Phil Keoghan has looked outward to new adventures in foreign lands always. The Emmy-award-winning producer and host of CBS's "The Amazing Race" credits this to growing up on an island nation, New Zealand. He became a world traveler who shares his passion for globetrotting through "The Amazing Race." I chatted with Keoghan about the upcoming "Amazing Race: All-Stars" finale on May 18, the secrets to winning the competitive show highly, his favorite and least favorite contestants of all right time, learning to seize life by the horns, and his favorite apps. Phil Keoghan wants Amazing Race fans to get off their couches and get adventurous. From having a five-star meal atop an erupting volcano, to swimming from Asia to Europe, you have such a sense of adventure. How can you inspire others to get more adventurous and travel more? One of the things I like about our show is that it does open up the opportunities out there to viewers. So much of what Americans see in the rest of the world is about what's going wrong there, because the news is made by it, rather than what's going right. There's a sense that you're more in danger outside the country than when staying at home. It surprises people to see how safe they are. So persons can watch the show and see how there are a lot of countries that persons can go to that are even safer than America. You had a near-death experience at the age of 19, where you found yourself lost at 120 feet inside a 22,000-ton shipwreck. That would have slowed a lot of people down, yet you became more of a risk-taker afterward even. Where did the strength is found by you? weeklyblogs. I think when you speak to people who've had a health scare and know our vulnerability and that we only have one shot at living, and that it can be taken away so quickly, I think people do wake up. Ironically, as scary as it was, I'm glad it did happen, because it did wake me up. A complete lot of people who go through life-threatening circumstances do leap out more. It's persons who don't, who often don't grab life by the horns and don't live the biggest possible life. You were almost the host of "Survivor." How would your life have been different, had you gone in that direction? I have a lot of respect for Mark Burnett, and I'm sure there would have been great opportunities that came from that. But to be honest, who knows? Imagine if I had that and Jeff Probst ended up on "Amazing Race." Who knows if the shows would have survived? Featured Freeware: FastStone Photo Resizer. How do you keep "Amazing Race" fresh after all these years? I'm lucky to work with a talented group of people, and there are new persons coming in who bring fresh ideas and energy always. The fact that we're a global show, there's so much to offer from around the world, and we've barely scratched the surface. Tourist boards and fans are now inviting us, because they see the benefits. So we can put new faces and new places on the show, which is a lot much easier to keep fresh than a variety show where people dance or sing or do the same thing. I don't think there's a reality show out there that has a more varied cast. maytracker. Do you ever play favorites among the teams? Oh, yeah, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't have a favorite and for different reasons. Sometimes because I think they've worked very hard and are deserving of a place. Because I like them on a personal level sometimes. Sometimes because having them in the mix makes for a great race. From all the seasons, is there a united team that stands out as a personal favorite? filecloudpacks. I've always enjoyed the heartland America teams like David and Mary from Kentucky, or the cowboys -- because there are such rich characters that reside in those parts of the country from the point of making great TV. Because they've never traveled and are not as worldly, when you drop them on the densely populated streets of Bangladesh, their reaction to that makes for great TV. Is there a united team that stands out as a major disappointment? I remember in the grouped family edition, with the Weavers, I got annoyed because I felt that they weren't striving to stay in the race. I remember calling them out and saying, "There are a lot of people who would want to be on this show, so don't squander this opportunity!" But it's rare that we're disappointed, because people fight so hard to get on this show. It's worth more than a million dollars, as the experience is so much more. We give persons a once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunity that they can't buy. What is the secret to winning the show? It's hard to answer, because we don't pick the winner. That's part of the success, though -- the fact that we are meant to be the specialists yet can't pick the winners says just how unpredictable the race is. Because the race is so unpredictable is why it's so hugely successful. What can you tell us about the "All-Stars" finale? It's so exciting. It's surprising and it's got drama. It's very challenging yearly for the collective team to outdo themselves, but it's our goal every time. How do we up the ante? If you're a fan, you'll really like it. We have an ending that we've never had before. filecloudevo. As a New Zealander you've done a lot to promote tourism to your native country. Why should more Americans head over there? I really believe travel experience are about who you meet when you get to the place you travel to. It's closer than you think -- one direct, overnight flight -- and when you get there, you'll see that the New Zealand persons are incredibly unique. We're situated at the bottom of the world, and when you are in a smaller country, you tend to look out more, or you remain isolated, so we're one of the most traveled persons in the world, and we love having visitors. You'll be welcomed by open arms, including by my parents, who now have a bed and breakfast in Christchurch, and they love visitors. Keoghan says that New Zealanders welcome American tourists with open arms. Switching gears, what are your top five mobile apps? I uncovered Waze just, and I think that's amazing. I love Hourly News also, a great iphone app where you can select the news sources you want to listen to, and you are given by them five minutes of headlines from various sources. So I start with NPR and then listen to the right- and left-wing version of the news, to see how everyone's pitching the news. What's great about this iphone app is that you can quickly flick from one headline to the next, so if there's breaking news, it's great for getting people's takes. I use the Control4 MyHome software also , which controls all the video and sound sources in the house, so I can adjust the volumes in various things and rooms like that. There's the TED Talks app. We've been using the United Airlines app, because my daughter's away at college, and we've been using it to track her arrivals. There's also the FlightTrack app, where you can see the status of all your flights.
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