Dr. John Freedman is a Global Studies Scholar & Lecturer who has explored over 170 countries on seven continents. He is an experienced Expedition Leader for educational travel operators including Smithsonian, Lindblad/National Geographic, Yale Alumni, and the American Museum of Natural History, and has been a featured Destination and Enrichment Lecturer on over 100 voyages on cruise ships and riverboats worldwide including Silversea, Seabourn, Viking, Regent, Oceania, Lindblad/National Geographic, Ponant and others.

Dr. Freedman has an extensive portfolio of lively and entertaining presentations which combine serious scholarship with his own rich photographic content and feature an interdisciplinary mix of intriguing topics covering destination-related history, geography, biography, cultural and art history, literary history, biogeography and earth sciences, and current affairs.

A graduate of Brown University and Yale Medical School, Dr. Freedman's 3 decades of worldwide medical volunteer work also provide ample ‘boots on the ground’ local experiences to inform his engaging presentations. He retired from clinical medical practice in 2014 after 34 years to further pursue his avocation and lifelong passion for travel, global studies, and teaching. He has given hundreds of intellectually robust and entertaining enrichment presentations around the world, adding rich context to the traveler’s experience by probing into the most colorful and interesting aspects of the specific region visited and the itinerary's ports of call.

When not exploring faraway lands, John resides in Santa Rosa, California, in the Sonoma wine country with his wife, Tina, a wine educator.

Websites:
Dr. John Freedman, Global Studies Lecturer: http://www.travelenrichmentservices.com
Dr. John Freedman, Scholar At Sea: http://www.scholaratsea.com
Twitter educational posts: @DrJohnFreedman (https://twitter.com/DrJohnFreedman)

Extensive lecture portfolio (over 250 lectures) covering all of Asia, Oceania with extensive South Pacific experience, Caribbean/Panama Canal, Iberia, South America, islands visited on Atlantic and Indian Ocean crossings, most of Africa including Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Material is interdisciplinary in accord with the most intriguing aspects of the region/destination and includes ample history, geography, cultural topics, art and architectural history, comparative religion, biography/great lives, natural history and biogeography, history of science, food and wine, health and wellness, and dynamic current affairs topics. Region-specific lists of lecture titles and short descriptions are available upon request.

Over 20 years experience as a featured onboard Guest Lecturer for Silversea, Seabourn, Viking, Regent, Crystal, Oceania, Lindblad/National Geographic, Ponant, Smithsonian Journeys, Yale Alumni Travel, American Museum of Natural History Study Tours, and others. Over 100 completed assignments with over 800 presentations given to date on numerous ships sailing worldwide including very extensive experience in South Pacific/Oceania, Caribbean/Panama Canal and Central America, Iberia and her islands from the Azores to the Balearics, South America, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean crossings, Asia (Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia specialist), Africa, and Australia. Extensive portfolio of over 300 destination-related enrichment lectures, as well as several multi-lecture suites of 'anywhere' enrichment programs designed to appeal to the most sophisticated travelers.

Most recently completed cruise assignments (past 5 years):
Regent Mariner - Sydney-Singapore - Jan 20-Feb 9, 2019
Regent Voyager - Miami-Miami - 4 consecutive Caribbean voyages - Feb 13-March 22, 2019
Viking Orion - Bali-Bangkok-Hong Kong-Tokyo - 3 consecutive voyages - March 26-April 5, 2019
Silversea Silver Explorer (Expedition Ship) - Inland Sea of Japan - Beppo-Busan May 8-21, 2019
Oceania Riviera - Barcelona-Barcelona - June 6-16, 2019
Silversea Silver Muse - Tokyo-Tokyo - Sept 27-October 11, 2019
Regent Mariner - Miami-Miami - Oct 15-22 and Oct 22 -Nov 1, 2019
Regent Navigator - New York-Miami - Nov 4-19, 2019
Regent Navigator - Papeete-Papeete - Dec 23, 2019-Jan 3, 2020
Regent Navigator - Papeete-Sydney - Jan 3-23, 2020
Viking Orion - 'Bermuda Escape' - 2 consecutive voyages - Sept 10-24, 2021
Viking Orion - 'West Indies Treasures' Fort Lauderdale-Fort Lauderdale - Oct 10-Nov 3, 2021
Seabourn Ovation - 'Caribbean Gems' Miami-Miami - Dec 10-21, 2021
Silversea Silver Moon - 10-week 'Grand Voyage South America & Panama Canal' - Jan 3-March 18, 2022
Ponant Le Paul Gaugin - Special 'Chairman's Cruise' in French Polynesia - June 4-15, 2022
Seabourn Ovation - Bridgetown-Bridgetown - 2 consecutive voyages - December 10-27, 2022
Viking Star - Caribbean and Panama Canal - 2 consecutive voyages - Feb 21- March 21, 2023
Seabourn Odyssey 'Heart of Polynesia' Papeete-Honolulu - April 15-30 2023
Silversea Silver Moon - Barcelona-Lisbon with Morocco - May 30-June 10, 2023
Silversea Silver Whisper Tokyo-Tokyo Sept 21-Oct 1, 2023
Silversea Silver Whisper Tokyo-Yokohama - Oct 1-10, 2023
Silversea Silver Whisper Yokohama-Hong Kong - Oct 10-27, 2023
Silversea Silver Whisper Hong Kong-Bangkok- Oct 27-Nov 10, 2023
Seabourn Sojourn Miami-Los Angeles with Panama Canal Transit - December 1-22, 2023
Crystal Serenity San Diego-Papeete - February 3-21, 2024

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.