Women Who Travel | Condé Nast Traveler

A few weeks ago, we published an advice column, offering advice to a Women Who Travel reader who was feeling self-conscious about stepping out in a swimsuit on an upcoming group trip because of changes to her weight during the pandemic. The question and subsequent advice from Amy Pence-Brown and Stephanie Yeboah, two body image advocates and writers, led us to an even deeper conversation about our bodies—and how the pandemic has affected our relationships with them. So, this week, we're joined by Amy and Stephanie to chat about how they got to the place of self-love they're at now, how the conversation has shifted around fatness during the pandemic, and how we can have healthier relationship with weight changes. Read the advice column: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/im-dreading-wearing-a-swimsuit-on-a-group-tripListen to "How Travel Taught Me to Love My Body": https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-travel-taught-me-to-love-my-body-women-who-travel-podcastRead a full transcription of today's episode: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-our-relationship-with-our-bodies-has-changed-women-who-travel-podcastFollow Stephanie: @stephanieyeboahFollow Amy: @idaho_amyFollow Meredith: @ohheytheremereFollow Lale: @lalehannahFollow Women Who Travel: @WomenWhoTravel Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Lauren Groff's name has been thrown around a number of times on this podcast as the author of some of our favorite books to read on vacation. Her latest, Matrix, is out this week—and was one of our most anticipated releases of the year. It's the fictional retelling of the life of Marie de France, a historical figure from the 12th century with no known backstory to speak of. In the lead up to actually writing the novel, Groff took a trip to live with Benedictine nuns in Connecticut to get a sense of abbey life. In fact, many of her novels and short stories have been birthed from family vacations, research trips, and even her honeymoon. We sat down with the Gainesville, Florida–based writer to learn more about her travels, writing process, and what books she's excited to read this year. Find a transcriptions and links to Lauren's reading suggestions here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/author-lauren-groff-on-the-trips-that-have-inspired-her-books-women-who-travel-podcastFollow Lauren: @legroffFollow Lale: @lalehannahFollow Meredith: @ohheytheremereFollow Women Who Travel: @WomenWhoTravel All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This episode was originally published in September 2020.A special three-part series of the Women Who Travel podcast, presented by Cloudy BayWe've long admired Kimi Werner, a Hawaiian freediver and spearfisher, so we thought there was no better woman to join us this week. A new mom, she's had to find a way to balance her active new role above land and the regenerative power and calm she finds underwater. We chat about how she's found that balance, what it's meant to introduce her son to the ocean, and how she's managed to leave her anxieties on the shore and just relax.Follow Kimi: @kimi_swimmyFollow Lale: @lalehannahFollow Meredith: @ohheytheremereFollow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This episode was originally published in October 2020. This week, we're revisiting our conversation with Hawa Hassan, whose cookbook, In Bibi's Kitchen, could be found on many of last year's most anticipated book lists. The cookbook is filled with recipes from eight African countries that border the Indian Ocean and stories from 24 grandmothers, and brings a new narrative to the table, one that Somali author, sauce maven, and former model Hawa Hassan is honored (if not a little overwhelmed) to share. “I was telling these new stories—I was expected to carry these stories—and I didn't know I could," she says on this week's episode. "I lived somewhere between inspiration and fear a lot of last year.”That self-imposed pressure has paid off. Her book launched earlier this week, so we sat down to hear about her time with those bibis and what it was like to create a cookbook written and photographed exclusively by women and featuring recipes crafted exclusively by women, based everywhere from New York City to Comoros.Order In Bibi's Kitchen: https://fave.co/3gnIVLARead a full transcription of the episode: www.cntraveler.com/story/how-hawa-hassan-built-a-cookbook-around-east-african-grandmothersFollow Hawa: @hawahassanFollow Meredith: @ohheytheremereFollow Lale: @lalehannahFollow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravelAll products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Many of us have had complicated reading years, struggling to keep our attention trained on any one book—let alone finish one. So in this week's episode, we've tapped two of our favorite bookworms, Jynne Dilling Martin, an associate publisher at Riverhead Books, and Kalima DeSuze, activist and founder of the intersectional feminist bookstore at Cafe con Libros in Brooklyn, to share some of their favorite page-turners to pull you out of your reading slump. There's something for everyone, from a poem-like novel that's less than 300 pages to a New York Times bestselling book club pick. We also chat about the joys of young adult novels and the upcoming releases we're dying to get our hands on. Here's a preview of this episode's recommended books: Ghost Forest by Pik-Shuen Fung Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney Seven Days in June by Tia Williams Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness by Claire Vaye Watkins Cazadora by Romina Garber The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/beach-reads-to-get-you-through-the-rest-of-the-summer-women-who-travel-podcastFollow Kalima: @CafeConLibros_BKFollow Jynne: @jynnnneFollow Meredith: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

