The World Awaits
travel podcast
Travel tales to inspire your wanderlust
About us
The World Awaits is Australia's only weekly travel podcast, dropping on a Thursday on every major podcast platform.
Co-hosted by Melbourne-based journalists, colleagues and friends Kirstie Bedford and Belinda Jackson with sound producer (and resident movie reporter) Alaisdair Leith, each episode is curated to inspire your wanderlust, with travel trends, interviews and tips to help you travel better.
Interviewees include everything from learning where to eat in Spain with Ben Groundwater (Ep #5), how to be an ethical traveller with Adventure World’s Neil Rodgers (EP# 27), and how to book a sustainable hotel with start-up Go Kinda (Ep #9).
Listen to small tour company owner, Glenyce Johnson (Ep #8), who has walked the Camino 34 times, and give back to local communities with Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures, author and social entrepreneur (Ep# 7).
If you love to travel, this is where you need to be.
Our latest episodes
Go to Episodes to find out more
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Meet the team
The World Awaits is co-hosted by Melbourne-based travel journalists, colleagues and friends Kirstie Bedford and Belinda Jackson, and our sound producer (and resident movie reporter) is Alaisdair Leith.
Co-host
Kirstie Bedford
Co-host KIRSTIE BEDFORD has the same enthusiasm for travel she held as a six-year-old when she boarded her first international flight. In her 20s, she did the customary European tour, cycling along the French Riviera and zipping around Tuscany on a scooter. But it’s learning from other cultures she holds dearest – biking with locals on Vietnam’s Cam Kim Island; cooking traditional Sri Lankan dishes in Colombo; drinking sake with a Japanese family in Shikoku; and a Welcome to Country ceremony with Indigenous elders in Broome.
Kirstie has held the editorship of six magazines, including as founding editor of Luxury Escapes magazine, is senior writer at Karryon Luxury, and a regular contributor to Signature Media publications.
Co-host
Belinda Jackson
Co-host BELINDA JACKSON has travelled to every continent and lived on three, eating everything she was told to (and many things she should not have). She’s played piano while crossing the Drake Passage to Antarctica, hiked through ancient olive groves in Palestine, danced at Irish weddings and in Russian nightclubs, taken a dingy to find hidden Australian rock art galleries, and slipped out of bed and into a Maldivian lagoon. Her second home is Cairo, and she has has more than a passing fancy for the Middle East’s scarves and carpets.
Belle is a regular contributor to the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has the occasional chat to ABC Radio and her stories and photographs appear in Australian and international publications.
Sound producer, tech & film reviewer
Alaisdair Leith
Sound producer ALAISDAIR LEITH is a man of many talents. Founder and editor of Novastream, he spends many a week reviewing the latest movies, games, TV and pop culture. When he’s not at the movies, trialling the latest travel gadgets, or dropping the latest travel story, he’s editing The World Awaits travel podcast. Alaisdair ensures every episode is music to your ears, even if it means late-night edits and he always does it all with a smile.