Armchair Explorer: Travel and Adventure Inspiration

Seeing mountain gorillas in the wild is one of the rarest and most inspiring wildlife experiences on the planet. There is an immediate bond, a sense of connection. When you look a mountain gorilla in the eye, you see yourself reflected back. Follow Praveen Moman, one of the world's leading conservationists, into the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda in search of the critically endangered mountain gorilla. Through our journey, we learn about Praveen's work to protect this last stand of one of the world's

In 1999, Jamie Catto and his partner Duncan Bridgeman set off on a round the world journey to make an album and DVD that would be a snapshot of humanity at the turn of the millenium. The result, 1 Giant Leap, was nominated for a Grammy and received huge critical acclaim and more than one top 10 single. Travel with Jamie as he tells the story of that journey, from Africa through India, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand and, finally, America. What they discovered was Unity in the Diversity. This is a

Tima Deryan is the first Lebanese woman to summit Everest. Follow her journey step-by-step and learn what it feels like to climb the tallest mountain in the world. But that's not all. Tima is doing the Seven Summits challenge, in which you must climb the tallest peak on each of the seven continents. It's the toughest challenge in mountaineering and only a handful of people have ever achieved. Tima tells her story, climbing mountains from Europe through South America. But this is about more than

John Herrington is the first Native American astronaut. Join him on an out-of-this-world adventure as he takes us on a space-walk onboard the International Space Station. Hear what it feels like to be blasted into orbit at 17,000mph, learn what it’s like to live in Zero-G, and then step outside the hatch for one of the scariest, and most profound, adventures on the planet: a space-walk 220-miles above the Earth. But this is episode is about more than just adventure. Astronauts report a

Tommy Moe won the Gold Medal for downhill skiing at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Follow him up to the backcountry of Alaska to shred some turns in the Tordrillo Mountains, one of the best places on the planet for heli-skiing. Then head to Lillehammer, Norway and that epic day when Tommy surprised the world by winning the Olympic Gold Medal. Listen as he takes you turn-buy-turn down that famous run and shares some of his secrets on how ski harder, bigger and better. But that's not all. Tommy also talks

Follow award-winning writer James Stewart as he takes on 'The Everest of Cage Dives'. Rodney Fox survived one of the most horrific Great White Shark attacks in history and was the inspiration for Jaws, the movie. He went on to invent the concept of Cage Diving. But Rodney's trips aren't for the feint-hearted. Most cage dives keep you safe on the surface. Rodney's takes you all the way to the bottom of the ocean floor. Highlights include: Hearing the story of one of the most horrific Great White

Take a freezing journey to Antarctica with legendary travel writer Jonathan Thompson, following in the footsteps of the great polar explorer Ernest Shackleton for the 100th anniversary of his Endurance expedition. The Endurance is one of the greatest adventure tales ever told. With both poles already discovered, Shackleton's plan was to do something even bolder and more ambitious. He planned to cross the entire Antarctic continent on foot, a distance of more than 1800-miles, across the coldest,

Cliff camping is extreme sleeping for insane people. Follow award-winning travel writer Aaron Millar up to the top of the Rocky Mountains for a terrifying night sleeping on a portaledge, suspended 500-feet above the ground on a sheer cliff face. Lighting strikes, emergency rappelling in the pitch dark, vertigo and the scariest pee in the world. But when the dawn breaks, and the mountains flood with color, we discover the true meaning and purpose of adventure. Dare to be truly alive. The Armchair