A former US ambassador to Switzerland shares her insights into what makes the Swiss tick — and what their society gets right. Then an astronomer helps us imagine what sort of views we'd enjoy if we could travel to planets in our solar system. And a guidebook author from Anchorage tells us why south-central Alaska can be a fun place for a winter visit. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Tour guides from Lisbon paint audio pictures of the vivid art that colors the streets of Portugal, then a journalist and former diplomat tells of how curiosity led him to meet with healers in the jungles of Nicaragua and Belize. And travel writer Richard Grant explains how a particularly bitter Yukon winter in Dawson City inspired Jack London to write one of his most famous tales of the North. Plus, Rick's in-house art expert gives us a close-up appreciation of Leonardo's Mona Lisa. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A culinary historian tells us what's traditionally been on the Thanksgiving table over the years. The head of the World Food Program USA updates us on the work that goes into feeding the world's most impoverished communities. Also, we remember Tucson-based travel writer Tom Miller. And we get a taste of the variety of sausages people enjoy year-round in Germany. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Hear about the risks and heroism it took to protect Europe's art treasures during World War II. Then vicariously eat your way through four of Italy's lesser-known regions — where specialties include elaborate seafood stews, spreadable salamis, and some of the world's best sheep's-milk cheeses — with Italian-food expert Fred Plotkin. And listen in as two Belgians discuss the hearty comfort food of their homeland. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A Jerusalem-raised Palestinian tour operator explains how he works to reconcile divided communities — in his home country, and far beyond. Then two Spanish tour guides consider what makes their country one of the world's most popular destinations among tourists, and what they want visitors to experience there. And a historian discusses the legacy of Shawnee chief Tecumseh, and why, in the early years of the US, he was so admired even by the settlers he opposed. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

At a time of year when, according to some cultures, the worlds of the living and the dead come a little closer together, a historian joins us to explain how vampire stories arose from eastern European legends of the "un-dead." Then Irish writer Fintan O'Toole describes the role of the supernatural in Celtic traditions and in more recent Irish literature. And listeners describe eerie encounters they've experienced while traveling in Europe. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A creative-writing professor discusses Icelandic mythology, as told in the Viking-inspired sagas — and how a summer backpacking trek around the island nation helped him understand the role these tales play in Iceland's modern-day culture. Then futurist and Wired founder Kevin Kelly looks back on his journeys to document, over nearly 50 years, many of the traditions and features now quickly vanishing across Asia. And experts share advice for fall travels to England's gardens and stone circles, and for understanding British slang. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Tour guides from Hungary discuss their country's love of paprika and set us straight on what makes for good goulash. Then the literary director of the Library of Congress and bicultural author Marie Arana examines the cultural divide between the US and Latin America, and explains its thousand-year-old historical roots. And we learn why the lesser-known region of Galicia, in Spain's northwest corner, is where Spaniards go to escape from heat (and tourist crowds). For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Get a sneak peek at some of the surprises you might encounter when exploring one or more of Indonesia's 13,000 islands. Then hear from a journalist about how his fellow Italians pulled together — with a uniquely Italian spirit — to cope with the earliest days of the Covid pandemic. And pick up tips for visiting some of the Czech Republic's most intriguing historic locations beyond Prague. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Commercial pilot and very frequent flier Mark Vanhoenacker shares stories from his many brief excursions to cities around the world. Then Cuba travel expert Christopher P. Baker discusses how the island has been faring since the pandemic shut down its tourism industry and relays the latest on government requirements for Americans interested in visiting. And Rick hears from more listeners who've been resuming — and adjusting — their international adventures post-pandemic. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.