Today, we’re flipping the script and bringing you a conversation I recorded with a dear friend of mine, a longtime Palestinian activist Matt Bowles, for his podcast, The Maverick Show.

On his podcast, Matt interviews people who work at the intersection of travel and activist spaces. On it, you’ll find interviews with people like Imani Bashir, a Black Muslim American who advocates for more Black people in the us to travel with her Passport initiative, and Mari Monsalve, who visited occupied Palestine and uses her platform for Palestinian solidarity.

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Going Places is an audience-supported platform. Become a member for as little as $6 a month and get the perks like getting on a group call with Yulia every month to ask questions, get advice, and be in community with each other.

Visit us at goingplacesmedia.com to learn more.

Thanks to our Founding Members:

• RISE Travel Institute, a nonprofit with a mission to create a more just and equitable world through travel education
• Radostina Boseva, a film wedding photographer with an editorial flair based in San Francisco

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Growing up in Soviet Kazakhstan and Estonia
• A culture shock of moving to the U.S. at age 16
• Yulia explains her decision to join the U.S. Navy
• How serving in Iraq and Afghanistan impacted Yulia's politics
• How a trip to Morocco took Yulia off a corporate career path
• Yulia's stories set in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Botswana, and Jordan
• Yulia explains why Jordan is so close to her heart

Featured on the show:

• Check out The Maverick Show with Matt Bowles
• Follow @maverickshowpod on Instagram
• Listen to Part 2 of the interview, in which we unpack Orientalism and activism for Palestine

For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!

Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don’t forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!

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Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more.

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.