The Young Pioneer Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In Season 4, Episode 1 of the Young Pioneer Tours Podcast, Justin Martell and Rowan Beard sit down in the Manila studio with global mobility expert Marko Peck, managing partner of Peck & Nascimben Global. With travel to 140+ countries and extensive experience advising governments and clients on citizenship by investment, Marko explains why second passports matter, how citizenship diversification works, and what it means for the future of travel and personal freedom. Listeners can also use code YPTCBI2026 for 50% off a private consultation.

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

In this episode of the Young Pioneer Podcast, Justin Martell and Rowan Beard unpack their once in a lifetime experience attending the Pyongyang International Film Festival, offering rare insight into what it is actually like to travel to North Korea today. From cinema and cultural exchange to logistics, access, and how travel to the DPRK has evolved, this is a ground level update you won’t hear anywhere else.

We also talk through upcoming and last-minute Young Pioneer Tours departures, including January trips to Western Sahara and Benin and Togo. 

Don’t forget to vote in our poll at youngpioneertours.com/where-should-YPT-go/ to help shape where Young Pioneer Tours heads next and influence future tours. We actually listen to your votes and plan new adventures based on the results every year. 

Vote in the poll and let us know where you want YPT to head next.

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

The Young Pioneer Podcast Season 2 concludes with a double-header episode! S2, Ep 6 opens with a discussion between host Justin Martell and YPT founder/CEO Gareth Johnson discussing the big question "when will North Korea re-open for tourism?" Recorded YPT's recent research trip to China to meet with our North Korean partners and explore the Sino-Korean border for the first time in four years, which made news among the community of North Korea watchers, the discussion gives a projected timeline for the Hermit Kingdom's re-opening as well as some educated guesses about the future of tourism in North Korea. 

Following Gareth’s interview, Justin talks with YPT friend and travel partner Dr. Calvin Sun. Calvin is both an ER doctor in New York City and travel agent. Through his company Monsoon Diaries, he has partnered with YPT on many tours for well over a decade. In the interview, recorded in Mogadishu, Somalia, Justin and Calvin discuss Calvin's new book "The Monsoon Diaries: A Doctor’s Journey of Hope and Healing from the ER Frontlines to the Far Reaches of the World," available now from Harper Horizon. 

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

On this inaugural 2024 episode of the Young Pioneer Podcast, we open with an interview with YPT CEO and Founder Gareth Johnson to discuss a number of exciting, new tours just recently announced for this year. After speaking with Gareth, host Justin Martell debuts his interview with YPT's local travel partner in the reclusive horn of Africa nation of Eritrea, referred to by some as the "North Korea of Africa." 

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

On this episode of the Young Pioneer Podcast, we kick things off by interviewing YPT's newest staff member Morgan Bourven, discussing his background and current focus on our cruise tours. After talking with Morgan, we continue our Horn of Africa series with a field recording of host Justin Martell's conversation with our local tour partner in the unrecognized sovereign state of Somaliland. As usual, Martell provides updates on YPT's upcoming tours to Mali, Burkina Faso and Angola. 

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

On this episode of the Young Pioneer Podcast, YPT guide Justin Martell brings listeners Part One of a three-part series recorded during our recent Horn of Africa tour. Covering Djibouti, Somaliland Eritrea and Mogadishu, our Horn of Africa tour provides travelers with an affordable and safe way to visit one of Africa's most geo-politically complex regions. In addition to an interview with YPT's local guide about Djibouti and its growing tourism sector, Martell also provides updates on North Korea travel and popular upcoming tours, such as the return of our one-of-a-kind Least Visited Countries Tour.

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

On this episode of the Pioneer Podcast, YPT guides Justin Martell, Rowan Beard, along with a group of YPT travelers, explore the world's newest nation: the Republic of South Sudan. Neglected by the central government in Khartoum when part of Sudan and then plunged into civil war following independence in 2011, life has been hard for the South Sudanese. However, its people are friendly and hopeful, and its landscape is rich in culture that is completely unique to this young country. Listen to this episode for field recordings made during a night spent with the nomadic Mundari tribe, the infamous cattle herders known for their cow vagina blowing and cow urine showering practices, as well as an extended interview with YPT's local partner all about the history of South Sudan, past and present. 

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

In this episode, YPT partner and sometimes-guide Justin Martell talks with local Socotra travel operator Adnan Alnoby. The two discuss Socotra's past history and current political situation, as well as the amazing experience travelers can expect when visiting this unblemished, one-of-a-kind island paradise. Martell also provides listeners with exciting YPT tour updates.  

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

Gareth Johnson and Justin Martell speak with former congressman Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich has just published his latest book "The Division of Light and Power," which chronicles his struggle as America's youngest mayor to stop the sale of Cleveland's Municipal Light. On the back half of the conversation, Gareth and Justin are able to pose some general questions about American foreign policy and the importance of dialogue in international relations.

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For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

Felix Abt is a business expert on North Korea currently based in Vietnam. Abt was one of the first foreign businessmen to seek and do business in Kim Jong Il's North Korea, where he lived between 2002 to 2009 consulting and advising on business development within the country. He is also the author of the fascinating memoir "A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom." On this episode, Gareth and Justin are joined by YPT's North Korea tour manager Rowan Beard for a conversation with Felix Abt and delve into everything regarding doing business with one of the most sanctioned countries in the world.

Get In Touch!

For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.