WanderLearn Podcast

• Podcast

Last year, my podcast with Sym Blanchard became the 2nd most downloaded WanderLearn episode. It was super popular because he really was a fun guest. You must listen to it before listening to this podcast.

Because he attracted so many listeners, I invited him back to the show!

I begin the podcast asking Sym the most profound question I've always wanted to ask him.

After that, we move onto discussing how he has used DNA testing to inspire his travel. He's used these four DNA testing kits to find thousands of relatives and to understand his origins. We discuss the pros and cons of each one:

• 23 and Me - best for a health test
• Ancestry DNA - best for trace your lineage 
• Family Search - Although it's connected to the Church of Latter-Day Saints, is useful to go back to King Cnut. 
• My Heritage - to build a family tree - Sym has 19,000 relatives

We referenced AJ Jacobs's, It's All Relative book.

I mention my defining the Sub-Sahara Africa article where, in the comments, an Ethiopian tried to insult me by pointing out that my ancestors were "slave-traders."

Sym opens up and discusses why his strained relationship with his daughter. What went wrong? What lessons did he learn?

How about having a girlfriend and how it is to manage that relationship when he's usually on the road.

How do we balance having sympathy for victims and pushing for tough love?

We talk about how Rejoice Tapon could see herself as a victim as I describe in my TEDx Talk about being a black sheep.

Sym discusses his trip to Brazil and his quest to finish the Continental Divide Trail (60% done!) and the Great Divide Trail.

Sym talks about El Camino de Santiago.

We discuss how sustainable his way of life is. 

We talk about how spousal support and divorce work.

About 70 minutes into the podcast, we talk about politics. I say that it's extremely rare that a US President wins more than 60% of the popular vote. Fact check: Only 3 US Presidents have gotten over 60% of the popular vote (Harding, FDR, and Nixon) and LBJ was the only President to get 61% of the vote. No other president got more.

Lastly, I reveal my patented way to win ANY argument - guaranteed! 

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For the 2019 holidays, we're taking a flashback to over a decade ago. I started the WanderLearn podcast in 2008. I'm pulling this episode from the archives because it's one of my favorite episodes of that era. 

It was the first time that I met Julia Trutko, a Russophone Estonian. She had just moved to San Francisco from Florida. Although she was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, she grew up in Tallinn, Estonia.

Although this conversation took place over 11 years ago, it is still interesting today, which is why I'm sharing it.

I also placed three Estonian songs in the podcast. 

Julia continues to live in San Francisco with her boy, Roman. He would be born many years after this podcast was recorded.

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• Podcast

Brittnay and Jayden are The Travelling Housesitters. In the WanderLearn podcast, I ask them:

• How did Jay get to look after a cat on a catamaran?
• What websites do they recommend to use to find housesits? 
• Why don't they charge to housesit?
• Did they have a housesit horror story?
• What housesits do they avoid?
• What is their long-range plan?
• Do they have relationship challenges that other couples don't have?
• How can you find housesits that do NOT require you to look after pets?
• What is the fanciest place they ever stayed at?
• What's the housesitting course they offer all about?

In the podcast, Britt and Jay mentioned:

Trusted Housesitters (if you use my affiliate link, you'll get 30% off):

https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF280959/

Brittnay and Jay also mentioned these housesitting websites:

• Nomador
• Aussie Housesitters
• Housesit Mexico
• Upwork

If you're more interested in home exchanges, you should listen to my WanderLearn podcast about home exchanges.

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• Podcast

Matt Favero is the Director of Marketing at Zpacks, one of my top two favorite backpacking gear companies (Gossamer Gear is the other). 

I ask him:

• How did he get involved in Zpacks?
• What backpacking opportunities exist in Florida?
• What’s the dumbest backpacking mistake he ever made?
• What Zpack product is he most proud of?
• What is his funkiest item?
• What makes Zpacks special?
• What will the 2020s bring to the backpacking world?

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• Podcast

After graduating from Harvard Business School and working a bit, DJ Didonna embarked on an improbable quest: helping people take months or even years off work.

There's nothing wrong with working nonstop for 40 years. 

However, paradoxically, taking a sabbatical may be the best thing for your career.

DJ wants to help you do what most Harvard Business School graduates don’t know how to do: get off the treadmill.

We chat face-to-face for 80 minutes, discussing:

• His first sabbatical was in 2017. He walked all around Japan – going from temple to temple, hardly speaking to anyone for 6 weeks. How was that like?
• What percentage of companies have sabbatical programs?
• How does a company gain from letting their employees go on sabbaticals?
• What surprised him in his research?
• How can you take a sabbatical when you don’t have a guaranteed job?
• What is the future of sabbaticals?

DJ gave a TEDx talk at the same venue as I did. Watch it:

Learn more about DJ's research at The Sabbatical Project.

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