The latest Talking Travel podcast went live today, talking about the World Cup, South Africa and, just to broaden the appeal, the Houston Rodeo.
Bush House - from London to the world
Recording the podcast is always fun, and requires a trip deep into the labyrinth of studios and corridors of Bush House, the iconic home of the BBC World Service. The inscription above the door of this wonderful building reads ‘Dedicated to the friendship of English-speaking peoples’.
Bush House is on Aldwych (definitive articles need not apply), the oddly-positioned buffer between the Strand and River Thames beyond and Holborn and Covent Garden to the north and west. Best known to older Londoners as giving the name to a disused stub of Piccadilly Line, the area is also home to the London School of Economics, the Indian and Australian High Commissions. Two superb churches, St Clement Danes (with Samuel Johnson lurking round the back) and St Mary-le-Strand, marooned in the middle of the busy road, can be found close by. Robert records from BBC America’s studios in midtown Manhattan, while Clark drives from PRIs HQ in Boston, Massachusetts, from whence sprang musical genius Jonathan Richman.
The podcast is a joint effort between Public Radio International’s The World programme and Lonely Planet, and contributors reflect this. Here’s a little more about the voices on the recording:
Clark Boyd
Clark Boyd in Hungary
Location: Boston, Massachusetts USA
Favourite destination(s): Edinburgh, Scotland, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, Bryce Canyon, Utah, US
Next destination: Moving to Brussels, Belgium
What I like about recording the podcast: I normally cover technology for the show, so hosting Talking Travel gives me a chance to explore something new and different. I feel like I’m learning loads about one of my favourite things to do: travel.
Robert Reid
Robert Reid in Mexico
Location: New York City
Favourite destination: Home after a long trip, when curiosity radar is still activated and you see familiar things in new light; or Mexico
Next destination: A hobo convention in Mississippi, seriously
What you like about recording the podcast: It is simply a pleasure to be a part of, and I enjoy listening to the result – and learning from Tom and Clark – as much as making it.
Tom Hall
Tom Hall in X-Ray Machine, Manchester Airport
Location: London
Favourite destination: Paris, Rome or anywhere in Africa
Next destination: Cardiff, Wales
What you like about recording the podcast: having a chance to explore themes and destinations in detail, and the transatlantic banter.
We’d welcome your comments and suggestions for what you’d like to hear on Talking Travel, so get in touch if you have any thoughts.
Tom Hall: travel, London, other things 