Peak Travel

The Olympics bring a burst of excitement to host cities, but in places like Rio de Janeiro, Sochi, and Atlanta, they often leave behind a legacy of displacement, worker exploitation, and blighted infrastructure. In Paris, will the 2024 games be any different?

Nashville has become the bachelorette party capital of the United States, and residents worry the influx of loud, visible tourists threatens the city’s reputation as a music city.

While other developed countries have invested in their rail systems, the U.S. has leaned into more individualistic ways of getting around. In this episode, we ride cross-country trains in America and China to feel the difference.

Social media has turned Bali’s shrines and temples into a playground for disrespectful tourists, but residents are fighting to preserve the island’s integrity.

Travel can do amazing things: broaden horizons, build relationships, and rejuvenate the soul. But often, those experiences come at a cost.

This is Peak Travel, a new podcast from WHYY about how travel shapes communities in hot-spots around the world. We’ll share the wonder that comes with exploring new places, as well as the harm that our worst travel habits can cause. And we’ll try to figure out how we can do it better.

Each episode transports you to a new destination. You’ll meet the people who call that place home, hear their stories, and come to understand how tourism has changed their everyday lives. Supported by rich, on-location sound from around the world, Peak Travel unpacks the $1.9 trillion travel industry and its impact on people and the planet.