Episodes
-
Even people who are uncomfortable getting in above their waist can be transformed by the ocean. But most of us connect with being on the water, not under it. What lies beneath our oceans is closer to another planet than anything on land, and the intrepid few who feel at home in this alien world are more like astronauts than typical outdoors folk. Filmmaker and diver Pippa Ehrlich is one of these astronauts. Pippa is the co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher,” which explores the unique relationship between an octopus and a free diver. The film was a natural extension of a life lived largely underwater—scuba and freediving have defined her adult life, and inspired her to explore the human/wildlife connection through other films like the more recent “Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey.” Above water or below it, Pippa’s a keen observer of our outdoor environments, the creatures we share them with, and how all three things intersect in beautiful and surprising ways. And, if you don’t believe, just ask her about the baboon who stole her phone.
-
If you’re a fan of food TV, you’ve probably seen chef and TV host Andrew Zimmern, whose hit show “Bizarre Foods” ran for 13 seasons and had him eating everything from guinea pigs to clotted cow’s blood. Andrew has made a career following the rumble in his belly—and a love of fishing and hunting—on way-out-there adventures in places like Madagascar and Colombia. Before his big break on TV, Andrew was one of the hottest young chefs in New York City. Then drug addiction and alcoholism derailed his career, his outdoor pursuits, and nearly his life itself. When Andrew uprooted to Minnesota to get sober, he learned two things that saved him: You’ve got to ask for help in order to get it and when you don’t believe in anything, go outside to find something. Which, of course, led him to the opinion that possum tastes better than raw cookie dough, and gas station pizza may just be the best post adventure food of all time.
-
Missing episodes?
-
Chances are you have a storage space, garage, car trunk, and slash or cornucopia of plastic bins double stuffed with outdoor gear; anything and everything you need to get outside and get rad. But the most valuable piece of gear is something you can’t buy at your local shop: a sense of humor. Professional struggle runner Erin Azar knows this all too well. Erin is a runner and social media personality better known by her online persona, “Mrs. Space Cadet.” She amassed nearly 2 million followers by posting hilarious, unfiltered videos documenting her triumphs and mostly sweaty, out of breath trials as a burgeoning runner. In 2019, a few months after giving birth to her third child. Erin made a funny video about trying to run to the end of the road and back. It…blew up and she’s been lacing up runners and turning the camera on ever since. But she’s no formulaic, overly manicured, highly produced, and typical running influencer. Erin is just a regular ole person who likes to run and knows it’s a helluva lot more fun and a helluva lot easier to make it a few more miles when she's laughing at herself.
-
Do you have opinions about our use of automated voices on the Long Reads episodes? Tell us!
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8881338/11781bd91e29
Every now and then, the writers at Outside discover a story that is set in the outdoors, but is about something much, much larger—sometimes these stories are about universal truths or paradigm-shifting discoveries. And sometimes, they cross into areas that escape our comprehension altogether. Today’s tale is one of those, and, after listening, you’ll never look at a moving leaf in the woods the same way.
Join Frank Bures as he retraces the journey of an anthropologist named Neal Whitehead through the forests and indigenous communities of Guyana. Whitehead begins looking for evidence of the societies that gave rise to the legend of El Dorado, but stumbles instead upon an ancient tradition of witchcraft known as “kanaima.” (kah-knee-muh)
What follows is a story of curiosity turned to obsession, and several brushes with apparently supernatural forces that are anything but benign—and that’s before Bures arrives in Guyana nearly twenty years after Whitehead, after which it just gets weirder. Please enjoy “I Traced an Anthropologist's Deadly Obsession with the Dark World of Kanaima” by Frank Bures … unless you don’t like ghost stories, in which case, maybe sit this one out? -
Sandbagging is a right of passage in adventure. When a pal or significant other deliberately undersells the difficulty or intensity of an adventure in order to convince you to join, despite the fact that you’re either new to the sport in question or woefully under-trained slash unprepared for the outing, has a special way of pushing you out of your comfort zone and revealing that we are pretty tough after all. Sandbagging always involves two people: the ass kicker and the ass kick-ee. Unless of course you’re stand up comedian Brooks Wheelan and you enjoy kicking the crap outta your own ass. Brooks is a devoted outdoorsman who has deployed an “all gas, no brakes” attitude when it comes to both adventure and his career. Never been rafting before? No problemo, Brooks will boat the Grand Canyon. Get hired on Saturday Night Live without ever being on TV? Pssh, piece of cake. Turns out there is immense value in getting pushed beyond your limits, even when—or maybe especially when—you’re the one doing the pushing.
