The Young Pioneer Podcast – New Episode Out Now

Bougainville is a place that few travelers ever reach, but for those who do, it is an unforgettable experience. This autonomous region of Papua New Guinea, with its turbulent past and unique cultural identity, may soon become the world’s 194th country. YPT has been fortunate to explore Bougainville over several tours, and now we’re bringing that experience directly to you in the latest episode of The Young Pioneer Podcast.

In this episode, YPT co-founder Gareth Johnson sits down with our local partner John to talk about what makes Bougainville so extraordinary. From its role in the Pacific theater of World War II, to the scars of civil conflict, to its singular culture and traditions, John offers a rare firsthand perspective on life in a region that is rebuilding under the hopeful motto of “United in Diversity.”

S3, Ep 7: Bougainville – Culture, Conflict, and the Path to a New Nation – The Young Pioneer Podcast

Send us a textRecorded during our recent trip to Bougainville –  a corner of the pacific some say will soon become the world’s 194th country. From WWII relics and island villages to the Tama Festival and even a visit to the Twin Kingdom of Me’ekamui and Papaala, YPT’s latest visit went deeper than ever before.In this episode, YPT co-founder Gareth Johnson talks with our local partner John about life in this autonomous region, its independence movement, and what makes it distinct from mainland Papua New Guinea. Our Bougainville tour is available as an add-on to our Papua New Guinea Mount Hagen Festival tour, as a standalone adventure, or can be arranged as a private tour.For more information on how you can visit our "destinations your mother wishes you'd stayed away from" visit us at youngpioneertours.com.

1. S3, Ep 7: Bougainville – Culture, Conflict, and the Path to a New Nation 31:03
2. S3, Ep 6: Lebanon Unveiled – Navigating History, Culture, and Resilience 32:25
3. S3, Ep 5: No Filter, All Adventure – Interview with Travel Content Creator Mike O'Kennedy 01:21:18
4. S3, Ep 4: Behind the Headlines – Interview with CNN's Will Ripley on Covering North Korea 01:07:26
5. S3, Ep 3: The Black Girl from Pyongyang – Interview with Monica Macias 01:17:03

You can also listen via your preferred podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

What’s in this Episode?

Our conversation explores many of the highlights from YPT’s most recent Bougainville tour, including:

• Buka Passage and WWII history – shipwrecks, bunkers, and relics scattered along the shoreline.
• The Tama Festival in Arawa – a celebration of Bougainville music, dance, and the traditional dish known as tama. Bougainville’s music scene blends deep-rooted tradition with surprising modern twists. At its heart are bamboo bands, whose Pacific rhythms remain central to community life and cultural expression. Alongside them is a homegrown heavy metal subculture, introduced by Australian miners and embraced by local youth. Music in Bougainville is woven into daily life, marking feasts, funerals, and milestones, while also evolving through festivals and digital platforms that bring traditional sounds together with contemporary styles.
• Island-hopping by banana boat and outrigger canoe – experiencing Bougainville’s beautiful and untouched island scenery, with views of the nearby Shortland Islands of the Solomon Islands.
• The Twin Kingdom of Me’ekamui and Papaala – a micronation within Bougainville where the king still wears a crown of gold and circulates his own currency bearing his image via his “Central Bank of Bougainville.”

For anyone curious about Bougainville’s unique place in the world – and how it may soon chart its own course as the world’s 194th UN recognized country – this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

Travel With YPT

Our Bougainville tour is available as an add-on to the Papua New Guinea Mount Hagen Festival tour, as a standalone adventure, or it can be arranged privately for adventurous travelers seeking a truly off-the-beaten-track experience.

And Bougainville is just one of many destinations we’re exploring this year. We also talk in the episode about some of YPT’s other upcoming adventures, including:

• China Revolutionary Red Base Tour (October 11–18, 2025) – Travel from Beijing and Xi’an to Yan’an, Mao’s revolutionary heartland, and walk the same valleys where the Red Army once sheltered.
• Divided Cyprus TRNC National Day Tour (November 14–19, 2025) – Experience Europe’s last divided capital, cross the UN buffer zone, and celebrate TRNC National Day with air shows, parades, and visits to the reopened ghost city of Varosha.
• Kuwait City Persian Gulf Tour (October 12–15, 2025) – Explore Kuwait City’s history and architecture, then ferry to Failaka Island to discover its bullet-riddled villages and tank graveyards.
• Transnistria & Gagauzia New Year Tour (December 30, 2025 – January 2, 2026) – Ring in the New Year in an unrecognised country with Soviet relics, frozen conflict zones, and a Gagauzian feast.

Listen Now

Our new episode, Bougainville: Culture, Conflict, and the Path to a New Nation, is live now. Tune in to hear Gareth and John’s conversation and learn why this little-known corner of the Pacific is one of the most fascinating places YPT has ever taken travelers.

About Post Author

Justin Martell

Justin Martell is a filmmaker and author living in New York City. He has shot documentaries and promotional videos in North Korea and, in 2017, co-founded YPT’s partner, Pioneer Media, offering production services across a wide variety of unique locations from Asia to Eastern Europe. For more information on all of Pioneer Media’s filming locales and services for filmmakers and journalists, visit mediapioneers.net.

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