Podcasts

Podcast #121 — TSA Lines, My Luggage is Where?

After two vacations to Europe and some full-contact business travel in-between, I found my way back into the TravelCommons studios. I talk about these recent trips — the awful timeliness of an American Airlines‘ regional jet partner, an incredible string of lost luggage, a meaningless baggage strip tease with Wow Air, and being surprised to…

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Podcast #120 — Where Do Guidebooks Fit In? I Hate Shopping for Suitcases

Where do guidebooks fit in the world of apps, review websites, social media, and podcasts? Planning for a trip to Iceland got me thinking about how to make sense of the explosion of travel tips. And then, after giving my thoughts about my new Bluesmart “smart connected suitcase”, I talk about how idiosyncratic frequent travelers are about…

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Podcast #119 — Digital Security On The Road; US Airports Getting Better?

Here’s a little something to keep you entertained while you navigate the holiday airport lines. We talk about digital security on the road — what’s the right balance between hassle and hack? We also dig into JD Power’s latest airport satisfaction survey. They report a tick up in traveler experience and, for the most part,…

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Podcast #118 — Danger In the Travel Bubble; Switching Back to Apple

A bit less of a random walk than the last episode, we talk about safety, physical safety, when traveling. While we sometimes put ourselves in the midst of dodgy surroundings, we usually feel safe when we retreat back into the “travel bubble” What about when the bubble is no longer safe? Smartphones are the frequent…

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Podcast #117 — Random Thoughts About Eggs, Scotland & Car Rentals

Apologies in advance because this is pretty much a stream-of-consciousness episode, with semi-strung together thoughts about eggs, car rentals, seeing the Pope, travel food, and stuff from my September trip to Scotland.  I talk about how handy I found the new Revolut service for spending and sending money in Europe; recent good and bad experiences with Hertz…

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Podcast #116 — Traveling Thru Japan; Luggage Trends

Back behind the microphone after an extended summer break highlighted by a two-week family vacation in Japan. We talk about traveling in Japan. It was a fantastic time, though we were lost without translation at times. But with the US dollar buying 124 yen, it was the right time to go. We also talk about…

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Podcast #115 — A Decade of TravelCommons

Hard to believe that I’ve been prattling along for 10 years. Looking back, I see that I’ve become less of a TSA-hater, but am still pretty clear-eyed about the tediousness of the frequent travel experience. It’s tough to pack 10 years into a 30-min episode, but I think I’ve cherry-picked some good snippets. Before that,…

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Podcast #114 Uncut — The LoFi Video Version

I finally found a way to produce a video version of the podcast without a huge amount of post-production work. I put my GoPro camera on top of my Zoom H4n recorder and hit Record.

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