-
Howdy pals. It’s Saturday, which means it’s time for another Long Read podcast from the Outside Archive.
Tragic endings are all too common in the Himalaya, but the 2024 deaths of Anna Gutu and Gina Rzucidlo on the relatively obscure Tibetan mountain Shishapangma resonated beyond the cloistered world of 8,000-meter climbing. The two women died in separate avalanches on the same day, raising troubling questions about how accessible these peaks have become and how the business of guiding has evolved.
Outside always covers these incidents with empathy, authority, and exacting attention to detail, and journalist Gloria Liu’s comprehensive reconstruction of both women’s journeys to Shishapangma—as well as her breathless hour-by-hour account of the final day—is no different.
She tells the story of two women who were accomplished and driven but not elite level climbers, who both set out to become the first American woman to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks. Coincidence found them trying to claim that prize on the same mountain, on the same day; competition had them each making decisions that everyone on the mountain that day would come to regret. This is “Death on Shishapangma”, by Gloria Liu, read by a friendly robot. -
We will look for all sorts of things to fuel our adventures: the new electrolyte drink mix, the fancy sport goo, any and every type of futuristic gear. But mostly the best thing to get us outside is already inside of us in the form of a good old fashioned eff this attitude. Allie Bianchi grew up in the gritty Vermont outdoor community. A skier, hiker, mountain biker, no matter the weather or circumstance, Allie was always outside. So even after a life-altering mountain bike crash forced her to relearn everything from a wheelchair, Allie was determined to remain active in her pursuits. But doctors told her that she had to accept a sedentary wheelchair-bound life, needing round the clock assistance. Allie said, “F*ck that! I’m going outside.” She has set her sights on The Driving Range, the nation’s first fully adaptive mountain bike trail network in the US. Located in Bolton, Vermont. With the help of adaptive sports organizations like the Kelly Brush Foundation and Vermont Adaptive, as well as the devoted outdoor community she comes from, Allie is indeed still out there, getting after it.
-
Howdy pals. It’s Saturday, which means it’s time for another Long Read podcast from the Outside Archive.
We assume, dear listener, that you find Mount Everest interesting. We assume that because, over the decades, many of our most popular articles and podcasts have been about the world’s tallest mountain, and the fascination it inspires in climbers and non-climbers alike. And today’s Long Read podcast is a story that connects the dots between both kinds of people.
Over the last twenty years, climbing Everest has evolved from something only attempted by elite mountaineers to the apex of adventure tourism. And this evolution has had all kinds of interesting impacts on how these climbers train for their attempts. So our Long Reads editor, Fred Drier, went deep into training mode with two very different amateur Everest aspirants, to learn how you train to get to twenty nine thousand feet if you only live at five thousand feet. Or zero thousand feet.
Depending on your personal disposition, this story will either convince you that you have what it takes to climb the world’s tallest mountain, or make you perfectly comfortable in the knowledge that you’re never going to try. Either way, you’re going to be entertained. Please enjoy “Want to Climb Mount Everest? The Training May Leave You Breathless” by Fred Drier, read by a friendly robot.
f your favorite way to read is with your ears, I encourage you to join Outside Plus. It gives you unlimited access to everything in the Outside Network, including more audio stories from Outside, Backpacker, Climbing, SKI, and more. Plus mapping apps like Trailforks, Gaia GPS, and MapMyFitness. And for our podcast listeners, we have a special offer for 25% off. Head to outside.watch/listen to learn more. -
Unless you grew up inside a tumbleweed, chances are you remember your outdoorsy firsts. The first time your dad took you hiking, the time your mom helped you reel in your first fish, the first big family camp out or ski trip or the road trip to your first National Park. But there are those special few whose connection to the outdoors predates every single memory, folks like artist Cannupa Hanksa Luger. Cannupa is a sculptor, painter, author, and performer, and his work and worldview is rooted in an understanding he developed as a kid working, playing, and living on his family’s ranch on the Standing Rock Reservation. Cannupa’s art defies genre, but he is always playing with a multidimensional concept of time and memory and uses the natural world to shape his pieces. If that sounds pretty out there, well, it is. But it’s because Cannupa and his art exist in a world where the past and future are always present, and there’s no such thing as “inside” at all.
-
It’s Saturday, which means it’s time for another Long Read podcast from the Outside Archive.
