the middle seat
A TRAVEL PODCAST FOR TRAVELERS, HOSTED BY SOMEONE WHO PLANS TRIPS — AND SOMEONE WHO TAKES THEM.
with claire + dakota
listen on spotify
listen on apple podcast
new episodes every tuesday
The Middle Seat is a travel podcast hosted by someone who plans trips for a living and someone who asks the questions most people are thinking.
Claire brings the travel advisor perspective, while Dakota keeps things real by asking the questions you don’t want to Google at 11pm. We talk destinations, lessons learned the hard way, and the little details that make a trip go from “fine” to “I’ll be talking about this for years.”
SETTLE IN, HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN YOU PRESS PLAY:
Honest destination conversations – what lived up to the hype, what didn’t, and what we’d do differently.
Real travel stories (including the mistakes) and the lessons that stuck
A few of those hard-earned “please don’t do this” moments
Deep dive episodes on specific travel topic, like photography or smarter planning
Guest conversations with people who shape the travel experience behind the scenes
Reviews of our favorite travel things…and least favorite ones
meet the hosts
Dakota here, this is the one section of the website Claire let me drive the keyboard.
Our friends say we’re the couple that travels maybe a little too much. Asking questions like “didn’t you just get back?” But we think everyone should always have their next trip booked, and that’s exactly what we aim to help you realize via The Middle Seat.
Claire (the window seat connoisseur) is the resident travel advisor, who maybe knows a little bit too much about the travel industry and can get a little carried away with the acronyms and logistics lingo. Dakota (me, the aisle seat aficionado) is here to bring things back down to earth and ask those questions those of us who haven’t yet hit airline status are wondering, but too afraid to say out loud.
Get to know us better by listening to latest episode of The Middle Seat ↓
this podcast is for you if...
You want to make smarter travel decisions without building a spreadsheet
You enjoy learning just enough to feel confident — not overwhelmed
You appreciate expert insight, as long as it’s explained like a human
You love to travel, but sometimes feel like everyone else got a handbook you missed
You’ve googled something travel-related at 11pm and wished someone would have just explained it to you
You want your trips to feel thoughtful, fun, and well-planned, without sucking the joy out of them
totally fair.
Claire also writes a weekly newsletter, Postcards from Paradise, where Dakota almost always makes a guest appearance. Every postcard is filled with wildly specific stories, travel insights you’ll actually use, and behind-the-scenes perspective from a travel advisor who plans trips for a living and tends to overshare just enough.
