Rick Steves

Watch Rick Steves “Iran”

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By Rick Steves

“It’s just good style to get to know people before you bomb them.”

That’s what I said 18 years ago when people asked me, “Why are you producing this TV show?” It was 2008, and President Bush was threatening to go to war with Iran. So, I did the best thing I could to bolster peace — I produced a public television special designed to humanize and better understand the people of Iran.

Well, it’s 2026 now, and the USA under Trump has stepped into a void. What our country just did in Iran is like someone blowing up Mar-a-Lago to kill our leader…or blowing up the Kremlin to kill Russia’s. Or the equivalent in Quebec City, Havana, Taipei, or Sacramento. Regardless of how much you hated Khamenei, we’ve entered a new frontier in a world where long-established norms are crumbling. And who’s gone rogue? Pick up a flag and look in the mirror.

Sure, there are people dancing in the streets in Iran — just as there would be if our president ended up dead under a pile of rubble, too. But Americans who are gleeful today don’t really understand Iran any more than those who were fixated on (or titillated by) Ted Koppel’s 444 days of the Iran hostage crisis 45 years ago.

The world’s a messy place. But that’s no excuse. As an American taxpayer, I believe that every US bomb that falls and every bullet that flies has my name on it. In the last year, our president (who won votes by promising to keep America out of wars and is now famously agitating for a Nobel Peace Prize) has dropped bombs on seven foreign countries — and each of those bombs has your name on it, too…including the one that just recklessly decapitated a nation of 90 million people in a war-torn corner of our world.

I want freedom for the Iranian people as much as anyone. And I know that, with ICE-like forces, their government has killed thousands of protesters…thousands of Renée Goods and Alex Prettis. But I also know that, sometimes, patience and stability are preferable to saber-rattling, bombast, and chaos.

If you don’t think you understand Iran (or even if you do), and you would like to gain some context for its current misery, this show is for you. Rather than debate the issues of the day, it was designed to help you simply appreciate the rich culture and endearing humanity of this long-suffering nation. I doubt you’ll be traveling to Iran anytime soon. So, let this be your opportunity to join me on a vicarious trip there and to get to know and better understand a people that, since that 2008 trip, have held a special place in my heart.

Listen to “O Canada” from The Kingston Coffee House 1/13/26

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By Mike Stevenson | January 13, 2026

Tonight on THE KINGSTON COFFEE HOUSE, we celebrate the music of our neighbor to the North, a nation whose vast landscapes mirror the depth of her musical artistry. We’ll hear songs from 60’s-era folk icons Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen – as well as a few lesser-known Canucks (David Wiffin, Ron Sexsmith, Mary Margaret O’Hara) whom I expect will become favorites.

Listen to a full replay of “O Canada”, below

GLORIOUS AND FREE
– The Royal Canadian Mounties “O Canada”
– Neil Young “Ohio” (Young) 1970 CSNY So Far
– Dolly, Linda & Emmylou “After the Goldrush”(Young) Trio II, 1999
– Gordon Lightfoot “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” The Way I Feel, 1967

  • WHEN I WOKE UP THIS MORNIN’
    – Ian & Sylvia “Early Morning Rain” (Lightfoot)1965
    – Gordon Lightfoot “Steel Rail Blues” Lightfoot, 1966
    – Ian & Sylvia “Katie Dear” Newport Folk Festival 1964
    – Ian & Sylvia “Someday Soon” Newport Folk Festival 1964
    – We Five “You Were On My Mind” (Sylvia Fricker)You Were on My Mind, 1965
  • HEROES IN THE SEAWEED
    – Neil Young “Til the Morning Comes” After the Goldrush, 1970
    – Rick Danko “Twilight” (Robertson) The Best of Mountain Stage 1989
    – Joni Mitchell “Morningtown” Ladies of the Canyon,1970
    – Joni Mitchell “California” Blue,1971
    – Leonard Cohen “Suzanne”
  • RING THE BELLS THAT STILL CAN RING
    – Perla Batalla, Julie Christensen “Anthem” (Cohen) I’m Your Man
    – Jesse Winchester “Sham a Ling Dong Ding” Love Filling Station, 2009
    – Steve Barakatt “O Canada” (instrumental piano)
  • GAILGRAITH ST. GOODBYE
    – Kate & Anna McGarrigle “Kiss And Say Goodbye” Heart Like a Wheel, 1976
    – Ron Sexsmith “Gailbraith Street”, Ron Sexsmith 1995
    – Neil Young “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” After the Goldrush, 1970
    – David Wiffin “Skybound Station” Coast to Coast Fever, 1973
    – Jerry Jeff Walker “More Often Than Not” (Wiffin”)Bein’ Free, 1970
    – Joni Mitchell “You Turn Me On I’m a Radio”, For the Roses, 1972
Joni

