Life after Globe Trekker
Episode 6: Part 2
March 19, 2026
In Episode 6, Part 1, Ian and Justine pulled back the curtain on what it was really like to have "The Best Job in the World." Now, in Part 2, Ian & Justine are back to tell us what they've been up to since hosting Globe Trekker.
Ian, never one to stay still for long, went on to host a string of raucous, irreverent travel shows that felt tailor-made for his infectious energy. Between adventures he retreated to his studio in Norfolk, England, where a lifelong devotion to drawing, painting, sewing, and making has remained his quiet constant — a creative anchor through decades of wandering.
Justine embraced motherhood, raising her son while channeling her curiosity about the world into documentary filmmaking. Her films include Promises — an intimate portrait of Palestinian and Jewish children navigating life in Israel and the West Bank — earned an Academy Award nomination and won two Emmy Awards and continues to be the most widely used documentary film in classrooms and think tanks on the subject of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
And then, as life tends to do, the years filled up with everything in between — the extraordinary and the mundane, adventures and misadventures, setbacks, joy and the quieter weight of loss and change. In 2025 Ian and Justine reunited to launch Our Looney Planet. Yes, there is life after Globe Trekker. A lot of it.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
00:44 Seeds of Promises
04:32 Promises Made
16:44 The kids meet
20:57 Promises Fulfilled
25:36 Justine’s Last Show: Venice
30:40 Ian’s Last Show: Istanbul to Vienna
34:00 Wrights of Passage: Ian’s later shows
39:16 Where The Magic Happens: Ian’s artwork
46:11 The Gallery Above: Ian’s exhibition
49:58 And Season 1 is done!
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Episode Cast & Crew
Hosts: Ian Wright and Justine Shapiro
Producer: Stephen Lennhoff
Editor: Gregory Scharpen
Sound Mix: Dan Olmsted at IMRSV Sound
This podcast was recorded at:
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
This podcast was produced in Loving Memory of Phillippe Gualier.
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
Website and Media Management: Sage Brucia
Title Animation - Zazie Capobianco, Aerial Contrivance Workshop
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