Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

Today I'm talking about the deep south of the world, with conservation biologist Dr Louise Blight – whose book of that title is published today. The work – part science, part adventure and part travelogue – is subtitled "A Story of Penguins, People and Place in Antarctica".Louise told me about her time on Ross Island – and the emotions of life taken to extremes.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

It is more than 40 years since BA last connected its main base, London Heathrow, with the Channel Island of Guernsey. I was on board the first departure from the isle – a notable operation with both pilots and all but one of the cabin crew being Guernsey born and bread.While I waited for the flight I talked to Zoe Gosling, Lead Marketing Officer at Visit Guernsey – who had just flown in from Heathrow.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Paul Goldstein, wildlife photographer and expedition leader, is just back from Baffin Island in Canada – where the temperature, with wind chill, dropped to minus 50C. He talks about the rewards of such a trip – and his new fundraising project. He will walk 500 miles, and he will walk 500 more, to campaign for endangered species.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Richard Slater, Founder and Managing Director of Henbury Travel of Macclesfield,, tells me that traveller confidence took a knock when the US and Israel began their attack on Iran – but that people are now booking again in normal numbers.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Today's podcast is rather different from usual. For the first time, I am talking about driving tests but not any driving test. This one involves the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll – Suzi Quatro – who has been on the road, and on the roads for almost 60 years.This year, though she was told she must take a British driving test. Susie has also become a British national. And Tonight she is playing the London Palladium.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Eighteen years ago, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia after years of turmoil following the break-up of Yugoslavia. Serbia still regards Kosovo as part of its territory, but more than 100 countries recognise the nation. I flew into the capital, Pristina, which sprawls surprisingly far for a city of under a quarter-million people – but which has a compact and walkable centre. Among the highlights is the Ethnographic Museum, where I met curator Ilir Sopjani.I also visited Prizren, a city close to the Albanian border – which has a handsome Serbian Orthodox cathedral. I got talking to a guide there, Angela, who told me this is a community with room for everyone.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In 2023 I covered the launch of the British Airways Speedbird Pilot Academy: recruiting young people to be the pilots of tomorrow. I am delighted to be back at Heathrow to meet newly qualified pilot Jasmine Campbell, one of the inaugural intake and now flying A320 family aircraft across the UK and Europe for BA.Recruitment for the next intake begins tomorrow, 14 April, and Senior First Officer Genevieve Pearmaine – the programme lead – told me more.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

From today, the EU’s “entry-exit system” is expected to be running at all Schengen area frontiers – bringing to an end the stamping of passports. The digital borders scheme aims to keep a central database of British travellers – as well as many other nationalities. But several EU countries are far from ready, and officials in Brussels have conceded that passports will still be stamped. Here's the inside story.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Could you be tempted by the prospect of an exclusive 44-seat aircraft?All-business-class carrier Beond is set to take passengers in some luxury to the Indian Ocean. Rhys Jones, aviation editor for Head for Points, has sampled the cabin. We also talk about Relax Row, the clever three-seat flat bed in economy that Air New Zealand conceived and United Airlines has now picked up.And will there ever be a proper flat bed experience in economy or premium economy?This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.