Don’t get me wrong Lisa Ling: She clearly enjoys being at home with her husband and two children. Just stay at home for also long makes her feel… well, “earning ants” is the word she uses. “I still love to travel,” she said. “There is so much to see and experience in this world. And I want to expose my children to that as much as possible.”
Since 2014, the Emmy-winning journalist has chronicled those adventures — and introduced viewers to unusual and extraordinary local communities and places along the way — in the CNN documentary. hers, This is life with Lisa Ling. “Our show allows audiences to better understand their fellow Americans,” she explains. This concept has been especially important in recent years, she adds. “We were isolated in our bubble and cut ourselves off from others.”
For the ninth and final season (which airs this Sunday at 9 and 10 p.m. ET), the showrunner and executive producer travels everywhere from the mountains of Arkansas to Explore the fate of captive and bred tigers who come to Denver to discover the city’s alarming rate of alcohol consumption. She recounts her visit to a city just outside of Chicago, where she learned about the Baha’i faith and saw “one of the most magnificent structures ever in the United States.”
As you might have surmised, getting from Point A to Point B is not easy. Ling said she bought a luxury Sprinter van during the pandemic so she and her team could travel safely. Of course, there have also been flight delays and car rentals. But she’s proud to say that the team covered 49 states during production. (Surprising exception: Hawaii.)
“I like being in environments that are unfamiliar to me,” says Ling. “I feel like a sponge that just likes to absorb as much as possible. When you are out in the world, you will never be repeated because there is always something new everyday and hourly. I really want those moments. You can’t do any of that if you’re stuck at home.
It’s no surprise that Ling is a product expert on the go. She picked up the phone (from her home in LA) to share her expertise with CNN Underscored.
Ling adheres to the Golden Rule when traveling: You must not check in luggage. “Luckily I’m pretty small, so it’s not like I’m messing around with these giant shoes,” she said. Ling loves this durable duffel bag because of its “soft” pliable and recyclable material. As a longtime Patagonia user, she also welcomes the brand’s lifetime warranty. “They have repaired many bags for me over the decades and all I have to pay is the shipping,” she said. “I strongly recommend all travel enthusiasts to look into these types of companies.” (Eagle Creek and The North Face offer similar policies.)
“This is an absolute essential that goes with me no matter what,” says Ling. While the gym equipment is compact enough to fit in her travel bag, it gets the job done keeping her abs, legs, and arms toned for a quick workout in a hotel room. In fact, Ling jokes that she’s been wearing her beloved roller for so long that the original label has worn off. But she remembers buying it at the Big 5 Sportswear store.
While rummaging through her toiletries, Ling listed this oil-free lightweight sunscreen as her #1 sunscreen. “Being in warm climates and being on a lot of planes can really dehydrate me,” she says. “If I don’t use it, my skin will really suffer.” Her facial routine also features a hydrating serum containing Hyaluronic Acid from the American Korean company. hanbi.
Ling pours a individually packaged supplement into her coffee every morning (along with some Stevia sweetener). She explains that collagen helps provide the body with the amino acids it needs to renew tissues as well as healthy hair, skin, nails and joints. “I have experienced a difference in my skin and joints,” she says.
Ling prides himself on being an avid reader. As in, book. “I mark them and mark them like crazy,” she said. During the production, she synthesized things like Healing, Aftershocks: Memoirs, Here are your thoughts on plants and Fiona and Jane. “I really enjoy reading about the different aspects of healing because our world needs it right now,” she said. She gives special thanks to this new non-fiction memoir, in which an itinerant ER doctor uses her travels to remote locations to help face the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please note, this is not your grandfather’s beef jerky. Ling’s Choice features grass-fed beef and is hormone and nitrate free with nine grams of protein packed in each smoke-flavored bar. “It was the first snack I put in my backpack,” she said. During the massive Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Sauce Shortage in 2022, Ling had a bottle stocked. “Usually I don’t,” she said, “But I need hot sauce for everything!”
“I am always cold!” Linh said. Solution? The life jacket is well insulated, rolls up into a ball and can be easily stowed in a carry-on bag. (Please note, Ling’s own Ultra-Lightweight Feather Jacket from Patagonia is now out of stock.) “It’s important that you just have something to wear when the weather changes,” she says.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ling wears solid black Doc Martens and Charles and David boots while working in the fields. Now let’s talk about the important footwear in the hotel room. She said: ‘I always carry a pair of flip-flops and keep them by my bed because I don’t like my feet touching the ground. And socks are taboo: “I can’t wear the socks I’ve been wearing all day to bed and it’s hard to wear them when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night!”
Even before the pandemic, Ling – who admitted he had “germ OCD” – was extremely diligent in using wipes to clean plane seats, rental cars and hotel rooms. (That goes double for the remote.) “My routine hasn’t changed much after COVID,” she says. “My idiosyncrasies just made sense!”
More from the essential list:
• Michael Strahan Talks About What He Brings On The Road
• Phil Keoghan shares his on-the-go products
