Best Magical Nepal Podcasts (2025)

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In the Warming Arctic, These Inuit Traditions Refuse to Disappear 28:52

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5d ago28:52

28:52

When Métis writer Debbie Olsen heard the haunting sounds of Inuit throat singing for the first time, she felt an unexpected connection to her own Indigenous roots. In northern Quebec's remote Inuit region of Nunavik, she discovered how an entire community is fighting to preserve cultural traditions that were once banned—while adapting to a rapidly …

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LIV: Adventures across Nepal 17:14

6d ago17:14

17:14

Send us a text This week I am shutting my mouth and giving the stage (or rather the microphone) to four of the students I taught whilst out in Nepal. They retold some Nepali myths and legends, recorded them (in a rather echoey classroom) and here they are for you to indulge in. Enjoy! Support the show…

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52 Days on Everest: It Will Break You - Unless You’re Ready. Alex Harz Was. | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 19 55:10

11d ago55:10

55:10

In this exhilarating episode, I talk with Alex Harz, creator and star of the captivating documentary "The Quest Everest." Alex shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories of his meticulous year-long training regimen, intense mental preparation, and unforgettable experiences climbing from Lukla to the summit of Mount Everest. Listen in as Alex revea…

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I Solo Hiked 7,500 Miles from Cape Town to Cairo—and Found Connection at Every Step 42:50

12d ago42:50

42:50

When Turks and Caicos native Mario Rigby landed in Cape Town with nothing but a backpack, a pair of worn-in sneakers, and a dream to walk the length of Africa, he thought maybe he'd made the worst mistake of his life. But actually walking across Africa? That brought peace and a deeper understanding of the power of hospitality, movement, and self di…

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LIII: Walled with love 7:52

13d ago7:52

7:52

Send us a text This week we head to Albania for a story about a castle and a poor woman who became a literal part of it... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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LII: Welcome back! 5:41

20d ago5:41

5:41

Send us a text We are back! Only a short re-introduction this week and a little tale from the wondrous land of Nepal, but we are going to get well underway next week! Support the showBy Sam Collins

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Pro Athlete Turned Hiker Tia Banks’s Mind Over Mountains Journey After a Grade 5 Knee Tear | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 18 40:43

1M ago40:43

40:43

Tia Banks never laced up hiking boots until her mid-30s—after a career as a pro basketball and flag-football athlete was cut short by a Grade 5 cartilage tear in her right knee. In this 41-minute episode, we explore: Reinventing yourself after injury: How she pivoted from court and field into totally unfamiliar trails, rediscovered her identity and…

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94K Feet Up, 88 Pounds Down: 30-Day Upper Dolpo Nepal Trek at 67—Stairs, Treadmills & Deadlifts | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 17 23:30

1M ago23:30

23:30

I’ll never forget the email that landed in my inbox last November. “Failure isn’t an option,” Trudy wrote. “How do I get in tip-top shape for a 30-day Upper Dolpo trek?” Fast-forward five months: Trudy—67 years young and 88 pounds lighter—had logged almost 275 miles and 94,000 feet of elevation gain training, half of it on real stairs and mountain …

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Kilimanjaro Confidence Blueprint: Altitude Adaptation, Route Savvy, Guide Magic | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 16 46:00

2M ago46:00

46:00

I’ve been a fitness partner with Thomson Safaris since 2009. So when I finally got the chance to interview someone from their team, I didn’t waste time on the usual fluff—no “best time to go,” no “how high is the mountain,” and no softball questions to promote their brand. We went straight to the real issue that every Kilimanjaro trekker talks abou…

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Free 12-Week Hiking Training Plans Helped Matthew Summit Kilimanjaro, Choose Any Hiking Challenge and Train | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 15 19:45

2M ago19:45

19:45

On today’s episode of the Hike Strong Podcast, I'm talking with Matthew, who shares his inspiring journey from feeling unhealthy and unmotivated to successfully completing a Kilimanjaro summit—his very first multi-day trek. Matthew used my FREE 12-Week Hiking Training Plans from FitForTrips.com to get fit, lose weight, and build the essential leg s…

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A Hiker’s Story: From Doubt to Determination | Exercise to Hiking-Focused Training | Kili to Backpacking | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 14 19:50