“We've all vented to each other with frustration over the years, seeing that there was this resistance to expanding people's world views,” says Sarah Khan, editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Traveler Middle East, in this week's Women Who Travel episode. But last fall, Sarah—alongside branding consultant Paula Franklin, cofounder and editorial director of Fathom Jeralyn Gerba, partner at Xhibition PR Nestor Lara Baeza, and CEO of the Africa Tourism Association Naledi Khabo—launched Travel Is Better in Color, an effort to diversify the viewpoints shared by the travel industry. An Instagram and newsletter, Travel Is Better in Color highlights English-language travel writers, photographers, videographers, and more to showcase the stories being told and the work the industry can be doing to share broader perspectives on traveling today. “These stories have existed, these voices have existed,” says Naledi. “It was just a question of amplification, or identification and amplification. And I think that we were looking to do that and to build the level of awareness.”This week, we're joined by Sarah, Naledi, and Paula to talk about their own experiences in the travel space, the impetus for Travel Is Better in Color, and how the travel industry and publications can champion a diverse mix of storytelling long term.Find a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/meet-the-women-advocating-for-more-diverse-perspectives-in-travel-media-women-who-travel-podcastFollow Naledi: @NalediFollow Paula: @PdpfranklinFollow Sarah: @BysarahkhanFollow Meredith: @OhheytheremereFollow Lale: @LaleHannahFollow Women Who Travel: @Womenwhotravel  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

While travel may be the most open that it's been for Americans since the pandemic began, it comes with a lot of complications—from major passport renewal and Global Entry application delays to newly developed travel anxieties. To help you explore in the safest and most prepared way possible, we're answering your burning travel questions in this week's episode of Women Who Travel. Alongside Traveler’s senior editor for transportation and travel news, Jessica Puckett, and city guides editor, Shannon McMahon, we'll cover everything from travel insurance and underrated U.S. cities for solo travelers to how to talk to your family about prioritizing your own travels. Stories mentioned this episode:"Travel Insurance Companies Add Permanent Pandemic Coverage," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/travel-insurance-companies-add-permanent-pandemic-coverage"Everything You Need to Know About Cancel For Any Reason Travel Insurance," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/cancel-for-any-reason-travel-insurance"What to Know If Your Passport Is Expiring," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/us-passport-renewal-during-covid"How to Manage Travel Anxiety in a Crowded Airport," https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-to-manage-travel-anxiety-in-a-crowded-airportRead a full transcription of the episode and find more stories here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/answering-your-questions-about-passport-renewal-solo-travel-and-more-women-who-travel-podcastFollow Jessica: @jesspuckFollow Shannon: @shanmcmahonFollow Meredith: @ohheytheremereFollow Lale: @lalehannahFollow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

While we haven't been making much headway on airline and hotel loyalty programs in the last year, what we do have are lots and lots of credit cards points, accrued from a year and a half of takeout, groceries, and gas bills—among plenty of other purchases (namely loungewear). But how should we spend those stockpiles now that travel is starting to reenter our lives? This week, we tasked Jessica Puckett, Traveler's senior editor for transportation and travel news, and Jasmin Baron, an associate editor covering credit cards at Insider, with helping us find solutions.The short answer? “There really isn't a right or wrong way to spend your points and your miles,” Jasmin says in the episode. But we've got plenty of ideas of where to start, from cashing in on free hotel stays during road trips to, yes, booking that overwater bungalow in the Maldives.Learn more about Conde Nast Traveler's favorite travel credit cards: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-best-travel-credit-cardRead a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-to-spend-all-those-points-youve-accumulated-on-travel-women-who-travel-podcastFollow Jessica: @jesspuckFollow Jasmin: https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jasmin-baronFollow Meredith: @ohheytheremereFollow Lale: @lalehannahFollow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This episode was originally published in September 2020. This week, we're revisiting our conversation with Cristina Mittermeier—marine biologist, conservationist, photographer, and co-founder of SeaLegacy, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the ocean. A National Geographic photographer known for her work underwater and among Indigenous communities in coastal areas, she's found a way to share her passion for our environment with the world. But it wasn't always a simple path. In fact, her first published photo was wrongly credited to her then-husband. Over the course of our chat, we talk about how a career in science led her to photography, her mission to educate us about the ocean, and how we can overcome that feeling of hopelessness amid the current climate crisis. Follow Cristina: @mittyFollow SeaLegacy: @sealegacyFollow Meredith: @ohheytheremereFollow Lale: @lalehannahFollow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We've been thinking a lot about responsible travel here at Women Who Travel. You may have noticed: It's been a theme in a number of our recentepisodes. And today, we're continuing that trend, sitting down Condé Nast Traveler advisory board member Harsha L’Acqua, whose nonprofit, Saira Hospitality, is built around helping new hotels make mindful, local-focused hiring choices. We first heard about her work when Liz Lambert mentioned Saira's pop-up and permanent hospitality training centers on a Women Who Travel episode back in 2019—and in this episode, we catch up with how Saira's been faring amid the pandemic, how its mission feels more important than ever, and how hotels can help travelers make better, more impactful choices while on vacation. Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-i-became-a-champion-for-responsible-travel-women-who-travel-podcastFollow Saira Hospitality: @sairahospitalityFollow Meredith: @ohheytheremereFollow Lale: @lalehannahFollow Women Who Travel: @womenwhotravel Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices