How we got the best job in the world
Episode 6: Part 1
January 29, 2026
Thought you knew Ian and Justine? Think again. In this episode, our dynamic duo reveal all - about themselves and the unlikely journeys that led them to hosting one of the most amazing travel shows ever. Their story is full of highs, lows and bizarre sliding door moments. And the best thing about it is, it’s all true.
In this episode we take you back to 1994 where Pilot Films in London is launching a ground-breaking new travel series, and thousands of hopefuls are mailing in their audition tapes. Buried in the towering stack of VHS cassettes are Ian and Justine's audition tapes. Learn why Ian and Justine were chosen. Would you have chosen them? Watch their audition tapes and decide for yourself.
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
02:40 - Stop ’N’ Shop and James Spader
04:36 - Justine’s early years: “I had a sense there was this world”
07:54 - The Road to Globe Trekker goes through France
10:26 - Hollywood: nose job?
12:56 - Trusting the “I Don’t Know”
16:10 - “I have a friend, Ian Cross...”
20:30 - Justine’s Audition Tape
25:15 - “Wanna go to ‘Nam?”
33:24 - Ian’s early years: “I’ve always been a monkey”
38:37 - Art school
40:19 - Sliding Doors: Operation Raleigh
42:03 - Sliding Doors: Hoxton Hall
46:07 - Ian’s Audition Tape
51:37 - The REAL reason Ian got the job
56:33 - “I’m gonna spend four weeks in Brazil!?”
58:22 - “Wind ‘im up, and send ‘im off, mate!”
01:01:10 - Help us make Season 2!
Listen on your favorite platform
Episode Cast & Crew
Hosts: Ian Wright and Justine Shapiro
Producer: Stephen Lennhoff
Editor: Gregory Scharpen
Sound Mix: Dan Olmsted at IMRSV Sound
Kuku Studios, Berkeley, California USA
Haverhill Music Hub, Haverhill UK
Major Funding
Season 1 was made possible thanks to a grant from The Khosravi Family Trust and donors like you.
Our Loonies
Mrugesh Thaker
Joseph Tindle
Prateek Shrivastava
Rajeev
Mike Matera
John Miles
Nikhil Patel
Saurabh Chaudhary
Craig Richardson
Bhavika Gadhvi
Joe Guzman
Heather Munro
Robert Paul
Ignacio Gil
Abigail
Richard Logan
Era Orozco
James Wheaton
Melanie Rudzinski
Cliff Matheson
José Pizarro-Otero
Rob Furber
Season 1 Credits
With gratitude to those from Pilot Films and Television, UK who helped create Our Looney Planet
Ian Cross, founder of Pilot Productions and creator of the Lonely Planet / Globe Trekker TV series.
Deb Marrow Cox
Anne Bogart
Sarah Blinco
Sanyukta Shrestha
Helen Roberts
Richard Howard
Chris Hampson
Amanda Kramer
Ian Ritchie
Neville Farmer
Megan McCormick
Emma Cahusac
Angela Gourley
Rachael Heaton-Armstrong
Andy Margetson
Lucy Cooke
Bini Adams
David Tibballs
Saami Sabiti
Nick Robbins
Nigel Kinnings
Lynn Mitchell
Georgie Burrell
Neil Harvey
Simon Niblett
Ian sciacaluga
Rik Lander
Peter Boyd Maclean
Tim Knight
With gratitude
Rachel Mercy Simpson, Berkeley Community College
Interns: Seungjun Kim, Martin Mercy, Matan Ziv, Manny Cox
Betsy Rate, UC Berkeley School of Journalism
Interns: Negar Ajayebi, Alicia Chang, Zane Karram and Fuwad Ahamad
Rob Burchell, The Hall Media Facilities, UK
Honorbarre.com
Cardiowithcarah.com
The Center for Creative Exploration
Jeanette McDonald-Wright
Rie Aldous
Jackie Shroff
Tony & Chesney Mumford
Marvin and Mr. Monk
Paul Mourey & Karim Crippa
David Orelowitz & Lauren Heymann
Vicente Franco
Jim Capobianco
Lucy Kaplan
Mateo Evaristo Shapiro Bolado
y Carlos Bolado
Tony Cataldo
Carah Herring
Année Kim
Stephanie Mackley
Marcia and Paul Masse
Paul Zaentz
Chaz Blanc
Michael Wilson
Mick Erausquin
Elizabeth Gray
Catherine Girardeau
Jason Reinier
Roopa Ramamoorthi
Laura O'Brien Crisp
Guy Reingold
Esme Agilar
Sonia Mistry
Sherry Sly
Claudia Erzinger
With Gratitude To Those We’ve Lost
Jonathan Leffman, Sound Recordist
Stephen Luscombe, Composer
Paul Pierre Standifer, Fixer/Producer
Leslie Weiner, Producer
Roger Whitby, Sound Recordist
Nick Corey Wright, Director
Anthony Bourdain
For MATLANA
Executive Producer: Justine Shapiro
Series Producer & Director of Social Media & Community: Liliana Cortés
Senior Editor & Producer: Gregory Scharpen
Director & Producer: Stephen Lennhoff
Director of Audience Strategy & Partnerships: Bri Castellini
Editor: Thomas Lorne
Title Animation - Zazie Capobianco, Aerial Contrivance Workshop
Website and Media Management: Sage Brucia
Bookkeeper: Craig Paull
Legal: Richard J. Lee Law Group and Madison Karsenty, DCP Law
Our Looney Planet is produced by MATLANA a 501(c)3 organization
MATLANA Board Members
Deirdre English
Jocelyn Leroux
Jena Resner
Justine Shapiro
-
0:00:00.240 - 0:00:02.800
Ian, I know this doesn't really matter to you
0:00:02.800 - 0:00:05.600
but I just want to tell you that
you're looking very handsome
0:00:05.600 - 0:00:07.440
this morning.
Well, it's my morning.
0:00:07.440 - 0:00:09.600
Thank you, that's the trick of cameras
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That's how I got the job, innit?
0:00:10.306 - 0:00:12.976
(overlapping) Why are you looking away from me?
0:00:12.976 - 0:00:13.014
Cuz I can't-
(overlapping) Speak TO me-
0:00:13.014 - 0:00:14.640
There we go.
(overlapping) Worse, I'm looking at myself!
0:00:14.640 - 0:00:16.480
Because you said I looked good
0:00:16.480 - 0:00:19.920
And you're there, and I'm looking at myself
in the- yeah
0:00:19.920 - 0:00:22.320
You know what you are?
[bad English accent] You're a vain bastard.
0:00:22.320 - 0:00:25.120
Shh, not now
0:00:25.120 - 0:00:27.920
Not now, don't interrupt the magic.
0:00:27.920 - 0:00:29.760
Ah, anyways, thank you, yes!
0:00:29.760 - 0:00:32.080
I don't know how we get away
with it, really.
0:00:32.080 - 0:00:35.200
I don't know how I got away with being
chosen to be on camera.
0:00:35.200 - 0:00:37.040
It wasn't for me looks.
0:00:37.040 - 0:00:38.800
Well, ok, I want to tell you
0:00:38.800 - 0:00:40.480
Cuz we don't know each other that well
0:00:40.480 - 0:00:43.360
and I've heard the story about how
you got the job
0:00:43.360 - 0:00:45.880
but I've not ever heard it from you.
0:00:45.880 - 0:00:48.000
Ok.
And it just so happens
0:00:48.000 - 0:00:51.360
That we are now getting lots of comments
0:00:51.360 - 0:00:53.120
From people all over the world
(overlapping) Oh, really?
0:00:53.120 - 0:00:56.400
Like, proper paragraphs, you know?
(overlapping) That makes sense, really.
0:00:56.400 - 0:00:58.800
And they're asking, a lot of them are asking
0:00:58.800 - 0:01:00.785
How did we get the job?
0:01:00.785 - 0:01:02.480
[intro begins] Hi, I'm Ian
0:01:02.480 - 0:01:03.440
I'm Justine!
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Back in the 90s, we hosted
0:01:06.320 - 0:01:10.480
Lonely Planet
Also known as Globe Trekker, or Pilot Guides
0:01:10.480 - 0:01:11.760
Now we're back.
0:01:11.760 - 0:01:17.360
Welcome to Our Looney Planet
with Ian and Justine
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Yeehaw!
Woohoo!
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First, let's just tell people the job that we got
is even better than you can imagine.
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Like, you're all thinking
"oo, they got paid to travel"
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Nonono, our shoots were almost a month long
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And you know, back in the
day when people were doing
0:01:34.160 - 0:01:40.640
travel shows like Rough Guide and stuff
Their shoots were three, four, maybe five days
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And all set up smoothly
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The other shows are scripted
0:01:47.280 - 0:01:50.640
And set up so you just show up,
do a piece, and then go.
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Our was mayhem.
0:01:53.440 - 0:02:05.040
Got any stabilizers?
0:02:15.360 - 0:02:18.480
The mad thing is, like you said,
people want to know how we got-
0:02:18.480 - 0:02:25.440
I don't know nothing about you, really.
And I'm rubbish at looking up things on there
0:02:25.440 - 0:02:26.640
So, you know
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You haven't read my Wikipedia page?
0:02:29.120 - 0:02:32.000
I haven't!
No no, God no. Course not.
0:02:32.000 - 0:02:34.480
But that's the nice thing-
(overlapping) Have you seen any-?
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Have you seen any of my films?
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Can I just say? When you said about actors
In that, I have seen you in that advert
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In the supermarket
Which is fucking hilarious.
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Now one of the nice things about
coming into Stop N' Shop
0:02:50.480 - 0:02:53.040
Is checking out of Stop N' Shop!
0:02:53.040 - 0:02:58.354
With easy-out check out.
0:02:58.354 - 0:03:00.960
Oh, man- I wanted to shop there!
(overlapping) The Stop N' Shop commercials!
0:03:00.960 - 0:03:02.640
Oh, it's just brilliant
0:03:02.640 - 0:03:05.040
Oh, and I've seen little
snippets and things like that
0:03:05.040 - 0:03:07.360
I've seen the film that you made,
Promises, as well
0:03:07.360 - 0:03:09.520
I eventually got off me arse and done that
0:03:10.160 - 0:03:14.080
Yeah, but in the Stop N' Shop commercials
All I can see is the
0:03:14.080 - 0:03:16.240
Really bad perm that I got
Of course!
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Trying desperately to grow it out
It's shocking
0:03:19.280 - 0:03:21.840
And the film, as well,
I saw bits of the film
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I recognized the main actor in there
It was quite a big film?
0:03:25.520 - 0:03:28.240
Oh, James Spader.
Storyville.
0:03:28.240 - 0:03:30.960
[Southern accent] I've been
thinkin' long and hard about this
0:03:30.960 - 0:03:33.040
and it hasn't been an easy decision
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And I'd like to get your reaction.
0:03:35.600 - 0:03:36.720
Well what is it?
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Well.
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I've decided to go with the convertible.
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Oh, the convertible?
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In the Calypso Red
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With the [unintelligible] interior.
0:03:48.640 - 0:03:49.120
Yeah.
0:03:49.120 - 0:03:50.720
And the electric top
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And also, the phone.
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The phone, yeah.
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Cuz I was thinkin'
What do I need a phone in the car for?
0:03:57.520 - 0:03:59.440
But then I realized
Hey!
0:03:59.440 - 0:04:02.480
When you win the election
It's really gonna come in handy!
0:04:02.480 - 0:04:04.320
Hmm, makes sense to me, sweetheart.
0:04:04.320 - 0:04:06.720
So that just really cracks me up
So...
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You go first then. Because we knew
we'd come to this point eventually
0:04:12.400 - 0:04:17.920
So tell me- you crack on.
Tell me how the hell if anything in your past
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actually measures up to
how you got the job.
0:04:21.200 - 0:04:22.880
I mean, I... I can sort of see
0:04:22.880 - 0:04:26.160
A vague strain
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Because you don't know where it's going
It's sliding doors, it could go anywhere.
0:04:30.080 - 0:04:32.720
So did you have any aspirations
0:04:32.720 - 0:04:36.400
on being on telly, being a
presenter for a travel show, ever?
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Well, you know, people say-
"oh my god, you're so lucky you got that job!"
0:04:40.320 - 0:04:42.400
And I heard a great thing
0:04:42.400 - 0:04:45.040
So I repeated that great thing
And I said
0:04:45.040 - 0:04:48.560
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."
0:04:48.560 - 0:04:49.760
Yeah, that makes sense.
0:04:49.760 - 0:04:53.040
In a way, like, if something about my life
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sort of led directly to
something like Globe Trekker
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I think because my family
came to the United States
0:04:59.280 - 0:05:01.360
From South Africa when I was 3 ½
0:05:01.360 - 0:05:04.080
My mother knew nobody in this country
0:05:04.800 - 0:05:07.920
I had a sense of there being
other places, you know,
0:05:07.920 - 0:05:09.680
we went back to South Africa
0:05:09.680 - 0:05:12.480
To be with family from time to time.
0:05:13.680 - 0:05:16.800
We had family visit us
from South Africa
0:05:16.800 - 0:05:19.200
From Australia, from Canada
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And so I have a sense that there was this world
0:05:22.000 - 0:05:24.720
And all these accents
0:05:24.720 - 0:05:29.280
And then I lived in Berkley
which was a place that was very receptive
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to, you know, all races.
0:05:32.640 - 0:05:37.440
You know, Berkley was really into having
people from all over the world living here.
0:05:37.440 - 0:05:41.280
And so our schools were public schools
but every class is bilingual
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My sister was in a bilingual English/Chinese class
I was bilingual Spanish class
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So I was surrounded by people speaking Spanish
My mother's boyfriend when I was growing up
0:05:51.200 - 0:05:57.360
Freddy, was gorgeous, the loveliest man I ever met
And he spoke French
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And I just remember thinking
That is magic!
0:06:00.480 - 0:06:06.800
Like, he can... [speaking French wistfully]
0:06:06.800 - 0:06:08.960
And I would listen to him speak French
0:06:08.960 - 0:06:11.520
And I'd listen to the people
in my class speak Spanish
0:06:11.520 - 0:06:15.520
I thought... if there's one thing
I learn how to do in my life
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I want to learn how to speak another language.
0:06:18.880 - 0:06:23.350
And I was also super curious-
My mother's very curious.
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My mother has this way of getting
people to tell their story
0:06:26.400 - 0:06:28.800
Because she's so interested in every detail
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She wants to see it. She's like a filmmaker
0:06:30.480 - 0:06:32.400
She wants to see everything that's happening
0:06:32.400 - 0:06:36.240
And I grew up with a mom who was like that,
you know?
0:06:36.240 - 0:06:39.920
So I thought I could be-
I didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
0:06:39.920 - 0:06:41.120
And I found, like,
0:06:41.120 - 0:06:44.080
Well, you know, not everyone wants
to tell you their story, Justine.
0:06:44.080 - 0:06:45.600
But I will try.
0:06:45.600 - 0:06:49.600
And so, then I decided I wanted to be an actress
0:06:49.600 - 0:06:53.440
And from the age of 11-30, that was my whole life
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Every day after school
I went to ACT in San Francisco
0:06:56.560 - 0:06:59.600
American Conservatory Theater
From age 11-17
0:06:59.600 - 0:07:02.080
Wow, really?
Every summer I did theater.
0:07:02.080 - 0:07:04.400
I was, you know, and then, you know
0:07:04.400 - 0:07:09.680
We didn't grow up with much money
So I was also trying to get commercials and stuff
0:07:09.680 - 0:07:16.145
And, you know-
(overlapping) didn't you learn another language?
0:07:16.145 - 0:07:17.200
[Speaks French]
When you were young?
0:07:17.200 - 0:07:20.760
You had to take two years of language
In high school, when I was growing up.
0:07:20.760 - 0:07:22.400
Yeah.
And I was the worst student.
0:07:22.400 - 0:07:25.360
French was just an awful experience for me
It was like math
0:07:26.400 - 0:07:27.520
I couldn't do it.
(overlapping) we had to do another language too.
0:07:27.520 - 0:07:29.664
I took French.
[In French- oh, do you speak French?]
0:07:29.664 - 0:07:31.840
[In English- oh fuck no]
Not a chance.
0:07:31.840 - 0:07:35.360
What's- so if you speak four
languages, you're quad-lingual
0:07:35.360 - 0:07:37.440
If you speak one language, you're English.
0:07:37.440 - 0:07:40.240
That's what it is, I'm afraid.
0:07:40.240 - 0:07:43.280
Well, that's how I learned French too.
It was very kind of math
0:07:43.280 - 0:07:48.320
And it was disjointed and
I actually just
0:07:48.320 - 0:07:51.120
couldn't do it
but I had to take two years in college.
0:07:51.120 - 0:07:54.000
So I took another two years of French
in college.
0:07:54.000 - 0:07:56.480
And then I fell in love with
a Frenchman
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I mean, we were both kids
We were 22.
0:07:59.680 - 0:08:00.782
[Ian] Yes, well.
0:08:00.782 - 0:08:02.000
[speaking French, talking about Pierre]
0:08:03.440 - 0:08:05.280
And so, I knew I was-
(overlapping) Oh I'm getting
0:08:05.280 - 0:08:06.960
a bit hot when you say that.
0:08:06.960 - 0:08:11.200
Yeah, I'll do it again.
[speaking slower French]
0:08:11.200 - 0:08:13.120
Oh, that lucky man!
0:08:13.120 - 0:08:16.320
Yeah, well I knew I was moving to Paris with him.
(overlapping) Oh, really?
0:08:16.320 - 0:08:17.920
We were totally in love.
0:08:17.920 - 0:08:20.720
We would send each other,
because phones were so expensive
0:08:20.720 - 0:08:23.739
We would record cassette tapes
And send them to each other
0:08:23.739 - 0:08:24.760
Oh yeah
(overlapping) And write letters.
0:08:24.760 - 0:08:26.400
And it was lovely.
0:08:26.400 - 0:08:32.160
Anyways, I got to Paris, and
I'll tell you how I got to Globe Trekker, actually
0:08:32.160 - 0:08:33.920
Because it goes through France.
0:08:33.920 - 0:08:35.760
So after college
0:08:35.760 - 0:08:38.000
I worked at a restaurant
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
0:08:38.000 - 0:08:41.120
Called Latacarta
And there were these two regulars that came
0:08:41.120 - 0:08:44.400
And the one, they worked in the map-
A map store.
0:08:44.400 - 0:08:47.200
There was a map store in Cambridge, Massachusetts
(overlapping) How cool is that?
0:08:47.200 - 0:08:48.800
All maps. Just maps.
Woah, beautiful shop.
0:08:48.800 - 0:08:53.280
It was the most extraordinary
store you've ever seen.
0:08:53.280 - 0:08:57.840
And the owner and the guy who worked with him
they'd come to Latacarta frequently
0:08:57.840 - 0:09:00.560
And I said to them, you know,
I'm moving to Paris
0:09:00.560 - 0:09:01.760
Because I fell in love
0:09:01.760 - 0:09:06.400
And they said, oh you should meet my friend
Leslie Weiner while you're in Paris, look her up.
0:09:06.400 - 0:09:09.840
So I got to Paris and I looked her up
0:09:09.840 - 0:09:15.200
And turned out, she was a producer
so she got me work doing voiceovers
0:09:15.200 - 0:09:17.520
Corporate commercial films
that she was making
0:09:17.520 - 0:09:19.040
"Corporates" they called it.
0:09:20.640 - 0:09:26.240
Anyways, I spent two years in Paris.
I studied with Philippe Gaulier
0:09:26.240 - 0:09:30.861
Who is... he was a theater teacher
from the L'École Jacques Lecoq.
0:09:30.861 - 0:09:38.480
[Philippe talking] If you want to make theater
you need this special beautiful pleasure.
0:09:38.480 - 0:09:44.800
It's possible to be sad,
even to die with pleasure.
0:09:49.760 - 0:09:55.760
[Justine] Philippe Gaulier was the
inspiration for the Théâtre de Complicité
0:09:55.760 - 0:09:58.560
which was one of the most
important theater groups ever.
0:09:58.560 - 0:10:00.720
Yeah. Physical theater and everything.
0:10:00.720 - 0:10:06.708
Yeah. Philippe Gaulier was amazing.
And so I studied with him for two years.
0:10:06.708 - 0:10:06.720
That's cool.
0:10:06.720 - 0:10:10.080
And it was extraordinary.
And then I knew I wanted to
0:10:10.080 - 0:10:12.800
leave Paris. I wanted to pursue my acting career.
0:10:12.800 - 0:10:15.440
People said, "Well, you could go
to New York and try and do theater,
0:10:15.440 - 0:10:17.680
but you're going to have to wait lots of tables."
0:10:17.680 - 0:10:21.600
"It's really expensive there, and there's
not much film or television there."
0:10:21.600 - 0:10:24.000
"You know, you're kind of
attractive. Why don't you go to LA?"
0:10:24.000 - 0:10:26.240
"Maybe you could make some money with your looks."
0:10:26.240 - 0:10:30.720
So, I went to LA and I, you know, met
with some agents and they were like,
0:10:30.720 - 0:10:34.800
"Huh, Shapiro, it's very Jewish name. Why
don't you use your middle name, Arlin?"
0:10:34.800 - 0:10:37.520
"Uh, you know, maybe get
a nose job and a tit job."
0:10:37.520 - 0:10:40.560
And I mean, this was really what I heard.
0:10:40.560 - 0:10:43.346
So, really?
Oh yeah. Lose ten pounds-
0:10:43.346 - 0:10:46.400
(overlapping) What? What? Reduce
it or make it even bigger?
0:10:46.400 - 0:10:49.080
Well, I have a little kind of
little hook-y here thing here
0:10:49.080 - 0:10:51.273
and they they wanted it to go up, you know?
0:10:51.273 - 0:10:53.200
That's fantastic.
Anyway-
0:10:53.200 - 0:10:56.400
(overlapping)and boobs like out
here or something like basketballs?
0:10:56.400 - 0:10:59.760
Oh, yeah. Like when I would walk
into auditions, I would see that
0:10:59.760 - 0:11:04.560
the casting director's eyes would start
at my chest and then move up to my face.
0:11:04.560 - 0:11:08.480
I mean, this was Hollywood, right?
(overlapping) And then that nose, right?
0:11:08.480 - 0:11:11.200
The casting director would go from tits to nose.
0:11:11.200 - 0:11:14.640
Right. God.
Right. Yeah.
0:11:14.640 - 0:11:18.240
So that was 1989 to 1993.
0:11:18.240 - 0:11:23.920
Wow. So how successful were you?
Well, I wasn't- I wasn't that successful.
0:11:23.920 - 0:11:29.680
I kept a notebook of all the
auditions I did for commercials.
0:11:29.680 - 0:11:35.040
And I kept a notebook of all the
auditions I did for TV and film.
0:11:35.040 - 0:11:40.640
I did about 400 auditions for TV
and film, including call backs.
0:11:40.640 - 0:11:42.720
And that was back in the day where you drove to
0:11:42.720 - 0:11:45.040
every audition. There was
none of this online stuff.
0:11:45.040 - 0:11:47.840
And LA was vast.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
0:11:47.840 - 0:11:51.360
There would be auditions in Santa Monica,
then there'd be in downtown LA,
0:11:51.360 - 0:11:53.360
there'd be up in, you know...
0:11:53.360 - 0:11:59.200
and I think I booked two or three
commercials out of 600 auditions
0:11:59.200 - 0:12:08.560
and three or four TV/film
things out of 400 auditions.
0:12:08.560 - 0:12:13.600
Feel better, Patty?
0:12:13.600 - 0:12:16.560
You'd like a beer?
No.
0:12:21.200 - 0:12:30.320
You'd like to talk?
0:12:30.320 - 0:12:34.240
So that was 1989 to 1993.
0:12:34.800 - 0:12:37.827
But I had some good experiences.
0:12:37.827 - 0:12:40.240
[movie news] We are projecting an
overwhelming victory in the 8th
0:12:40.240 - 0:12:42.800
congressional district for Democrat Craig Fowler
0:12:42.800 - 0:12:46.600
with the recent withdrawal of
Republican candidate Adam Hollister-
0:12:46.600 - 0:12:50.225
We won! We won!
We're going to Washington, Uncle!
0:12:50.225 - 0:12:53.040
[TV announcer] 96% of the vote to-
0:12:53.040 - 0:12:56.480
Congratulations. We better get downtown.
0:12:56.480 - 0:12:59.840
But it was- I learned a lot.
0:12:59.840 - 0:13:02.640
And what I learned is I
didn't want to do it anymore.
0:13:02.640 - 0:13:07.600
I didn't want some white guy
telling me to be happier or smilier
0:13:07.600 - 0:13:11.040
or that I should lose more weight or this.
0:13:11.040 - 0:13:14.400
I knew I didn't want to be in that world.
0:13:14.400 - 0:13:16.480
You have to understand
0:13:16.480 - 0:13:22.320
I was "Justine the actress"
to everyone in my life from age 11 to 30.
0:13:22.320 - 0:13:27.520
Whether I was successful or not successful,
good or not good, that was my identity.
0:13:27.520 - 0:13:30.800
And I never imagined I could break from it.
0:13:30.800 - 0:13:34.080
It felt like it would be breaking
the whole world, you know,
0:13:34.080 - 0:13:38.000
like you're so attached to this identity
and everything around you and everyone.
0:13:38.000 - 0:13:39.120
It's like this edifice.
0:13:39.120 - 0:13:41.920
You can't even imagine breaking it down.
0:13:41.920 - 0:13:47.280
And in your brain you're like, why should I?
"This this is who I am!"
0:13:47.280 - 0:13:48.000
But you did!
0:13:48.640 - 0:13:50.720
Cuz if you're saying you can do it up to 30,
0:13:50.720 - 0:13:54.160
you must have got the Lonely
Planet job at about 30.
0:13:54.160 - 0:13:58.000
Yeah. I got to that point when
I was, you know, about 29.
0:13:58.000 - 0:14:01.360
Just was... things were very dark.
I felt very dark.
0:14:01.360 - 0:14:07.920
And I think feeling so low,
getting so low, hitting so rock bottom
0:14:07.920 - 0:14:12.560
was so important because I got really clear
about what I didn't want to do.
0:14:12.560 - 0:14:14.400
And I didn't know what was next.
0:14:14.400 - 0:14:17.840
But I thought it's better
that I don't know what's next.
0:14:17.840 - 0:14:21.280
Better to be in the "I don't know" of that
than to live in this.
0:14:21.280 - 0:14:26.640
Better I work on something where
I can really show my stuff.
0:14:26.640 - 0:14:30.960
So I basically said, I'm done.
[Ian] Okay. Wow. That's great.
0:14:30.960 - 0:14:36.000
I told my agents, I'm done.
I told everybody I know, I'm leaving LA.
0:14:36.000 - 0:14:40.880
I found a class in how to make documentary films
up in San Francisco.
0:14:40.880 - 0:14:42.720
I remember it started in the catalog.
0:14:42.720 - 0:14:45.840
I had a catalog for the film
arts foundation in the Bay Area.
0:14:45.840 - 0:14:48.640
I knew I could live either with my mom...
0:14:48.640 - 0:14:52.400
I ended up like sleeping on my
friend Jenna's sofa for 3 months.
0:14:52.400 - 0:14:57.520
I knew I could just go there.
I just needed a place to land and get my bearings.
0:14:57.520 - 0:15:00.960
I started looking for work,
you know, waiting tables
0:15:00.960 - 0:15:04.560
and I was taking a class on
how to make documentary film
0:15:04.560 - 0:15:06.880
and I was the happiest I had ever been.
0:15:06.880 - 0:15:10.375
I started running every day.
No one was telling me what to eat.
0:15:10.375 - 0:15:12.960
Wow, that must have been such a weight off your
shoulders even though, not making much money-
0:15:12.960 - 0:15:15.600
Oh my god. And not being the actress anymore!
0:15:15.600 - 0:15:19.600
It was so much easier than I thought.
Like I'm... What are you?
0:15:19.600 - 0:15:22.138
I don't know. I'm figuring it out.
I'm studying documentary.
0:15:22.138 - 0:15:26.000
When you step out and get off that mad little
train because the best thing is (yeah!) fuck it.
0:15:26.000 - 0:15:28.960
You might not know where you're
going or what you want to do,
0:15:28.960 - 0:15:30.960
but the most important thing is at least you know
0:15:30.960 - 0:15:33.040
what you don't want and what you're not like.
0:15:33.040 - 0:15:35.440
And it's like get rid of that.
0:15:35.440 - 0:15:38.080
The rest of it, whatever, but
0:15:38.080 - 0:15:42.160
that's more important than knowing what you
want to do is knowing what you don't want to do.
0:15:42.160 - 0:15:48.880
hat's exactly it, Ian. That's exactly it
because then I was in the "I don't know."
0:15:48.880 - 0:15:53.520
I mean, I was taking courses in doc film.
They were, you know, it wasn't film school.
0:15:53.520 - 0:15:56.000
It wasn't expensive. It was a great community.
0:15:56.000 - 0:15:59.440
You know, I was interning on a documentary film.
0:16:02.160 - 0:16:04.960
It was a good thing for to
happen to me when I was 30
0:16:04.960 - 0:16:07.160
because it taught me to trust the "I don't know".
0:16:07.160 - 0:16:08.400
[Ian] Yeah. Yeah. Well, of course!
0:16:08.400 - 0:16:12.880
and to sort of see, you know.
And so there I was, you know,
0:16:12.880 - 0:16:17.360
looking for work, waiting tables,
sleeping on Jenna's sofa.
0:16:17.360 - 0:16:20.400
And I get a call from my friend Leslie in Paris.
0:16:20.400 - 0:16:22.880
Remember my friend Leslie that I was introduced to
0:16:22.880 - 0:16:26.080
by the regulars at Latacarta
Testaurant who own the map store.
0:16:26.080 - 0:16:31.520
So Leslie from Paris, she calls me, goes,
"Justine, I have a friend Ian Cross."
0:16:31.520 - 0:16:33.840
"He's an Australian producer and he's
0:16:33.840 - 0:16:37.520
trying to put together a new TV
series called Lonely Planet."
0:16:39.360 - 0:16:41.840
"Do you mind if I put him in touch with you?"
0:16:41.840 - 0:16:44.480
And I was like, Leslie, I
don't want to do this anymore.
0:16:44.480 - 0:16:48.080
I don't want to be on camera anymore. I'm done.
I don't want to do it. I don't want to audition.
0:16:48.080 - 0:16:50.960
You don't want to be on camera?! Outrageous.
0:16:50.960 - 0:16:52.160
I never thought I'd do it.
0:16:52.160 - 0:16:55.840
I really didn't. I really didn't.
I hate having my picture taken.
0:16:55.840 - 0:16:56.880
It's so funny. You know,
0:16:56.880 - 0:17:01.120
I remember the first time
I got an 8x10 glossy of me.
0:17:01.120 - 0:17:03.600
I had to get, you know,
when you're an actor, you have to 8x10s.
0:17:03.600 - 0:17:09.680
And the first one I got, I
don't know, I was like 17, 16.
0:17:09.680 - 0:17:14.400
And the first thing someone said,
I showed it to an adult in my life, and she goes,
0:17:14.400 - 0:17:16.320
"Oh, your nose looks kind of big."
0:17:16.320 - 0:17:19.880
And like ever since then I was like,
"Oh god, I have a big-"
0:17:19.880 - 0:17:22.320
(overlapping) Hold on, hold on, hold on,
who did you show it to?
0:17:22.320 - 0:17:24.560
I can't say.
0:17:24.560 - 0:17:30.000
I mean, who says that?
It's not even huge-
0:17:30.000 - 0:17:33.018
Have you had a nose job?
No.
0:17:33.018 - 0:17:35.280
[Ian raging]
[Justine] God, I haven't done anything.
0:17:35.280 - 0:17:35.840
You know what?
0:17:35.840 - 0:17:38.080
You can see my eyelids are
coming over my eyeballs.
0:17:38.080 - 0:17:39.440
I was thinking, well,
0:17:39.440 - 0:17:42.160
you must have a nose job if
you had such a horrendous nose.
0:17:42.160 - 0:17:45.920
It doesn't look- I don't even,
never noticed it! Oh god.
0:17:45.920 - 0:17:49.840
Yeah, women... women can be awful.
0:17:49.840 - 0:18:02.674
I tell you what, you're not wrong there, gal.
We blokes, we're like... [gorilla noises]
0:18:02.674 - 0:18:02.720
We're mates now! But women... [gossipy noises]
0:18:02.720 - 0:18:06.800
It's easy to be a bloke.
So anyway, go on. Go on.
0:18:06.800 - 0:18:07.600
Go on, big nose!
0:18:09.440 - 0:18:12.240
So my friend Leslie says,
0:18:12.240 - 0:18:16.560
"Ian Cross, this Australian, is
trying to put together this TV series,
0:18:16.560 - 0:18:18.160
travel show called Lonely Planet."
0:18:18.160 - 0:18:21.360
And I was like, "Well, I know
Lonely Planet. I use Lonely Planet."
0:18:21.360 - 0:18:25.280
So Leslie says to me, "So look
out for a call from Ian Cross."
0:18:25.280 - 0:18:26.640
I was like, "All right."
0:18:26.640 - 0:18:30.240
So Ian Cross calls me like and he says,
[bad Australian accent] "Leslie gave
0:18:30.240 - 0:18:31.520
me your number."
0:18:31.520 - 0:18:33.416
Yeah!
0:18:33.416 - 0:18:36.240
[bad Australian accent] "We're
putting a show together.
0:18:36.240 - 0:18:38.640
We're going to go round the roundabout together."
0:18:38.640 - 0:18:42.800
"Around and around and around."
0:18:42.800 - 0:18:48.320
That's our Australian viewers gone.
Yeah. Thanks a lot.
0:18:48.320 - 0:18:50.800
So Ian Cross calls me and he says, you know,
0:18:50.800 - 0:18:53.600
I'm putting together this travel
show called Lonely Planet.
0:18:53.600 - 0:18:57.760
I'm looking for an American. And Leslie
said, you know, you might be interested.
0:18:57.760 - 0:18:59.120
And I was like, you know, I don't.
0:18:59.120 - 0:19:02.720
And I said to him, you know, I don't
really want to be on camera anymore.
0:19:02.720 - 0:19:05.520
I'm not doing this anymore. I'm leaving acting.
0:19:05.520 - 0:19:07.840
[joking] "I don't drink anymore!"
0:19:07.840 - 0:19:09.106
What, traveling around the world
will pay for it... I'm back!
0:19:09.106 - 0:19:12.960
[overlapping] That's how it
felt. It really felt like that.
0:19:12.960 - 0:19:17.920
Like I was like, it was like
quitting a really bad habit.
0:19:17.920 - 0:19:23.622
Like saying no to the agents
meant no more auditions.
0:19:23.622 - 0:19:23.680
[overlapping] "I can't believe
you'd leave this behind..."
0:19:23.680 - 0:19:26.000
No more. Maybe this one will be the break.
0:19:26.000 - 0:19:28.320
Maybe that one will be the break.
0:19:29.600 - 0:19:34.160
So Ian says to me on the phone,
0:19:34.160 - 0:19:37.120
"We're putting together a
travel show, Lonely Planet,
0:19:37.120 - 0:19:40.160
and looking for an American."
And Leslie said you might be interested.
0:19:40.160 - 0:19:44.320
And I said, "You know, honestly, I
don't want to be on camera anymore.
0:19:44.320 - 0:19:47.920
I don't want to be told what
to wear or how much to eat."
0:19:47.920 - 0:19:52.210
And he said, [bad Australian accent] "Ah, we're
not looking for a model. We just want a person."
0:19:52.210 - 0:19:53.680
[Ian's bad Australian accent]
"I've seen your picture. You
0:19:53.680 - 0:19:57.520
got a nose like a bloody like a mountain"
0:19:57.520 - 0:20:03.120
"We're not looking for a model!"
0:20:03.120 - 0:20:08.560
So he said, "Well, can you send
me, you know, an audition tape?"
0:20:08.560 - 0:20:12.000
And I was like, "Look, all I have is
the reel that I did for my acting."
0:20:12.000 - 0:20:14.320
"You can look at that. It's got my Storyville
0:20:14.320 - 0:20:18.400
scene. It's got a commercial
I did for the phone company."
0:20:18.400 - 0:20:21.520
Fourth row center.
0:20:21.520 - 0:20:23.280
You're right. The blue one was all wrong.
0:20:23.280 - 0:20:25.920
It's the sound of an ending relationship.
0:20:25.920 - 0:20:28.240
Oh, I know. Let's see how it looks.
0:20:28.240 - 0:20:31.120
He was like, "Ah, we don't want that."
0:20:31.120 - 0:20:35.280
"Can't you get someone with a camera just
to, you know, walk around, talk to people?"
0:20:35.280 - 0:20:35.760
Brilliant.
0:20:35.760 - 0:20:36.720
I was like, "Oh, god."
0:20:36.720 - 0:20:40.800
So, I knew one person in LA
who had his own camera, Chaz.
0:20:40.800 - 0:20:42.240
He lived down in Laguna Beach.
0:20:42.240 - 0:20:45.600
He's like, "Yeah, yeah, come on down,
Justine. We'll shoot something."
0:20:45.600 - 0:20:50.960
I've got, you know, we set on a day.
I drive down there. It's bloody, it's overcast.
0:20:50.960 - 0:20:53.760
I mean, Laguna Beach is usually just absolutely
0:20:53.760 - 0:20:55.200
beautiful, right?
Of course, yeah.
0:20:55.200 - 0:20:58.800
Overcast, raining, not many people about.
0:20:58.800 - 0:21:04.640
So, basically, he filmed this thing of
me talking to people and walking around.
0:21:04.640 - 0:21:06.480
It was absolutely shit.
0:21:06.480 - 0:21:11.520
Laguna Beach is an oasis that lies
in the middle of an urban sprawl
0:21:11.520 - 0:21:14.720
that stretches from Los Angeles to San Diego.
0:21:14.720 - 0:21:20.240
And while summer in Los Angeles
can be days of 90° blistering heat,
0:21:20.240 - 0:21:22.720
Laguna rarely reaches 75.
0:21:22.720 - 0:21:33.259
And the lack of pollution
is a breath of fresh air.
0:21:33.259 - 0:21:37.360
[someone off camera] Have to cut that part out.
[cameraman] I know. We love it!
0:21:38.480 - 0:21:43.760
So the show- the crap show reel...
what what did you actually do?
0:21:43.760 - 0:21:45.920
And why was it so crap?
0:21:45.920 - 0:21:53.440
So Ian said to me "ah you know just talk to the
camera and you know talk to people around you"
0:21:53.440 - 0:21:55.760
"That's all." And I was like okay.
0:21:55.760 - 0:21:57.280
So that's what I did in the clip.
0:21:57.280 - 0:22:01.600
I do some pieces to camera where
I look really uncomfortable.
0:22:01.600 - 0:22:04.720
And here you'll find the
canyon lands that have been-
0:22:04.720 - 0:22:09.600
That are some of the most undeveloped
in all of Southern California.
0:22:09.600 - 0:22:14.400
And what's unique about these canyons
is they're like an oasis here.
0:22:14.400 - 0:22:19.360
Animal life and the plant life are unique
in that they haven't been destroyed.
0:22:19.360 - 0:22:23.680
And there's not a lot of roadkill
cuz there aren't a lot of freeways.
0:22:23.680 - 0:22:30.480
And um... and the flowers and the
trees are just absolutely divine.
0:22:30.480 - 0:22:32.880
And if you're insane, you'll
eat some of the berries
0:22:32.880 - 0:22:36.880
and you'll lose... you'll
get dehydrated and go crazy
0:22:36.880 - 0:22:39.600
and then things will really
start looking terrific.
0:22:39.600 - 0:22:43.440
I was so uncomfortable because I'd
never done a piece to camera before.
0:22:43.440 - 0:22:46.960
I'd done acting and I liked
acting cuz you have a script
0:22:46.960 - 0:22:49.040
and you know, you're interacting with people.
0:22:49.040 - 0:22:51.440
But this was the first time I'd ever spoken
0:22:51.440 - 0:22:52.387
to camera
and I felt-
0:22:52.387 - 0:22:55.040
[Ian] Right, as YOU.
0:22:55.040 - 0:22:58.800
That was very weird for me.
Yeah. Yeah, I bet.
0:22:58.800 - 0:23:01.920
But when I saw people, they
were easy for me to talk to.
0:23:01.920 - 0:23:03.760
I mean, it I didn't give it a second thought.
0:23:03.760 - 0:23:06.400
And I, you know, I saw this
guy and his girlfriend,
0:23:06.400 - 0:23:12.240
and he was full-on, like, he
looked like Ken to her Barbie.
0:23:12.240 - 0:23:14.080
It was like Ken and Barbie.
Okay.
0:23:14.080 - 0:23:16.240
And I was like, "Oh, I got to talk to them."
0:23:16.240 - 0:23:21.360
What would you tell a tourist
from another country to do?
0:23:21.360 - 0:23:24.800
Don't drink the beer and just kick back.
0:23:24.800 - 0:23:25.680
Just watch people.
0:23:25.680 - 0:23:27.520
It's a great place to watch people.
0:23:27.520 - 0:23:31.280
I just talk to people pretty easily.
I figure if they shoot me down that's fine,
0:23:31.280 - 0:23:36.800
but I take the risk, you know.
And so I guess what I heard from
0:23:36.800 - 0:23:41.840
I think Ian? Was... or maybe it was Angie Gourley
because Angie Gourley was his producer
0:23:41.840 - 0:23:44.160
and I think Angie Gourley said to me,
0:23:44.160 - 0:23:46.800
"What we liked about the tape Justine is that you
0:23:46.800 - 0:23:49.280
were really easy with people.
You were good with people."
0:23:49.280 - 0:23:50.000
Yeah, okay.
0:23:50.000 - 0:23:52.400
And I was like, "Well, is it everybody?"
No!
0:23:52.960 - 0:23:57.040
Do you like that in Los Angeles there's
all different kinds of food and music and-
0:23:57.040 - 0:24:02.400
Right, and people and knowing that
it's like a microcosm of the whole
0:24:02.400 - 0:24:06.560
not only the United States but of the world,
you know they have 70 something languages spoken
0:24:06.560 - 0:24:09.920
they have radio stations, they
have TV stations, cable...
0:24:09.920 - 0:24:16.000
So the cultural diversity is something positive
but it's also creating a lot of conflict, it seems
0:24:16.000 - 0:24:19.160
I think so but more so in the...
how do you call it ...
0:24:19.160 - 0:24:24.000
in the working class, you know,
because people always try to find a scapegoat.
0:24:24.000 - 0:24:27.760
So they say immigrants this or
Latinos that or Mexicans that
0:24:27.760 - 0:24:30.800
and in reality you know these
people are enriching themselves
0:24:30.800 - 0:24:35.040
if it wasn't for a lot of these people
coming here to California itself
0:24:35.040 - 0:24:36.880
United States itself would have been down already!
0:24:36.880 - 0:24:39.440
You have such a positive
attitude the way you see things
0:24:39.440 - 0:24:42.560
Right, yeah well thank God, you know,
I always have to have because
0:24:42.560 - 0:24:45.440
If you're negative, I mean, what can you do?
0:24:45.440 - 0:24:47.360
Everybody's negative, most
of the people are negative.
0:24:47.360 - 0:24:51.280
You have to be positive and it's not
just for California or the United States
0:24:51.280 - 0:24:52.560
For the world, you know.
0:24:52.560 - 0:24:57.680
So Chaz shoots this rubbish video
of me in overcast Laguna Beach.
0:24:57.680 - 0:25:02.160
I take it to some lady at some editing
studio and she chops it together.
0:25:02.160 - 0:25:05.680
I sent it to Ian, did not think about it again.
0:25:05.680 - 0:25:11.680
It was the one and only audition I ever
did that I sent it, done, finished.
0:25:11.680 - 0:25:12.400
Didn't think about it.
0:25:12.400 - 0:25:15.600
And I bet he didn't get back to you for months.
0:25:15.600 - 0:25:20.320
Three months later, I get a phone call-
Vietnam! Wanna to go to Vietnam?
0:25:20.320 - 0:25:23.120
And I was like, okay.
0:25:23.120 - 0:25:42.480
Oh mate, I love that.
Want to go to Nam?
0:25:42.480 - 0:25:47.520
I've been here now for about 12 hours
and it still feels kind of strange.
0:25:47.520 - 0:25:56.240
The whole idea that an American
is going traveling in Vietnam.
0:25:56.240 - 0:26:01.360
And Vietnam was the first episode of the
series and it was Leslie's producing.
0:26:01.360 - 0:26:03.920
So Leslie Weiner, my friend from Paris-
[Ian] Oh, really?
0:26:03.920 - 0:26:08.480
She was producing the Vietnam episode.
[Ian] Oh, okay. Wow, that's handy.
0:26:08.480 - 0:26:10.400
Jez Hyen was the director
0:26:10.400 - 0:26:13.280
and Simon Niblett was the camera.
(overlapping) Aw, the lads. Niblett...
0:26:13.280 - 0:26:20.240
And in this shoot, yeah, Simon, in this
shoot, Simon was the camera and sound.
0:26:20.240 - 0:26:23.600
Of course, at this point,
it was a bit smaller crew.
0:26:23.600 - 0:26:31.600
And he said, "Yeah, Leslie's producing and
we're going to get there February 3rd, 1994."
0:26:31.600 - 0:26:33.120
That was the first day of the shoot,
0:26:33.120 - 0:26:35.440
February 3rd, 1994.
[Ian] Oh wow [whistles]
0:26:35.440 - 0:26:41.200
And that was actually the day that President
Clinton in the United States lifted the embargo.
0:26:41.200 - 0:26:46.640
So, Vietnam really wasn't much of
a tourist destination at the time.
0:26:46.640 - 0:26:48.160
Okay. Yeah, that's amazing.
0:26:48.160 - 0:26:52.320
And so, but how did the phone
how did the phone call go?
0:26:52.320 - 0:26:56.320
He didn't say, "Oh, you've got-
is that Justine? You got the job,
0:26:56.320 - 0:26:58.480
the Lonely Planet job as the presenter?"
0:26:58.480 - 0:27:00.720
"We're going to go to Vietnam."
0:27:00.720 - 0:27:03.680
He just said, "Oh, do you fancy going to Vietnam?"
0:27:03.680 - 0:27:06.320
Cuz that sounded- yeah
(overlapping) It sounded very non-committal.
0:27:06.320 - 0:27:08.240
Yeah.
Yeah, I know.
0:27:08.240 - 0:27:09.600
But how did you feel?
0:27:09.600 - 0:27:14.080
I mean, when I went for the interview and he told
me exactly that, he didn't even say I got the job.
0:27:14.080 - 0:27:18.640
He just showed me a video went, "Oh, this is the
sort of thing you'd be doing in Brazil, mate."
0:27:18.640 - 0:27:24.000
And I was like, and I said, I was like, "Hold
on. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Have I got the job?"
0:27:24.000 - 0:27:27.040
And he was like, "Oh, yeah. Yeah. Anyway, look,
0:27:27.040 - 0:27:30.480
see this guy here? Can you imagine
yourself doing a bit of that?"
0:27:30.480 - 0:27:32.080
And I'm like [surprised overwhelmed noises]
0:27:32.080 - 0:27:34.640
Yeah, I thought it was just Vietnam.
0:27:34.640 - 0:27:38.000
I didn't think, oh, you're going to
be presenting this show for the next,
0:27:38.000 - 0:27:40.160
you know, 20 years of your life.