4M ago19:50

19:50

In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Renee—one of my amazing clients living in Montana at the time of her successful summit, now living in Alaska. Even if Kilimanjaro isn’t on your radar, you’ll find plenty of motivation and training nuggets here for anyone who’s ever felt overwhelmed by a big, iconic hike. Renee was 40 when she …

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Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski Ate Around the World With Your Favorite Celebrities. These Are the Meals That Still Haunt Him 33:22

4M ago33:22

33:22

Antoni Porowski, our favorite culinary expert from Queer Eye, takes you behind-the-scenes of his new National Geographic show, No Taste Like Home (premiering February 23, 2025). In this episode, he shares the connection that sent him crying off camera with Awkwafina, the dish that defeated his adventurous palate with Henry Golding, and how his Poli…

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14ers, Everest Base Camp & Kilimanjaro | Your Path to Non-Technical High-Altitude Trekking | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 13 44:59

4M ago44:59

44:59

I sat down once again with Will Burkhart, founder of Badass Adventures, to dive into a new topic: non-technical high-altitude mountaineering. Will was my very first guest on this podcast, and his episode on Rim to Rim hiking is a must-listen for anyone tackling the Grand Canyon in a single day. But today, we’re going even higher! We define non-tech…

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Required R2R & TMB Listening, Hiking Training Tips, Dealing with Knee Pain | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 12 47:07

5M ago47:07

47:07

In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with one of my amazing clients from Maryland, John. He was 62 years old at the time he hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc and a one-day Rim to Rim hike within one month of each other. Our conversation toggles back and forth between TMB and R2R. You’ll learn about John’s hiking training strategies, tips f…

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LI: Flower Power 9:09

7M ago9:09

9:09

Send us a text A tale of kindness from two countries this week, and also the last episode for a while. What You May Have Mythed! is going on hiatus until June 2025 as I am away travelling. But fear not, on 5th June 2025 we shall be returning with stories I have collected on my travels. Support the show…

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L: Curiosity kills 9:20

7M ago9:20

9:20

Send us a text We venture this time to the largest island in the world for a story about a sea monster with a taste for naughty children... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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XLIX: A tail of magic 7:30

8M ago7:30

7:30

Send us a text For the first time we slither our way to the sixth largest island in the world for a wonderfully whimsical tale. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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XLVIII: Light of my life 9:11

8M ago9:11

9:11

Send us a text This week we are venturing to the cold, northern wastes of Siberia for an odd tale about the Sun and the Moon. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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XLVII: Fire, ash, and dust 14:59

8M ago14:59

14:59

Send us a text We return to the Roman Empire this week for a full 'on this day in history' episode as is is the 1,945th anniversary of the destruction of Pompeii. *Trigger warning as this episode contains some graphic details about how the citizens of Pompeii perished. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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Ultralight Wisdom: Glen Van Peski on Gear, Adventure, and Life Lessons | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 11 41:06

8M ago41:06

41:06

In this episode of the Hike Strong podcast, host Marcus Shapiro sits down with a true icon in the ultralight backpacking world, Glen Van Peski. Known by his trail name "Home Made" for his self-crafted gear, Glen is also dubbed "Legend" by friends like John Mackey, co-founder of Whole Foods Market, due to his profound influence on the hiking communi…

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XLVI: Grind me a river 7:55

8M ago7:55

7:55

Send us a text We return once again to West Africa and a familiar face makes an appearance... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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XLV: Bake-off 6:41

9M ago6:41

6:41

Send us a text We return to England this week and into a short story from Herefordshire. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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XLIV: What a colossal building 15:52

9M ago15:52

15:52

Send us a text We return to an ancient city to look at one particular building. It's big. It's round. And it was a theatre of death. Hmm, I wonder... Support the show

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Backpacking Training Success with Zero Hiking, Building Confidence for Wilderness Backpacking, Endorsement Episode | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 10 28:50

9M ago28:50

28:50

My name is Marcus Shapiro, a hiking strength and conditioning coach and the founder of FitForTrips.com. Today, I had the pleasure of speaking with one of my backpacking clients, Dermot. At age 54, he successfully completed an incredible 8-day backpacking adventure in the Maroon Bells. In our conversation, we dove into the key challenges he faced du…

