794 The New Tourist; Training School for Elephants

·52 min·4 clips

A Saudi man's surprise at feeling safe in the U.S. shifted Paige McClanahan's perspective during a chance encounter in Riyadh.

Travel changes places. Rick Steves starts with Paige McClanahan's plain warning: visitors have power, whether they notice it or not. She wants travelers to ask what their presence does to places that still need them to come. Liverpool is her case study. She describes a city once tied to poverty, riots, and drugs, then changed by tourism. Tate Liverpool matters in that story. The museum's late-1980s opening becomes part of a waterfront city trying to change its economy and its reputation. McClanahan's visit after Eurovision in 2023 gives the idea some life. Liverpool feels open and energetic, with a stranger in the square ready to explain the liver birds above a building and become a local guide for a moment. Rick sees the appeal of second cities, where visitors may find creativity, edge, and a warmer welcome. The route widens: Bath to Bristol, Lisbon to Porto, Dublin to Belfast, Berlin to Hamburg. Then the hour turns darker. Sophie Roberts brings in King Leopold II, elephants shipped from India, and exploitation in the Congo. She says the story came through long conversations under a starlit sky, not quick archive work. Rick thanks Roberts and points listeners to A Training School for Elephants before moving to his Hippie Trail book note.

As heard by us

A thoughtful travel hour about better tourism, overlooked cities, and the colonial history behind elephants in the Congo.

Travel with Rick Steves treats travel as more than itinerary-making, with Paige McClanahan arguing for a visitor who notices the effect they have on the places they enter.

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Why you'd press play

Your next trip could end up in a completely different city after an hour with these two journalists.

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