Claim OwnershipOutside Podcast
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© 2023 Outside Interactive, Inc
Description
Outside’s longstanding literary storytelling tradition comes to life in audio with features that will both entertain and inform listeners. We launched in March 2016 with our first series, Science of Survival, and have since expanded our show and now offer a range of story formats, including reports from our correspondents in the field and interviews with the biggest figures in sports, adventure, and the outdoors.
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Ruggedness, dependability, and handiness define a lot of outdoor archetypes, from the ski patroller to the river guide to the park ranger. So why would you find all three in a famous actor? Maybe because the actor in question—Nick Offerman—is an avid outdoorsman in his own right. Surely you know Nick from one of his many memorable roles, like Ron Swanson on Parks And Recreation and General Sidney in the latest Mission Impossible. And, when he’s not acting or performing on comedy tours, you can find Nick paddling the Los Angeles River or scrambling up peaks in the nearest National Park. Relying on himself in a pinch informs everything Nick does, from acting to woodworking. And his new book, Little Woodchucks: Offerman Woodshop’s Guide to Tools and Tomfoolery, is Nick’s gospel of do-it-yourselfedness, a starting point to building a tough and resourceful identity. Because eventually, we’re all gonna have to fix a flat tire or build a little shelter in the woods.
Many outdoorsy folks will happily slog for hours toward outdoor fun, despite the fact that any number of adventure derailing smackdowns await us. Gear malfunctions, crummy weather, and bloodied limbs don’t stop us from heading into the unknown. No one puts this optimistic persistence to better use than lifelong surfer and CEO of the Surfrider Foundation, Chad Nelsen. Chad grew up in smog-choked Laguna Beach in the 1970s, when pipes spilled raw sewage into the ocean regularly. He was inspired to pursue environmental science and a PhD combining his love of surfing with sustainability, thus dedicating his life to protecting and preserving the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches. Despite bureaucracy, apathy, and disengagement, Chad pursues environmentalism like a surfer paddling into pounding beach break, confident that the wave of his life is just outside the shore pound.
Wood chopping is objectively awful for all the obvious reasons: blisters, back aches, over-the-counter painkiller expenses. But that’s not what you remember months later, when the fruits of your labor warm you and your loved ones on a cold winter night. See, wood chopping is really an investment—both in terms of that crackling fire, but also your emotional well being. That is something Nicole Coenen knows all about. The internet’s self proclaimed “lesbian lumberjill” grew up an uncomfortable tomboy in the suburbs of Ontario, and she found both her refuge and her calling in the woods. She’s amassed a huge following from the forest that surrounds her adopted home of British Columbia, and her videos are more than just wholesome, self-effacing clips of her wood chopping skills. They’ve a living journal of a woman who was saved by trees.
Spend time outdoors, and you’ll eventually spend time in brutal, even scary weather. Dangerous winds, flash flood-inducing rain, and vision-erasing whiteouts are sometimes the cost of entry. By the same token, you’re as likely to remember the upsides to those experience—the belly laughter of relief, the rainbows after the rain, the waist deep powder—as the scary parts. Hank Schyma, aka Pecos Hank, built a career out of those upsides by becoming one of the internet’s most beloved storm chasers. For decades, he’s captured astonishing photos and video of tornadoes, gathering new data on how they work and discovering new phenomena. On his wildly popular Youtube channel, his new photo memoir Storm, and in this conversation, we get to see and hear it all—from a significantly safer distance.
Extreme adaptability and versatility can be found throughout the animal kingdom, but may have found their peak expression in Alexi Pappas. As a runner, Pappas was a two-time All-American for Dartmouth who set a national record running for Greece at the 2016 Olympics. As a performer, she was a member of Dartmouth’s gut-busting Dog Day improv group before going on to write, direct, and star in several feature films, including Tracktown, Olympic Dreams, and Not An Artist. The further into her career Pappas gets, the more running influences her art, and her art influences her running—all of which she talks about in a way that makes you understand how she’s risen so high in two fundamentally different worlds.
