#30: Life Lessons From the World’s Most Dangerous Places | Robert Young Pelton

Robert Young Pelton spent his early career as an advertising executive with 50 employees, a Rolls Royce, and a half acre on the ocean. At 40, he walked away from it to become a journalist and report from the world's most dangerous places. In the 30 years since, a Liberian rebel has put a bullet two inches from his ear, a Colombian death squad held him at gunpoint for ten days, and he’s arranged secret dinners between American generals and Taliban leaders. His method has never changed: show up, sit down, ask about their kids, and understand why people do what they do.

This conversation is packed with some of his wildest stories and lessons for a life well travelled. Robert shares why traveling is statistically safer than staying home. He also shares how the State Department uses their travel warnings for political reasons, rather than assessing how safe a region actually is. Plus, the rule he lives by at 70, happy and married for almost 50 years: the clock is ticking, so don't be afraid to reinvent yourself.

*This episode is not suitable for children as it contains descriptions of violence.

Two Percent is hosted by Michael Easter. Today’s episode was produced by Joey Fischground, Robbie Hiser, Dana Brawer and Julia Nutter. From Kaleidoscope, our executive producers are Mangesh Hattikudur and Kate Osborn and Julia Nutter. From iHeart, our executive producers are Katrina Norvell and Nikki Ettore. Our Head of Video is Maria Paz Mendez Hodes. This episode was edited by Ryan Mulhern. Our theme music is by the Heater Manager.

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Chapters:
00:00:00 - Intro (cold open)
00:01:55 - Who is Robert Young Pelton?
00:03:09 - The closest he ever came to death
00:04:45 - From living in a car at 16 to the Inc 500
00:07:30 - Why he left it all in his 40s
00:10:53 - Setting up interviews with the Taliban
00:12:36 - How to read people
00:14:50 - Working with Steve Jobs
00:16:21 - Context is everything in war
00:18:36 - Coming home from war zones
00:20:14 - Are government travel warnings accurate?
00:21:59 - What actually kills travelers
00:24:59 - The most dangerous country on Earth
00:28:06 - Trust your spidey senses
00:29:31 - How to talk to anyone
00:31:33 - The FBI and a lost passport
00:34:15 - Kidnapped in Colombia
00:42:58 - The decompression window
00:45:46 - Why take the risk at all?
00:49:54 - What he packs: cash, gifts, and a dummy phone
00:54:20 - Where you should actually go
00:57:06 - Do not wait to reinvent yourself
00:58:18 - Outro

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