“Cause who needs the static – it hurts the head”

  • WHISPERING PINES AND CALLING ANGELS
    – Lucinda Williams & Boz Scaggs “Whispering Pines” (Robertson/Manuel)
    – Cowboy Junkies “Mining for Gold” (trad) The Trinity Sessions, 1988
    – Jane Silberry & KD Lang “Calling All Angels” When I Was a Boy, 1993
  • STILL I WISH YOU’D CHANGE YOUR MIND
    Neil Young “Comes a Time” (1976) Comes a Time, 1976
    Neil Young “Four Strong Winds” (Tyson) Comes a Time, 1976
  • ALL THE PEOPLE WERE SINGIN’
    – Daniel Lanois “Jolie Louise” Acadie, 1989
    – Joan Baez “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (Robertson) Blessed Are, 1971
    – Gale Garnett “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine” (1964) • Grammy winner 1965 for Best Traditional Folk Recording
  • PROBABLY BE ROOM IN HEAVEN
    – Ocean “Put Your Hand in the Hand”, 1971
    – Cindy Walker “Blue Canadian Rockies” (C Walker) 1964
    – Judy Collins “Someday Soon” (Tyson) Who Knows Where the Time Goes? 1968
    – Ann Murray “Danny’s Song” (Loggins) 1972
  • BIGGER AS WE GO
    – Bruce Cockburn “You Get Bigger As You Go” Humans, 1980
    – Mary Margaret O’Hara “Dear Darling” Miss America, 1984
    – Jennifer Warnes “If It Be Your Will” (Cohen) Famous Blue Raincoat, 1986
    – Toronto Symphony Orchestra “O Canada” (en francaise)
  • GOODNIGHT / HARVEST A NEW DAY
    – Rufus Wainwright & Andrew Bird “Harvest” (Young) Folkocracy, 2023
    – The Band “It Makes No Difference” from The Last Waltz
    – Mary Margaret O’Hara “Anew Day” Miss America, 1982
Mary Margaret O'Hara

Toronto’s Mary Margaret O’Hara. One critic observed, “Her angelic voice seems to be almost a cross  between Doris Day and Bjork”

SHOW NOTES:

In the second hour of the show, I read a bit from public television’s popular travel guide Rick Steves’ open letter to Canada

Additionally, you can visit the Rick Steves Europe blog for an enlightening and (sometimes) encouraging interview with two prominent Canadian authors sharing their perspective on today’s strained political relationship between the US and its northern neighbor. [FREE]

Letters to The Hobbledehoy, Thanksgiving 2025

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Cynthia writes:

I stumbled upon The Hobbledehoy while looking up Cliff Edwards on the internet to learn more about him. I’d spent several hours on YouTube listening to his recordings as I have done periodically over the last years, as I fell in love with Jiminey Cricket’s voice as a child. Then I found your website and saw your I Stand with Ukraine flag; Richard Thompson’s music; a repost of Heather Cox Richardson’s post; and knew I’d found a kindred spirit out in the ether. My heart is lifted. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hi Cynthia!
I’m glad that you stumbled upon The Hobbledehoy, and thank you for your kind words about the website.
I, too, was introduced to the talents of Cliff “Ukelele Ike” Edwards through his iconic performance voicing “Jiminy Cricket” in Disney’s 1940 film Pinocchio. I grew to love Cliff’s distinctive voice and ukulele on tunes like “Singing In the Rain”(recorded for a film by Cliff in 1929, over twenty years before Gene Kelley’s version), “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” and of course, Cliff’s “Jada” – one of the first big hits of the jazz age

Glad to have lifted your heart!

For fellow hobbledehoy that missed it, here’s a link to my piece:
Give a little whistle: The life and sad death of Cliff Edwards, voice of Disney’s Jiminy Cricket

Monte writes:

Hi Mike, Forgive me if I’m barking up the wrong tree here, but I’m trying to contact Oliver Kornetzky (sic) to seek approval for the use of an article he wrote about his return to his hometown in Wisconsin. I have recently done a road trip through the red states of the US and am currently editing the resulting book, and would love to republish the work in full therein, since it is the most articulate explanation of America’s degradation at a human level as I have encountered. Please advise if this is acceptable, and if you wish to see the relevant chapter to view its inclusion. Warm regards, Monte

Hi Monte!
Thank you for your letter and best of luck with your upcoming book.
Unfortunately, I do not have any contact information for Oliver Kornetzke.
Kornetzke’s post remains one of The Hobbledehoy’s most viewed. There is growing suspicion online that Oliver Kornetzke is actually an AI creation. If true, that’s one AI that I would welcome to my Thanksgiving dinner table.

