{"podcast":{"title":"The Bittersweet Life","slug":"the-bittersweet-life-1089562","podcast_index_feed_id":1089562,"rss_url":"https://bittersweetlife.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://www.thebittersweetlife.net","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/5/9/f/1/59f1e1a50c6df57d/TheBittersweetLife_Logo_PRIMARY.jpg","author":"Katy Sewall/Tiffany Parks","episode_count":1011,"summary":"Life doesn't have a script. At least, it doesn't have to. Hosts Katy Sewall and Tiffany Parks explore the challenges and joys of moving abroad and moving home. Whether you're living overseas, or not — or not yet — join us weekly for unadulterated conversation. Get to know Rome. Laugh at our embarrassments and insights. Most of all, imagine the possibilities for your own life (and meet some famous authors along the way).","last_synced_at":"2026-07-31T16:19:10.764828+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bittersweet-life-1089562"},"episode":{"title":"Episode 633: The Rise of Traveling Sheep","slug":"episode-633-the-rise-of-traveling-sheep","published_at":"2026-06-15T16:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bittersweet-life-1089562/episode-633-the-rise-of-traveling-sheep","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bittersweet-life-1089562","url":"https://thebittersweetlife.net/episode-633-the-rise-of-traveling-sheep","audio_url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/prfx.byspotify.com/e/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/bittersweetlife/Episode_633_NEW_Stop_Being_Traveling_Sheep.mp3?dest-id=482016","summary":"Lately it seems that people go on vacation just for the pleasure of standing in line. What's going on? We blame social media and viral influencers who would have many uninformed tourists believe that there's only ONE place to get the \"best\" espresso, the \"best\" pizza, the \"best\" tiramisù, and they are more than willing to line up for hours need be to be able to say they've had the \"best.\" But is it really the best? Is it even close? (More often than not, it isn't.) And in reality, in big cities like Paris, Rome, or New York, is there ever really any \"best\" place? What about the tourists who line up for hours just to get the perfect photo of themselves with an epic backdrop. What does it do to the travel experience when tourists can't just walk up to a view and take a photo, but are forced to line up so that they don't accidentally ruin someone else's shot? What happened to just accepting that other people are going to inevitably be in your photo? And why have these photos become more important than seeing the sights with your own two eyes? Why has the profound experience of travel been reduced to the perfect Instagrammable shot? What has happened to travel? This is a follow-up episode to Bittersweet Moment 245: The Best Travel Moments Are not on a Check-list . Be sure to listen to that mini-episode if you haven't already. ------------------------------------- COME TO ROME WITH US: Our 4th annual Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure is taking place this year from 1 to 7 November 2026! If you'd like to be part of an intimate group of listeners on a magical and unforgettable journey to Rome, discovering the city with us as your guides, find out more here . AD-FREE LISTENING: After well over 10 years on the air with little-to-no advertising, in 2026 we have finally made the di…","meta_description":"Lately it seems that people go on vacation just for the pleasure of standing in line. What's going on? We blame social media and viral influencers who wou…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1813,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bittersweet-life-1089562/episodes/episode-633-the-rise-of-traveling-sheep/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bittersweet-life-1089562/episode-633-the-rise-of-traveling-sheep.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}