Globe Trekker fans unite! Megan McCormick is back! | Ian & Justine | Season 1, Episode 1

Longtime hosts of Globe Trekker / Lonely Planet—the TV travel series—reunite in Episode 1. Ian Wright, Justine Shapiro and Megan McCormick meet after 20 years to talk about what it was like to have the most amazing job in the world. Their conversation ranges from how they got the job that changed their lives, to monkey bites, to near-death experiences, to unexpectedly spicy chili, and to the Bollywood star Jackie Shroff. Guest: MEGAN McCORMICK As one of the hosts of the award-winning series Globe Trekker, Megan McCormick spent years exploring cultures around the world and witnessing how people everywhere find meaning in both life and death. From funerals in Ghana to rituals in India, her travels revealed that there is no single way to understand mortality—only the shared human longing to make sense of it. That realization became the heart of her work today. As a trained death doula, hospice volunteer, and founder of Hurley House in the Catskills, Megan is devoted to helping people face the often-avoided but inevitable topic of death. Through her forthcoming documentary series Dead Serious, she invites honest conversations about dying, grief, and care—believing that when we confront death with open eyes, we remember how to live and love one another more fully. Chapters: 0:00 - Megan’s back! 7:29 - West India: Megan’s first show 15:05 - “Who goes to a Rat Temple?” 20:20 - Street food: “Definitely don’t go for the chili!” 27:26 - Megan in the market: mob justice and haggling 33:44 - Ian Cross kept us on (miraculously) 40:05 - Perilous moments: “Bit up the ass by a monkey” 49:13 - The cinematographers: “They were psychos, really.” 53:17 - Ian Wright or Ian McKellen? 58:00 - “Pathologically friendly” 01:00:49 - Prepare in advance…? Nah. 01:03:55 - “I’m with Jackie.” Jackie Shroff then and now. 01:11:03 - Death doula: What’s Megan doing now? 01:19:25 - Farewell, there’s more coming… Join this channel to support Our Looney Planet with Ian & Justine Social media links: Instagram   / ourlooneyplanet   Tiktok   / ourlooneyplanet   Sign up for our newsletter and get access to behind-the-scenes photos from Globe Trekker / Lonely Planet and be the first to know about upcoming episodes. https://www.ourlooneyplanet.com/