Make a Pod About Solo Travel!

So you want to make a great pod about the increasing popularity of solo travel? What a great idea! Let's do it! How do you go about this, you might be asking?

First, read this whole NYT article (nothing wrong with cribbing ideas from the best sources, especially in a different medium...) about the subject. This is a really interesting piece, but if you want to take this to become a compelling television segment, you're going to need more than a topic, you need a STORY.

The best way to make this happen? Find a young person traveling alone who's an interesting character, and willing to be filmed over several days. This, as usual, is the hardest part of telling the story. If you don't know anyone fitting this profile, I suggest checking the hotels mentioned in the article, going to youth hostels in your city, or checking online "Hospitality Club" websites like www.hospitalityclub.org where people post

Talk to them about why they've chosen to travel on their own (prefer it, just got out of a relationship, didn't know anyone who wanted to go where they did, etc.).

Follow them around a city for a day. Ideally you would keep from shaping their itinerary, and let them end up in whatever situations they would normally, without treating you like a de facto travel companion (it shouldn't be about the two of you hanging out). If they start talking to people in their hotel, film it! If they get chatted up in a dive bar, film it! Get releases all around.

Intersperse all this with some informational interviews with people working for the companies mentioned in the Times article ("Why is there so much interest in traveling alone today?" etc., maybe ask some people traveling together how they feel about the idea of traveling solo, etc.).

Edit it together well, throw some music in, and there you go, you have a great pod!

This topic has the potential to be completely Current, all it needs is someone with a camera and the dedication to find the story.