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XLIII: Some peas and quiet 6:08

9M ago6:08

6:08

Send us a text A short tale from one of our Danish friends, and a story about a very small vegetable and a rather large bed... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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Ultralight Backpacking Ideas for Beginners, Tips to Lighten Your Backpack, How to Transition to Lighter Backpacking | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 09 50:01

9M ago50:01

50:01

My loyal audience is accustomed to tuning in to my interviews with hiking and backpacking guides. But today, I'm taking a detour to speak with an interesting guy named Nathan (Nate) Pipenberg. I was reading an article titled "The Best Backpacking Packs for Any Adventure" on the Outside app. At the bottom of the article, it reads, "Meet our testers.…

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XLII: Thor's Toy Story 12:43

9M ago12:43

12:43

Send us a text We return to the cold lands of Jotunheim this week and back into Norse Mythology. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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The Spontaneous (Travel!) Story of How Afar Came to Be 1:03:55

10M ago1:03:55

1:03:55

No plan. No luggage. Five weeks in India. Joe Diaz and Greg Sullivan, dreamed up Afar on a beach in Goa more than 15 years ago. In this candid episode from our sister podcast, Unpacked, they reflect on what they’ve learned by helping people travel deeper. From the spontaneous trips that honed the company’s values to how they’ve helped shape the tra…

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XLI: It's just one wall after another. 12:21

10M ago12:21

12:21

Send us a text This week we have a request episode from Yasmin and it concerns a city of many walls in the sunny south of France. Any guesses? Support the showBy Sam Collins

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XL: Plough did you manage that? 6:21

10M ago6:21

6:21

Send us a text We return for the first time in over three years to Türkiye and a story very different from the one we heard when we were last here... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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Kilimanjaro Training Tips, Building Confidence To Summit Kilimanjaro, Endorsement Episode | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 08 20:46

10M ago20:46

20:46

My name is Marcus Shapiro. I am a hiking strength and conditioning coach and founder of FitForTrips.com. Today, I had the privilege of speaking with one of my Kilimanjaro trekking clients. His name is David, and he was 65 at the time of his successful Kilimanjaro summit. Our conversation revealed the elements that led to his climbing achievement. T…

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Want to Get to the Soul of Switzerland? Jump Into a River. 20:58

10M ago20:58

20:58

Not only can you swim in the rivers of Bern and Basel— but thousands of locals regularly take the plunge. From a morning commute to a relaxing weekend escape, discover how rivers are at the heart of everyday Swiss life. In this episode of Travel Tales by Afar, Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim, follows the currents of Switzerland's alpine rivers i…

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XXXIX: She made a pigs ear of that 7:45

10M ago7:45

7:45

Send us a text We return, for the first time in a while, to England for a peculiar tale involving a woman, a pig, and many other beasts and inanimate objects... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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Only 10 People Have Walked Around the World—and One Dog. 48:35

10M ago48:35

48:35

Tom Turcich and his dog, Savannah, completed their world walk in 2022. On this week’s episode of Travel Tales, we hear their story. We first talked with Tom and Savannah back in 2021, when they were in Kyrgyzstan, six years into their journey, which began in 2015. They had been held up by the pandemic, which was only one of many ordeals they faced …

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XXXVIII: Food for thought 5:06

10M ago5:06

5:06

Send us a text A brief tale from the Brothers Grimm this week, but a thought provoking one. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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A Cross-Country Road Trip Helped Make the World Safer (and More Fun!) for Queer Travelers 18:49

10M ago18:49

18:49

Road trips are such funny things. They allow more room for whimsy and spontaneity. They can inspire frank conversation, sitting side by side with someone, looking out at endless stretches of highway. And they can be dull (all that endless highway) in a way that somehow opens your mind to other possibilities and maybe even other lives. That’s what h…

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XXXVII: I'm just lion around 6:19

10M ago6:19

6:19

Send us a text A short episode this week that heralds the return of the German brothers and a story about a fox, a lion, and a horse. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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I Traveled the World With President Obama. Now, I Help Give Young Women the Same Chance. 23:59

