Whether you’re in for a long road trip or waiting in line at the airport, take these playlists of stories, conversations and performances with you.

For hungry (and thirsty) holiday travelers

If you’re already hungry again but left the holiday leftovers behind, listen to this playlist of some of our favorite conversations about food from this fall. And if dinner conversations caused enough tension to warrant their own carving knife, maybe the drink recommendations from Strange Brews and others are what you need.

Prep for Thanksgiving dinner table small talk

What’s new in Chicago? Get to know the new dinosaur discovered by the Field Museum, origins of Chicago’s sport mascots and those Ventra blues. Listen to this playlist from WBEZ and you’ll be plenty prepped for a day of small talk over stuffing.

The things you can’t talk about at Thanksgiving

Politics. Religion. Money. Sex. You know the rules. You can’t talk about this stuff over turkey. So get that out of your system as you travel for the holidays by listening to some our favorite recent conversations from WBEZ’s shows and podcasts on these taboo topics. 

WBEZ’s holiday travel tunes

In the mood for music but don’t want to listen to a mix of Christmas carols and commercials? Check out this holiday travel mixtape made up of recent live performances and band interviews from WBEZ.