Skip to content
Sign in
Artwork for You should have been there
Society & CulturePlaces & Travel

You should have been there

Mick Webb and Simon Calder

Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent and former BBC producer, Mick Webb, discuss the world of travel and delight in travellers' tales.

Play
Open in
  • 22 episodes
  • Avg 28 min
  • English

Episodes 22

NewestOldestLongest
All20Unplayed20In progress0Played0
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • S1 · E247
    September 3 · 30 min

    HAPPY MEMORIES Podcast 247

    A remix of previous stories from listeners, reliving their formative journeys and taking us from the English Channel to the Limpopo River via 1992 St Petersburg. Thanks to Richard Goring for the photo of the Bristol Superfreighter, licensed for use under creative Commons.

  • S1 · E246
    August 5 · 30 min

    The Long Journey Home PODCAST 246

    Guest Simon Calder and I attempt to update Odysseus' challenges for travel in 2026, with the EES system and car hire firms as new versions of Cyclops and Circe the sorceress! The painting of Odysseus on Calypso's island is by Johann Heinrich Beck (ca 1820)

  • S1 · E245
    July 5 · 28 min

    THOUGHT-PROVOKING TRAVEL Podcast 245

    Professor of philosophy, Emily Thomas, is today's guest. Our discussion includes the importance of cannibalism for John Locke's theories, an eighteenth century pile-on involving Mary Wollstonecraft's life and Emily's thoughts on her recent trip to Malawi. The photo of Malawian rock art is shown courtesy of UNESCO

  • S1 · E244
    June 27 · 31 min

    BROADENING THE MIND Podcast 244

    Dr Andrew Stevenson, senior lecturer in psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University discusses his book "The Psychology of Travel" published by Routledge. Types of traveller and different ways of travelling are on the agenda.

  • S1 · E243
    June 3 · 29 min

    END OF AN ERA PODCAST 243

    Discover declassified train carriages, how to walk in the shoes of others and enjoy a race across Europe to Leipzig. And Simon leaves the podcast.

  • S1 · E242
    May 27 · 28 min

    A brief guide to a short stay in Paris PODCAST 242

    Aided and abetted by listeners, we present some suggestions of how to navigate Paris, where to stay and what to see. The accordion music was provided by Accordion-music-clean.wav by eyenorth -- https://freesound.org/s/482213/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

  • S1 · E241
    May 13 · 28 min

    We're on our way... PODCAST 241

    We discuss football journeys, near and far, and hear from fans who have stretched the limits of credible travel to get to a match abroad.

  • S1 · E240
    May 6 · 26 min

    What is regenerative tourism? PODCAST 240

    We ask if this label really means anything, and continue to probe the EES database debacle and the axolotl conundrum. Plus, the latest in our search for the perfect guided tour.

  • S1 · E239
    April 29 · 30 min

    BECOMING A BLUE BADGE GUIDE Podcast 239

    On College Green in London's Westminster, surrounded by historic buildings, we talk to Frances Linzee Gordon about what it takes to become an elite, Blue Badge Guide, and the challenges that lie in wait when you begin working. Find a guide who suits you at britainsbestguides.org

  • S1 · E237
    April 14 · 30 min

    The cost of tourism PODCAST 237

    We mull over the concept of over-tourism, its causes and effects as well as some remedies. Why not try the place next door, for instance?

  • S1 · E233
    January 24 · 26 min

    THERE BE DRAGONS! PODCAST 233

    We consider the perils of venturing off venturing off the beaten track, talk to an adventure tour organiser facing up to current hazards in Venezuela, Iran and now Greenland, and we meet..... the axolotl.

  • S1 · E232
    January 15 · 25 min

    OFF THE BEATEN TRACK Podcast 232

    Do you recognise this flag? It's one of the destinations that Simon found out about at the Adventure Travel Show in London. We discuss real travel adventures where the guide books run out as well as less challenging but still unusual places away from the crowds.

  • S1 · E231
    January 2 · 25 min

    Out with the Old, in with the New PODCAST 231

    We assess the past year in travel and anticipate the next one, with thoughts on destinations and technology as well as the giving of some self-indulgent travel presents.

  • S1 · E230
    Dec 20, 2025 · 25 min

    TRAVEL MIRACLES Podcast 230

    Amazing travel experiences in which the laws of time are challenged , castles like "pastry shops for the soul" and the glacial progress of the new European Exit/Entry System.

  • S1 · E229
    Dec 3, 2025 · 30 min

    Great Unfinished buildings PODCAST 229

    We chat about the Sagrada Familia, the National Monument of Scotland and confront the brave new world of "frictionless travel" as promised by facial recognition technology

  • S1 · E228
    Nov 19, 2025 · 28 min

    Castles in Spain PODCAST 228

    We discuss Spain's wealth of dramatic castles- the best to visit, the best to stay in and the one where you'll find the best pastries

Showing 1–20 of 22 episodes