Is Travel Ever Neutral? How Place Reveals America’s Untold Stories

Is travel ever truly neutral? In this powerful episode of Hidden 250, host Karin Aaron sits down with Shaun Lain, historian, orator, and President of College Campus Tours, to explore how place-based travel shapes what we remember, what we believe, and whose stories get told in America.
As the nation approaches the America 250 commemoration, this conversation challenges traditional narratives by asking hard questions about history, education, and identity. From college campuses as living classrooms to the ways untold stories are preserved - or erased - through travel, Shaun Lain shares decades of experience helping students engage with history beyond textbooks.
Together, they unpack why travel is never neutral, how suppressed histories still shape the present, and why seeing, touching, and experiencing place can transform understanding, self-esteem, and purpose - especially for young people navigating their future.
This episode invites listeners to rethink how Americas story is told, who is included, and how truth emerges when we move through history with intention.