After Lawlor Coe lost his brother Hunter to tragedy, he did everything he could to avoid his pain. Then he laced up his joggers and began to run. At first, it was to elude his grief. But over time, as he began to log miles and miles, he found that the physical suffering he was enduring out on the trail helped him find his way to peace, and then back to joy. He was no longer running from his sorrow, from his anger, but toward a new sense of purpose. And along with the rest of his family, he found a way to honor Hunter’s life and the characteristics that made him one hell of a brother, son, and friend: by creating a fund that supports groups offering transformative experiences for young people in need of mental health support. And what Lawlor found in his runs and fundraising efforts is that after anger and sorrow is all used up, the only thing left to do is run toward love.
1The blissed out, swell chasing surfer with a single-minded focus on the next great ride is a pervasive outdoorsy archetype that’s completely at odds with the lived experience of many surfers. Take historian Kevin Dawon, a professor at UC Merced, for whom surfing serves as his connection to a rich tradition of African aquatic culture. Dawson is credited with resurfacing the first account of surfing in Africa, from 1640—more than 100 years before Captain Cook’s famed account from Hawaii—and his research centers centuries of oceanic accomplishment by Black communities there and in North America that have been ignored or actively erased. Dawson’s experiences in the waters of Africa, the Caribbean, and his native California bear little resemblance to what many people think of when they hear “surfer,” but they’re drenched in a joy that’s recognizable to anyone who has ever played in the waves.
We love our outdoor archetypes, the folk heroes who reject the trappings of the 9 to 5 life and solely focus on the trail, the powder turn, or the frothing whitewater. River guides live a romantic sunburnt existence, ones in which bucket list adventures are their everyday. It’s not just their ability to read water and navigate huge standing waves day after day, but their spiritual connection to the power of the water and landscape they’re paddling through. Folks like professional Grand Canyon guide Cindell Dale. Cindell has been boating “the Big Ditch” since the early 1980s, piloting Ticaboo, her 16 foot dory–a high-sided, v-shaped wooden boat known for its balletic movement and apparent ability to transform a river trip into a religious experience. Cindell was mentored by the female guides who broke through river running’s glass ceiling, a legacy Cindell and her peers continue every summer on the Colorado River. And after countless trips through the heart of one of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders, boy oh boy, does she have stories of the power of paddling through the magical splendor of the Grand Canyon.
We love our stories of human endurance, from Shackleton’s famed expedition to the 11-hour Wimbledon match to days-long ultramarathons. Hell, even the Coney Island Hot Dog eating contest is broadcast on television; that’s just how much we celebrate a person pushing themselves to the brink. But the moments that inspire the most are the ones in which a solo athlete has spent everything physically and mentally, and is forced to find a new gear emotionally. And for Ironman World Champion Chelsea Sodaro, her moment had nothing to do with swimming-biking-running 140 miles. At the same time Chelsea was standing atop triathlon podiums, she was ravaged by postpartum depression, including near-constant anxiety about mass shootings. What is so stirring about Chelsea is not her ability to push herself past the edge of what’s physically possible, but her emotional abilities to handle what happened when that edge pushed back.
In celebration of summertime road trips, this week we’re revisiting an episode from our archives that is one of PaddyO’s favorites. In 2021, two men set out to do something seemingly impossible. And also pretty dumb. Motorcycle gurus and YouTube stars Zack Courts and Ari Henning would squeeze together, buttcrack to belt buckle, onto a minibike—a vehicle roughly the size of a children’s bicycle and powered by an engine that can barely run a lawn mower—and drive 400 miles from a cornfield in Nebraska to a little place called Aspen, Colorado. Sound familiar? It should. That’s right, this is the same iconic road trip that Hollywood stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels’ Harry and Lloyd took in the cult classic Farrelly Brothers film Dumb and Dumber. The big difference is that this time it wasn’t a hilarious 3-minute movie montage. This road trip was for real. And it hurt like hell.
