Zero To Travel Podcast

What does hell on earth look like? Science writer and explorer Erika Engelhaupt takes us on a unique journey to “awesomely awful” destinations to explore the history, culture, and science behind seven of the most otherworldly locations around the world.

Erika Engelhaupt is a science journalist and expert on all things macabre. Her work in National Geographic, Scientific American, and elsewhere has revealed the spooky science behind many taboo topics, including rotting corpses, bodily fluids, and other things that make her popular at dinner parties. She is the author of Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science and her newest book, Go to Hell: A Traveler’s Guide to Earth’s Most Otherworldly Destinations.

We thought this previously released episode was the perfect one to share this week for Halloween! Erika shares insights into how cultures worldwide have visualized the afterlife, explores the natural phenomena behind these lesser-known “hellscapes,” and discusses her own experiences visiting places that challenge and redefine our sense of wonder.

What’s the eeriest or most otherworldly place you’ve visited? I'd love to hear about your experience, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

A city filled with death, a centuries-old “skull cult,” and the inspiration behind Dante’s Inferno

A small cave in Ireland linked to ancient folklore and the origins of Halloween

The fiery pit that’s been burning for decades and the surprising theory behind it (plus, you can camp here!)

Where you can witness surreal blue flames rolling down a deadly sulfuric volcano

An island with some of the most gorgeous yet hellscape-y features, geothermal pools, and more

The most electric place on earth and the fascinating science behind it

Where to find razor-sharp “stone forests” and navigate the devil’s obstacle course

Which charming but hellish US town you can be mayor for the day

Will our pets eat us if we die? The five-second rule (fact or fiction?)

And so much more

Resources:

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Visit Erika’s website

Grab Erika’s book, Go to Hell

Would your dog eat you if you died?

Want More?

What Happens When You Die? (Part One): A Journey to the Other Side with Peter Panagore

Top 10 World’s Weirdest Restaurants With La Carmina

Dark Tourism and the Complexities of Dark Destinations with Professor James Treadwell

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Why does Wales so often get left off the itinerary while England, Scotland, and Ireland soak up the attention?

Eugene Fogarty grew up in Dublin, Ireland, and studied history before earning a master’s in journalism. After two years living and traveling across the Americas, a year in Brussels, and a stint managing a walking tour operation in London, he moved to Cardiff and launched Fogo’s Free Tours in 2018. He has since led around 2,000 tours of Cardiff and South Wales, from free city walks to Doctor Who filming locations and the darker side of the city’s past.

In this conversation, Eugene shares how travel led him to tour guiding and walks me through his favorite hidden gems in Cardiff, Wales, plus the day trip he recommends most.

Cardiff has only been the capital of Wales since 1955, and plenty of visitors still treat it as a one-night stop to tick off another country. Spend an hour with Eugene, though, and the city starts to reveal layers most people walk right past, along with a playful streak you wouldn’t expect from a place built on coal. There’s also a quiet reminder in his story about what can happen when you take the trip before you have the plan. If you’ve ever rushed through a place and wondered what you missed, this conversation might change how you build your next UK itinerary.

Is there a place you rushed through and later wished you’d given more time? I’d love to hear about it, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

How a chip on his shoulder about being an Irish guide in Wales turned into an advantage

How two years across the Americas and a bar job in Brussels led Eugene to start his own tour company

Why not knowing what comes after a trip shouldn’t stop you from taking it

What locals say makes Cardiff feel different from other capital cities

A park in the center of Cardiff that even locals don’t know exists (and the two-week window to see it at its best)

Why a famous sci-fi villain is hiding inside an 840-year-old church

How a 19th century coal boom and a lot of rain shaped Cardiff’s shopping streets

The Viking roots, Victorian slums, and live music of one small side street

Where to hear Wales’s male voice choir tradition and its native language in the heart of the city

The add-on most castle visitors skip, plus the seaside town Eugene calls the perfect day trip

Resources:

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Fogo’s Free Tours

Fogo’s Free Tours Instagram

Cardiff Castle Tours

Clwb Ifor Bach

Want More:

The Real Scotland: Ancient Traditions, Secret Valleys, and Why You Shouldn’t Cut Your Haggis with Andy McAlindon

Hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland with Lynne Nieman

You’re Coming Hitchhiking Around Scotland With Me

Thanks To Our Sponsors:

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What are successful people like before they become big? Before The Moment is hosted by music icon Nile Rodgers, who sits down with some of music’s biggest names to uncover the turning points that defined them, and, importantly, what was happening before everything changed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

What does it actually take to step away from work, home, and your phone for five months to walk from Mexico to Canada?

Nina Butler is originally from South Africa and is the founder of InRetreat, a boutique travel and wellness company that runs small-group and private retreats in eco destinations around the world. A yoga teacher with a PhD in philosophy, she spent several years living in Oslo, Norway, before moving back to South Africa. In 2025, she and her husband, Chris, thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, spending 150 days walking from Mexico to Canada.

In this conversation, Nina and I talk about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and the planning behind it, from permits and visas to stepping away from work, budgeting, trail culture, and what five months off grid did for her mind, her marriage, and a big life decision.

Most of us will never walk 2,650 miles, but plenty of us dream about carving out a real chunk of time to step away, and the logistics are usually what stop us. Nina’s story is a reminder that the planning phase can be its own kind of journey, and that the work of getting ready can leave your life better organized than you found it. There’s also something here about what happens to the mind when the noise falls away for long enough, and why a couple of weeks might not get you there. If you’ve been sitting on a big decision or a big trip, this conversation might be the nudge.

Have you ever taken a big chunk of time away from everyday life? What did it change for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn:

Why a single social media post led to a snap decision to hike from Mexico to Canada

What had to be locked in before Nina and Chris let themselves get excited

How Nina prepared her business to run without her for five months

What a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike cost them, and what drives the price up or down

Why daily, old-school map planning made the trail more meaningful, not less

What trail culture is really like, from trail angels to hitchhiking into desert towns

How long it took for Nina’s nervous system to truly settle off grid

How a months-long walk finally answered the question of where to live next

Advice for sharing a tent with your partner for 151 days (and the fight that broke out over food)

Nina’s top pick for a base town to get a taste of the PCT

Resources:

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InRetreat

InRetreat Instagram

Pacific Crest Trail Association

FarOut

Want More:

Top 10 Health and Wellness Destinations (The Best Places to Live in the World) with Nina Butler

How to Craft Transformative Retreats (For Yourself or Others) with Nina Butler

Top 15 USA National Park Hikes: From Iconic Must-Dos to Hidden Wilderness Gems with Jason Frye

Thanks To Our Sponsors

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Why have more people been to outer space than to every country in the world?

Ric Gazarian grew up in Boston and spent years in financial services before a 2008 layoff sent him on a year-long trip and into a remote real estate business that has funded his travels ever since. He has now visited around 190 countries on his quest to reach all 193 UN member states. Ric hosts the Counting Countries podcast, organizes the Extraordinary Travel Festival, and has turned his tuk-tuk and rickshaw road trips through Cambodia and India into films.

In this conversation, Ric and I talk about what traveling to every country in the world really involves, less crowded destinations worth visiting, unorthodox road trips by tuk-tuk and rickshaw, and how to get comfortable traveling to less visited places.

Only around 500 people have ever been to every country on Earth, and Ric spends a lot of his time with them. That gives him a rare view of where the world's most traveled people actually go, and which places deserve far more visitors than they get. It's also a reminder that the best travel stories rarely come from the smoothest trips. If you've been craving something a little less mainstream for your next adventure, Ric makes a strong case for stepping a bit further outside your comfort zone.

If you built a road trip around something you've never tried before, what would it be? I'd love to hear your ideas, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.

Tune In To Learn

What keeps Ric going on his quest to visit all 193 UN countries, and why some people give up along the way

How the most traveled people in the world debate what actually counts as a visit

How one book about a priest in the slums of Bangkok changed the course of Ric's life

What Thailand's visa crackdown means for digital nomads and long-term visitors

Where to find a Thai island with no 7-Eleven and barely a working ATM

Why Ric calls Uzbekistan his favorite country in Central Asia, and the Tajikistan road trip he ranks as the best of his life

How a $1,000 tuk-tuk that keeps breaking down can beat a luxury road trip

Advice for getting comfortable with less visited countries, plus the safety systems Ric relies on

Advice for leaving a career behind to take a year-long trip

Which country surprised Ric most after he expected the worst

Resources

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GlobalGaz

Counting Countries Podcast

Extraordinary Travel Festival (code ZERO for $100 off!)

Instagram

Hit the Road Films

Mercy Centre

Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Rally

Every Passport Stamp Facebook Group

Want More

Visiting Every Country in the World…TWICE! With Gunnar Garfors

Finding a Quest That Can Change Your Life: An Interview With Chris Guillebeau

Independent Travel Gold With Graham Hughes

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