The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust
Belinda Jackson & Kirstie Bedford

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162 episodes
- This week, the travel community farewells Glenn A Baker, who was not only a rock historian and journalist, but an avid traveller who'd visited more than 150 countries, documenting his travels in books and the Australian media.
An accomplished radio presenter who was instrumental in the creation of JJ and JJJ, he also presented Qantas' inflight music entertainment for decades.
Glenn was also our guest on the podcast. For our interview, Belle asked him to create a musical roadtrip through the USA, a task that he immediately said required at least two episodes to cover.
For us, the iconic music journalist designed a custom soundtrack and playlist/mixtape alongside a guided itinerary of southern blues, soul, and R&B landmarks, which we're resharing here.
His interview demonstrated Glenn's deep knowledge and love for music: the Australian music industry has lost one of its greatest advocates.
The World Awaits sends our condolences to his family and close friends, including many in our extended travel writing community.
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Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au EP 156 ¡Vamos a Argentina! Sultry tango, huge steaks and epic roadtrips with travel planner Rebecca Arnold
29/07/2026 | 38 mins.Stylish and sultry, home of the tango, gargantuan steaks and runners up in the World Cup - this week we're going to Argentina! Melbourne-based travel consultant, writer and serial expat Rebecca Arnold has called Buenos Aires home, and is just back from her most recent research trip for her travel planner service, Rebecca and the World.
We're checking the vibe in Buenos Aires - is tango a cliché, is the wine that good and should I go see the Boca Juniors play? Rebecca also shares some epic roadtrip itineraries in this fascinating, got-it-all country.
Rebecca is offering listeners a 30% discount on her hour-long travel planning consultations on Argentina – visit rebeccaandtheworld.com and use the discount code THEWORLDAWAITS.
Also, comparison site iSelect reveals the in-flight habit Aussies hate more than noisy children, and if you have a medical emergency while you travel, do you know which countries have reciprocal health agreements with Australia? Stay tuned.
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Visit us at https://theworldawaits.auEP 155 Hot Take: Travel books - from modern pilgrimages to destination crime & the top Aussie tourist spots
22/07/2026 | 29 mins.We're talking travel books, starting with some of the favourites of the man behind travel guide books, Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler.
We also chat about our favourite travel books: non-fiction for co-host Belinda Jackson, including modern pilgrimages and some genre-defining classics, and co-host Kirstie Bedford's focus on destination crime, given that's what she writes wearing her authorial crime fiction hat ... although she does drop in one of her favourite new release non-fiction books too.
Also, we discuss one of the biggest topics in travel right now – the death of the paper arrival card, and our tip is from travel experts at Iglu Cruise, who has come up with the top tourist attractions in Australia – have you been to them all?
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Visit us at https://theworldawaits.auEP 154 Winter Series: Adventurers - filmmaker Dianne Whelan on the Trans Canada Trail & Tim Jarvis AM's Antarctic journeys
15/07/2026 | 59 mins.This week have interviews with two remarkable adventurers.
At 50, filmmaker Dianne Whelan set out to walk and kayak the longest trail in the world, the 24,000km-long Trans Canada Trail.
Her film, 500 days in the Wild, opened recently in Australia and documents her extraordinary six-year journey. She talks about the project, paddling 8000km of water trails and walking, biking and snowshoeing 16,000km.
Our second interview is with Adventurer, environmental scientist, author, filmmaker, philanthropist, speaker, and Australian of the Year Tim Jarvis AM.
He chats to us about two of the harshest and most extreme Antarctic expeditions he completed – Douglas Mawson and Ernest Shackleton's survival journeys- and he did them in the original clothing, with the same gear used a century ago.
Jarvis also talks about his latest expedition and how travel can inspire conservation and the difference every traveller can make.
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Visit us at https://theworldawaits.auEP 153 Winter Series: Taking flight - demistifying frequent flyer points & the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot
08/07/2026 | 1h 1 mins.First up Toby Venus of the Point Hacks podcast joins us to demystify frequent flyer points – how to earn, how to burn and creating a checklist to keep your points in good shape and working for you.
Coming to you from the Novotel Melbourne Airport, Toby shares some sneaky hacks, and we're talking gift cards, credit cards, hotel loyalty programs and the difference between rewards seats and the perils of the points-plus-pay scheme, so buckle up, avgeeks!
Then, the heartfelt story of Silva McLeod, the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot, who wrote about her incredible journey from 'Island Girl to Airline Pilot' in a memoir of that name.
As well as telling us about her remarkable story, she also breaks down some myths about flying, from where pilots sleep to whether you should drink the water on the plane.
Buy her book here: exislepublishing.com/product/island-girl-to-airline-pilot/
Support the show
Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au
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About The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust
Where does your wanderlust lead you? To Melbourne’s cafes or the vast deserts of the Empty Quarter, a New Zealand vineyard or the pavements of New York… what’s your neighbourhood? Join travel journalists and editors Kirstie Bedford and Belinda Jackson for inspiring stories and inside information from across the world. Website https://theworldawaits.auInstagram @theworldawaitspodcast Support us https://ko-fi.com/theworldawaits (thank you!)
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