There's no shortage of travel advice out there. Who can save us a buck, what to do, when's the best time to go, where to go. But one fundamental question often gets left behind: Why?
That's the question driving Y We Travel, a new podcast from Toronto Pearson that explores the deeper motivations behind our journeys—and reveals how those motivations fit into the fast-moving trends shaping how the world moves.
Born from an award-winning magazine series of the same name, Y We Travel is co-hosted by Eric Weiner and Erica Vella. Eric is a New York Times bestselling author and former foreign correspondent whose wanderlust first led him to run away from home at age five. Erica is an award-winning podcaster and former broadcast journalist who now works at Toronto Pearson.
Together, they bring two distinct vantage points to every conversation—one shaped by decades of writing about place and meaning, the other grounded in the daily rhythm of an airport that connects millions of people to the rest of the world.
Each episode pairs an interview with a leading travel writer or thinker alongside a conversation with someone whose work brings those ideas to life. Guests in the first season include renowned travel writer Pico Iyer, architect Moshe Safdie, columnist Elizabeth Renzetti, survivalist Les Stroud, adventurer Melanie Vogel and Porter Airlines CEO Michael Deluce. The themes range widely: travelling to meet our neighbours, travelling to return home, travelling to experience awe, travelling to taste and travelling to heal.
What ties it all together is a curiosity about the human side of travel—the reasons we leave, the reasons we come back, and what we carry with us in between. Why would someone vacation in North Korea? Why do passengers plan trips around the world's best airport? Why is airport cuisine suddenly a thing? Why do travel patterns shift, and what does it mean when they do?
Y We Travel is a conversation about meaning, told by people who have spent their lives thinking about—and moving through—the world.
The first episode is available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.
Read the companion essays at ywetravelmag.ca.