Unpacked by Afar

Welcome back to Feel-Good Fridays. This week, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland are bringing you a special road trip edition — recorded live from the car somewhere in the forests of Michigan, microphones balanced on laps and sunscreen close at hand.

It’s a two-story episode today, and both come straight from the headlines of everyday life:


Sunscreen use is up worldwide — and it’s not just public health messaging that’s doing it. Better formulas, the global influence of Korean and Japanese skincare, and a generational shift in sun-safety habits all play a role. Nikki and Aislyn dig into the data, swap their favorite SPF picks, and make the case for hand cream on road trips.


The millennial song debate: NPR music journalists went looking for the one track that defines a generation, and landed on...well, we can't reveal that. But Aislyn and Nikki compare notes (Evanescence, No Doubt, Usher, J.Lo all make appearances), and share a playlist to soundtrack your own summer drive. Tell us your pick.

Tune in every Friday through June for a fresh trio of stories from Afar’s favorite travel writers and editors. We’ll see you next week.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Fridays (On the Road Edition)

00:01:00 Sunscreen Use Is Up — Here’s Why That’s a Big Deal

00:04:30 SPF Picks for the Road

00:05:30 The Millennial Song Debate

00:08:00 Why “Paper Planes” Won

00:09:30 Closing Out the Era: “I Love It”

00:10:30 Our Personal Millennial Anthems

Stay Connected

Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠Behind the Mic⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Feel-Good Friday. Every Friday through the end of June, Unpacked is popping into your feed with a brand-new series designed to carry you into the weekend a little lighter. Each episode, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland are joined by a different Afar staffer to share three travel stories that made them smile, tear up (in a good way), or rethink what's possible. Funny, inspiring, heartwarming—the only rule is no downers.

This week, we're joined by Afar's deputy editor, Jennifer Flowers, and the three of us travel from the Himalayan foothills to the African savanna to the rolling hills of Sonoma. Together, we share:


A corner of northern India that's quietly becoming a model for sustainable tourism, with tourism up 60 percent since 2018 and a network of community-run homestays that let you walk between guesthouses through pine and oak forests.

The story of Craig, a celebrity super tusker elephant whose long, peaceful life in the wild is itself a conservation victory, and what his legacy says about decades of work in Kenya's Amboseli ecosystem

A Sonoma incubator quietly rewriting who gets to make California wine, with one-of-a-kind small-batch bottlings to look out for from Leap of Grapes, Ward 4 Wines, and Mad Marvlus

Tune in every Friday through June for a fresh trio of stories from Afar's favorite travel writers and editors. We'll see you next week.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Friday

00:01:00 Sustainable Tourism in Uttarakhand

00:04:00 Meet Craig the Super Tusker

00:06:30 A Conservation Win for the Wild

00:09:30 Down a California Wine Rabbit Hole

00:11:20 The Vanguard of Small-Batch Wine

Stay Connected

Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠Behind the Mic⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Travel to Listen, a new Unpacked series hosted by veteran music journalist Tim Chester. Over four episodes rolling out every other week, Tim takes us into the cities where music is more than entertainment—it’s the shortcut to a place’s soul. This week, he goes to the source in Macon: meet the people keeping the city’s legendary songbook alive, and find out why a trip here might be the most soulful detour you’ve never considered.

In this episode


How the Macon Music Revue transforms songs by Little Richard, the Allman Brothers, and R.E.M. into something new—without losing what made them legendary


Why Charles Davis believes there’s “something in the water” in Macon—and how the city’s Indigenous roots may be part of its musical soul


The story behind the new Otis Redding Center for the Arts: from a 1965 music camp at Otis’s ranch to a full museum and education hub that opened in March 2025


What visitors to Macon often don’t know about Otis Redding—the savvy businessman, devoted family man, and farmer who owned cows, chickens, and horses


Where to eat, drink, and hear live music in Macon: from Capricorn Sound Studios to H&H Soul Food, where the Allman Brothers ate when they were broke

Meet this week's guests

Charles Davis is the frontman of the Macon Music Revue, a band that reinterprets the city’s iconic catalog with a soul-forward sound all their own. A longtime Macon radio voice, Charles is one of the city’s most active stewards of its musical legacy.

Justin Andrews is the director of special projects and outreach at the Otis Redding Foundation, and the grandson of soul legend Otis Redding. He helped bring the Otis Redding Center for the Arts to life when it opened in March 2025.

Guest host Tim Chester is a freelance travel and culture writer who has spent the past 20 years exploring the world through the lens of music. His reporting has appeared in NME, Spin, and Afar, and his travels have taken him from Manhattan to Malawi and Beijing to Berlin in search of the festivals, scenes, and stories that reveal a city’s soul.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to Macon

00:01:15 Inside the Macon Music Revue

00:04:15 Something in the Water

00:06:15 A Tour Through Southern Rock

00:09:45 H&H Soul Food and the Allman Brothers

00:10:30 Otis Redding’s Vision Comes Home

00:13:45 The Man Behind the Music

00:15:00 Where to Hear Otis in Macon

A Music Fan's Travel Guide to Macon

Macon is walkable, the downtown is compact, and most of the music landmarks sit within a few square miles. Here’s how to do it like a fan.

