A Voyeur's Vacation

By Virginia Prescott on Monday, August 24, 2009.

Many Americans fell back on tried and true ways to cut down the cost of summer vacations. Some of us stayed closer to home, others bunked with friends, camped in the woods, or splurged on the occasional hotel or motel.

A growing number of families skipped out on these traditional vacations and swapped homes with strangers instead.

Journalist Hanna Rosin handed over her house keys to a French family she found on one of many online home swapping sites. In exchange, Hanna’s family spent two weeks living like locals in Northern France. It’s an odd experiment, one that raises questions of identity and trust. Hanna Rosin joins us from Washington, DC where she’s the founding editor of Slate's women’s site DoubleX.

DoubleX: How to Survive a House Exchange

Boston Globe: Swap, travel, and save

(Photo by Hans Oischinger via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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The headline should read: "Spending the night sleeping in a stranger's bed, and cooking in his or her kitchen." Not "their." The old singular noun, plural pronoun thing, ya know. CP

Submitted by C. Parrott on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 07:32.

Idea Smackdown: Round III

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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.