CNN Audio Launches Chance Encounters Podcast Hosted by Francesca Street

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, CNN Audio announced today the latest offering in their podcast portfolio, Chance Encounters, hosted by CNN Travel Writer Francesca Street. Based on Street’s column of the same name, Chance Encounters shares the incredible, cinematic real-life stories of travel connection Street has documented over the years. From romance that sparks at 30,000 feet to friendships found on the road, the series embraces the magic of travel, and the power of the connections we form in the most unlikely of places. Episodes will feature the original audio recordings from the interviews Street conducted for her hit CNN.com series.

The first episode of Chance Encounters is available now and follows Italian traveler Cristina Farina, who in the summer of 1984 was stood up by a man she met on an airplane, only to soon bump into her future husband in London’s Trafalgar Square.

“I love speaking with people about their amazing and inspiring stories of how travel can lead to unexpected romance and lifelong friendship,” said Street. “It’s my privilege to be entrusted with these journeys, and I’m delighted that the Chance Encounters podcast is bringing them to life in a new and wonderful way. I’m certain listeners will love hearing the joy, the passion, and the emotion in the voices of travelers who took a chance and said yes when destiny struck.”

Francesca Street is a London-based digital journalist at CNN Travel. In addition to her work on the Chance Encounters series, Street also interviews travelers from across the world about their experiences and explores travel news. Street was awarded an MHP 30 under 30 Young Journalists Gold Award in 2019 in recognition of her work at CNN. She also won the Breaking Travel News award at the Travel Media Awards in 2019 and 2020, and picked up Business Travel Journalism Awards in 2020 and 2023. Street has been profiled by The Washington Post, and four of Street’s 2024 articles appeared in audience monitor Chartbeat’s round-up of the most read articles of the year.

Chance Encounters will debut new episodes on Mondays and will be available wherever you get your podcasts.