0:27:40.160 - 0:27:41.520
It was just Vietnam.
0:27:41.520 - 0:27:48.320
And the idea of the show at the time was that
the presenter wasn't supposed to speak to camera.
0:27:48.320 - 0:27:51.040
Oh!
I was told don't don't talk to camera, Justine.
0:27:51.040 - 0:27:54.080
The camera will be observing you
0:27:54.080 - 0:27:58.320
as you are traveling around.
Ok, who did you talk to then?
0:27:58.320 - 0:28:00.480
That was the remit from the office.
0:28:00.480 - 0:28:02.480
That was from Ian Cross.
No, I like it. But how?
0:28:02.480 - 0:28:07.520
So, so you'd be like, "Wow, here
I am. Oh, Brazil looks good."
0:28:07.520 - 0:28:13.360
"I'm in Brazil." Like a
nutcase talking to themselves.
0:28:13.360 - 0:28:14.800
You know what I think it is?
(overlapping) "I'm going to
0:28:14.800 - 0:28:16.560
try one of these. They look good."
0:28:16.560 - 0:28:20.960
"Oh, yeah. How much? They're probably
about $15. I might... it's, yeah."
0:28:23.680 - 0:28:27.440
Well, that's exactly it. They
wanted to see me talking to people,
0:28:27.440 - 0:28:29.840
but they didn't want me talking to camera.
0:28:29.840 - 0:28:31.440
Yeah, but... okay. Yeah.
0:28:31.440 - 0:28:37.200
Anyway, that's all fair enough because it
was at the beginning and nobody knew it.
0:28:37.200 - 0:28:38.960
It was an organic process.
0:28:38.960 - 0:28:41.920
So, yeah. Yeah, I can see
that trying to make that work.
0:28:41.920 - 0:28:43.840
But also, I think they probably noticed
0:28:43.840 - 0:28:49.440
in my audition tape how shit
I was at speaking to camera.
0:28:49.440 - 0:28:51.760
Yeah, but let's let's employ her anyways!
0:28:51.760 - 0:28:55.040
I mean, yeah, that's hilarious that is.
0:28:55.040 - 0:28:58.960
And the other idea they had was,
you can see it in the Vietnam show.
0:28:58.960 - 0:29:02.560
They said, "Well, we want to make sure
that we always know it's going to be
0:29:02.560 - 0:29:05.120
you because there's all these people everywhere.
0:29:05.120 - 0:29:08.400
It's a busy place, you know, Ho Chi Min City.
0:29:08.400 - 0:29:13.760
We're going to tie a red bandana on your
head so that we always can we can track you.
0:29:13.760 - 0:29:15.440
We know where you are.
0:29:15.440 - 0:29:18.080
And I was like, "I'm in a
sea of Vietnamese people."
0:29:18.080 - 0:29:21.760
I'm like, the one white girl
in a sea of Vietnamese people.
0:29:21.760 - 0:29:26.240
We we we took that one off after a while.
0:29:26.240 - 0:29:29.040
But you can see I'm wearing
like a traveler's vest,
0:29:29.040 - 0:29:31.280
you know, one of those kind of flack jacket vests-
0:29:31.280 - 0:29:36.720
[Ian] You know, you're just like in Nam. You're
dressed as an army- "I'm in Nam, man." Great.
0:29:36.720 - 0:29:39.280
It was like the only association I had
0:29:39.280 - 0:29:43.200
with white people in Vietnam was
either journalists or military.
0:29:43.200 - 0:29:47.920
And I figured I was kind of... I was thinking,
okay, this is a kind of journalist job.
0:29:47.920 - 0:29:52.000
Maybe this Lonely Planet thing
is kind of like journalism.
0:29:52.000 - 0:29:52.960
That's what I thought.
0:29:52.960 - 0:29:53.840
I wasn't quite sure.
0:29:53.840 - 0:29:56.800
I mean, you weren't told too
much. I wasn't told so much.
0:29:56.800 - 0:30:02.320
I had a balloon attached to me so they could
catch me big with an arrow pointing down- "Ian,
0:30:02.320 - 0:30:04.960
here."
Yeah. Wow.
0:30:04.960 - 0:30:09.920
But Vietnam, that's quite an
interesting place to go for
0:30:09.920 - 0:30:12.240
your first one that the embargo had just come out.
0:30:14.400 - 0:30:17.440
How did people treat you there?
I don't- I can't imagine you
0:30:17.440 - 0:30:20.480
getting any aggravation or any animosity at all.
0:30:20.480 - 0:30:23.440
Oh, there was a very big difference in how we were
0:30:23.440 - 0:30:27.120
treated when we were in the south
and when we were in the north.
0:30:27.120 - 0:30:29.680
Wow.
0:30:29.680 - 0:30:35.200
In the south they were used to more- they
were used to seeing Americans, you know,
0:30:35.200 - 0:30:40.880
and they had worked with the
Americans and the, you know,
0:30:40.880 - 0:30:44.080
the guerilla fighters were were in the north
0:30:44.080 - 0:30:49.760
and when we went to the north
people were really really cold.
0:30:49.760 - 0:30:57.040
[Justine VO] Hanoi is a city where
people are more conservative,
0:30:57.040 - 0:31:02.800
more resistant to reform, and
not as distracted by tourists.
0:31:02.800 - 0:31:06.400
By contrast, in the south, you're
often greeted with a thumbs up sign
0:31:06.400 - 0:31:08.640
and the words "America, number one."
0:31:08.640 - 0:31:15.680
In Hanoi, people seemed more
focused on their work than on me.
0:31:19.360 - 0:31:20.640
I was kind of amazed.
0:31:20.640 - 0:31:25.040
I was nervous to tell people in Vietnam that I was
0:31:25.040 - 0:31:26.640
American.
Yeah.
0:31:26.640 - 0:31:31.920
And I found in the South people
were really receptive to that.
0:31:31.920 - 0:31:34.480
They would sort of practice
a few words of English.
0:31:34.480 - 0:31:37.360
There was no animosity at all.
0:31:37.360 - 0:31:43.600
You know, I remember being on some rice
patties with an old Vietnamese woman, you know,
0:31:43.600 - 0:31:48.480
like the classic National Geographic picture
with her wide-brimmed straw hat, you know,
0:31:48.480 - 0:31:52.720
pulling rice in the rice patty and
she smiled at me and I smiled at her
0:31:52.720 - 0:31:55.200
and she pointed to me and I thought, "Okay,
0:31:55.200 - 0:31:58.480
I just want to see what happens
to her face when I tell her this."
0:31:58.480 - 0:32:04.240
So, she smiled at me and she points to me
and I say, "America, America, United States."
0:32:04.240 - 0:32:10.400
And she was like [nods] very like
very kind, welcoming, smiling.
0:32:10.400 - 0:32:13.520
That didn't happen in the north.
Okay. Wow.
0:32:13.520 - 0:32:18.080
The more serious travelers speak with excitement
about journeying to the northern highlands
0:32:18.080 - 0:32:22.400
and the hill tribes that live there.
0:32:22.400 - 0:32:25.200
These highland areas are among
the most linguistically and
0:32:25.200 - 0:32:28.720
culturally diverse in the world.
0:32:30.880 - 0:32:37.360
Word of a visitor soon got round and the village
life I'd really come to see came to a standstill.
0:32:37.360 - 0:32:45.360
I had the impression that strangers as
strange as me were not to be missed.
0:32:45.360 - 0:32:51.120
In the remote hills of Lao Cai, so far and
so different from the place I call home,
0:32:51.120 - 0:32:57.040
I found people who had never heard
of America, never mind the war.
0:33:05.600 - 0:33:20.320
To travel any further north would take me
into China, but that would be another journey.
0:33:20.320 - 0:33:22.880
But anyway, I got the job. Not looking back.
0:33:22.880 - 0:33:24.640
How did you get the job?
0:33:24.640 - 0:33:28.640
It was luck and fate. It's like
you say about the- what was the
0:33:28.640 - 0:33:33.600
expression about falling into a
job or or what luck is cuz that-
0:33:33.600 - 0:33:36.960
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."
0:33:36.960 - 0:33:41.600
Yeah. Well, I mean the thing with the
preparation you don't know you're doing it.
0:33:41.600 - 0:33:44.960
So and the opportunity is
you don't know till it comes.
0:33:44.960 - 0:33:47.120
So they're all quite spontaneous.
0:33:47.120 - 0:33:55.600
And luck is luck is that you're out there
opening yourself up for whatever might come.
0:33:55.600 - 0:33:57.440
You know, if you don't do anything, you sit back
0:33:57.440 - 0:34:01.040
in your room and just play PlayStation
or something, nothing's going to happen.
0:34:01.040 - 0:34:04.640
But if you're out there chatting to people,
they'll be- you don't know what that can be
0:34:04.640 - 0:34:09.040
but you're susceptible to
opportunities and people.
0:34:09.040 - 0:34:18.080
So, I've always been a monkey, I suppose.
So there was always a bit of that going on.
0:34:18.720 - 0:34:21.920
You know, just fun, always
mess about and stuff like that
0:34:21.920 - 0:34:24.400
and a complete fucking pain in the arsehole
0:34:24.400 - 0:34:27.360
So it was like you know a couple of- two things.
0:34:27.360 - 0:34:33.520
I didn't do drama at school or anything like that.
But I did- my English was so terrible.
0:34:33.520 - 0:34:36.720
Yeah? Apparently I've got dyslexia but who cares
0:34:36.720 - 0:34:41.680
because it just means that you're
not good at- I'm not good at English.
0:34:41.680 - 0:34:44.800
I'm not good at maths, but
so what? I'm good at art.
0:34:44.800 - 0:34:49.040
I'm good at this. I'm good at drawing
I'm good at expressing yourself in other ways.
0:34:49.040 - 0:34:52.320
So, it's not a hindrance, you know?
It's not like now if you got dyslexia,
0:34:52.320 - 0:34:53.680
it's like you got cancer or something
0:34:53.680 - 0:34:58.080
and it's like, "oh my god, we're terrible.
How can you get on with this world?"
0:34:58.080 - 0:35:02.080
"Here's some money and there's a computer,"
you know, I'm from different generation.
0:35:02.080 - 0:35:05.440
So, you're just good at- you
hone your skills in other things.
0:35:05.440 - 0:35:10.480
So, I was in the lowest English
group, but I then started drama.
0:35:10.480 - 0:35:15.600
There was a local theater group which
I joined anyway because that was fun.
0:35:15.600 - 0:35:19.360
And that's- this is my Shakespeare
story because we never did Shakespeare
0:35:19.360 - 0:35:23.120
or nothing like that and I never
understood it. It was all too dark.
0:35:23.120 - 0:35:28.480
Oh, and it was all too grand and I was in
the class and the guy came and they said,
0:35:28.480 - 0:35:31.200
"Oh, Ian, do you want to come down?
The Royal Shakespeare Company have
0:35:31.200 - 0:35:33.440
come to our school and they're going to do-
0:35:33.440 - 0:35:37.040
"there's about four of them and they're
going to do a 10-minute little workshop."
0:35:37.040 - 0:35:40.240
And I was like [confused face] and they
were like, well because you do drama at
0:35:40.240 - 0:35:42.960
this place we thought -I was like bloody hell.
0:35:42.960 - 0:35:45.440
So I got, you know, I didn't
have to do the class anymore.
0:35:45.440 - 0:35:49.040
So I went along to the library to do
this thing and there was these four guys.
0:35:49.040 - 0:35:53.280
I think it was like Edward-
it was Henry IV or something.
0:35:53.280 - 0:35:56.720
But for the first time, it's like that.
That's where I got my love for Shakespeare because
0:35:56.720 - 0:36:00.720
it was just like my god. When it's
done well, that's why he's so genius.
0:36:00.720 - 0:36:10.400
Because he- the dialogue that he uses between
characters and humans is exactly how we speak.
0:36:10.400 - 0:36:13.600
Oh, I talk to you with the
little intricate things,
0:36:13.600 - 0:36:17.360
the little sneaky snidey bits,
the wonderful bits, the just-
0:36:17.360 - 0:36:20.160
and I was since then on I was like, my god,
0:36:20.160 - 0:36:23.280
I'm going to have to get a lot
of this Shakespeare action.
