Travel With Meaning

Episode 108 of the Travel With Meaning podcast features a conversation with Bruce Wallin, a travel journalist who has experienced his share of meaningful adventures.

As editorial director for Robb Report for 15 years covering luxury travel to co-founding Trip magazine in the nineties, and today as the host of the award-winning #travelthatmatters podcast.

In our conversation, Bruce shares his thoughts on wellness travel, and what sparked his desire to enter travel publishing + journalism and his most meaningful adventure.

Bruce sums up what travel means to him simply as “fun” and we couldn’t agree more.

Enjoy our conversation with Bruce.

#Travelwithmeaning #Travelstories #Travel

As the first African-American woman to host her own science television series, Danni is deeply passionate about inspiring the next generation to connect and understand the natural world. She has spent the last 10 years finding creative ways to convert her passion for the ocean and science into exciting, high-profile ways. Miami native with Jamaican roots, Danni Washington is deeply passionate about exposing the next generation to the wonders of the ocean and engaging science communications. She dreamed of studying the oceans since she was six years old. In 2008, Danni graduated from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science with a B.Sc. in Marine Science/Biology. At age 21, she co-founded along with her mom, Michelle Swaby-Smith the Big Blue & You - A 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and educating youth about marine conservation through the arts and media. "Ocean Conservation through Artistic Inspiration". She also served for four years as a naturalist at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center where she helped educate thousands of South Florida children about local marine ecosystems.

For three years, Danni served as an on-camera personality and science filmmaker with Untamed Science which created nearly 200 K-12 Science Educational Videos for Pearson textbooks that are currently in classrooms across the USA), Ocean GEMS (a multimedia series and outreach program connecting teens to marine scientists mentors and role models inspiring them to pursue careers in marine science) and she also co-starred with Jaden Smith in the official educational outreach video for the theatrical film After Earth starring Jaden and his dad, Will Smith. Most recently, Danni is working as the host of a brand new STEM educational TV Series which features the latest advancements in bio-inspired technology and design called XPLORATION NATURE KNOWS BEST which is syndicated on FOX and available on HULU, Amazon Prime, Roku and Yahoo View.

Danni was also featured as a commentator in Discovery’s original series, STRANGE EVIDENCE on the Science Channel. She co-created and produced a new initiative called Sea Youth Rise Up which is a collaborative effort to elevate the role of youth leadership in ocean conservation policy and advocacy on World Oceans Day. In 2017, Danni was selected as one of the 10 young innovators who was profiled in CA Technologies #STEM10 initiative featured on Amy Poehlers . Most recently, Danni served as spokesperson of the nation’s largest celebration of STEM at the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington D.C.

Danni has a deep appreciation for the arts and seeks any creative outlet to express herself including dance, film and music. She is an avid scuba diver, passionate curly girl, stand-up paddle boarding enthusiast, MOCHA MERMAID and overall lover of the natural world, she is ALWAYS ready for an ADVENTURE.

Hunter Jones: I'm a 24-year-old professional surfer, news personality, video editor & model from Los Angeles, California. I've been fortunate enough to have been able to travel the world and surf some of the best waves on the planet and experience new cultures. From a young age, I loved being creative and found video editing and producing as a passion. My love for surfing and editing really fell hand in hand. As the former Social Media Coordinator for the WSL, I was producing content daily as well as editing global commercials & campaigns. Now as a freelance editor, I’m able to work on all different types of videos from anywhere in the world. In addition to surfing and working as a creative, I also spend a lot of time in front of the camera. I’ve starred in multiple commercials, acted as a stuntman, appeared on reality TV and co-host a daily surf based news show.I'm just stoked to be doing what I'm doing and meeting like-minded people who all share the same love for the ocean and making rad content."

Christina Ochoa is an actress, producer and science communicator with a particular focus on Wildlife. She is on the advisory board of OCEANA and is a board member of EARTHS OCEANS amongst others. Born and raised in Barcelona, she is the great-niece of NOBEL prize laureate Severo Ochoa an active member of MENSA. Christina graduated from Santa Isabel La Asunción in Madrid, and went on to study Oceanographic engineering at ULPGC, off the coast of Africa in the Canary Islands. She continued with advanced marine biology studies at James Cook University in Australia, where she focused on Elasmobranchii, as well as taking part in programs through the Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia in Spain. A member of the Los Angeles Committee for Science for Society, official host of the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and has collaborated with MESA since 2011. Currently, she can be seen reprising her role as Renn on the TNT show ANIMAL KINGDOM, as well as on ABC's "A Million Little Things". When she is not acting or producing with her partner Karen Gorostieta in their company QE PRODUCTIONS (Quantum Entanglement), you can usually find her working in Wildlife conservation or underwater."

