to name a few.

On radio, he hosts the nationally syndicated “Eye on Travel,” broadcast each week from a different remote location worldwide, and is heard on hundreds of CBS radio stations across the U.S.

Greenberg is also author of The New York Times best- selling Travel Detective series. His most recent book, The Best Places for Everything, comes in the wake of such titles as Don’t Go There! and The Complete Travel Detective Bible.

He has also been a featured guest on CNN, NewsNation, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Rachael Ray Show,” and “The View.”

Travel Weekly named him one of the most influential people in travel, along with Bill Marriott and Richard Branson. In 2012, he was inducted into the U.S. Travel Association’s Hall of Leaders for his contributions to the travel industry. Among his other honors, Greenberg received a News & Documentary Emmy Award as part of the “Dateline” team for outstanding coverage of a breaking news story, “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Greenberg began his career in journalism as West Coast correspondent for Newsweek in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He won a national Emmy Award (Best Investigative Reporting) for his ABC “20/20” special on the final orphan flight out of Vietnam, “What Happened to the Children?” Greenberg also received an Emmy Award for “Miracle on the Hudson” for NBC Dateline.

Greenberg is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin, and an Excellence in Broadcasting Award from the Aviation Space Writers Association of America.

His website, PeterGreenberg.com, is one of the leading travel news resources for consumers and industry insiders alike. When he is not traveling the globe, Greenberg also serves as an active volunteer firefighter.

Our guest on episodes 109 and 287, Peter returns to the program where he confirms his one way ticket destination is still to Fire Island. After which he shares:

1.   

·      Why with very few exceptions, the best time to go anywhere is immediately after political insurrection, a civil war, or a natural disaster

·      The state of the airlines today – who’s really running them, how if at all they’re preparing for another software glitch, etc.

·      Overtourism and how destinations are handling it

·      The many treasures of Egypt, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Grand Egyptian Museum aka “GEM” (plus he recounts exploring the inside of a pyramid that was only just discovered)

·      Some of what makes Uganda and Rwanda so special

·      Why every American needs to buy an atlas

·      How the cruise industry is changing rapidly when it comes to technology and sustainability

·      Why he’ll only travel to a place where he knows who’s in control

·      Why he has a bone to pick with US State Department Travel Advisories

·      Why the worst four-letter word that starts with “f” when it comes to travel is “fear”.

General David H. Petraeus is a retired United States Army general and a prominent commentator on contemporary security issues, military developments and global affairs, widely respected as a leading warrior intellectual.

The General graduated with distinction from the US Military Academy and earned a PhD from Princeton University. He served in the US Army for thirty-seven years, concluding his time in uniform with six consecutive commands as general officer, five of which were in combat, including command of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He then served as the director of the CIA. 

The General has held academic appointments at six universities and is a senior fellow and lecturer at Yale University. He is currently a partner in a major investment firm and chairs that firm’s Global Institute.

The General is also a brilliant author. His latest book, Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine released at the end of 2023 and is a must read. He co-wrote it with noted biographer and historian Andrew Roberts. It’s published by Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins. You can pick up a copy wherever you like to buy your books.

On this episode, General Petraeus discusses:

• Israel’s war against Hamas and why Gaza poses a challenging situation more so than any other urban operation since the end of 1945
• The release of Israeli hostages
• The four tasks of strategic leadership
• How lessons of war are institutionalized
• The danger of lack of Western resolve on the world stage
• How what happens in one part of the world reverberates in another (e.g., if you have a red line in Syria over use of chemical weapons and it turns out not be a red line, that undermines deterrence in the Indo-Pacific)
• The importance of soldier morale
• Warfare of the future and the technology he’s following.

As for the General’s very creative answer to where he’d go if given a one way ticket, please listen to our interview with him on episode 268 from August 2022.

Clarissa Ward is CNN's Chief International Correspondent. In her fifteen-year career with Fox, CBS, and ABC, Ward has reported from front lines across the world.

She has received five Emmy Awards, two George Foster Peabody Awards, two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, two Edward R. Murrow Awards for distinguished journalism, honors from the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association, the 2016 David Kaplan Award from the Overseas Press Club, and the Excellence in International Reporting Award from the International Center for Journalists. 

Clarissa graduated with distinction from Yale University, and in 2013 received an honorary doctor of letters degree from Middlebury College in Vermont. She lives in London.

On this episode, Clarissa shares her one way ticket to Aleppo in 2050. She also talks about Syria – past, present & future – and her work reporting from conflict zones as featured in her brilliant book “On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist”.