0:36:23.280 - 0:36:27.120
I just love it. I just-
So anyway, I digress.
0:36:27.120 - 0:36:29.440
So, I was in the- Anyway,
that was my Shakespeare bit.
0:36:29.440 - 0:36:30.640
Loved it. Loved it. loved it.
0:36:30.640 - 0:36:35.360
Did you ever do a Shakespearean monologue?
(overlapping) We did. I did. When we did-
0:36:35.360 - 0:36:38.080
And how did you learn your
lines if you're dyslexic?
0:36:38.800 - 0:36:43.360
You learn it like a parrot. You
repeat it and repeat it and repeat it.
0:36:43.360 - 0:36:47.840
That's, you know, you might
be crap at reading but-
0:36:47.840 - 0:36:50.880
I love reading but it just takes me ages
0:36:50.880 - 0:36:54.320
to read something. It just takes
a longer time to soak it all in.
0:36:54.320 - 0:36:57.040
I can't, you know, but once
you've written a sentence,
0:36:57.040 - 0:37:00.240
you have it in your head three
times and of course you've got it.
0:37:00.240 - 0:37:06.960
That's that's nothing to do with
dyslexia in a way. That's a technique.
0:37:06.960 - 0:37:12.080
So anyway, so I did a bit of theater in Ipswitch.
0:37:12.080 - 0:37:13.600
Then I was doing a lot of art.
0:37:13.600 - 0:37:17.360
And did you have an aspiration
to go to university after that?
0:37:17.360 - 0:37:22.320
Not at all. Never had any ambition or
aspirations in my life. I still haven't.
0:37:22.320 - 0:37:27.600
I never had or the only thing that I
wanted to do was paint and draw and do art.
0:37:27.600 - 0:37:31.840
That's the only thing that I ever- as
long as I keep that going, you know,
0:37:31.840 - 0:37:35.280
hopefully everything else
will come into play, you know.
0:37:35.280 - 0:37:40.640
So work-wise, the only time I had an
aspiration- cuz I did a paper route.
0:37:40.640 - 0:37:45.280
So you get up at 7 in the morning and you go
out and do the round half hour, then go back.
0:37:45.280 - 0:37:50.720
You'd be back by 8 and cook a bit of breakfast
for everyone. That's why I got into old bikes.
0:37:50.720 - 0:37:54.480
Anything with metal brakes, you
know, that's a different story.
0:37:54.480 - 0:37:59.600
So the last year you go down to the local
hospital selling papers on the ward.
0:37:59.600 - 0:38:02.800
So that was- and he had a little thing
and everyone was like [celebrating]
0:38:02.800 - 0:38:06.240
and so for the first time ever I wanted to be
0:38:06.240 - 0:38:09.600
a hospital porter. That was the
only job that I've ever wanted.
0:38:09.600 - 0:38:10.880
A hospital porter?
0:38:10.880 - 0:38:12.720
Yeah. cuz they just look like fun.
(overlapping) What's that?
0:38:12.720 - 0:38:15.600
A hospital porter is the port
that goes around, you know,
0:38:15.600 - 0:38:18.800
getting all the equipment, taking it to the wards,
0:38:18.800 - 0:38:20.960
people wheel wheelchairs, wheeling them around.
0:38:20.960 - 0:38:23.600
They're just like a dog's body
that did everything, you know.
0:38:23.600 - 0:38:26.480
So, you just wander around doing everything,
meeting people and stuff like that.
0:38:26.480 - 0:38:28.560
I thought that's- Yeah, I could do that job.
0:38:28.560 - 0:38:34.320
That's about the only time I ever had a
ambition to do something. A hospital porter.
0:38:35.600 - 0:38:40.800
Anyway, the the good thing about it is that my
folks, parents, never hassled me because I'm like,
0:38:40.800 - 0:38:42.640
"I'm going to art school."
0:38:42.640 - 0:38:48.400
You know, in their head and to most
people, what a complete waste of time.
0:38:48.400 - 0:38:54.160
Why would you- stupid, you know, nonsense-
(overlapping) And expensive!
0:38:54.160 - 0:38:58.960
At that time? No, because you got a grant from
the government and you had to top that up.
0:38:58.960 - 0:39:03.600
So most of your fees were paid and then you'd
0:39:03.600 - 0:39:08.000
get a small allowance but then
you had to work to top that up.
0:39:08.000 - 0:39:12.560
So that was the glory times. What
a brilliant thing to do, to go.
0:39:12.560 - 0:39:17.200
So I went to London for the age of 18.
0:39:17.200 - 0:39:23.200
This is a small college in Kennington,
South London, where it was mainly
0:39:23.200 - 0:39:27.040
art and restoration people working.
Tapping away.
0:39:27.040 - 0:39:30.080
But there was nothing to do
cuz there was only about 250
0:39:30.080 - 0:39:31.680
students in the whole college.
0:39:31.680 - 0:39:36.720
There was nothing to do but work, nothing to do
and it was just brilliant.
0:39:36.720 - 0:39:38.560
Every day you could do live drawing. There was
0:39:38.560 - 0:39:41.280
a live drawing and you could
go into any class and do it.
0:39:41.280 - 0:39:47.120
It was- weekends I'd go in, after school you
could stay. I just loved it. Absolutely loved it.
0:39:47.120 - 0:39:51.440
Just art art art. It's just-
and also I realized that I just don't want-
0:39:51.440 - 0:39:55.040
because I was on the painting course, there's
no point in just doing painting all the time
0:39:55.040 - 0:40:00.720
because I can do that when I leave. So I went
into other departments to learn printmaking,
0:40:00.720 - 0:40:05.760
to learn welding, learned sculpturing,
lot like drawing all the time.
0:40:05.760 - 0:40:09.840
So it was an eclectic thing of
everything. So that's what my work is.
0:40:09.840 - 0:40:15.280
It's absolute eclectic, you know, different
medias all the time for whatever I want to do.
0:40:15.280 - 0:40:19.120
But the mad thing is when I moved to
London I wanted to do drama as well.
0:40:19.120 - 0:40:25.280
I thought, and this is the sliding doors moment,
there's a guy who was a tutor at my college.
0:40:25.280 - 0:40:29.600
He had an exhibition in Hull
which is, you know, up north a bit
0:40:29.600 - 0:40:31.760
and so it was like we're leaving at 6:00 in the
0:40:31.760 - 0:40:34.640
morning on Saturday and I was
like, really can't be bothered.
0:40:34.640 - 0:40:36.240
It's a long way to go
0:40:36.240 - 0:40:40.000
and I was like "no, come on, you're being
lazy, just get off your ass and do it."
0:40:40.000 - 0:40:42.880
So I went on the coach. When I got to Hull there
0:40:42.880 - 0:40:45.200
was another friend of mine
that was at college there.
0:40:45.200 - 0:40:49.440
So I went to see him and I picked
up an application form for this
0:40:50.160 - 0:40:55.680
organization that was called Operation Raleigh.
0:40:55.680 - 0:40:59.120
Operation Raleigh, an around the world expedition
0:40:59.120 - 0:41:02.080
which has sent thousands of
young people to live and work
0:41:02.080 - 0:41:04.960
with remote communities all over the world.
0:41:04.960 - 0:41:08.880
Its aim? To give young people the
chance to take part in adventure,
0:41:08.880 - 0:41:10.640
scientific, and community projects.
0:41:11.840 - 0:41:13.880
Probably follow some of the rivers over.
0:41:13.880 - 0:41:21.600
[Ian] You went abroad with bunch of kids for
3 months to live and do and medical things,
0:41:21.600 - 0:41:25.360
do the construction thing to help people as well.
0:41:25.360 - 0:41:29.680
And so I picked up that application
form, sent that form in and got accepted
0:41:29.680 - 0:41:36.480
and went to Guyana and South America
for 3 months, which was just insanity.
0:41:36.480 - 0:41:40.560
100 kids, just fly them out
there, running around the jungle.
0:41:40.560 - 0:41:44.000
Just absolute madness. Absolute madness.
0:41:44.000 - 0:41:48.000
I just loved every minute of it. It was just-
(overlapping) How old were you then, like 20?
0:41:48.000 - 0:41:52.640
I was about 21 by then. And it was just- oh man.
0:41:52.640 - 0:41:57.440
But the reason why I brought up
the trip about going to Hull,
0:41:57.440 - 0:42:02.160
like things that change your life, but
also in a way it was a double whammy.
0:42:02.160 - 0:42:06.560
One, I picked up the application
form. Plus, I met this girl on
0:42:08.800 - 0:42:12.480
the coach who was doing
drama in the East End London.
0:42:12.480 - 0:42:13.520
She was in a drama group?
0:42:13.520 - 0:42:17.680
In a place called Hoxton Hall. Yeah.
And I was like, "Oh." So, I was like, "Brilliant."
0:42:17.680 - 0:42:21.120
I said, "I did a bit of drama. I really
enjoyed it." And she was like, "Well,
0:42:21.120 - 0:42:29.920
we're going to be meeting again about
3 months, so why don't you come along?"
0:42:29.920 - 0:42:33.680
It's a community center in the east end of London.
0:42:33.680 - 0:42:38.160
That's where I met Mickey, a friend of mine that
I still see now. Best mate ever, that still is-
0:42:38.160 - 0:42:43.360
that I still see and helped me do the
video for the show reel for Lonely Planet.
0:42:43.360 - 0:42:48.480
So I met him that night and other
friends that I still see now.
0:42:48.480 - 0:42:53.200
You know, that was a life changer and a
lifesaver in a way because there was so-
0:42:53.200 - 0:42:59.120
once I got in there, there was
so much to do, so much to learn.
0:42:59.120 - 0:43:05.040
And that's where I started teaching
art and kids clubs and stuff like that.
0:43:05.040 - 0:43:09.040
Going on residentials with
kids, taking them out of London,
0:43:09.040 - 0:43:14.320
you know, to places in the country where
they'd never seen live animals before.
0:43:14.320 - 0:43:18.400
They feel that think that
all food comes from tins and,
0:43:18.400 - 0:43:23.440
you know, vegetables and they hadn't seen
darkness like that in their lives at all.
0:43:23.440 - 0:43:31.680
Plus me and Andy and our mate there, we ran
the cafe bar, plus doing drama all the time.
0:43:31.680 - 0:43:36.640
We were always in plays. I think
our record was like five plays in
0:43:36.640 - 0:43:40.800
two weeks because everyone was like,
cuz we'd always, we'd be doing drama.
0:43:40.800 - 0:43:44.480
We'd be doing art downstairs.
We just everything to do with it.
0:43:44.480 - 0:43:46.480
The like, the adult drama
would come and go, "Look,
0:43:46.480 - 0:43:48.720
we're short of two soldiers we need at the back."
0:43:48.720 - 0:43:50.960
And then so he'd be like, "Yeah,
just finished washing up."
0:43:50.960 - 0:43:52.720
Then we were on the stage. "Hey,
0:43:52.720 - 0:43:56.000
stop that or I'll get you."
Get back to washing up.
0:43:56.000 - 0:44:04.480
Get the cups and then it'll be like what now? Oh.
Oh, just a dead person on the stage for an hour.
0:44:04.480 - 0:44:10.800
At the time when I was there, Hoxton Hall
was like an old school community center.
0:44:10.800 - 0:44:17.120
It was like where people from all walks
of life just somehow be washed up there.
0:44:17.120 - 0:44:19.120
You know, there'd be like a rainbow,
0:44:19.120 - 0:44:23.760
which was the disabilities group that were all
everywhere and they were always the best shows
0:44:23.760 - 0:44:28.800
because anything happened at any time in
one of their productions. Oh, it was crazy.
0:44:28.800 - 0:44:31.200
And then there'd be that adult drama. There'd be
0:44:31.200 - 0:44:37.840
music there. There'd be kids club.
There'd be art pensioners clubs.
0:44:37.840 - 0:44:43.040
One time we welded up all these bikes that we
found downstairs and made them into choppers
0:44:43.040 - 0:44:49.200
and went to festivals doing jousting with
like big sticks with boxing gloves on the end.
