Hit the Road, Matt Today's Matt Lauer embarks on his eighth "Where in the World...?" tour

Every few sweeps periods, Today coanchor Matt Lauer grabs his passport and heads off on what has become a surefire stunt for NBC's morning program: "Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?" Each morning Today viewers will wake up to find Lauer in such locales as the Great Wall of China, Easter Island or the slopes of the Swiss Alps. On April 30 he's back on the road again. Even though it's his eighth such trip (logging 182,616 miles), Today fans never get tired of it. But what about the jet-lagged Lauer? The Biz asked him before he took off.

TVGuide.com: Every time you do "Where in the World...?" you always sound like you don't want to do it again.
Matt Lauer: That's my shtick. That's what gets people like you to continue to write about it.

TVGuide.com: Why do you keep going back out?
Lauer: I had lunch not long ago with somebody I respect a lot — a guy who was very big in broadcasting for many years who will remain nameless. We were talking about a wide range of stuff. And he said something to the effect of, "You know what, Matt? I know it's a pain. I know it turns your life upside down for probably a couple of weeks. Don't let it go. The minute you let it go, someone else will take it and try to make it their own." And you know what? It's something the viewers respond to. Is it hard to do? Does it kind of kill me for two weeks? Yes. But it's something the viewers identify when it comes to the show. I think as long as we can feel we can make it interesting, then we'll probably do it.

TVGuide.com: Has it gotten harder as you've gotten older?
Lauer: Yes, that plays a role. But what's gotten harder is the ante each year — finding places that are as exciting, that have some kind of iconic image, that can be educational and that have light at 7 o'clock Eastern time. Everybody talks about how big the world is, but the expression "It's a small world" applies when you're doing a show like this.

TVGuide.com: It makes a great visual every time.
Lauer: Sometimes you get to these places with barely an hour before you have to get on the air. Part of it is the accomplishment. We have crews waiting around the world, probably 20 to 25 people per crew. They're rooting for you. So when your plane touches down and you jump in a helicopter and you're lifted off to a set and you land in a parking lot next to where you're going to do the show and you walk out and the crew starts cheering, it's an adrenaline rush. They've put so much time and energy into the setup for you that if you don't make it there it's a huge disappointment. So they're rooting for you. It's a bit of a fraternity now — these technical people I've seen year in and year out all over the world. We have war stories.

TVGuide.com: It's the same group every time?
Lauer: These are mostly NBC people from all over the bureaus. We use the London people, we use the Hong Kong people, we use a lot of people from the States who fan out. Each year we start to talk a couple of years ahead of time. They say, "Hey, I'm going to be on Day 3. I'm going to be on Day 4." We all talk in code. It's a weird little conversation that goes on, but over the years it's provided us with shared experiences.

TVGuide.com: Ever have to change plans at the last minute because of events in the world?
Lauer: We've come close to doing a few locations that weren't safe.

TVGuide.com: Such as?
Lauer: I don't want to say them, because we still may do them. But there are places that for obvious reasons have had problems. We don't travel light. It's easy to keep it a secret from people in the United States, but when our people arrive in a local area, with all the demands they have and all the needs they have, pretty soon the locals realize a major TV show is coming. And if a situation is volatile — that's not a good thing. It's not like being a correspondent where you can run in, do a stand-up and then get out of there.

TVGuide.com: What's the one item you absolutely have to take with you every time?
Lauer: Ambien. I'm sleeping in broad daylight half the time.