Motoring journalist Ben Oliver was born amid the troubles in Belfast with the family moving to ‘slightly dull Reading’ when he was 6. On this episode we talk about his life-changing teen travels to Israel, Syria, Gaza & Kurdistan, the glory 90s and noughties days of magazine journalism, how LA porn sets are like a clinical operating room, driving an open-top Bentley up ‘the blood highway’ to the Arctic Circle in winter, the road sliding away in the Monsoon on an insane Himalayan trip in a Mini to the highest driving point in the world, North Korea being one of the most bizarre travel experiences, the joys of EVs and much more.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
143. Mambo Brothers; Growing up in Ibiza’s Mambo Café, Becoming International DJs and Searching for the Soul
142. On location in Ibiza – Hotelier Marc Rahola; From Telephone Operator to Founder, Ibiza’s Contrasts, London’s Notting Hill & What Makes a Hotel Entrepreneur
141. Mariellen Ward; Alternative Music in Toronto, A Year in Tokyo, the Inner Voice That Led to India
139: Trevor Dolby; Creating The New ‘A Year in Provence’, a Village Life in France, the Publishing World in London
138. Foy Vance; Childhood Church Building in Oklahoma, Growing up in Northern Ireland’s Music Scene, Recording in Muscle Shoals, Home-Schooling on Tour With Ed Sheeran
137. Jamie Klingler; Reclaim These Streets, Taking the Police to Court, Turning Your Life Around
136. Jennifer Nand; Liverpool, The Cavern and When John Lennon Spat on her Nose
135. Hannah Bourne-Taylor; Ghana, Conservation and The Baby Bird That Nested in Her Hair
134. Marc 'The Vet' Abraham OBE; Mumbai Slum-Dogs, Rescuing Bears in Ukraine, Operations in Thai Temples, Changing the Law
133. Cally Beaton; Vodka with Madonna, Panthers on the Loose and Joan Rivers’ Life-Changing Approval
132. International Travel Nanny, Shada Lambert; Celebrity Clients, Private Planes, Swimming Pools in Hotel Rooms and a Big Jamaican Family
131. Abandoned Places Explorer ‘Greg Abandoned’; Soviet Space Shuttles in the Desert, Being Shot at in Bulgaria and a Life-Changing Visit to Chernobyl
130. Alex Kapranos; Growing up Half Greek, Rock n Roll Chefs, Moscow Arrests and Colombian Bull’s Testicles
129. Minnie Driver; California Contrasts, Barbados v Boarding School, European Trains and Hawaiian Ukuleles
128. Dr. Rebecca Johnson; Crossing the US in a Hearse, Greenham Common, Driving Aid to Bosnia, Dancing in Cuba and Winning the Nobel Peace Prize
127. Pete Bennett; Big Brother, Peckham Transvestites, Hollywood Agents, Mexican Chicken-Sacrifices and Celebrating Tourette’s
126. Will Bolsover; Natural World Safaris, Big Cats in Siberia, Little Lizards in Madagascar and the Challenges of Covid-Era Travel
125. Christmas Special 2021; Sathnam Sanghera, Lisa Jewell, Matt Forde, Anne Sebba, Olly Mann, Greenham Common and more
124. Firouz FarmanFarmaian; Escaping Tehran, Kashmiri Houseboats, Trekking Kyrgyzstan, Rock Bands and Contemporary Art
123. On Location in Marbella Old Town with Tour Guide Javier Gonzalez
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
The Travel Diaries
Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala
Untold Italy travel podcast
The Atlas Obscura Podcast
A Life More Wild