0:44:49.200 - 0:44:53.120
And remember we did it down local
and someone was like "that's my
0:44:53.120 - 0:44:57.512
bike! They welded my bike. I only
left it in the hall for a week!"
0:44:57.512 - 0:45:01.760
We were like, keep going. It was
just crazy. It was a crazy place
0:45:01.760 - 0:45:04.560
organic at that time. It just worked so well.
0:45:05.680 - 0:45:08.160
It was just a brilliant place to be.
0:45:08.160 - 0:45:14.640
That's where video guy Tom, who was the teacher,
got me and Mickey and everyone into doing videos.
0:45:14.640 - 0:45:19.680
So that's the first time that we, you
know, started to learn about how to
0:45:19.680 - 0:45:26.880
be in front of camera, how to make
things, you know, it'd be a big VHS,
0:45:26.880 - 0:45:29.360
you know- [camera sounds]
0:45:29.360 - 0:45:35.120
and so we would make our own stupid little
videos, you know, and you knew things that worked.
0:45:35.120 - 0:45:38.640
So it was just- we enjoyed doing all that.
0:45:38.640 - 0:45:44.320
And yeah, that's where I met my
wife, at the community center. Wow.
0:45:44.320 - 0:45:50.560
She came in to do art class and I'd
never seen anyone that was so good
0:45:50.560 - 0:45:55.920
with kids and so brilliantly
creative and just like that.
0:45:55.920 - 0:46:04.139
I mean, she was just shocking
and gorgeous and sexy.
0:46:04.139 - 0:46:07.520
[sexy cartoon noises]
Yeah. Lovely. God, man. Yeah.
0:46:07.520 - 0:46:11.280
So, how did all of that
get you onto Lonely Planet?
0:46:11.280 - 0:46:14.880
Well because I was doing lots of art
and stuff like that and we- me and
0:46:14.880 - 0:46:16.720
Mickey wanted, the best mate was talking about,
0:46:16.720 - 0:46:22.000
we wanted to do lots of videos
and we needed excuses to make-
0:46:22.000 - 0:46:28.880
sometimes it's nice if someone's got a brief,
and going oh look there's a- why not do that?
0:46:28.880 - 0:46:35.120
And then you're like oh yeah yeah so
I was sitting in my front room and the
0:46:35.120 - 0:46:39.200
woman said to me "oh look there's
an advert in The Guardian- Lonely
0:46:39.200 - 0:46:45.280
Planet presenter wanted. No experience
needed. Just send in a show reel."
0:46:45.280 - 0:46:48.400
See these days you do it on your phone in half an
0:46:48.400 - 0:46:51.680
hour. And in them days you
didn't have the equipment.
0:46:51.680 - 0:46:59.280
So luckily we had the VHS. So me and
Mickey did a complete and utter piss take
0:46:59.280 - 0:47:04.640
cuz I knew the mad thing was, Justine,
I knew, although I'm sending this joke,
0:47:04.640 - 0:47:09.440
because that job is the most
absurd thing in your life.
0:47:09.440 - 0:47:13.840
You look at that and you're like, there's
no way on God's earth am I getting that job.
0:47:13.840 - 0:47:15.280
It's just bullshit.
0:47:15.280 - 0:47:19.280
But I'm going to do a fun video and send
it in anyway because it'll be a laugh.
0:47:19.280 - 0:47:23.120
And also, I knew that the first 10 seconds of any
0:47:23.120 - 0:47:27.680
show reel is the most important thing.
Anything else almost doesn't matter.
0:47:27.680 - 0:47:29.360
You can- I've seen show reels,
0:47:29.360 - 0:47:33.840
and you know after 10 seconds really
whether they're good enough for the job.
0:47:33.840 - 0:47:40.400
And so my first one is, I've got all my
bags. I'm walking on Liverpool Street
0:47:40.400 - 0:47:42.800
and then I trip over, all my bags going,
0:47:42.800 - 0:47:46.320
and hit my head against the camera
and do the open piece to the camera.
0:47:46.320 - 0:47:49.920
he first thing you notice on
arrival is the intensity. It
0:47:49.920 - 0:47:52.480
hits you as soon as you get off the airplane.
0:47:52.480 - 0:47:55.680
And boy is it hot here.
0:47:55.680 - 0:48:00.720
Mickey is dressed as like a guard, and he's
like "give me a passport. Where's your visa?"
0:48:00.720 - 0:48:03.200
Oh, is that Mickey playing the customs officer?
0:48:03.200 - 0:48:06.880
Yeah, he plays everything! And he's
like, I'm like, "I've got a visa!"
0:48:06.880 - 0:48:08.800
And he slaps me, "No visa, out!"
0:48:08.800 - 0:48:12.400
There's a confident visa system
on every single border crossing.
0:48:12.400 - 0:48:14.720
So what you waiting for? Come on.
0:48:14.720 - 0:48:16.640
No visa. Out.
0:48:16.640 - 0:48:18.880
What do you mean?
[unintelligible argument]
0:48:18.880 - 0:48:22.720
And then the rest of it as
you can see, just silly.
0:48:22.720 - 0:48:25.520
The black market thrives in a city like this.
0:48:25.520 - 0:48:28.800
And obviously the exchange is
much better than the legal rate.
0:48:28.800 - 0:48:34.080
But a word of warning. You
do it at your own risk cuz-
0:48:34.080 - 0:48:37.280
Wait! Oy! Fuck. What are we going to do?
0:48:37.280 - 0:48:42.160
Well, now we're here. We might as well taste
some of the local delicacies of the country.
0:48:42.160 - 0:48:44.480
Get some food from this market store.
0:48:44.480 - 0:48:49.264
Yeah. We're just doing this for TV here. Could
we have a selection of your local delicacies?
0:48:49.264 - 0:48:50.480
[unintelligible argument]
0:48:50.480 - 0:48:57.200
I think I understand the problem here.
0:48:57.200 - 0:49:01.440
This is where your local phrase book always
comes in handy. If you haven't got one,
0:49:01.440 - 0:49:08.459
pick it up the airport before you leave.
0:49:08.459 - 0:49:10.880
[bad Cockney accent] Gor blimey,
governor. Could I have myself some
0:49:10.880 - 0:49:16.160
apples and pears for me lovely
grubby bubbly for laters, mate?
0:49:16.160 - 0:49:19.520
[unintelligible Cockney negotiating]
0:49:24.240 - 0:49:28.000
Lovely. Cheers, mate. All right. On your
way. Have a nice time. See you later.
0:49:28.000 - 0:49:35.200
Most people sending in their videos
who want the job, it makes you tighter.
0:49:35.200 - 0:49:37.840
When you want something,
you go tight and you think,
0:49:37.840 - 0:49:42.880
"Oh god, what do they want? I've got to try and
outthink them and think what they want to see."
0:49:42.880 - 0:49:48.400
So they'll- whereas the best way to be is
like, "Fuck it. I'm doing what I want to do."
0:49:48.400 - 0:49:51.360
And you take it or leave it
otherwise there's no point.
0:49:51.360 - 0:49:53.120
So send it in. But like you,
0:49:53.120 - 0:49:56.560
sent it in and then didn't even-
(overlapping) To Ian Cross?
0:49:56.560 - 0:50:00.560
Yeah. To Ian Cross in London, but
didn't think anything about it.
0:50:00.560 - 0:50:03.840
Then he rang up.
Oh, I think they sent me a letter.
0:50:03.840 - 0:50:08.080
They sent me a letter saying, "Oh,
could you come in for an audition?"
0:50:08.080 - 0:50:11.760
And that's when I really shit
myself because I thought,
0:50:11.760 - 0:50:17.040
I can't- if I go into audition,
which is- I'm going to freeze.
0:50:17.040 - 0:50:21.160
I'm not going to- if I can't be spontaneous
or whatever. I've had to read from a script.
0:50:21.160 - 0:50:28.480
[stilted] This is me. Oh, hello. Here. Here we
are in London. There's some great things going on.
0:50:28.480 - 0:50:34.080
There's a guy over there who's got
a monkey. Can we see the monkey?
0:50:34.080 - 0:50:37.600
That was- I wouldn't, you
know, because I can't do it.
0:50:37.600 - 0:50:40.080
I can't read from a script and then do it.
0:50:40.080 - 0:50:44.640
So, I went to the auditions in London,
the same office as you went to.
0:50:44.640 - 0:50:50.160
And I think that... I don't think Angie
was there, but she comes into the story.
0:50:50.160 - 0:50:53.440
And I went and he said, "Oh, yeah,
0:50:53.440 - 0:50:57.840
this is what you'd be doing when
you go to Brazil, you know, this."
0:50:57.840 - 0:51:04.320
And I'll be like, "Well," cuz he was showing me a
video of some guy that he'd filmed like a pilot.
0:51:04.320 - 0:51:08.640
And I was like, "Well, hold on."
I'm like, "Have I got the job?"
0:51:08.640 - 0:51:12.240
And he's like, "Oh, uh, oh yeah,
yeah, you got the job, mate?"
0:51:12.240 - 0:51:17.600
But, you know, "still, you think you'd be
able to do all this?" And I'm like, "Yeah."
0:51:17.600 - 0:51:22.400
When I come out, I was fucking shaking
like a leaf more than I went in, you know?
0:51:22.400 - 0:51:27.280
I was like, and it was so ambiguous. I said
people were like, "Did you get the job then?"
0:51:27.280 - 0:51:32.800
I was like I'm like, "Yeah, I got Yeah,
I think so. Yeah. I thought, "Oh, jeez."
0:51:32.800 - 0:51:37.200
And then I didn't hear again for another
like two months. I just even forgot about it,
0:51:37.200 - 0:51:38.720
didn't it? I was like, "It's too nuts."
0:51:38.720 - 0:51:40.560
And did Ian Cross say like
0:51:40.560 - 0:51:43.920
how amazing your audition was?
(overlapping) Of course he didn't!
0:51:43.920 - 0:51:49.280
What I learned later, like you talk about
Angela Gourley, she's just the bollocks.
0:51:49.280 - 0:51:52.800
Anyway, she, this is the
real story. So, you're right.
0:51:52.800 - 0:51:58.000
He didn't say anything about myself
because in reality, he didn't want me.
0:51:58.000 - 0:52:01.440
I was forced upon him by other people.
0:52:01.440 - 0:52:02.880
So, the reality-
(overlapping) Ian
0:52:02.880 - 0:52:06.080
Cross didn't want you as the
presenter of Lonely Planet?
0:52:06.080 - 0:52:12.160
No, not at all. Who was this bloody, you know,
monkey? I don't want him. Uh, what happened? And
0:52:12.160 - 0:52:17.920
so when I sent in that show reel, uh there
was about 3 - 000 show reels being sent in,
0:52:17.920 - 0:52:22.720
which is quite a lot considering, you know,
the equipment that I had no idea. And Angie,
0:52:22.720 - 0:52:28.160
she was going through the reels and she uh they,
you know, they were all a bit boring. They got
0:52:28.160 - 0:52:35.600
a few out cuz they had the Channel 4 bosses, the
English Channel coming to see the next day who was
0:52:35.600 - 0:52:40.560
um appropriate to do the travel show. Anyway,
she saw mine because it was a breath of fresh
0:52:40.560 - 0:52:46.880
air because she's seen so many boring. Here we
are in Camden. Oh, sunglasses. Good on you. Uh,
0:52:46.880 - 0:52:53.360
she put my show reel on and she they just said she
said it just really made me laugh. How much? 25.
0:52:53.360 - 0:52:56.640
There you go. All right. All right. Come on. This
morning. All right. All right, my son. There you
0:52:56.640 - 0:53:01.840
go. There you go. All right. Nice. Yeah. Nice.
Good. All right, my son. See you later. Hey,
0:53:01.840 - 0:53:07.120
hold on. 25. Well, you see all this, my son.
You see all this? There you go. This is yours.