11M ago23:59

23:59

Deesha Dyer never thought she’d wind up in the White House. As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, she desperately wanted to travel but it always felt out of reach. Until she landed a coveted internship in the Obama administration, working in the office that arranged all of the president’s travel. Over the next eight years, she would travel around th…

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XXXVI: I spy(der) with my little eye 6:41

11M ago6:41

6:41

Send us a text A short tale about a Squirrel and a Spider (three guesses which one) from West Africa. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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Sunny Stroeer, Hiking at Altitude Explained, Fueling For Hikes, Trekking Pole Powers | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 07 1:06:07

11M ago1:06:07

1:06:07

Oh, so you don’t know who Sunny Stroeer is? Do you know what an FKT is? Have you heard a clear explanation of how to hike successfully at high altitudes? Do you think trekking poles are for wimps? Sunny provides answers to these questions and more. So what are you waiting for? Click play now! In this really fun interview, Marcus Shapiro skillfully …

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When Zebras Taught Me to Drive in Namibia 34:38

11M ago34:38

34:38

Imagine this: You’re slowly driving through Etosha National Park, Namibia’s renowned conservation area. There are elephants and zebras and antelopes and lions all around you. In fact, you’ve been warned not to exit your car because of those very lions, which are pros at camouflaging themselves in the desert landscape. And then your car stalls—becau…

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XXXV: Wet a catastrophe 6:13

11M ago6:13

6:13

Send us a text Our first venture into the myths of The Philippines and it's going to get rather wet... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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Is This Europe’s Most Underrated Food Tradition? 24:31

11M ago24:31

24:31

Some of our favorite travel moments are the ones you’d never in a million years expect. These are where the best travel stories are born. And this week, Afar’s executive editor, Billie Cohen, has a very delicious, very serendipitous story for us. As you’ll hear in the episode, Billie was in Estonia (one of Afar’s picks for where to travel in 2024) …

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XXXIV: A mountainous tragedy 6:29

11M ago6:29

6:29

Send us a text We return to Japan for a rather peculiar episode about an old couple, a badger, and a hare... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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In Mumbai, Everyone Thought I Was a Local. Here’s How I Became One. 19:42

11M ago19:42

19:42

When Afar editorial director Sarika Bansal was 22, she moved to Mumbai. As you’ll hear in her Travel Tale this week, she grew up in New York and visited India (where her parents were born) frequently. Yet the visits often felt cloistered. But many years later in Mumbai, she didn’t have to worry about meeting family expectations, and she was free to…

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XXXIII: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? 7:51

11M ago7:51

7:51

Send us a text This week we return to the homeland of mythology for a short tale of a father, his son, an island, and some feathers. Support the showBy Sam Collins

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The Unexpected Magic of a Turkish Barbershop 20:35

12M ago20:35

20:35

When it comes to relationships, often there’s the planner—and then there’s the go-with-the-flow-er. And today’s episode of Travel Tales by Afar is all about what happens when the planner hesitantly chucks the travel to-do list and lets serendipity lead the way. Beth Santos is the planner in this particular story. She’s the founder of Wanderful, an …

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XXXII: A hair raising affair 8:53

12M ago8:53

8:53

Send us a text Apologies for the lack of an episode last week, but we are now back up and running with an tale from my favourite mythology... Support the showBy Sam Collins

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Replay: Comedian Michelle Buteau, "I Got Stood Up in Paris!" 23:43

12M ago23:43

23:43

This week, we’re replaying one of our favorite Travel Tales episodes: Comedian and actress Michelle Buteau—and her best friend—fly to Paris to meet their supposed French boyfriends. Only things don’t exactly go to plan . . . Michelle Buteau is a comedian and actress, known for her roles in Always Be My Maybe, The First Wives Club, Someone Great, Ru…

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Backpacking Challenges, Discover New Grand Canyon Hikes, Training Tips, Mt. Whitney | Hike Strong Podcast | Ep. 06 1:00:07

12M ago1:00:07

1:00:07

As you read this, take a moment to ask yourself: Would I benefit from testing my mental and physical capabilities? If you answer yes, I have an alternative to endurance obstacle courses like Tough Mudder or Spartan Race. Consider challenging yourself by going on a backpacking adventure through some of the most iconic areas in the contiguous United …