Not long ago, my friend and colleague Lauren Grodstein contacted me for a story she was writing about ethical travel. In the process of answering her email questions, I realized that I have misgivings about the rhetorical level at which we generally discuss ethical travel issues. Hence, my answer turned into a rant of sorts about the traps progressive-minded people can fall into when they discuss the ethics of travel.

Here’s an outtake from our … Read more »

I’ve never been one of those uptight literary types who thinks that you have to have actually read a book in order to recommend it to others. So I feel no trepidation in suggesting Eric Weiner’s new travelogue-slash-memoir The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World. The premise of the book is simple but intriguing– here is Amazon’s description:

Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted … Read more »