{"podcast":{"title":"Unpacked by Afar","slug":"unpacked-by-afar-5453284","podcast_index_feed_id":5453284,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/AFAR5346594674","website_url":"https://www.afar.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/0b1e55c8-d310-11ec-b05b-232990bef640/image/f875b1003db6ddf73d1d23985feab0de.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Afar","episode_count":169,"summary":"Unpacked by Afar tackles one tricky topic in travel each week. Whether you want to hack your points and miles, figure out where to travel next, or need advice on an ethical dilemma, we're your expert travel guides. Because the travel world is complicated. We're here to help you unpack it.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284"},"episode":{"title":"Feel-Good Fridays: Pottery, a History-Making Pilot, and a Salmon Race Worth Following","slug":"feel-good-fridays-pottery-a-history-making-pilot-and-a-salmon-race-worth-following","published_at":"2026-05-15T07:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284/feel-good-fridays-pottery-a-history-making-pilot-and-a-salmon-race-worth-following","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/p.podderapp.com/9063871245/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML9230866015.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/p.podderapp.com/9063871245/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML9230866015.mp3","summary":"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…","meta_description":"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…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":914,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unpacked-by-afar-5453284/episodes/feel-good-fridays-pottery-a-history-making-pilot-and-a-salmon-race-worth-following/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284/feel-good-fridays-pottery-a-history-making-pilot-and-a-salmon-race-worth-following.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}