0:53:08.240 - 0:53:11.840
You've been knocked, mate. She
said, "Oh, so funny." She said,
0:53:11.840 - 0:53:17.600
"But it wasn't appropriate for the show." So,
she put it in the drawer to show her mates. Oh,
0:53:17.600 - 0:53:25.600
so she didn't think to even show it to Ian Cross.
No. Uh, and so when the Channel 4 people come in
0:53:25.600 - 0:53:33.360
the next day to the pilot office. Yeah. To see
what the audition tapes to choose the presenter.
0:53:33.360 - 0:53:39.040
Crossy had about four or five tapes of presenters
and put them all in and they were just like, "Nah,
0:53:39.040 - 0:53:44.000
nah, not they watched all four or five." Probably
I don't know what number was, but they were like,
0:53:44.000 - 0:53:50.080
"Not not so sure." Anyway, so let me get this.
So this is Pilot Films, the production office,
0:53:50.080 - 0:53:56.080
and in it there's Ian Cross, Angie Gorley from
Pilot, and then you've got the Channel 4 bosses.
0:53:56.080 - 0:54:02.800
Yeah. So casting the British presenter. Yes. Yeah.
So they they they couldn't decide who and they
0:54:02.800 - 0:54:09.600
didn't really like the presenters that cross had
done it and anyway in Cross the phone call. So he
0:54:09.600 - 0:54:15.440
went to his office to make a phone call or or take
a phone call. Angie was sitting there couldn't
0:54:15.440 - 0:54:20.880
think of anything to say too much to chatting to
the two executive producers channel 4 and she said
0:54:20.880 - 0:54:24.320
oh I tell you what have a look at. She opened
up the drawer and said have a look at this one.
0:54:24.320 - 0:54:30.240
It's not chosen. It's just really funny. If you're
not quite used to the rich foods of the country,
0:54:30.240 - 0:54:40.240
I suggest that you pace yourself. Let your
digestive system naturally adjust. Excuse me.
0:54:40.240 - 0:54:44.400
And they loved it. And they said, "That's your
man." They said, "If you don't use him, you don't
0:54:44.400 - 0:54:50.800
get the series. We love him." And that was it. So
imagine how pissed off Crossy was. Ian Cross when
0:54:50.800 - 0:54:56.400
he comes out from his office, they go, "Oh, we
found the pres we found one of the presenters."
0:54:56.400 - 0:55:03.920
He's like, "Oh, mate, mate." So, had he even seen
that tape? No, not at all. So, I was forced upon
0:55:03.920 - 0:55:10.800
him. And then I got the phone call say, "Come um
you know, uh you got the job. Yeah, we're going
0:55:10.800 - 0:55:15.440
to Brazil. Come in for the we're having a little
meet in the party. Meet the producer, which is
0:55:15.440 - 0:55:22.560
Rachel Eaton. Lovely girl." Anyway, went So, I
went to the party party and I was I was Yeah,
0:55:22.560 - 0:55:28.720
I didn't know anyone. And there was a party that
they had like a like a launch party. Yeah. Yeah.
0:55:28.720 - 0:55:36.080
But I was meeting the gang and as soon as I got
in there, everyone [ __ ] hated me and and the
0:55:36.080 - 0:55:41.760
looks and everyone was just like, "Oh man." And I
was like, "Wow, this is going to be a tough one."
0:55:41.760 - 0:55:48.240
But you know, the the the director came up to me
and talked and he was bloody lovely. He was really
0:55:48.240 - 0:55:53.760
nice. So he put me at ease and I was like, "Thank
God." And then I went over to Crossy and Crossy's
0:55:53.760 - 0:56:00.400
wife too. See? Yeah. And she was sweet. But they
and Rachel, he Armstrong who was the producer of
0:56:00.400 - 0:56:07.520
Brazil. They all disdain in their eyes just and I
knew it. And I was like I was like messing about
0:56:07.520 - 0:56:10.880
and Rachel said, "Well, have you got everything
for Brazil? You know, we're going to be doing
0:56:10.880 - 0:56:14.560
walks so you're going to have to have water
walking boots. You know, you got to have,
0:56:14.560 - 0:56:18.160
you know, your money back. The rucks so real
sturdy one because it's going to you're the
0:56:18.160 - 0:56:23.120
traveler and you know, a few clothes, stuff like
that." And I was like, "Yeah, I was like, Rachel,
0:56:23.120 - 0:56:28.800
do you need a passport to go to Brazil?" And she
nearly had a heart attack. I was right. I'm like,
0:56:28.800 - 0:56:33.360
"We're joking. I'm joking." I'm like, "Me and
you are not going to get on, are we?" I'm like,
0:56:33.360 - 0:56:40.000
"But the mad thing about me is like I panic a bit
before and then two days before I don't give a
0:56:40.000 - 0:56:45.760
shit." I'm like, "Hold on. Why are you worrying
about anything?" You know, the worry is you're
0:56:45.760 - 0:56:52.000
planning so much money, flights, everything. a
month's film in in Brazil doing everything on a
0:56:52.000 - 0:56:57.760
monkey that doesn't know whether he can do it. And
I'm just like, God, that's so much pressure. So,
0:56:57.760 - 0:57:01.280
I've never done I don't know what to expect.
I've never done anything like this in my life.
0:57:01.280 - 0:57:07.840
It's going to it's going to go down like a ton of
bricks. So, and then but two days before I'm like,
0:57:07.840 - 0:57:16.080
I don't care. I'm like, hold on. Wait. I've got
I'm going to spend four weeks in some, you know,
0:57:16.080 - 0:57:22.080
northeast Brazil for God's sake. It's like
even even if it's the worst thing in the world,
0:57:22.080 - 0:57:29.200
you cannot take 4 weeks of me traveling in Brazil
away from me. I would have been there. I just
0:57:29.200 - 0:57:36.240
like Yeah. So there was just I just don't care. A
couple of weeks ago, my only knowledge of Brazil
0:57:36.240 - 0:57:54.880
was that they drank a lot of coffee and Pelle
lives here. I think I've got a lot to learn.
0:57:54.880 - 0:57:58.400
But anyway, yeah, there I was. That
was my job for lonely planet like
0:57:58.400 - 0:58:04.320
you. Insane. I'm coming to the end of
my travels in Brazil, and in a month,
0:58:04.320 - 0:58:09.440
you can only hope to skim the surface. But the
best thing about it for me has definitely been
0:58:09.440 - 0:58:14.880
the people. And it's a bit of a shame that my
journey ends here at the mouth of the Amazon,
0:58:14.880 - 0:58:19.520
cuz there's just a teasing glimpse of a completely
different Brazil out there. I tell you what it
0:58:19.520 - 0:58:28.240
was. What really changed it was I came back from
Brazil, 5 days rest and went straight to Morocco,
0:58:28.240 - 0:58:36.640
which was insane. And then in Morocco, Jesse, who
you had as the first one, he vision of using me,
0:58:36.640 - 0:58:43.760
he'd just wind me up and send him off, mate. Watch
him go and uh just send me off in situations and
0:58:43.760 - 0:59:00.400
just I'd be messing about with people and just
having a laugh and that was it. Heat. Heat.
0:59:04.480 - 0:59:09.840
Ian Cross and Pilot Productions had obviously a
lot of money from Discovery Channel and Channel
0:59:09.840 - 0:59:17.280
4 and I think Australia, but still what I think's
fantastic about his vision and the way it was,
0:59:17.280 - 0:59:22.160
he still it was still organic. still
had no idea how things might, you know,
0:59:22.160 - 0:59:27.120
he's got the meat and everything, but how that
works itself out with people like me and you
0:59:27.120 - 0:59:31.840
never done telly before in the lives ain't got a
clue what we're doing, but he wanted that fresh
0:59:31.840 - 0:59:37.200
approach to everything is commendable and lucky
that commissioners go, "Yeah, get him on. I don't
0:59:37.200 - 0:59:42.800
know what he's going to do, but it' be worth a
try. Get her, give her a go." Isn't that Well,
0:59:42.800 - 0:59:48.640
Globe Treker phenomenal. I mean I should right
I mean the the show Lonely Planet later called
0:59:48.640 - 0:59:55.120
Globe Treker it wasn't scripted. It was one
of the only things on television where the
0:59:55.120 - 1:00:02.640
presenters weren't scripted. Yeah. Which which for
me was just like this is a joke. It's like hold on
1:00:02.640 - 1:00:06.880
someone's going to come and get me soon and go
all right joke's over. You've had a good run.
1:00:06.880 - 1:00:13.040
And I'll be like yeah well I got away with four
shows. You found me. Because it's like, hold on,
1:00:13.040 - 1:00:18.880
I don't have to learn super scripts. I just turn
up and be a monkey and mess about in front of the
1:00:18.880 - 1:00:23.600
camera and you pay me for it and I go to the best
places in the world, do the most amazing things,
1:00:23.600 - 1:00:31.040
meet the most best people in the world. That's
just insane. It's me last afternoon and I'm
1:00:31.040 - 1:00:39.040
spending it here right on the beach. Do nothing
but relax. And I must admit, Morocco hasn't been
1:00:39.040 - 1:00:43.760
half the hassle that I thought it would be.
I mean, it's still taking its toll out on me,
1:00:43.760 - 1:01:01.440
but then again, I've only seen about that much of
this great place. I think I'm going in the water.
1:01:10.640 - 1:01:16.080
So, season 1 comes to an end and after
you watch part two of our season finale,
1:01:16.080 - 1:01:22.960
we would like to bring you season two,
more episodes, more fun. And we hope
1:01:22.960 - 1:01:30.080
you're going to help us make season 2 happy.
Season two happy. To make season 2 happen,
1:01:30.080 - 1:01:36.480
we need your help. And so we launched a
Kickstarter campaign. Lots of great rewards
1:01:36.480 - 1:01:47.200
starting at $15. And some of Ian's artwork is
on the reward list. Oh yeah, a lot of it. Woo.
1:01:47.200 - 1:01:54.000
The link is in the episode description or you
can just head directly to tinyurl.com/olpse
1:01:54.000 - 1:01:58.800
2. I've got a fiber. So, head over
to our Kickstarter campaign. You'll
1:01:58.800 - 1:02:02.240
find great rewards. You'll help us make season 2,
1:02:02.240 - 1:02:10.240
and you'll bring more joy into the world.
Yay! Couldn't have said it better myself.
1:02:10.240 - 1:02:16.560
Thank you for listening to season 1, episode
6, part one. Ian and Justine, how we got the
1:02:16.560 - 1:02:22.640
best job in the world. Hosts Ian Wright and
Justine Shapiro. Producer Steven Lennhoff,
1:02:22.640 - 1:02:29.440
editor Gregory Sharpen, sound mix Dan Olmstead
at IMRSV Sound. This podcast was recorded at
1:02:29.440 - 1:02:37.280
Kuku Studios in Berkeley, California, USA, and
at Haverhill Music Hub in Haverhill, UK. Season 1 was
1:02:37.280 - 1:02:44.240
made possible thanks to a grant from the Khosravi
Family Trust, and from donations from many of you.
1:02:44.240 - 1:02:50.560
I Justine Shapiro am the executive producer
and Lili Cortés is our series producer and
1:02:50.560 - 1:02:56.800
director of social media and community. Gregory
Scharpen is our senior editor and producer. Steven
1:02:56.800 - 1:03:02.560
Lennhoff directs and produces the podcasts and Bri
Castellini is our director of audience strategy
1:03:02.560 - 1:03:09.360
and partnerships. Our editor is Thomas Lorne.
Our website and media is managed by Sage Brucia
1:03:09.360 - 1:03:16.320
and our bookkeeper is Craig Paull. Our Looney
Planet is produced by MatLana, a 501c3 nonprofit
1:03:16.320 - 1:03:26.320
organization. This podcast was produced in loving
memory of Globe Trekker producer Leslie Weiner.
1:03:26.320 - 1:03:32.400
We need to make season. We need you to make
season 2. We need you to make season 2. We
1:03:32.400 - 1:03:40.640
need you. Sorry, stop. I've just realized
we just look like we're old 60 year olds.
1:03:40.640 - 1:03:54.800
Making our looney planet a little less lonely,
one podcast at a time. Yes, we do see the irony.