My 157th guest episode on the Winging It Travel Podcast is with Neil Laird, a TV producer, novelist, documentary maker, and avid traveller.

Neil Laird is LGBTQIA+ and a multiple Emmy-nominated director of historical films for Discovery, BBC, PBS, History Channel, National Geographic, and many other networks.

For 25 years, he has produced over 1000 hours of "non-fiction" films about the ancient world whilst travelling to over 70 countries. His films feature crumbling Egyptian tombs, lost Mayan cities, and mysterious shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea.

Hello, and welcome to number 142. This week, I am joined by Joel David Bond, who has just returned from living in Kurdistan, Iraq, for the last seven years. The FBI/CIA evacuated Joel in October 2023, and we talk about that story but also Joel's love for the country, his life there, what he learned from being in that culture, and the shocking ending to his stint. In COVID, Joel was stranded on a Greek Island that housed hundreds of asylum seekers an hour's bus ride from his resort apartment; we talked about those two worlds coming together in the most unlikely scenario and some uncomfortable truths. Also nestled into the conversation is Joel's two-year stint at British Airways, and we hear some funny tales about a career that is not so seemingly dreamy.

A lot is packed into this one, and we barely touched the sides with Joel's other travels, which are hitting the 90-country mark. Right now, Joel is back in the USA figuring out his next moves, and there are many funny stories, reflections and laughs in this episode. Check out Joel's stuff below.

Hello, and welcome to number 138! Today, I am joined by Matthew Baxter, who has written the book series 'Super Cheap,' we talk about his latest release, Tokyo Outdoors, and living in Japan. Matthew has completed work visas in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Japan but has decided Japan is the home for him. We cover various topics such as the non-tourist local areas to take a walk, what not to say when speaking to Japanese people, the best food, Japanese culture, how Japan is an introvert's paradise, the logistics of travelling in Japan, and so much more. A real deep dive with a unique angle of an expat from the UK who has been living in Japan, specifically Tokyo, for more than ten years.

Hello, and welcome to number 141. this week, I am joined by super traveller and author Karen Gershowitz. Karen has travelled to around 100 countries spanning seven decades, starting with living in London during the Swinging Sixties. So, of course, I asked her about London in the late 60s and early 70s, and then I asked about her adventures in Japan, Venezuela, the Galapagos Islands, Tibet, and Myanmar. Karen has released two books, Travel Mania and Wanderlust, filled with amazing stories from Karen's travels over the years. Karen also writes for several publications specializing in people over 50 travelling—a wonderful and inspirational story.