Gone To Timbuktu

Sophy Roberts in conversation with author and journalist Jon Lee Anderson about his life of reportage, from Central America to Liberia to singing to reindeer in Alaska.    

Author Laura Beatty discusses her book, Looking for Theophrastus, delving into Greece, the interconnectedness of space and time, the concept of wonder, and why we should care about someone who lived 2,400 years ago.   

The British-American photographer Michael Turek returns to his roots in the Yorkshire Dales, discussing the influences that shape his work. He talks about the photographer-writer collaboration that he and Sophy have built, taking them from Siberia to Tajikistan and more.   

Leon McCarron discusses his epic source-to-sea river journey through Turkey, Syria and Iraq. He unravels what deep history, beauty and ecological collapse really look like on the River Tigris.

The 87-year-old British photojournalist talks about the travels, writers and images that have given him respite from the brutality of war. He paints a vivid picture of India, Turkey, Greece, North Africa, Syria and the healing power of the Somerset Levels.       

Tharik discusses his award-winning book, Minarets in the Mountains — documenting a road-trip through six European countries — the decolonisation of travel writing, and the rich Islamic traditions still kept alive in a region much ignored. 

The British author talks about her latest book, Between the Chalk and the Sea — a stunningly evoked pilgrimage that feels both ancient and new, with the conversation running from Chaucer’s Wife of Bath to finding relevance in travel close to home.

The ex-paratrooper, author and TV personality talks about how he covers so much ground, physically and creatively, with the publication of his eleventh book. He unpicks the role of a modern-day explorer, taking us from the desert to the Hindu Kush.

Cal Flyn talks about her awardwinning book, Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape. This episode takes us on a fascinating journey from the nuclear wasteland of Chernobyl to California’s Salton Sea, investigating the ecology and psychology of abandoned places.

The idea of a foreign woman walking alone in Afghanistan might seem a world away from current events — but it’s what makes Taran’s book, Shadow City, urgent reading. Sophy and Taran meet up in Delhi’s Aerocity to talk about breaking stereotypes.

In his 80th year, one of the most important travel writers of our time journeys along the Amur River — 1,100 miles, much of it on the China-Russia border. Sophy and Colin talk about their obsession with remote Siberia, and how to avoid (or avert) the gaze of the FSB.

The British writer and broadcaster Anthony Sattin discusses his new book, Nomads: The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World — a Sunday Times book of 2022 — and draws a curious link between travellers and ADHD.