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Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast
June 24th - What the by-election results mean for the rail strikes
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By-elections - always a good excuse for a protest vote at the best of times but the two that the Conservatives lost yesterday in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton saw voters with plenty of grievances. How, exactly, does that fit into a travel podcast? Well, I think the results partially point to dissatisfaction with how the government is going about resolving the trains issue as the second of a three day strike by RMT union members passes. The message that this is the fault of Labour doesn't seem to be holding sway with voters and it could mean that the government's so far reluctance to give any concessions on the bargaining table might yet yield.
Of course this podcast is free, as is my newsletter, which you'll find at https://www.independent.co.uk/newsletters
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November 22nd - Prowling the Pantanal: Paul Goldstein’s Jaguar Tales
08:42|Today's travel podcast guest is Paul Goldstein, wildlife guide and photographer who is just back from leading a tour in the Pantanal of Brazil – where he reports dozens of jaguar sightings.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.November 21st - Tracking down the busiest rail station
06:25|The Office of Rail and Road has released the latest figures on the UK's busiest – and quietest – rail stations. London's Elizabeth Line dominates the table – but worryingly, there are three stations with fewer than two passengers a week.November 20th - Changing Times, Changing Trains
08:42|Richard Brown CBE has been one of the leading railway figures in the UK for four decades – including 11 years as chief executive and then chairman of Eurostar, the Channel Tunnel passenger rail service. He has just brought out a book – Changing Times, Changing Trains – in which he prescribes what is needed to turn around the fortunes of the UK's increasingly unhappy rail industry.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.November 19th - Planes, trains, and travel pains
06:57|It's Travel Desk Tuesday for The Independent's travel podcast, and today I am talking to travel writer Amelia Neath about a new Wales-England-Scotland train link; an unfortunate legal case of Norovirus on a cruise ship; and Spirit Airlines entering bankruptcy – though not in a way that should alarm anyone with a forward booking on the US budget carrier.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.November 18th - First-Class Steam Dreams
05:12|On today's travel podcast for The Independent, I am talking to Ranjiv Bhalla – founder and chief executive of Veenus Travel, which organises high-end heritage steam train journeys in the UK. What's the appeal of a Bristol to Plymouth day-trip costing nearly £1,000. Ranjiv says: you'll feel like a superstar.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.November 15th - Which is the best London terminus station, Part 2
07:56|I’m at London St Pancras International with transport guru, Thomas Ableman. How do Paddington, Marylebone and Euston compare – and which is his overall winner?This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.14th November - The best London terminus station, Part 1
10:04|I’m at London St Pancras International with transport guru Thomas Ableman. How does he rate the station, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, and Victoria?This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.November 13th - Celebrating 30 years since the first Eurostar
06:36|It's 30 years tomorrow since the first ever Eurostar train. I'm talking to the culture and history specialist from France 24, Florence Gaillard. We're talking about how the French look at the UK.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered every Friday.- 07:55|On Travel Desk Tuesday I'm talking to Ben Parker about Dorset about how it's become a cool trendy secret. Perched on the south of the UK, Dorset is a hidden gem between Devon and Cornwall. If you head there you could try Sherborne Abbey amongst the hills, or you could check out Shaftesbury or go in land and explore the area Thomas Hardy wrote about.