Speaking of Travel® With Marilyn Ball

Epizode

• The Maine Windjammer Way: Sailing, Storytelling, and Slowing Down 07.06.2026 45min

  Some journeys change the way we see the world. On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we're setting sail along the coast of Maine with Justin Schaefer and Jocelyn Schmidt, owners and captains of the historic Schooner J. & E. Riggin. Together they've created an experience where the wind sets the pace and the sea shapes each day. And how the simple moments become the memories that stay with us long after the journey ends. As proud members of the Maine Windjammer Association, Justin and Joce...
• A Journey To St Helena Island And The Transformative Power Of Place With Ryan Enslin 01.06.2026 43min

  What if time isn't something to chase, but something to experience? In a world that constantly urges us to move faster, do more, and keep up, this conversation with Ryan Enslin offers a different perspective. A gentler one. As a journalist and photographer from Johannesburg, South Africa, Ryan has learned that some places seem to exist outside the pace of modern life. One of those places is St Helena Island, a remote island in the South Atlantic that has profoundly shaped the way he thinks ab...
• The Quiet Magic Of The NC Arboretum With Drake Fowler 21.05.2026 48min

  Some places do not ask for your attention. They change you quietly. You arrive carrying noise, deadlines, distractions and the weight of everyday life. And then somewhere between the trees, the silence, the air itself, something begins to soften. You remember there is another way to live in the world. More connected. More awake. More human. This episode of Speaking of Travel lives inside that feeling. What unfolds here is more than a discussion about nature or stewardship. It is a reflection ...
• Bassoonist Frank Morelli And The Journey Of A Life Well Played 12.05.2026 48min

  Some conversations stay with you because of what a person has accomplished. Others stay with you because of who that person became along the way. Internationally acclaimed bassoonist Frank Morelli is both. His story is about far more than music. It’s about what happens when a lifetime of dedication shapes not only an artist, but a human being. There’s something deeply moving about a person who spends a lifetime devoted to music and still meets the world with humility and a genuine sense of wo...
• The Asheville Regional Airport Reflects The Heart Of Western North Carolina 08.05.2026 48min

  There’s something deeper unfolding at the Asheville Regional Airport and you can feel it the moment you step into this conversation with Angi Daus, VP of Air Service and Corporate Communications. This isn’t surface-level support. It’s a lived commitment to Western North Carolina, shaped through real relationships and a genuine presence in the community that shows up in how they collaborate and how they listen. And how they continue to grow alongside the people and businesses around them. As t...
• Bryan Lewis Of Tenon Tours On Going Beyond the Destination 01.05.2026 42min

  There’s a moment in travel, maybe you’ve felt it, when everything shifts. The view is stunning, but that’s not what stays with you. It’s the feeling. A quiet awakening that expands the world in front of you while something inside you expands, too. On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we step into that space where travel stops being about the plan and becomes a way of seeing and living. It becomes a way of loving the world with more courage and intention. Tenon Tours founder Bryan Lewis unde...
• Indigenous Food, Modern Impact: A Conversation with Chef Nathan Davis 24.04.2026 48min

  On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we move beyond destinations and into something deeply human... food as a living expression of memory, identity, and belonging. Chef Nathan Davis shares his story shaped by the land, where hunting, fishing, and foraging were not choices, but teachings guiding him to understand food as relationship, responsibility, and respect. With formal training from Le Cordon Bleu, Nathan learned the language of technique. But it is his return to Indigenous foodways th...
• Connecting Cultures Across The Middle East With Rihab Abouzaki 20.04.2026 42min

  In a time shaped by rapid change and constant headlines, this conversation invites us to pause, to listen, and to look beyond perception into lived experience. My guest, Rihab Abouzaki, is an advertising strategist and Director of This N That Communications. She works at the intersection of culture, business, and global storytelling. Moving between the United States and the Gulf region, she brings a perspective rooted not just in strategy, but in humanity. Together we explore the Gulf Coopera...
• Italy’s Lost Women Artists Are Being Found And Rewritten Into History 15.04.2026 46min

  There’s something quietly extraordinary unfolding in Italy, inside museums, churches, and hidden archives where history has long rested in silence. For centuries, luminous works of art created by women were tucked away, overlooked, or forgotten. Not because they lacked brilliance, but because their stories were never fully told. And still, they remained, waiting, holding their place in time. Today, that silence is beginning to lift. In this episode of Speaking of Travel, we’re joined by Jane ...
• Travel, Stories, And The Threads That Bring Us Together With Yoon Kim 08.04.2026 43min

  Sometimes it’s not one big moment that shapes us, but a series of experiences that quietly stay, like traveling far from home at a young age, listening to stories passed down at the kitchen table, beginning to understand that where we come from carries more meaning over time. In this episode, I’m joined by Yoon Kim, a journalist, storyteller, and event producer whose work is grounded in curiosity and connection. His path has taken him across cultures and continents, but what stands out most i...
• Ketch Secor Of Old Crow Medicine Show Is Pure Soul 31.03.2026 45min

