Rudy Maxa is one of the United State’s premier consumer travel experts. He is public radio’s “Savvy Traveler,” host and co-executive producer of a 65-part public television series featuring Europe and the Pacific Rim, a contributing editor to National Geographic Traveler, and the voice on National Geographic’s 2006 “Walks of a Lifetime” podcasts that guide hundreds of thousands of travelers visiting the world’s great destinations.Maxa’s Emmy-award-winning public television series, "Smart Travels: Europe with Rudy Maxa” and “Smart Travels: Pacific Rim with Rudy Maxa,” is one of the most widely viewed travel series in North America. It was public television’s first High Definition series when it debuted five seasons ago. A sixth season, titled “Rudy Maxa’s World,” will air beginning May of 2008 with episodes on India, Thailand, Argentina, Japan, Turkey, Estonia, and St. Petersburg, Russia.
A veteran Washington investigative reporter, Maxa created the “Savvy Traveler” segment 15 years ago on public radio’s daily business show "Marketplace." Several years later, he began hosting a one-hour, weekend show with the same name that was broadcast on 195 public radio stations. He remains the consumer travel commentator on “Marketplace,” broadcast coast to coast on 395 stations.
As a writer for National Geographic Traveler, Maxa’s articles have earned him two Lowell Thomas Bronze Awards for excellence in travel writing from the Society of American Travel Writers. He has contributed travel articles to GQ, Worth, Forbes, Modern Maturity ,USA Today, the Washington Post, Town & Country Travel, the Los Angeles Times as well as USAToday.com, MSNBC.com and ABC.com. He’s a frequent guest on national television networks and shows, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and “The View.” And he speaks frequently to both public as well as industry groups.
After 13 years as a Washington Post investigative reporter and personalities columnist, Maxa worked nine years as a senior writer with the city magazine, Washingtonian, before becoming Washington bureau chief of SPY magazine for two years.
Political scandal reportage by Maxa was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize by the Post, and he has written two non-fiction books. He wrote for the ABC-TV dramatic series "Capitol News" and hosted for several years a Saturday-morning talk show on WRC-AM, the NBC owned-and-operated radio station in Washington, DC.
Episodes of Maxa’s television series have garnered dozens of awards, including four regional Emmy awards. He was named "best regular columnist" by the Florida Magazine Association for his writings in Ocean Drive. And as a Post reporter, he won the John Hancock Award for Excellence in Business and Financial Journalism for a series of stories unmasking an international Ponzi scheme. His alma mater, Ohio University, gave Mr. Maxa the L.J. Hortin “Distinguished Alumnus Award” in 2002. Maxa, 58, is a graduate of Ohio University. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is the father of a son and daughter.
Maxa knows how important music is in helping convey the flavor of a culture. "Music," he says, "tells stories of a country’s history, heritage, and legends. Before arriving to shoot a city or region, my crew and I try to identify musical groups that can amplify what we put on the screen. In our shows, we always use music appropriate to a place to deliver to viewers another level of experience.”
As Rudy reflects in his liner notes: “I hope you enjoy this compilation of music from “Rudy Maxa’s World”that can take you back to a place you’ve visited or whet your appetite to hit the road to discover new frontiers.”
Buy the CD:
- In North America: Music from Rudy Maxa’s World
- In Europe: Music from Rudy Maxa’s World
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
