The Founder of Couchsurfing on what all went into building such a great community

The Founder of Couchsurfing on what all went into building such a great community

Author: travelwisdompodcast@gmail.com (Ladan Jiracek) February 6, 2019 Duration: 48:42

It was a pleasure to talk to Casey Fenton, the founder of Couchsurfing again. We had met a year ago in Bali but with a tight schedule and us celebrating his 40th birthday we never ended up recording an episode at that time. 

Luckily, he is now writing a book about his experiences building my favorite community for travel. Couchsurfing allows you to stay with strangers for free while travelling and its all backed on a review system that makes sure you stay safe. I've used it over 100 times and I have to say that some of my best friendships have come from the site!


The Travel Wisdom Podcast explores the profound, lasting value hidden within our journeys. This isn't just about destinations; it's about how the languages we stumble through, the cultures we briefly inhabit, and the people we meet far from home fundamentally shape who we are and how we see the world. Host Ladan Jiracek draws from personal experience across more than eighty countries, examining how travel plants seeds of practical and personal wisdom that can grow into unexpected opportunities, deeper understanding, and even professional success. Each episode delves into the tangible lessons learned from foreign concepts, business practices, and social customs, arguing that the world is the most dynamic classroom available. Listeners will hear specific stories and reflections on turning global exposure into a tool for personal growth, improved communication, and a more nuanced approach to life and money. The podcast moves beyond the simple romance of wandering to consider how these experiences compile into a unique form of education, one that challenges assumptions and builds a resilient, adaptable mindset for navigating an interconnected world.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Travel Wisdom Podcast -travel and learn languages for success and money
Podcast Episodes
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Hayden Lee is the creator of the popular Travel Stories Podcast which takes some of the best stories from popular travellers and sets these short stories to an orchestral score and sound effects. The concept is really co…
Jellis Vaes on gaining more wisdom through travels in his own project [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Jellis reached out to me some time back but only now were able to talk. After a bit of research, I realized we were completely kindred spirits! He also thinks that a formal education is not nearly as useful as life exper…
Guram Sherozia on being a minor celebrity in Georgia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:54
On my second trip to Georgia I met with what ended up being an incredibly interesting couchsurfer, Guram! He turned out to be a kind of minor celebrity in Georgia with a very popular blog and he used to be on many mornin…
Georgia country report, return to my favorite country! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:31
In this episode I talk about how I went to the country of Georgia to kill some time before a conference I was going to. Georgia is my favorite country out of the 90+ that I have travelled to! The combination of alcohol t…
Mongolia country report, what I experienced during my travels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:55
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Russia country report, the first half of my Siberian travels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:24
This is my report about my first half of my Russian travels. Coming into Sochi and working my way through Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Lake Baikal and finally off to Mongolia. This was an interesting trip full of 36 hour train ri…
Moldova country report, what I experienced during my travels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:48
This is a country that I didn't know existed a few years ago. Although I consider myself good at geography I could not have told you where it was! One of the coolest things in this country is that it is functionally bili…