  Some journeys don’t begin with a plan. Some just begin with a song, a street corner, a moment that simply says go. In this episode of Speaking of Travel, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, shares a life shaped by following the music and trusting where it leads. What stays with you isn’t just the story of the road. It's more the way he moves through the world. From busking days to the guidance of Doc Watson and the deep roots of MerleFest, this conversation opens into something more person...
• Leave No Trace TV Shows Us How To Travel With Purpose 28.03.2026 43min

  What if the way we travel could actually help restore the planet instead of slowly wearing it down? On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we explore how every choice we make, where we go, how we move, where we stay, and how we show up, creates a lasting impact. Travel today is no longer just about seeing the world. Each of us has a responsibility to care for it and protect it. And we must become more conscious of the footprint we leave behind. Join me in welcoming back Richard Crawford (Rick...
• The Spirit Of Travel Never Retires: Love, Resilience, And A Lifetime Of Exploration 21.03.2026 47min

  Today’s Speaking of Travel episode is a heartfelt reminder that the spirit of travel doesn’t fade, but rather deepens, shifting, growing, and finding new meaning with every chapter. Cary Lowe and his wife Trish share the remarkable story of a life shaped by exploration, where each journey has strengthened their bond and expanded their connection to the world, as beautifully captured in his book On Two Legs and Three Wheels. What began as a kindred love of adventure grew into something f...
• Discovering Humanity In The Flavors of Madagascar With Emmanuel Laroche 14.03.2026 46min

  Welcome to the island of Madagascar, a place that feels both distant and deeply connected to the rest of the world. Through the lens of food, culture, and community, guest Emmanuel Laroche invites us to look beyond familiar ingredients and discover the stories, people, and landscapes that shape them. Born in France and now based in New Jersey, he has spent years exploring the world through taste, reminding us that every dish carries a history, and every ingredient holds a human story. In his ...
• Meandering With Meaning Restores Wonder In A Hurried World 02.03.2026 43min

  In a world that rarely pauses, this episode of Speaking of Travel is an invitation to breathe. To slow down. To remember that wonder still lives just outside our door and within our own hearts. Meet Sue Wasserman, Travel and Tourism Director for Explore Burnsville, NC, a writer, nature photographer, devoted critter sitter, and a self-described general meanderer who knows how to pause for life’s most beautiful moments. Sue’s life has been shaped by the rhythms and quiet wisdom of Southern Appa...
• Redemption Beneath The Earth And The Healing of Hidden River Cave 24.02.2026 45min

  What if the greatest stories on Earth aren’t written in the sky but carved in stone beneath our feet? On this illuminating episode of Speaking of Travel, we shine a light on the extraordinary underground ecosystems that hold the living history of our planet. My guest is David Foster, President and CEO of the American Cave Conservation Association and steward of Hidden River Cave in Kentucky. Once considered one of the most polluted caves in the United States, Hidden River Cave is now a powerf...
• Discovering The Italian Way To Wellness Through Community, Cycling, and Connection 17.02.2026 47min

  Travel has a way of waking us up and inviting us to slow down, breathe more deeply, and reconnect with what truly makes us feel alive. In this episode of Speaking of Travel, we welcome Nancy De Losa, Co-Founder of A’qto Italian Cycling Tours, whose work beautifully blends cycling, culture, community, and mindful travel across Italy. Nancy shares how exploring Italy by bike becomes far more than a physical experience. Moving through landscapes at a human pace encourages presence, clarity, and ...
• Where Music, History, And Travel Meet With Cellist Louise Dubin 09.02.2026 43min

  What if listening deeply could carry us across centuries? In this Speaking of Travel episode, cellist Louise Dubin invites us into a world where travel, music, and historical discovery intertwine, reminding us that the most meaningful journeys reconnect us with voices nearly forgotten. Performing across solo, chamber, orchestral, and Broadway stages, including Radio City, Louise brings audiences beyond the concert hall, uncovering hidden musical treasures and restoring them to life with remar...
• Evlyn Mondo On Courage, Change, And Creating Meaningful Luxury in Barbados 04.02.2026 42min

  Some people take trips. Evlyn Mondo built an entirely new life through travel. Her journey from science labs and academic classrooms in Quebec to leading a luxury villa in Barbados is a story of reinvention guided by courage, intuition, and heart. As CEO and Managing Director of Villa Casablanca at Sandy Lane, Evlyn is redefining what luxury truly means by shifting the focus from opulence to connection, sustainability, and experiences that stay with people long after they return home. Drawing...
• A Musical Journey Through Time And Place With Pianist Terry Eder 31.01.2026 46min

  We often think of travel as moving across maps with new cities, new landscapes, new horizons. But the most profound journeys happen in ways you cannot trace on a globe. They happen through music. Through sound. Through the stories hidden in every note. Pianist Terry Eder lives life and art emboding this idea. Her performances have taken her from Carnegie Hall to Alice Tully Hall and beyond, but she doesn’t just play music, she inhabits it. Every piece she touches carries history, culture, mem...