Felipe (again)writes:

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Hello again Felipe!

Your product sounds wonderful! Tell me – can I also use your product for the purpose of home insulation? I have several old windows that allow drafts into the house, and New England winters can be brutal! Please let us know asap, as Hobbeldehoy subscribers will surely also benefit from this information!

Letters to The Hobbledehoy, October 2025

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Kathy writes:

For Oliver Kornetzke ~ EVERYONE IS Equally Important, Beautiful And Sinful. We are Also ALL Equally And Uniquely LOVED BY GOD. THANK GOD for our President, Melania and Barron. Whoever thinks that they are better than someone else ~ Luke 18 NLT ~ Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector … We’re equal sinners, but in our own ways.

Hi Kathy!
Thanks for visiting The Hobbledehoy. The post by Oliver Kornetzke remains one of The Hobbledehoy’s most viewed. I do agree with you that we are all sinners. I’m not so sure about your “equal sinners” idea, however. Also, it’s curious that you thank God for Trump’s son, Barron, without mentioning Trump’s older sons, Beavis and Buthead. I’m informed by The Google that Trump also has two daughters, both blonde. So you probably should thank God for these siblings as well.

Howard writes:

Just read your comments about Rex Allen. [Cowboy singer Rex Allen and the Carousel of Progress]
First, I live in Tucson and did not know how Rex Allen died. Truly sad Wish I knew he was around. I would have reached out to him when he was alive. Second is “Carousel of Progress’” I remember it very well. First, as the General Electric. exhibit at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. “It’s a Great Big Wonderful Tomorrow” was magic as it played as the transition between the “ scenes” of GE’s technological progress. The show moved to Disneyland and, I think, Disney World. GE eventually dropped the sponsorship, but Disney continued to run it. They had to update the show as “tomorrow’s technology” became yesterday’s technology. If you didn’t know, the “carousel” in the show was the audience moving around the different scenes. In the 1970’s I had the opportunity to work with Marty Sklar, the first head of Disney Imagineering on EPCOT’s Land Pavilion. I realized then that so much of the honest, kind, warm culture expressed in so many of Disney’s “show” were a reflection of Marty’s world view. He was a gem.

Hi Howard!
Thank you for your letter. Like you, I love Rex Allen’s work, as you may have guessed from my article. Though I’ve traveled all around the world, I’m one of the few Americans who has never once been to Disney! I just turned 68 years old. Do you think it’s too late for me?

Steven writes:

I love your blog! Are you from Scotland or Wales, by chance? I’m from Pennsylvania originally, but have lived in Spain, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico and am now in God-Forsaken Florida!

Hi Steven!

I live in Rhode Island – the smallest state in the USA. Yes, my people originated from Scotland, Ireland and Wales on my Dad’s side, Ireland and Germany on my mom’s side. My Welsh great-aunt Theresa once told me our ancestry goes back to the Pirate Morgan! I’m a huge fan of several Welsh folk performers currently making music: Katell Keineg, Gwenifer Raymond, and Cerys Hafana, especially.

As for “God-forsaken” Florida – I have no real desire to visit there. I do like their orange juice, however.

You are a well-traveled soul, Steven. Good for you! Check out this article written by travel authority Rick Steves, Britain’s Pub Hub. We’ve been in Rick’s company many times and enthusiastically recommend his tours. Here’s Rick’s advice for seniors traveling in Europe

Felipe writes:

I’m writing to you because many women between 25 and 40 are actively seeking solutions to improve their quality of life. If this is a topic that resonates with your audience, this information is for you
•••• is a unique, natural formula that delivers concrete results.

It’s specifically designed to help women achieve:
Increase desire and sexual response.
A real boost in day-to-day vitality. Improve comfort and natural lubrication.

Hi Felipe!

Your product sounds wonderful! Tell me – can I also use your product for the purpose of home insulation? I have several old windows that allow drafts into the house, and New England winters can be brutal! Please let us know asap, as Hobbeldehoy subscribers will surely also benefit from this information!