Rick Steves on Thanksgiving Mindfulness in the Year of COVID

On Tuesday, travel guru Rick Steves joined Boston Public Radio for his monthly check-in, where he reflected on the meaning of Thanksgiving, and its particular significance in the bizarre year of 2020.

"Every country has harvest festivals,” he said. “When travel and we clink glasses, we realize how beautiful and interconnected the world is, and realize how joy across the sea is just as real as joy across the table at home – and how hunger and suffering across the sea is just as real as sadness and struggles across our own family tables.”

He added, “thankfulness to me is really hollow without being mindful about our relative privilege, and the needs of the less fortunate."

During the interview, Steves also touched on his feelings about Joe Biden’s 2020 win, and spoke about what he’s hoping to achieve in 2021 with the slow easing of global travel restrictions.

Steves is an author, television and radio host, and the owner of “Rick Steves' Europe” tour group. You can catch Rick Steves’ Europe weeknights at 7:30 on GBH 2, and his radio show Travel With Rick Steves Sundays at 4:00 on GBH.