Today’s story combines two things that you don’t expect to go well together but wind up really working, like peanut butter and cucumbers (try it, seriously). In this case, those two things are cool camp footwear and … international grand larceny? Writer Scott Yorko tells the unlikely story of how Bedrock Sandles—one of those great “if you know, you know” outdoor brands—was pushed to the brink of insolvency when its first shipment of a new clog was hijacked by thieves after arriving at a Los Angeles port.
It’s one part underdog business profile and one part hardboiled detective tale. By the end, you’re both rooting for the scrappy team at Bedrock and feeling significantly less comfortable with how vulnerable our entire economy is to the growing threat posed by these crime rings. And, it’s a great reminder that, no matter how intricate and snarled global supply chains become, there’s always a human being at the other end of every purchase you make. Now, please enjoy “The Great Bedrock Clog Heist”, by Scott Yorko, read by a friendly robot.
And remember, if your favorite way to read is with your ears, I encourage you to join Outside Plus. It gives you unlimited access to everything in the Outside Network, including more audio stories, plus mapping apps like Trailforks, Gaia GPS, and MapMyFitness. And for our podcast listeners, we have a special offer for 25% off. Head to outside dot watch slash listen to learn more. -
The Outside Days festival Denver is coming up fast, and you should come! If you need further convincing, check out one of our favorite episodes from the vault, which just so happens to feature the frontman for festival headliner Death Cab For Cutie: Ben Gibbard. The singer, songwriter, and guitarist applies the same approach to ultramarathons that he does to touring: just keep moving. Ben got into distance running almost by accident, randomly entering a trail race in Northern California without realizing the trail went uphill, then dowhill…and back uphill. Somehow, he instantly fell in love with the grind of long distance endurance running. Ben has since entered close to 50 races, training hard even when he’s on the road with Death Cab For Cutie. For Ben, running is a way to connect back to the playfulness of childhood and embrace the unknowns that come with pushing your body and soul to the limit. Enjoy the episode and check out Death Cab For Cutie and more at this year’s Outside Days.
-
Howdy folks. PaddyO here with a special treat: We’re going to be sharing some of our favorite feature stories from Outside Magazine and Outside Online every Saturday. We call these our “Long Reads,” and they’re the kind of eye-opening, sometimes heart-pounding, always inspiring-you-to-go-outside storytelling Outside has done for decades. Think of it as a weekend couch read type thing, but one you can do with your eyes closed. These stories are made possible, first and foremost, by the intrepid reporting and deft phrase-turning of our ace writers. And, second, by wild advances in text-to-audio technology—I bet you won’t even notice that you’re listening to a robot.
If your favorite way to read is with your ears, I encourage you to join Outside Plus. It gives you unlimited access to everything in the Outside Network, including more audio stories from Outside, Backpacker, Climbing, SKI, and more. Plus mapping apps like Trailforks, Gaia GPS, and MapMyFitness. And for our podcast listeners, we have a special offer for 25% off. Head to outside.watch/listen to learn more. -
We love our spur of the moment adventuring. Maybe a pal calls us up for a self-inflicted, day-long backcountry sufferfest, maybe we decide on a whim to see how many miles we can push it on a bike ride, maybe we sign up for a Turkey Trot 10k with no training. But there is one woman who has taken that “maybe I’ll get off the couch and just try this hard thing” mindset to the ends of the Earth. Literally. This past January, Monet Izabeth became the first American woman to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole; 700 miles, 57 days, whiteouts, extreme wind, and minus 40 temps. Monet is no elite athlete. She’s a self proclaimed normal-ish woman who asked, “I wonder if I can do this?” And then went to the ice sheets of Antarctica to find out.
-
Endurance running is objectively terrible: the immediate quad and lung burn, the myth of runner’s high, the blisters, the chafing—running is brutal. And yet, there are brief moments when running can make you feel strong, capable, and proud. Just ask Anthony Clary. After a college football career, Anthony began running following a terrifying prediabetic diagnosis. But what started as a health scare transformed into a passion. Anthony battled through some of the worst things life can throw at you and found belonging, community, and purpose though running. And then he did something even more remarkable—he figured out how to make sure an entire community of people feel the same thing every time they lace up their shoes.
