Interviews with me

Johanna Read laughing in Pingyao China. Photo by Hilary Duff.

My usual reaction when someone points a camera at me for too long. Photo by Hilary Duff.

Tom Wilmer quoted me about the private island of Cayo Espanto in this article for Civilian magazine: Belizean Fantasy Island. He also included quotes from me in this podcast.

Pippa Norman interviewed me for her “B.C. residents left behind as experts urge Canadians to get boosted again before fall” article about British Columbians’ access to covid boosters, which was published in a number of regional outlets including Pique News Magazine, Vancouver is Awesome, Peak, Business in Vancouver, Tricity News, Delta Optimist, Burnaby Now, Richmond News, New Westminster Record, Prince George Citizen, Squamish Chief, North Shore News, Coast Reporter.

In summer 2022, Mark Feldman wrote Is Turkey safe for Israeli tourists yet? for The Jerusalem Post and used extensive quotes from my general 2019 World Nomads article, Travel and terror: How do you decide it’s safe to go?, trying to apply them to the more specific issue of Israeli tourists in Turkey.

Why we miss travel so much, according to psychologists — The reasons I travel were quoted in this piece by Melanie Lieberman for The Points Guy’s (both the US and UK sites), and republished by MSN (Why we miss travel so much, according to psychologists).

Lavanya Sunkara quoted me in her Forbes article, Marvel at rare encounters with gray whales these images from Mexico, one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had amongst my many amazing experiences.

Because of my Fodor’s article, The Latest: Should You Change Your Travel Plans Due to the Coronavirus?, I was asked to do an interview with William Levinson for the Associated Press’ travel podcast called “Get Outta Here!”. The interview took place on March 2, 2020, and was released on March 3 (and was massively out of date just a week later):

Apple version: (Don’t) Get Outta Here — Travel and COVID-19.
General version: (Don’t) Get Outta Here — Travel and COVID-19.
Other versions available on the Get Outta Here podcast website.

In New national body to support social prescribing, for the UK publication Positive News, Lucy Douglas included quotes from me about how I benefitted from “social prescriptions” like yoga, art, and exercise when I had a burnout. I provide advice like this too in the stress management coaching I do for the Government of Canada.

I was honoured to have one of my fave PR firms, Carolyn Izzo Integrated Communications (CIIC), interview me for my packing advice. Here’s the link — my stuff is on the pink squares: Our favorite women in travel share their packing tips … and other thoughtful insights.

I was interviewed by Peter Greenberg for his CBS radio show Peter Greenberg’s Eye on Travel about Vancouver after he stopped in after his trip aboard the Rocky Mountaineer train from Banff to Vancouver:

My interview starts at 1:15:10, and goes to 1:21:30 — https://petergreenberg.com/2018/10/29/eye-on-travel-rocky-mountaineer-from-banff-to-vancouver-canada-october-27-2018/
And here’s me correcting a couple errors: When a travel writer gets interviews on the radio.
Guest list intro.

In addition to travel writing, I provide management consulting services about people management issues. Workshops and coaching on stress management are the requests I receive most often. I’ve written a few articles on the topic myself (to come: Stress management page). The latest is an article by Robin L. Flanigan for the print magazine Esperanza, called Double diagnosis, where I describe my diagnoses of exhaustion, and how to recover from burnout, anxiety and depression. My quotes are on pages 26 and 27.

For Forbes, Lavanya Sunkara quoted me about Cambodia’s Killing Fields, in her article From Auschwitz to Chernobyl: Tips on respectfully visiting dark tourism sites. My quote about the Killing Fields was then used by Stacey Leasca in her MSN article about Aucshwitz Travel Instagrammer apologizes after Auschwitz rubber duck photo sparks debate.
One of my quotes about little luxuries in hotel rooms was used in this Fortune article by Naomi Tomky, Tiny luxuries travelers and foodies love.
In this article by Melanie Lieberman for The Points Guy, I talk about the “Harry Potter” train in Scotland: 11 of the most scenic train rides on earth. It was republished on The Points Guy’s UK site and on MSN.

In his ArtsHub article, 11 events not to miss at Darwin Festival 2019, Richard Watts refers his readers to Phare Circus’ Eclipse show, and quotes from and links to my Fodor’s article. He even calls me “Fodor’s Johanna Read” (which makes it sound like I’m an employee, but I’m just a freelancer… but how nice he made the effort to include my name).
In this Globe & Mail article by Fiona Tapp, I talk about travelling solo as a woman How can companies help female business travellers stay safe on the road? And here’s the print version.
I was quoted in Jennifer Billock’s Mental Floss article Can weighted blankets really reduce stress and anxiety, or are those claims a bunch of fluff?
Joanna Lobo includes an anecdote from me in her Family Minded article Online dating stories that are too crazy to make up.
Jennifer Barger quotes me in her article for My San Antonio, If you get blisters when you break out the sandals and hiking boots, we’ve got advice.

Ilana Stone wrote this article What we can learn from our parents and grandparents in the kitchen for the Epoch Times. I talk about my grandma’s gravy secrets at the end of the piece.

Curious about the difference between a travel writer, traveler blogger and an influencer? This article by Rebecca Holland in Curiosity Magazine is an eye-opener about what it’s really like to work in these fields. My quote is at the very end of The most transparent article on travel writing you’ll ever read.

My plane horror story anecdote is included in Melissa Kravtiz’s article People reveal the strangest behavior they’ve seen on a plane for Insider and Business Insider.
In this article by Fiona Tapp, I describe how being flexible can yield excellent travel deals: The best travel deal I ever got. Republished by Yahoo Finance: The best travel deal I ever got.

I was interviewed about responsible tourism (and my new fave piece of travel clothing) for Expeditionist Magazine: Travel Eater’s Johanna Read talks Ably Apparel and responsible tourism.
Forthcoming: my interview for Second Chance Travels.

My quotes about responsible tourism are included in this 20 Travelers Committed to Responsible Travel roundup for World Tourism Day, September 27, 2017. It’s on Miss Filatelista’s website. Know what filatelista means? It’s Spanish for a person who collects passport stamps, a play on philatelist, a collector of stamps. Love it!

My anecdote of a toilet truck hitting my plane is included in Meghan Jones’s Reader’s Digest article The 11 most bizarre reasons for flight delays.
Not really travel-related, but I was interviewed about career ambition for this Vice Tonic article by Suzanne Cope: The sad reason single women downplay their career ambition.
I was interviewed about solo travel for Canadian Living magazine’s August 2017 issue. I wish they’d situated my quote in the broader context of what I provided, but that’s how interviews go. I’ll pitch the rest of the story I was trying to tell somewhere else one day :-)
- By Sarah Treleaven, The Sisterhood of Travel (PDF) and Why all women need to travel at least once in their life (online version).
Travel deal guru Johnny Jet interviews frequent flyers from around the world, including guidebook writer and TV show host Rick Steves and astronaut Scott Parazynski. And now including me: Travel Style: Johanna Read. I talk about my most embarrassing travel moment, the worst travel moment that turned into my best, and some of my favourite places and things. And for some inexplicable reason, I chose to use a photo of me on top of a lighthouse in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, where I am pretending to be a bear.

I’m quoted in Rachel Thomas’ Double spaces are dead and here’s why you should care, an article aimed at PR folks about dealing with writers. You grammarians will like it.

In this article by Elizabeth Seward, I’m quoted about food safety at buffets (strangely combining my current travel life with my former food safety life): 5 unappetizing things you didn’t know about all-you-can-eat hotel buffets.

I’m interviewed in this article by Susannah Rigg for Self Magazine, 10 women look back on living childfree by choice. This choice was an essential part of my lemon pie life. I’m #5, if you want to find me quickly.

I’m featured in the June 2016 alumni newsletter of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference. This conference invites 225-250 Canadians from the public, private and labour sectors to participate in an incredible two weeks of leadership development and learning about Canada. I participated in the 2003 conference and toured the Yukon territory. Generally every four years, there’s a special conference in 2017 to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. Applications close September 30, at LeadershipCanada.ca.

I’m quoted in this article for Italy Explained by Jessica Spiegel: Italy roundtable: What bugs you about Italy.

Mish Slade interviewed me for her how to be a digital nomad book, “Travel While You Work”.

Couples travel: I was interviewed for Stacey McKenna’s article in Mind + Body, a print magazine of the Coloradoan (Holiday 2015 issue). It has advice from several travel writers about how to not only maintain your relationship whilst travelling, but maybe have it grow even stronger too: PDF of print version: The Buddy System and online version: The Buddy System.

An article about my lemon pie life and how to make your dreams a reality, by Lauren Crabbe for The World, Please: The Lemon Pie Life.

My interview with Grown Up Gap Year about adopting a life of almost full-time travel: If we can do it, so can you with Johanna from TravelEater.

Via Love Play Work, how I started travel writing for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com (a chapter of what I call my “lemons to lemon pie” story): What if you had said yes?

With The Professional Hobo, one of my five weeks travelling in Panama, with some tips on solo travel: A Week-In-The-Life of TravelEater Johanna in Panama