Start here: the essential stops


Capricorn Sound Studios & Museum—the birthplace of Southern rock.


The Allman Brothers Band Museum at the Big House—the Tudor-style house where Duane, Gregg, Berry Oakley, and their families lived from 1970 to 1973.


The Otis Redding Museum—View plane tickets, telegrams, the briefcase from the wreckage, and pictures pulled from Zelma Redding’s personal archive.


The Otis Redding Center for the Arts (ORCA)—The newest piece of the puzzle, opened March 2025: a youth music education hub, the O3 Recording Studio, and the outdoor Zelma Redding Amphitheater, where a bronze statue of Otis now welcomes visitors.

Hear live music


Grant’s Lounge—the historic dive that served as an audition spot for Capricorn Records.


The Douglas Theatre—built in 1921 as a venue for African American performers during segregation, and where a teenage Otis Redding won the teen talent competition so many times the organizers asked him to stop entering.


Hargray Capitol Theatre—a beautifully restored downtown venue that brings in touring acts across genres.

Eat and drink like a local


H&H Soul Food—the legendary downtown spot started by Mama Louise and Mama Inez, who fed the Allman Brothers when they were broke.


The Rookery—Get the burger, stay for the music, and listen for the Otis Redding song that always seems to be playing when you walk in.

Go a little deeper


Rock Candy Tours—weekly guided walking tours that connect the dots between the studios, homes, and venues.


The Macon Music Trail—a self-guided trail of 43+ music sites with a free companion mobile app, including the Little Richard House and Rose Hill Cemetery, where Duane Allman and Berry Oakley are buried.


The Macon Music Revue (Terminus Records, 2024)—listen to Charles’s reinterpretations of “Losing My Religion,” “Stand Back,” and more. themaconmusicrevue.com

Up next on Travel to Listen

Tim heads to Minneapolis to get bright and bouncy with the city’s funk scene—and to hear how the city is planning to mark the 10th anniversary of Prince’s untimely passing. New episode in two weeks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Feel-Good Fridays!

Every Friday through the end of June, Unpacked is popping into your feed with a brand-new series designed to carry you into the weekend a little lighter. In each episode, host Aislyn Greene and producer Nikki Galteland are joined by a different Afar staffer to share three travel stories that made them smile, tear up (in a good way), or rethink what’s possible. Funny, inspiring, heartwarming—the only rule is no downers.

This week, they’re joined by Afar’s editorial director, Billie Cohen, and the trio covers all the elements: water, sky, and land. Together, they share:


A Pacific Northwest conservation project that turns one of nature’s most epic journeys into something you can actually root for, fish by fish


The pilot who spent more than 50 years chasing a childhood dream—and just made history at one of the country’s biggest airlines


A weekend tradition in rural Minnesota where you can follow hand-painted signs from studio to studio, and the Estonian summer ritual Billie shared in a recent Travel Tale.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to Feel-Good Friday

00:01:00 Rooting for Baby Salmon

00:05:00 United’s First Female Captain

00:08:30 Quirky Local Trail Season

00:10:30 Open Cafés in Estonia

(00:00) Welcome to Feel-Good Friday

(01:00) Rooting for Baby Salmon

(05:00) United’s First Female Captain

(08:30) Quirky Local Trail Season

(10:30) Open Cafés in Estonia

Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠Behind the Mic⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In last week's episode, host Aislyn Greene shared the story of towing a 20-foot Airstream down the Oregon coast in an all-electric Rivian truck — the campsite mishaps, the strangers who became friends, the joy of slow travel. This week, she's back with the practical guide: how an EV road trip actually works when you're towing, and what to know before you try one yourself.

Aislyn sits down with Sara Eslinger, who heads up Rivian's Adventure Network, to talk about how the company has been quietly building fast-charging infrastructure in the places EV drivers actually want to go — not just along interstates, but on the edge of Death Valley, outside Yellowstone, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and yes, all along Oregon's Highway 101.

They get into why 70 percent of Adventure Network sites are trailer-friendly, how the built-in trip planner factors in elevation, heat, and trailer weight, and why Rivian tested its charging bays with an Airstream.

Then Aislyn shares the five things she wishes she'd known before hitching up — from how much range to expect when towing, to the adapter you need to charge overnight at a campsite, to the trailer mirrors that will change your life.

Whether you're EV-curious, RV-curious, or just love a good road trip, this one's a window into how the infrastructure for adventure travel is changing — and how much easier it's getting to take the scenic route.

Chapters

00:00:00 Bonus Episode Setup
00:01:08 Inside Rivian's Adventure Network
00:03:15 Why the Trip Planner Works
00:05:08 Towing-Friendly by Design
00:06:50 Five Things to Know Before You Tow
00:09:25 The Verdict and What's Next

Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠Behind the Mic⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices