Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

To round off the week, I'm talking to travel expert Rob Staines about queer travel around the world. He and his partner have just returned from India – a nation that, he reports, has become much more enlightened in recent years. “There's lots of places in the world that we can go and visit where we can feel safe and be free and actually enjoy who we are and celebrate who we are with wonderful people,” he tells me.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

That might look an odd question. In the past there have been links from these airports to London Heathrow, which were ditched because the slots could be used more profitably on other routes. But Rob Burgess, founder of the frequent flyer website Head for Points, says that not enough attention is paid to the value of creating loyalty through co-branded credit cards – allowing people who live in areas currently not served by BA to “get a kickback from their spending”.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

The much-delayed digital borders scheme for the Schengen area is supposed to be up and running in full from 10 April – but Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, is sceptical to say the least. She and I also talked about the prospect of surcharges on holidays this summer.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Talking with my excellent colleague, senior travel writer Natalie, about a wide range of travel stories: the shocking business of hotel security, a new Center Parcs Scotland begins to blossom, buy a twist of the Eiffel Tower and new rail prospects across Europe and Central America.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

The 2,700 mile-long trail around the shore of England is the longest managed coastal walking route in the world. It gives unprecedented access to the shoreline, thanks to many years of painstaking work by today's guest – Neil Constable, who led the project for Natural England. We caught up on a breezy day...This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Just when you thought London Gatwick couldn’t get any more competitive, Britain's biggest holiday company has launched at scale from the Sussex airport. Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy has been telling me why there is room for his company at a location already chock-full of easyJet, British Airways, Wizz Air, Tui, Ryanair. This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

That's the surprising view of an eminent commentator on travel, tourism and geopolitics: the formidable all-rounder, Ash Bhardwaj, who has served around the world as an infantry officer in the British Army Reserve. I hope you enjoy our wide-ranging conversation.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs Gatwick Express, Southern, Great Northern as well as Thameslink – has brought out a new safety video which is designed to reduce the number of injuries – currently running at 16 a week – sustained by passengers at its stations. Writer and comedian Diane Morgan presents it.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

We talk about the effects of the Iran conflict on travel in the immediate and more distant future. Plus: how will it affect travellers' views on visiting America?This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.