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The First Mile is an immersive travel podcast, bringing you untold stories from the world of adventure. It is presented by Ash Bhardwaj and Pip Stewart — two travel journalists, who are adventurers in their own right — and explores everything from the ethics of cultural tourism, to documenting your journeys and making a living from travel. Ash and Pip navigate this territory with some of the world’s greatest travellers, who reveal how they got their first break in travel writing, planned remote expeditions, or made the switch from a corporate career to a life of adventure. Alongside these in-depth interviews are travel-narrative dispatches: evocative field recordings from Ash and Pip’s adventures, which take the listener along for the ride. New episodes are released weekly, in 10-episode seasons. ****** Season one’s interview guests include: author Monisha Rajesh, explorer Levison Wood, film-maker Reza Pakravan, and travel-writer Leon McCarron. Our dispatches come from Annapurna, Nepal, and Whanganui, New Zealand, where our hosts report back on rites of passage, celestial navigation, the joys of moonshine liquor, and a whole lot more. ****** Ash Bhardwaj is an award-winning broadcaster, film-maker and Telegraph Travel columnist. He regularly reports for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, and his films have appeared on BBC, Channel 4, Discovery and National Geographic. Pip Stewart has cycled halfway around the world and completed a world-first kayak descent of Guyana’s Essequibo River (where she picked up a flesh-eating parasite). She is the former Red Bull adventure editor, and her presenting work has appeared on BBC, Al Jazeera and The Telegraph. ****** We hope you enjoy The First Mile. Please let us know what you think of it in the comments, and give us a rating, too.
We’re back! In this episode we discuss travel writing ahead of Ash’s debut book, Why We Travel. We discuss motivations for travel - why it matters, how we can do it better and if it can it help us to live more fulfilling lives…
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We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s episode and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or X @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.
*Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!
We’re coming back! The podcast is all about travel, why it matters, how we can do it better and if it can help us live more fulfilling lives.
We really value your input so do let us know what you’d like to see in season two. If you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or X @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.
Rhiane Fatinikun on Getting Started in the Outdoors, and the Importance of Diversity.
In the final episode of Season 1, we meet Rhiane Fatinikun, the founder of Black Girls Hike.
Rhiane founded Black Girls Hike in 2019, to provide a safe space for Black women to explore the outdoors. It is now a thriving community, with groups based in the North West, the Midlands and London.
In this episode, Rhiane tells us about how she went from having no hiking experience or equipment (and being unable to read a map) to leading a national hiking movement. She also shares her hints and tips on how to create communities and take that first step towards trying something new.
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We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s The First Mile and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or Twitter @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.
*Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!
Leon McCarron on Slow Travel and Misunderstood Places.
In this episode, Ash meets Leon McCarron: writer, broadcaster, and North Face explorer.
Leon has walked a 1000-mile loop of the Holy Land, crossed China from north to south, and travelled on foot in Kosovo, Armenia and on the Yemeni island of Socotra. He has also cycled 14,000 miles across three continents, walked through the Empty Quarter desert, and ridden across Patagonia on horseback. Leon’s work seeks out stories of humanity and nuance in parts of the world that are often demonised or misunderstood by Western media.
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We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s The First Mile and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or Twitter @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.
*Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!
Dispatch from New Zealand: Maori Hakas, Sacred Rivers, and Jet-boat Evacuations.
In this action-packed Dispatch episode, we join Ash in Aotearoa New Zealand's North Island. Ash tackles rapids, learns about Maori culture (including traditional navigational techniques) - and makes it back to the UK just before lockdown hit.
Ash meets the captain of an ocean-going waka, who left the New Zealand Army to navigate oceans with just the stars, the weather, and the taste of the water. Then he canoes down the Whanganui River in the company of a man who teaches Maori heritage and history through a river journey.
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Pip Stewart on Creating a Lifestyle Career, and Making Social Media Work for You.
Ever wondered how to become a so-called “influencer”? The secret is storytelling.
In this episode, Ash interviews his friend and co-host, Pip Stewart.
