Rick Steves Joins Us on "Rick Steves Over Brunch," Pt. 1 (Rome: Back-Street Riches)
When Steph and I started Rick Steves Over Brunch, we both went into it for the sheer joy of it, completely void of any expectations about what it might or might not turn into.
In April 2018, we decided that we’d partner up on what has ended up being one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable sidesteps of my career. Much of that joy has to be credited to how well Steph (of History Fangirl) and I gel, but the true joy has been in the reception that we’ve gotten from our respective listeners and fans. As I alluded to before, we weren’t sure there would be any fans, so this whole journey has been humbling and exciting.
For those who aren’t familiar at all, Rick Steves Over Brunch is a podcast where two travel writers (Steph and myself) discuss episodes of the classic travel television show, Rick Steves’ Europe. There were podcasts reviewing Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and a million other shows, so, we felt, why not Rick Steves’ Europe? So, we set out to review episodes of places we’d both been, then share our commentary on both the destination and the episode. The response, as we alluded to has been incredible, and we’re now well into the five digit downloads.
A few months ago, I went to see Rick speak at the Toronto Public Library about his book, Travel as a Political Act, and afterwards I worked up the gall to go and speak to my idol. Thinking I’d get nothing back in return but a mild look of confusion, I mentioned that I ran the podcast Rick Steves Over Brunch, and was a big fan of how he empowered others to travel the world. To my utter surprise he responded that he was a fan of the show, and actually listened regularly. At that point, I kindly proposed that he should come on the show and Rick graciously accepted.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Note: If you want to subscribe to Rick Steves Over Brunch you can subscribe on iTunes or your favourite podcast provider. If you already are a listener, please consider giving a review, they mean a lot to us, and validate all the hard work we put in on the backend.
Recording “Rome: Back-Street Riches” with Rick Steves Himself
I think Rick Steves might be the busiest man I know, and for him to carve out the time to record not only one episode, but two, it just meant the world to us. Obviously, before these interviews we had a profound respect for him, but it’s safe to say that appreciation and respect rose even further after these conversations, and I hope you’ll see why when you listen.
All three of us are very familiar with Rome, so we chose to review the season 7 episode “Rome: Back Street Riches.” I’m biased, but I think it ended up being the perfect choice, as it was a relatively recent episode it exemplifies in many ways what makes this show so great.
We wanted to record this first episode, with Rick coming on as a guest to review his own show, largely because we thought that would be something our listeners would be find priceless. I mean, imagine being in Rick’s shoes, and he comes on our show to review his show, while engaging with all our talking points, including rating the episode out of five button down shirts.
In the second episode, which will be released shortly, I lead an interview that takes us beyond this particular episode and the show itself. This episode is the longer of the two, and Steph takes the lead on this one and does a remarkable job.
Here’s the TV episode if you’d like to re-watch it before giving our podcast episode a listen.
And, without further adieu, here’s the podcast episode itself.
I could, in truth, wax lyrical all day about our conversation, but you’re best served by just giving it a listen and forming your own opinion on it all. Speaking of that, feel free to write a comment below to let me know what you thought, or reach out to me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, and you can be sure I’ll get back to you personally.
As always, thanks for the support. YOU are the reason I’m fired up to get to work every single day.
UPDATE: Head over to this link to check out the second episode, an interview with Rick Steves, which is now live!