Clarissa is just one of the dynamic personalities featured on The One Way Ticket Show, where Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they would go if given a one way ticket, no coming back. Their destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.

Steven's guests have included: Nobel Peace Prize Winner, President Jose Ramos-Horta; Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz; Fashion Expert, Tim Gunn; Broadcast Legend, Charles Osgood; International Rescue Committee President & CEO, David Miliband; Former Senator, Joe Lieberman; Playwright, David Henry Hwang; Journalist-Humorist-Actor, Mo Rocca; SkyBridge Capital Founder & Co-Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci; Abercrombie & Kent Founder, Geoffrey Kent; Travel Expert, Pauline Frommer, as well as leading photographers, artists, chefs, writers, intellectuals and more.

Charlie Clifford founded Tumi and served as CEO for many years before heading up the company’s international business. A true entrepreneur, Charlie launched Tumi with a partner in 1975 as an importer of leather bags from Colombia with a total investment of $10,000. Today, Tumi is widely considered to be the market leader in premium luggage, business cases, and related accessories. The brand is sold in over 70 countries and has a dedicated following among frequent travelers, including business executives and professionals, famous athletes, and celebrities from the sports and entertainment world. After going public in 2012, the company was purchased by Samsonite in 2016 for about $1.8 billion.

Clifford graduated from Indiana University in 1965 with a BA in English and earned his MBA in marketing from Indiana’s Kelley School of Business in 1967. He then spent two years in Peru as part of an experimental Peace Corps MBA program, working as a consultant with small businesses and assisting government agencies with economic development projects. In 1975, after working as a marketing director for an industrial equipment company, he started Tumi and named the company after a Peruvian Pre-Colombian god which was the symbol of the region where he lived while serving in the Peace Corps.

After retiring from Tumi in 2004, Clifford consulted with various companies in the leather goods sector as a principal at Compass Partners International, a management firm which partnered with international brands to develop their business in the U.S. market.  Now, he serves as a founding partner of ROAM, a premium luggage brand with the thoughtful kind of design and premium materials on which Clifford insists for the brands he spearheads. What sets this new brand apart is a groundbreaking concept for the luggage industry. ROAM allows customers to uniquely express themselves by designing their own luxury luggage - from the color of the case itself, to wheels, trim and zippers, and each piece is then made-to-order in the U.S.A. 

Clifford is a member of the President’s Circle at ACCION International and the Dean’s Council of the Kelley School of Business. Clifford also served on the Board of Directors for the Travel Goods Association from 1996 to 2003, and was formerly a Board Director at Aid to Artisans, a non-profit organization which helps artisans in developing countries access the U.S. market for their handcrafted products.

In 2009, Clifford was named as the Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year by the Kelley School. He was recognized in 2005 by the Travel Goods Association for excellence and outstanding contributions to the travel goods industry and was a past recipient of the President’s Award from the American Luggage Dealer’s Association and the Key Resource Award from the National Luggage Dealer’s Association.

Charlie and Cricket (his wife of 50+ years) divide their time between their home on Cape Cod and an apartment in New York’s Greenwich Village. They have two grown children: Mark, who resides with his wife and two daughters on Cape Cod; and Tara, who lives with her husband and three children in Concord, MA.

On this episode, Charlie shares his one way ticket to Barcelona, reflects on the important business and life lessons learned in the Peace Corps in Peru, and takes us behind the scenes in creating ROAM Luggage.

Charlie is just one of the dynamic personalities featured on The One Way Ticket Show, where Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they would go if given a one way ticket, no coming back. Their destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.

Steven's guests have included: Nobel Peace Prize Winner, President Jose Ramos-Horta; Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz; Fashion Expert, Tim Gunn; Broadcast Legend, Charles Osgood; International Rescue Committee President & CEO, David Miliband; Playwright, David Henry Hwang; Journalist-Humorist-Actor, Mo Rocca; SkyBridge Capital Founder & Co-Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci; Abercrombie & Kent Founder, Geoffrey Kent; Travel Expert, Pauline Frommer, as well as leading photographers, artists, chefs, writers, intellectuals and more.

Now Senior Counsel at the law firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres LLP in New York, Joseph I. Lieberman was for 24 years a member of the U.S. Senate from Connecticut. At the end of his service in January 2013, he was Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. Through both committee positions, he became a leader in protecting the security of the American people and supporting American international leadership. Senator Lieberman is known as a national leader who works across party lines to get things done and who speaks his conscience regardless of the political consequences.