-
We use our smartphones in service of our outdoor time all the time. We plan trips, track our runs, hikes, and bike rides. Use compass and mapping apps to better navigate outdoor fun. We take photos and videos of our adventures, archive these precious memories in our Favorites folder. And if that’s all we used our phones for? Well, then we’d be happier and society would function better. Unfortunately, we live in the real world, which science journalist and author Catherine Price has documented rigorously and with depressing clarity in books like “How to Break Up With Your Phone.” Fortunately, she’s given equal thought to alternatives, in books like “The Amazing Generation” and “The Power of Fun.” That second one taught her a lot about the role time outside has to play in helping all of us redefine our relationship with technology and ourselves.
-
In the runup to the third annual Outside Days festival in Denver, Colorado, at the end of May, we’re revisiting a panel that podcast host PaddyO moderated—or rather tried to moderate—while stand up comic Eeland Stribling, Instagram and TikTok phenomenon Matt Lyons, and the new host of the Warren Miller ski and snowboard film Katie Burrell, riffed on the endless ways we can poke fun at our outdoorsy selves. After all, if you can’t laugh at yourself while sleeping in the dirt, running unreasonable distances, or applying chamois cream for the 57th time during an especially grueling bike ride that is, ahem, “fun” then you probably need a snack.
Take a listen and be sure to check out the full lineup of bands, panels, speakers, and events, and snag your tickets of course, for this year’s Outside Days festival at https://outsidedays.outsideonline.com. See ya in Denver at the end of May! -
Hot Take: We should camp for camping’s sake! If you’re anything like me, your camping is often (always?) in service of some greater objective, whether it’s a backpacking trip or mountain you’re climbing or a weekend of mountain biking. But are those objectives actually greater than simply hanging out under the clouds and stars for a few days? Campthropologist’s Rolland Tizuela doesn’t think so. The San Diego-based creator focuses on making camping accessible and approachable for beginners, inspired in part by research he conducted on the culture of hiking and camping while getting a degree in sociocultural anthropology. In Rolland’s view, everything we do at camp—from cooking to tent siting to going to the bathroom—is a fascinating form of community building. It’s a conversation that has me excited to bring little more than a tent and a mellow attitude to my next overnight outdoors.
-
Every great character has a captivating origin story—the thing that explains not just the how but also the why of who they are. Santa Fe’s Katie Arnold is a great character: a writer, ultra runner, and Zen practitioner who rattles off insights about running, adventure, and the outdoors the way most of us rattle off to do lists. And her origin story is a classic: gal graduates college into a big city job, but a yearning for not just someTHING else but also someWHERE else rewrites her whole script. For Katie, the thing was a yearning for wide open space and where was Santa Fe, a place with the trail access, high alpine beauty, and an adventurous, irreverent community she didn’t realize she needed until she found it. What happened next was nothing short of life changing, and holds lessons for anyone with an itch they can’t quite scratch and yearning for wild places.
-
Today we are celebrating one year of PaddyO as host of the new interview format of your beloved Outside Podcast. We’ve got some big plans for this next year, and to commemorate the occasion we are revisiting one of our (and your) favorite chats. Enjoy this conversation with standup comedian and snowboarder Scott Losse. And thank you for tuning in! …
An interesting thing happened when Scott Losse started poking fun at snowboarders and mountain bikers in his Instagram posts: He went from being sort of known around Seattle as a stand up comedian to blowing up across social media as the guy saying all the things a lot of us think when we’re at the mountain, on the trails, or in the bike park. Losse’s observational humor about the outdoors has transformed his trajectory as a comic; more importantly, it helps ensure our often painfully self-serious social feeds, filled with inspiring-but-totally-unrelatable accomplishments, get a little more silly. -
In the mid-90s, the cultural collision of music and sports was everywhere in pop culture. You saw it through the brand new X Games and MTV Sports, in movies like “Point Break” and “Airborne,” and you heard it through what we used to call “alternative rock.” The band Third Eye Blind was a staple of this era, so you’d think that frontman Stephan Jenkins might have followed a similar trajectory to his rock god peers of the era. But you’d be wrong. Stephan, a surfer since childhood, grew up in the Bay Area and his break of choice is San Francisco’s notoriously big, dangerous, and sharky Ocean Beach. And he’s not just out in the water looking for stoke; he's a tireless ocean advocate. For as long as he’s surfed, Stephan has fought for kelp restoration and plastic reduction along the California coastline. He also regularly volunteers with the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation, which helps veterans treat PTSD through surfing. This connection endlessly—even subconsciously—influences the music Stephan makes. Turns out, when you spend your life in the water and making music, the two things combine in ways that it takes a lifetime to understand.
- Show more
