The Ryan Pyle Podcast

Director Cassius Michael Kim on making Man On The Run, his Netflix documentary about Malaysia's 1MDB scandal, and how the money trail led all the way to Hollywood.

Cassius Michael Kim is the director, writer and executive producer of Man On The Run, a Netflix documentary about the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia. Our conversation goes well beyond the film, looking back at Cassius's time with CNN on The Wonder List, and his move to his new production company, The Smoking Section.

Chapters
0:00 Welcome Cassius Michael Kim
0:24 From Seoul to Northern California
0:46 The Wonder List with Bill Weir for CNN
3:08 Starting out in film
6:23 From a small production company to CNN Originals
12:44 A documentary in Stockton
14:45 Then Covid hit
22:09 Ten years on the road, then home
23:03 What is 1MDB?
29:36 How the fund was set up
31:04 The PetroSaudi deal
33:08 The money reaches Hollywood
35:57 Where the money went
39:07 Accountability in Malaysia
46:37 Breaking the story
49:45 Getting the film to Netflix
55:06 A tough market and the strikes
1:04:35 Promoting Man On The Run in LA
1:07:44 A changing industry
1:14:13 Storytelling and AI
1:21:40 Average Malaysians
1:25:55 On the campaign trail
1:28:02 Politics in Malaysia
1:33:18 Audience reactions
1:36:29 Wrapping up

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Italian cinematographer Alessandro Pavone on trading corporate jobs in Brussels for a week's notice to fly to Afghanistan, and years filming in war zones, often as a one-man crew.

Alessandro Pavone is an Italian director of photography focused on documentary and feature news stories. In this episode I talk to him about what it is like to be a filmmaker in a war zone. He often works as a one man crew, and his work has taken him to places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia.

Chapters
0:00 Welcome to 2021
8:20 Introducing Alessandro Pavone
10:40 Meet Alessandro
12:05 First time abroad
15:21 Communication studies in Rome
24:34 Trying to break into cinema
27:37 Learning on reality shows
33:49 Learning the craft
39:57 Filming every week in London
52:13 Storytelling
55:16 The slump after a production
58:45 Documentaries in Europe and Sudan
1:01:23 From Brussels to Afghanistan
1:04:25 Kandahar
1:07:25 Three and a half years in Kabul
1:10:28 Afghanistan and the West
1:13:35 Nine years in conflict areas
1:16:40 A self-taught storyteller
1:25:50 Character-driven work ahead
1:28:08 Wrapping up

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How Extreme Treks began: a motorcycle presenter who didn't want to be pigeonholed, a first trek in Sichuan in 2013, and a second season nobody wanted, before five Asian Academy Creative Award nominations.

Extreme Treks was nominated for five Asian Academy Creative Awards, so it's time to have a serious discussion about how the series started, with basically just a simple idea of walking and exploring the wilder parts of the world. We are now more than 20 episodes in and we've been nominated for countless awards, so let's get into Extreme Treks.

Chapters
0:00 Welcome
8:50 Not wanting to be pigeonholed by motorcycles
17:53 The first trek: Minya Konka, July 2013
22:49 A trekking show, not a survival show
28:06 Filming without electricity
30:29 Outside your comfort zone
34:48 Taking season two global
40:10 Nobody wanted season two
41:52 BBC and season three
45:16 Climbing in Bolivia
49:51 Five Asian Academy Creative Award nominations
51:59 Season four and beyond
1:01:22 Wrapping up

The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle

Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world.

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Billboard-charting Lebanese artist DD Foxx on singing along to jingles as a child, her mix of pop, dance, R&B and funk, and why she's an artist, not an influencer.

DD Foxx is a Lebanese Billboard-charting recording artist based in Dubai, UAE. We take a journey through her life in music, from her childhood singing along to commercials and jingles, to her music today, a mixture of pop, dance, R&B and funk with a unique Middle Eastern flavour.

On February 23, 2019, DD Foxx's debut U.S. single "Need Your Love Tonight" reached #18 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart, a historic first for a female artist from the UAE.

Find out more about DD Foxx: http://www.ddfoxx.com
Follow DD Foxx on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ddfoxxmusic

Chapters
0:00 Welcome, from Dubai
15:46 Meet DD Foxx
18:17 Singing in Arabic
21:19 Vocalist and songwriter
24:20 Taking the practical path
27:26 Hotel management, with music on the side
42:22 Don't call me an influencer
46:00 Her music
52:02 Performing for an audience
53:53 Working with bands
1:00:11 Where the best ideas come from
1:16:35 Listening to the inner voice
1:19:41 How Ryan ended up in China
1:25:45 Favourite places in China
1:31:49 Dreaming of the stage
1:37:54 Animal lovers
1:50:12 Wrapping up

The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle

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Four months locked down in Istanbul, four months filming across Europe, and finally home to Dubai, with a rescued cat called Whisky who has now been to 12 countries.

Ryan hasn't made a podcast since he was in Istanbul, Turkey. After four months of lockdown and then four months of filming, it's time to update everyone on what filming in Europe actually felt like, and what it now feels like to be back in Dubai. Tune in as Ryan tackles these issues in this episode.

Chapters
0:00 Welcome back, from Dubai
2:39 How Dubai feels now
5:12 Stuck abroad
7:44 Waiting for Europe to reopen
10:16 Booking the first country that opened
15:22 Landing in Slovenia
17:56 A test in a Slovenian hospital
22:58 Plans to walk across Switzerland
28:05 Summer into winter
30:35 Filming in Europe
35:45 Europe starts to lock down again
38:22 Back in Dubai after eight months
40:00 Whisky the travelling cat
43:26 Looking back on the journey
46:03 Wrapping up

The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle

Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world.