Before his election to the Senate in 1988, Senator Lieberman served 10 years in the Connecticut State Senate and 6 years as Connecticut's Attorney General. In 2000 he was the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States. Senator Lieberman also serves on the board of several nonprofit organizations including the McCain Institute.

Senator Lieberman is married to Hadassah Freilich Lieberman. Together they have 4 children and 12 grandchildren.

On this episode, Senator Lieberman shares his one way ticket to the day after the corona virus pandemic ends. The Senator also covers his work on the bi-partisan commission on bio defense which he co-chairs with former Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge; comments on the far left turn of the democratic party, and shares what he thinks the rest of the world should know about the United States today.

Senator Lieberman is just one of the dynamic personalities featured on The One Way Ticket Show, where Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they would go if given a one way ticket, no coming back. Destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.

Steven's guests have included: Nobel Peace Prize Winner, President Jose Ramos-Horta; Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz; Fashion Expert, Tim Gunn; Broadcast Legend, Charles Osgood; International Rescue Committee President & CEO, David Miliband; Playwright, David Henry Hwang; Journalist-Humorist-Actor, Mo Rocca; SkyBridge Capital Founder & Co-Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci; Abercrombie & Kent Founder, Geoffrey Kent; Travel Expert, Pauline Frommer, as well as leading photographers, artists, chefs, writers, intellectuals and more.

Bruno del Granado is an Agent at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and represents many of the most accomplished musicians working in Latin music, including Ricky Martin, Maluma, Gloria Estefan, and Luis Fonsi, among others.  Del Granado works out of the Miami office, and also represents actors/music artists Danna Paola, Jen Carlos Canela, and Isabela Merced, and works across the agency helping to create opportunities in the multicultural marketplace.

Del Granado joined CAA in 2013 from RM Entertainment Group, which he formed in partnership with Ricky Martin. He was an integral part of the team that orchestrated the joint venture between RM Entertainment Group and Zodiak Entertainment to establish RM 5to Elemento. This new company helped to spring board RM Entertainment in to the television space, by allowing it to sell and produce Zodiak Entertainment’s range of products to the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets.

Previously, del Granado founded Entertainment Media Factory, Inc., a music, television, and film production and programming company specializing in content for Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Prior to Entertainment Media Factory, Inc., he was the President of Maverick Recording Company’s Latin Division, where he signed and developed artists, such as Jorge Moreno, Chilean singer-songwriter Nicole, and Jose Padilla, among others, and was Vice President of Programming for MTV LatAm. He has also served as a marketing advisor to Enrique Iglesias; spearheaded a music video channel for RTVE, Spain's state-owned television network; and held senior executive positions at EMI Music Publishing and CBS/Sony.

In addition, del Granado was part of the Sky TV Latin America launch team and produced/hosted TV specials for CNN’s World Beat and The Music Room, VH-1's Latin Explosion, Universal TV, and PolyGram TV. His film activities include executive producing and music supervising a number of projects, including Ricky Martin MTV Unplugged, Maverick Films/VH-1’s 30 DAYS UNTIL I’M FAMOUS and the critically-acclaimed documentary COCAINE COWBOYS.

On this episode, Bruno shares his one way ticket back to 1492 Spain, and offers the reasons why. He also provides perspective on Latin music and the industry today.

Bruno is just one of the dynamic personalities featured on The One Way Ticket Show, where Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they would go if given a one way ticket, no coming back. Destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.

Steven's guests have included: Nobel Peace Prize Winner, President Jose Ramos-Horta; Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz; Fashion Expert, Tim Gunn; Broadcast Legend, Charles Osgood; International Rescue Committee President & CEO, David Miliband; Playwright, David Henry Hwang; Journalist-Humorist-Actor, Mo Rocca; SkyBridge Capital Founder & Co-Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci; Abercrombie & Kent Founder, Geoffrey Kent; Travel Expert, Pauline Frommer, as well as leading photographers, artists, chefs, writers, intellectuals and more.

Ishmael Khaldi was born in Khawaled, a village near Haifa. He is the third of eleven children. He lived in a Bedouin tent until the age of eight. He walked four miles (6 km) round trip to attend school and tended flocks of sheep. He said his family's ties with its Jewish neighbors go back to the days of the early Zionist pioneers from Eastern Europe who settled in the Galilee region in the 1920s.

Ishmael earned a Bachelors degree in political science from the University of Haifa and a Masters degree in political science and international relations from Tel Aviv University. He served in the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel Police, and in the Israel Defense Forces as a political analyst.