Pip has cycled halfway around the world, embarked on a world-first kayak journey through the Amazon and survived a flesh-eating parasite. She talks about how she accidentally fell into a career in travel journalism, how one massive adventure changed her life, and why she sees social media as the route to editorial independence.
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We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s The First Mile and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or Twitter @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.
*Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!
Ash Bhardwaj on Adventure With Purpose and Becoming a Travel Journalist.
How can you travel the world and get paid for it? Ash Bhardwaj is a travel writer and storyteller - and also co-host of The First Mile. He’s reported from around the world for global broadcasters such as the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4, has a monthly travel column in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, and has made films for Channel 4, Discovery and the BBC.
In this special episode, Pip interviews her co-host about launching and sustaining career in adventure travel. If you want to travel with purpose, or make a living out of travel, this is the episode for you.
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We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s The First Mile and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart or Twitter @AshBhardwaj and @PipStewart.
*Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!
Reza Pakravan on Funding Your Journeys, and Switching From a Corporate Career to a Life of Adventure.
Have you ever wondered how to completely change your life? Reza Pakravan did just that, packing in his corporate life in London for a life of adventure.
Reza has cycled the length of the planet, made (and presented) TV shows highlighting important global issues for some of the world’s top broadcasters, written a few books, and bagged world records along the way. But it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.
In this episode, Reza not only shares his incredible travel stories, but also why he started a brand new career at the age of 37, how he found the confidence to redefine himself - and how you can do the same.
Reza is just about to release his brand new Amazon Prime series World's Most Dangerous Borders, and in this episode, he reveals how he planned, prepared, produced, and funded the series.
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We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s The First Mile and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @ashbhardwaj and @pipstewart or Twitter @AshBhardwaj and @Stewart_Pip.
*Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!
Dispatch from Nepal: The Gurkhas and the British Army
The relationship between the British Army and Nepal’s Gurkhas has been a long standing one, and in our second immersive Dispatch episode, Ash Bhardwaj travels to Nepal to join a photographic journey led by two ex-Gurkha officers.
From digging into the intensity of the Gurkha selection process, to understanding the history and bond between Britain and Nepal, this episode discusses how travel can intersect with history and teach us more about our own society, as well as the country we’re visiting.
This episode that will capture your imagination and transport you to the highest mountains of the world, alongside two people who've made it their life's work to understand the country and its people.
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We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s The First Mile and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @ashbhardwaj and @pipstewart or Twitter @AshBhardwaj and @Stewart_Pip.
*Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!
Monisha Rajesh on Getting Published, Travelling with Kids, and Why Diversity Matters.
Is being a travel writer all it’s cracked up to be? In this interview episode, award-winning author Monisha Rajesh shares tales of her train journeys across the world and the details of how she made (and funds) her career. She also highlights some of the pitfalls along the way.
This episode is packed with tips on everything from "travelling with kids", to "how to break into journalism". Monisha also explains just why we need more diverse voices in travel writing.
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We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s The First Mile and if you’ve got any suggestions of topics or people you’d like to hear interviewed. Drop us a line on Instagram @ashbhardwaj and @pipstewart or Twitter @AshBhardwaj and @Stewart_Pip.
*Please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you!
Amanda is a wife. A mother. A blogger. A Christian.
A charming, beautiful, bubbly, young woman who lives life to the fullest.
But Amanda is dying, with a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.
She starts a blog detailing her cancer journey, and becomes an inspiration, touching and
captivating her local community as well as followers all over the world.
Until one day investigative producer Nancy gets an anonymous tip telling her to look at Amanda’s
blog, setting Nancy on an unimaginable road to uncover Amanda’s secret.
Award winning journalist Charlie Webster explores this unbelievable and bizarre, but
all-too-real tale, of a woman from San Jose, California whose secret ripped a family apart and
left a community in shock.
Scamanda is the true story of a woman whose own words held the key to her secret.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow Scamanda on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Amanda’s blog posts are read by actor Kendall Horn.