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Adventurer, producer and TV host Paris Norriss on selling supplements at school, choosing to be an entrepreneur over banking, and building Guy in Dubai.

Paris Norriss is an adventurer, producer and television host. After spending his formative years in the UK and with a degree from the University of Edinburgh, he headed to the Middle East and got involved in several businesses before deciding that what he really wanted to do was make television and have fun. He created the successful Guy in Dubai series and has expanded his reach beyond the Middle East.

Follow Paris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guyindubai

Chapters
0:00 Welcome, from lockdown in Istanbul
14:59 Meet Paris Norriss
16:09 Guy in Dubai
19:33 Growing up in the countryside
22:16 The discus and the decathlon
26:21 University and a sports scholarship
32:28 Choosing Edinburgh
37:58 A supplements business at school
41:46 Travel is the antidote to ignorance
48:32 Moving to Oman
51:02 Exiting the first company
56:10 An education business
58:42 What success means
1:06:15 Building teams through tough times
1:18:12 Playing a character on camera
1:21:39 Pitching ideas to production companies
1:24:12 Growing Guy in Dubai
1:30:20 Expedition Asia and wrapping up

The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle

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Ryan usually spends more than 280 days a year on the road. Locked down in Istanbul in 2020, he set out seven predictions for the future of travel.

Describing Ryan as a frequent traveller is inadequate; he lives to move. He has a busy international television production schedule and that is coupled with an active speaking roster, which means he is usually on the road for more than 280 days a year. So how does Ryan feel about the current global lockdown, and what does he think the future of travel will look like? Tune in as Ryan tackles these issues in this episode.

Chapters
0:00 Life in lockdown in Istanbul
2:07 Why an episode on the future of travel
7:22 1. Mobility matters
13:26 2. Trust: safety and confidence
21:46 3. Touchless travel
24:45 4. Digital health passports
30:22 5. Global collaboration
35:50 6. Local versus international travel
37:23 7. Costs will increase
40:22 The seven points, recapped
41:36 What travel will feel like now
49:53 Wrapping up

The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle

Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world.

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At 19, Ben Chan became the youngest Hong Kong-born person to summit Mount Everest. From the Scouts to summit day, and on to Broad Peak and K2.

Ben Chan became the youngest Hong Kong born person to successfully climb Mount Everest at 19 years old, but that's not even the most exciting part of his story. After spending his youth in Hong Kong, where residents live with limited personal space, he found a love for the outdoors. Now a full fledged mountain climber, Ben and Ryan discuss the Everest adventure, Ben's attempt at K2 and his current medical studies and his path to become a doctor.

Follow Ben Chan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambenjaminchan

Chapters
0:00 Welcome, from lockdown in Istanbul
8:08 Meet Benjamin Chan
9:39 Growing up in Hong Kong
14:20 First hikes with his father
19:53 The Scouts and extreme hikes on Lantau
25:11 Choosing climbing
29:48 Discovering rock climbing
34:37 Inspired by the Explorers Grand Slam
37:39 Raising sponsorship and the 5% rule
39:15 Telling his parents about Everest
43:48 Arriving in Nepal
50:01 Climbing through the camps
57:41 Summit day
1:02:18 The descent
1:03:59 Coming home to Hong Kong
1:05:31 How Everest changed him
1:14:51 Managing risk
1:17:52 Broad Peak and K2
1:24:33 Wrapping up

The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle

Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world.

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Where it all started: a politics degree in Toronto, a move to Shanghai, and the road from award-winning photographer to TV presenter and author. Recorded in lockdown in Istanbul, April 2020.

Ryan Pyle is a person who places heavy weight behind getting out into the world and chasing unique experiences. After a degree in International Politics at the University of Toronto, he moved to Shanghai, China and transformed himself from an award winning photographer into a producer, television presenter, author and a public speaker.

From there it was a full focus on the world of content and entertainment, with launching series like: Tough Rides and Extreme Treks which are adventure TV shows that document some of the most epic motorcycle riding (Tough Rides) and trekking and climbing (Extreme Treks) locations around the world.

Key Broadcast Partners are: Amazon Prime, BBC Earth, Discovery Channel. With all this global filming, Ryan speaks about the toll this took on his marriage, his personal life and the Covid-19 lockdown that left him stuck in Istanbul, Turkey, where this episode was recorded.

Find out more about Ryan: https://www.ryanpyle.com

Chapters
0:00 Welcome to the Ryan Pyle Podcast
5:23 How I ended up in lockdown in Istanbul
13:37 Growing up in Canada
18:05 Toronto, high school and basketball
29:07 NBA dreams and the University of Toronto
32:58 When basketball ended
34:56 Discovering China
37:02 Backpacking China alone
43:36 West to Kashgar, Tibet and Everest
50:51 Moving to Asia
54:38 Howard French and freelancing for the big papers
59:16 The 2008 crash and the end of freelancing
1:04:10 Central Park and the birth of Tough Rides
1:08:50 Tough Rides India and Brazil
1:13:22 Extreme Treks
1:16:13 Expedition Asia with Discovery Channel
1:18:40 Why Dubai
1:20:48 Wrapping up

The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle

Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world.

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