Peak Travel

About Peak Travel

Travel can do amazing things: broaden horizons, build relationships, and rejuvenate the soul. But often, those experiences come at a cost. This is Peak Travel, a new podcast from WHYY about how travel shapes communities in hot-spots around the world. We’ll share the wonder that comes with exploring new places, as well as the harm that our worst travel habits can cause. And we’ll try to figure out how we can do it better. Each episode transports you to a new destination. You’ll meet the people who call that place home, hear their stories, and come to understand how tourism has changed their everyday lives. Supported by rich, on-location sound from around the world, Peak Travel unpacks the $1.9 trillion travel industry and its impact on people and the planet.

Publisher

WHYY

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Jun 2024

Latest episode

8 Apr 2025

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Apr 2025

   You Can Visit All Seven Continents. But Should You?

   For many travelers, Antarctica is a bucket-list destination, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to touch all seven continents. In 2023, a record-breaking 100,000 tourists made the trip. But the journey begs a fundamental question: What do we risk by traveling to a place that is supposed to be uninhabited by humans? And as the climate warms, should we really be going to Antarctica in the first place? SHOW NOTES: Kara Weller: The Impossible Dilemma of a Polar Guide (https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/polar-guide-dilemma/) Marilyn Raphael: A twenty-first century structural change in Antarctica’s sea ice system (https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02107-5) Karl Watson: First Time in Antarctica (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A61BPeIg41Q&t=2062s) Jeb Brooks: 7 Days in Antarctica (Journey to the South Pole) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYDf3YCdPbE&t=256s) Metallica - Freeze 'Em All: Live in Antarctica (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hi2u98VKxc#:~:text=Metallica%20%2D%20Freeze%20)

2. 

   1 Apr 2025

   Why Petra Needs Its People

   For centuries, members of the B’doul Bedouin tribe lived in the caves around the ancient city of Petra, Jordan. Then, in the 1980s, the government forced the tribe to move in the name of preserving the geological site for tourists. But if the residents are forced to leave, and if their heritage has been permanently changed, then what exactly is being preserved?

3. 

   25 Mar 2025

   How a Destination Goes Viral

   Have you ever opened Instagram to see a bunch of people posting from the same place — Lisbon? The Amalfi Coast? Charleston? Japan? It’s no coincidence that every year, it feels like everyone is going on the exact same trips. In this episode, we’re going to pull back the curtain on the travel media industry and show you how a place becomes a viral destination.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.5 / 5

70 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

48 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 40 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

44

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

91

Contact Peak Travel

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.