Travel guru Rick Steves on why seeing the world makes it a better place

In a live taping of The Journal podcast, host Ryan Knutson talks with Steves about the value of travel and Americans’ reception abroad in 2025.

Rick Steves has created one of the most successful travel businesses in the U.S., including guidebooks, European tours and a longstanding TV and radio show. What is it like to run a travel business for American tourists right now, after the pandemic and as the new Trump administration rattles the world order?  

As part of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival in late May, The Journal podcast host Ryan Knutson took the stage with Steves to discuss these tumultuous times and why Steves believes travel should be a priority for Americans, regardless of recent events. 

In this episode of the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival podcast, Knutson and Steves dig into why if everyone traveled before they could vote, “this world would be a much more stable and just and beautiful place”; the impact of the pandemic and social media on European travel; how American travelers are received abroad right now; and why Steves, for one, will be traveling as long as he’s able.  

This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2025. 

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Credits

Host: Paris Jackson

Producer: Sara Bernard, Scot Michael

Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd

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