He initiated a project called "Hike and Learn with Bedouins in the Galilee" that has brought thousands of young Jews to Khawaled to learn about Bedouin culture and history. He said these encounters inspired him to become a diplomat.

Ishmael began working for the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 2004. Throughout his distinguished career, he served as Vice Consul at the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, and was Councilor for Civil Society Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in London. Plus, Ishmael was a policy advisor to former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. He also served in posts in Ghana, Angola, Cameroon, Nigeria, Nepal, India and Miami. 

In 2020, Ishmael was appointed Israel's Ambassador to Eritrea.

On this episode, Ishmael shares his two options for one way ticket journeys – one to the Bedouin lifestyle of his grandparents, the other to New York City. He also talks about the life of a diplomat, the life of the Bedouin community in Israel, and the fascinating country that is Eritrea where he will soon be serving as Israel's Ambassador.

Ishmael is just one of the dynamic personalities featured on The One Way Ticket Show, where Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they would go if given a one way ticket, no coming back. Destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.

Steven's guests have included: Nobel Peace Prize Winner, President Jose Ramos-Horta; Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz; Fashion Expert, Tim Gunn; Broadcast Legend, Charles Osgood; International Rescue Committee President & CEO, David Miliband; Playwright, David Henry Hwang; Journalist-Humorist-Actor, Mo Rocca; SkyBridge Capital Founder & Co-Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci; Abercrombie & Kent Founder, Geoffrey Kent; Travel Expert, Pauline Frommer, as well as leading photographers, artists, chefs, writers, intellectuals and more.

Sabato Russo was born and raised in the town of Foggia, in southern Italy's Puglia region.

After studying architecture in Florence and Milan he started his career as an international fashion model.

More than anywhere, Japan fascinated Sabato with its history, culture and sensibility. He soon realized there that fashion was his main passion and started a collaboration as the assistant designer to Issey Miyake.

After gaining experience, he moved to New York where he began very prestigious collaborations with local and international brands, including Barneys, Kashiyama, G. Ferre and Fendi. 

His last project's success, Sartorial Monk, has now been transformed into the self-titled brand, Sabato Russo, bringing forward a minimal approach as a way to convey life's simplicity in clothes.

Sabato appears as was one of the memorable contestants on the first season of the Amazon Prime hit series "Making the Cut" with hosts Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum.

On this episode, Sabato shares his one way ticket to his current state of mind which is one of contentment and quiet happiness. He also talks about his time on Amazon Prime's "Making the Cut", the current state of the fashion industry, and the importance of wearing a mask!

Sabato is just one of the dynamic personalities featured on The One Way Ticket Show, where Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they would go if given a one way ticket, no coming back. Destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.

Steven's guests have included: Nobel Peace Prize Winner, President Jose Ramos-Horta; Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz; Fashion Expert, Tim Gunn; Broadcast Legend, Charles Osgood; International Rescue Committee President & CEO, David Miliband; Playwright, David Henry Hwang; Journalist-Humorist-Actor, Mo Rocca; SkyBridge Capital Founder & Co-Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci; Abercrombie & Kent Founder, Geoffrey Kent; Travel Expert, Pauline Frommer, as well as leading photographers, artists, chefs, writers, intellectuals and more.

John Dickerson is a 60 Minutes correspondent. Prior to that, he was a co-host of CBS This Morning, the anchor of Face the Nation, and CBS News’s chief Washington correspondent. Dickerson is also a contributing writer to The Atlantic, co-host of Slate’s Political Gabfest podcast, and host of the Whistlestop podcast.

John won the Gerald Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency as Slate’s chief political correspondent. He is also the recipient of the David Broder Award from the University of New Hampshire Law School. John covered the White House for Time during his twelve years at the magazine. The 2020 presidential campaign will be the seventh he has covered.

On this episode, John shares his one way ticket to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Shire”. He also talks about his third and latest book “The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency”.

John is just one of the dynamic personalities featured on The One Way Ticket Show, where Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they would go if given a one way ticket, no coming back. Destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind.

Steven's guests have included: Nobel Peace Prize Winner, President Jose Ramos-Horta; Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz; Fashion Expert, Tim Gunn; Broadcast Legend, Charles Osgood; International Rescue Committee President & CEO, David Miliband; Playwright, David Henry Hwang; Journalist-Humorist-Actor, Mo Rocca; SkyBridge Capital Founder & Co-Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci; Abercrombie & Kent Founder, Geoffrey Kent; Travel Expert, Pauline Frommer, as well as leading photographers, artists, chefs, writers, intellectuals and more.