There is a moment every traveler knows: standing before an iconic landmark, camera in hand, convinced you understand exactly what you are seeing. But beneath the surface of the world's most photographed places are stories much stranger, darker, and more extraordinary than standard guidebooks reveal.

In this episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with journalist and author Ronan O'Connell. A contributor to National Geographic, CNN, and the BBC, Ronan has spent over two decades visiting more than 60 countries. They dive into his new book, Hidden in Plain Sight – The Untold Mysteries, Myths, and Marvels of the World's Most Popular Landmarks, to explore the revolutions, legends, and secrets hiding in plain view.

Episode Highlights:

• From Crime to Culture: Ronan transitioned from covering murders and politics at The West Australian to freelance travel journalism. This major career shift happened after he took a risk to travel through Asia.
• The Problem with Modern Tourism: Search engine optimization and copy-pasted blogs often provide inaccurate or skin-deep history for famous locations. Ronan aimed to provide deep, accurate context that even locals might not know.
• A Grueling Creative Process: Ronan wrote and photographed the book entirely by himself. The timeline was intensely pressured, requiring travel to roughly 35 countries in under nine months. On one particular trip, he covered 14 countries in just 17 or 18 days.
• Chasing the Perfect Shot: To capture highly unique angles of famous buildings, Ronan intentionally avoided looking at other photographers' work on Instagram before his visits.
• A Brighter Worldview: His background as a crime reporter taught him that the news media relies heavily on fear and negativity. However, traveling the globe showed him that the actual state of the world is much better and more beautiful than our social feeds suggest.

Ronan reminds us that travel isn't just about where we go, but how deeply we are willing to see.

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