World Footprints

About World Footprints

World Footprints is an award-winning travel podcast exploring how travel can deepen cultural understanding, strengthen communities and create positive social impact. Through thoughtful conversations and destination stories, co-hosts Tonya and Ian Fitzpatrick introduce listeners to the people, histories and perspectives that shape places around the world. As two lawyers who combined their passion for meaningful travel with a commitment to social justice, Tonya and Ian look beyond traditional tourism coverage. World Footprints examines destination stewardship, cultural heritage, responsible travel, community-led tourism and the ways travel can become a force for connection and change. Guests include local leaders, authors, travelers, tourism professionals, cultural advocates and changemakers whose voices are often missing from mainstream travel media. The podcast is guided by Ubuntu, the Southern African philosophy often expressed as “I am because we are,” and by the Sanskrit principle Tat Tvam Asi, meaning “I see myself in others and others in myself.” Together, these ideas reflect the belief at the heart of World Footprints: travel is not only about where we go, but how we encounter people, respect cultures and understand our shared humanity.

Publisher

World Footprints

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Sept 2015

Latest episode

30 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

292 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Sept 2026

   25 Years of The Amazing Race: Our Conversation With Phil Keoghan

   25 Years of The Amazing Race: Our Conversation With Phil Keoghan Editor’s Note: The Amazing Race is celebrating 25 years on television, making this a fitting time to revisit our conversation with longtime host Phil Keoghan. In this World Footprints episode, Phil talks about travel, risk and the near-death experience that inspired his “No Opportunity Wasted” philosophy. The episode also features Raw Travel creator Robert Rose, a journey through Dominica and The Great Human Race co-host Cat Bigney. For 25 years, The Amazing Race has sent travelers racing across borders, navigating unfamiliar cultures and testing what happens when carefully made plans collide with the unexpected. As the groundbreaking CBS series celebrates its 25th anniversary, we're revisiting our conversation with longtime host Phil Keoghan about something that has always been at the heart of the show: the transformative power of travel. Keoghan joined us to talk about how The Amazing Race reflects his own approach to life, his passion for exploring the world and the experience that inspired his philosophy of leaving “No Opportunity Wasted.” But this episode travels well beyond The Amazing Race. We also talk with Raw Travel creator and host Robert Rose about socially conscious travel, visit the Caribbean island of Dominica and explore human migration and survival with The Great Human Race co-host Cat Bigney. Phil Keoghan on The Amazing Race, Travel and Taking Chances Phil Keoghan has become one of television's most recognizable travel hosts as the longtime host and executive producer of CBS's The Amazing Race. Since the series premiered in 2001, competitors have raced around the world, confronting language barriers, unfamiliar transportation systems, physical challenges and cultures far removed from their own. In our conversation, however, we wanted to know more about the person standing at the mat. Phil talks with us about how The Amazing Race mirrors his own life and his lifelong passion for travel. He also shares the story of a near-death experience he had as a young man—an experience that changed how he viewed time, risk and missed opportunities. It eventually inspired his No Opportunity Wasted, or NOW, philosophy: an encouragement to stop postponing the experiences that matter. That idea feels particularly appropriate for a show built around people stepping into the unknown. Travel on The Amazing Race is fast, unpredictable and highly competitive. Real travel doesn't have to involve a race to a Pit Stop, but both can force us outside familiar routines. We may have to communicate without a shared language, find our way through an unfamiliar place or rely on people we have only just met. Those moments often become the stories we remember. The Amazing Race at 25 When The Amazing Race debuted on September 5, 2001, the way many people experienced the wider world was very different. There was no Instagram or TikTok. Smartphones hadn't yet become our maps, translators, cameras and travel planners. For many television viewers, seeing teams navigate cities, villages and landscapes around the world offered an unusually immediate window into places they might never have visited. Twenty-five years later, the technology surrounding travel has changed dramatically, but the basic appeal of the show remains remarkably familiar: curiosity about what is around the next corner. CBS is celebrating the anniversary in 2026 as the series begins its 39th season. Our conversation with Phil took place years before this milestone, but his thoughts about travel, uncertainty and making the most of opportunity have aged particularly well. Robert Rose and the Rise of Socially Conscious Travel Travel television can do more than show viewers where to go. Robert Rose, creator, executive producer and host of Raw Travel, joined us to talk about using travel television to look beneath the surface of a destination. Rose left the corporate world and turned his love of travel into a

2. 

   21 Dec 2025

   World Footprints Holiday Music Special

   World Footprints explores global holiday music traditions, revealing how seasonal songs connect cultures and inspire shared humanity.

3. 

   11 Dec 2025

   Traveling Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Beyond the Steel Industry

   Host [Host Name] explores Pittsburgh's vibrant cultural and historical narratives, revealing the city's evolution beyond its steel industry roots.

Who has been a guest on World Footprints

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Cassandra Newby-Alexander
• Debra Sandoe McCauslin
• Eva Nichlas
• Tim Henderson
• Bryan Prince

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

140,505

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100

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

Quality

78

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

32

Contact World Footprints

Guest appearances

Books guests

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

Questions about World Footprints