Hacking Hunger – Episode 41: How Can We End World Hunger? Travel Expert Rick Steves Visits Guatemala and Ethiopia to Explore Answers.

Rick Steves is no stranger to exploration. The renowned travel expert has built his career around investigating the nooks and crannies of Europe and sharing his discoveries with curious travelers. Recently, however, Rick ventured beyond Europe to explore one of the most pressing problems of our day: the problem of global hunger.

“Ever since I was a kid I’ve been traveling,” Rick told us. “When you travel, you gain an empathy for the other 96 percent of humanity, and that there are things going on beyond our borders. And one thing you can’t help but notices is just this huge gap – between the affluent world, and the desperately poor world.”

He documents his journey and his learnings in a new TV special, Hunger and Hope: Lessons from Ethiopia and Guatemala. “I wanted to use my platform as a travel writer as a public television host to show what extreme poverty is, show how smart development aid, is and get people excited about the challenge of ending it,” he said. “Not because we want to love our neighbors – although that’s what motivates me – but because it makes our world more stable, and safer.”

On this episode of Hacking Hunger, we caught up with Rick to discuss what this project taught him about the challenges and innovative solutions to solving global hunger and the inspiring people and organizations (including the U.N. World Food Programme) he met along the way. Listen and discover what he found.