Kaj Larsen was born in Santa Cruz, California, and graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a degree in Political Science. At Harvard University he received his Masters degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. At Harvard, Kaj was awarded a fellowship from the Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics, and Public Policy. He was also a joint fellow at Tufts Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism studies. His focus includes international security policy, media politics, and political affairs. Kaj is an award winning filmmaker and correspondent. He was recently the Senior Correspondent and Producer for Now This News. He previously hosted the Emmy award winning series VICE on HBO. At VICE Kaj has produced documentaries on conflict and national security issues. He is the only journalist to be embedded in the Nigerian fight against Boko Haram, and conducted the first exclusive interview with the architect of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program. Prior to Now This and Vice Kaj was a correspondent at CNN as a member of CNN’s Special Investigations and Documentary unit. His on-camera career began in 2005 when he covered the war in Afghanistan for Current TV. At Current TV Kaj helped develop the Emmy Award winning Vanguard Journalism series. He was the first journalist to bring the issue of waterboarding to the public by having himself waterboarded on TV. He broke the media silence on Somalia by being the first western TV journalist in Mogadishu in over a decade. He has since gone on to report from war zones and conflict spots around the world, in places such as Pakistan, Yemen, Cambodia, Colombia, West Africa, and Latin America. His feature documentaries have covered topics ranging from the drug war in Mexico to the devastating floods in Pakistan to Wikileaks. His reporting is distinguished by his in-field and in-depth examination of difficult and dangerous topics around conflict zones, national security, and criminal justice. Kaj’s intrepid reporting and powerful filmmaking has put him at the vanguard of a new broadcast journalism. He frequently appears on other media outlets such as ABC, NBC, MSNBC, and the Huffington Post. He was the senior correspondent and host of The Current Election, a daily show about politics and public policy. As a producer Kaj has created hit television series such as US Navy Pirate Hunters, a one-hour special for Spike TV, and LOCKUP the highly rated show about life in American prison for air on MSNBC. He was Aaron Sorkin’s private consultant on the hit HBO series Newsroom. His work has earned him critical acclaim including an Emmy nomination, a Peabody nomination, two Telly awards, and several Golden Cine awards. Prior to his work in television, Kaj spent five years on active duty serving as a US Navy SEAL. As a Lieutenant he led a team of special warfare personnel in covert operations overseas deploying as a detachment Commander in support of the Global War on Terrorism. He continues his service as a SEAL reserve officer assigned to US Special Operations Command. Kaj is a two time national champion open-water swimmer, and placed third in the Escape from Alcatraz duathalon. Kaj has lived extensively overseas, including Thailand, where he studied Muay Thai boxing. He is a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and frequently competes in mixed martial arts competitions. Kaj used his pay from the service to help launch The Mission Continues, and served on the Board of Directors for five years. Kaj also serves on the Boards of Advisors to the Veteran service organization Team Rubicon Global. He has deployed three times in support of Team Rubicon to render Humanitarian assistance in Pakistan, the Philippines, and the US.

Episode 107 is a special conversation recorded in front of a live audience at the infamous Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, CA.

This podcast features one of our favorite past guests, Ruben Rojas an artist, author, podcast host, a new dad, and Founder of Live Through Love.

It had been five years since we sat down with Ruben in front of a live audience and wow how his life, career, and travels evolved since 2018. Click here to listen to the past episode's conversation.

In this exciting episode, Ruben shares his adventures, projects, and connections he's had over the past few years that shaped a new lens of meaning in his life.

We learn about how Ruben's project with the city he calls home, Santa Monica, and the mural painted in Brighton Beach, England as part of a sister city initiative came to be.

The live recording of this episode with Ruben could not have been possible without the support of the Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica, and our partners for the evening - Bombay Sapphire, Arvin Goods, and Eagle Creek.

Show highlights:

12:20 Ruben shares about an incredible partnership he's formed with the NFL. As a former football player himself, this partnership is a dream come true to spread LOVE through a CHOOSE LOVE campaign.

21:37 Experience of leaving his hometown of Santa Monica and coming back with a new appreciation.

23:27: Santa Monica and Brighton, England sister city project.

24:40: How has his life changed as a traveler with a two-year-old son.

28:40: How does he live through love when he travels.

29:50: Ruben's most meaningful travel experience.