United States
Flags of the United States line both side of a road.
“The diversity of America is a strength of the country, and I don’t think that we use that. We don’t talk about our strengths. I mean, having so many diverse people in this country from all aspects of all over the world, and we don’t use that. I think we should talk about who we are – that melting pot that we’ve become.”
–Steve Stoute
The lyrics in the anthem America the Beautiful expresses it best–the United States of America really is beautiful.
O beautiful for spacious skies…For amber waves of grain…For purple mountain majesties…Above the fruited plain!…America! America!…God shed His grace on thee…And crown thy good with brotherhood…From sea to shining sea!
The United States really is a beautiful and wonderfully diverse country. When you travel to each of the 50 States and even within each State you will feel as if you’re traveling to another country.
The United States is a country built by immigrants and each corner of this country is influenced by a variety of cultural diasporas including former enslaved people from Africa and the West Indies. Even traces of Native American culture can be found despite earlier efforts to erase them from the narratives of American history.
The United States has not always been the land of the free but it has always been the home of the brave.
As Paul Tsongas said, “America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.”
Recorded while traveling across Iceland, this episode explores two very different roads: America’s legendary Route 66 with Route Magazine editor Brennan Matthews, and a bold leap into European RV life with Kat Bird of the Wandering Bird blog. It’s a look at how the open road—whether in the U.S., Iceland, or across Europe—can change the way we see the world.
In honor of our veterans, World Footprints shares an intimate conversation with Dr. Betty Moseley Brown — one of the first women of color to join the U.S. Marine Corps. She reflects on breaking barriers, lessons in leadership, and how travel remains her path to transformation. 🎖️✈️
The Lone Star State contains some unique Halloween traditions. Filled with ghost towns, haunted hotels, and spooky lore, Texas has summoned attention for its intense connection to the paranormal.
Wondering who is the Godfather of horror stories? Edgar Allan Poe leads the pack. Poe revolutionized the genre in the 1840s with his first-person narrative stories like “The Black Cat,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Tell Tale Heart." He was one of the first to use psychological horror. Visiting the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia provides a good understanding of who Poe was and how he wrote such masterpieces.
We’re not crossing the Atlantic—this time “Glasgow” sits on Montana’s sweeping Hi-Line, a ribbon of highway and rail towns running just south of the Canadian border. In this episode, World Footprints journeys along U.S. Highway 2 from Havre to Malta and Glasgow, tracing the stories carved into Montana’s vast prairie. This is Big Sky country at its most authentic: where dinosaur bones emerge from badlands, ancient buffalo jumps overlook the Milk River, and locals still wave at passing Amtrak trains. Along the way, we venture south to Fort Peck—home to one of the most ambitious New Deal engineering feats in America—and Fort Benton, a steamboat-era trading post often called the “Birthplace of Montana.” These stops reveal how geology, Indigenous heritage, railroads, and Roosevelt-era infrastructure together shaped a frontier that’s still evolving. Through conversations, on-the-ground exploration, and a few surprises in between, this episode peels back the layers of Montana’s cultural [...]
Discover the inspiring lives of CBS daytime stars in this exclusive podcast. Don Diamont, Heather Tom, and Eric Braeden share career highlights, humanitarian missions, and life-changing travel experiences that shaped their passion and purpose.
Did you know we once had a state named Franklin? I learned the fascinating story in Washington County, Tennessee. Beyond the lost state, the site has a fascinating history from before the Revolution to the Civil War.
I live in New York State's Adirondack Mountains half the year. Here, there are two semi-touristy places, Lake George Village and Lake Placid. I'll always have a soft spot for slightly tacky Lake George Village because my dad took the family there every July 4th for fireworks. He'd yell, over and over, "Thank you, Thomas Jefferson! Thank you, Benjamin Franklin!" However, far greener and atmospheric, Lake Placid feels genuine and provides a real sense of community. And it’s home to a really fun, unassuming place to stay, the sprawling High Peaks Resort. But more than just a fun getaway location, the land it sits upon boasts an amazing history dating back to 1850.
Explore Dorothy Parker’s New York with author Kevin C. Fitzpatrick. Visit her haunts, uncover her legacy, and plan your own literary walking tour.
The 1970s television series The Waltons bridged generations in my family. The story was set in my grandparents’ youth, and my parents were teenagers when it premiered. Reruns were the reason I decided at an early age to become a writer, like the character John Boy. The summer I turned sixteen, Dad and I watched The Waltons on TV Land together every morning. One day, as John Boy took his Model AA Ford pickup to Richmond and Charlottesville, Virginia, Dad asked, “I wonder if any of those places still exist?” After all, the fictional stories were based on real events in author Earl Hammner’s life.
Saying the mainsail on the 100-year-old schooner Zodiac is big is like saying Babe Ruth knew how to play ball. A massive understatement, at 4,000 square feet, the Zodiac's mainsail is not just the largest working sail on the West Coast — it's larger than the average American house.
Bourbon and Baptist rarely mix. However, in Georgetown and neighboring Shelbyville, Kentucky, they blended and created a distinct bourbon culture. Elijah Craig, a Baptist minister, began distilling bourbon in Georgetown and is often credited as the father of bourbon.