Famous Hollywood actors aren’t outdoorsy, right? They’re too busy being…well, famous to enjoy the outdoors and certainly too fancy to listen to a podcast about the surprising impacts of a life outside, aren’t they? Turns out, HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones” star, Tony Cavalero, is a longtime listener of the Outside Podcast because he’s been obsessed with outdoor adventure since first donning a Boy Scout uniform as a kid. And, Tony’s path crossed with host PaddyO’s decades before either of them decided to move out West to make something of themselves. But Tony and PaddyO have more in common than a “go West, young man” past. Both have felt the crushing weight of active alcoholism and drug addiction. Luckily, they also are both in long term recovery and have a shared joy and gratitude for the rekindling of dormant passions, like adventuring outside and laughing your ass off.
Alex Honnold is the most accomplished and daring rock climber since the invention of the chalk bag. He grabbed global attention for his free solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, immortalized in the Academy Award®-winning documentary Free Solo. This monumental feat solidified his status as a superstar of the climbing community and a guru of staying calm in objectively terrifying situations. But…how? That is exactly what Shelby Stanger, host of REI’s Wild Ideas Worth Living Podcast sponsored by The REI Co-op Mastercard, set to find out on stage at the Outside Festival in Denver, Colorado. Turns out, Alex Honnold can push fear aside in order to achieve his goals, whether that’s climbing a sheer towering wall or advocating for conservation causes.
Throughout professional skier Sierra Schlag’s childhood, her Japanese heritage and cultural practices made her the target of racist bullying. Then, when she traveled to Japan to visit family as a child, and later as an adult, she was referred to as “Nisei”—a person born in North America whose parent(s) immigrated from Japan. She couldn’t make sense of being seen as white in Japan and Japanese in America, but she found an unlikely method of wholeness: skiing. Turns out, catharsis comes in many forms, including with anxiety that ultimately helps us understand where we came from, where we are, and what defines us.
For decades, legendary magician David Blaine has completed record-breaking stunts that defy the impossible: He has held his breath for more than 17 minutes, was buried alive for seven days, frozen alive for three days, fasted for 44 days, caught a bullet fired from a gun in his mouth, and so much more. In his new National Geographic series David Blaine: Do Not Attempt, he travels the planet to learn from extraordinary performers. What drives him to probe our capacity for fear, risk, and pain? There’s nobody better to talk to Blaine about this than Diana Nyad, the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, covering 110.86 miles in just under 53 hours. In this riveting conversation recorded at the 2025 Outside Festival, these two icons explore the art of human endurance.
In 2020, David Litt, former senior speech writer to President Obama, moved from Washington DC to the Jersey Shore, and felt the need for a jolt of life amidst the pandemic. So he did what anyone would do: David decided he needed to learn to surf. As a sensible Yale-educated, New York Times best selling author, David knew he needed help. And that’s how he ended up bobbing in the ocean with someone who could not be more dissimilar to him, his tattooed, truck driving, death metal enthusiast, Joe Rogan superfan, brother-in-law, Matt. The sea salt comedy of errors, became the basis of David's brand new book "It's Only Drowning: A true story of learning to surf and the pursuit of common ground." And while it hilariously recounts David’s learning process, the book is also a surprising investigation of the current American culture war, the roles David and his brother-in-law have been cast into, and how, as unlikely as it would seem, a sport like surfing can help bridge the fissures of class and culture.
Craig Mod may think in binary code, but he does so from the perspective of a visual artist. Mod is…well, a lot of things. He’s a writer, a photographer, and a digital media designer. And he’s likely influenced your life, even if you have never heard his name. Craig worked on massive digital platforms, like Medium and Flipboard, and has spent two decades as a tech start up consultant. But to make sure he can unplug from his computer-centric work, Craig walks. As in many, many, many kilometers-long multi-day walks, mostly on the ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross his adopted home of Japan. Craig has turned these walks into several fascinating books. In his most recent book, Things Become Other Things, Craig took on a 300-mile trek through Japan’s ancient Kumano Kodō, which transformed into a meditation on his life, the forces that shape us all, and the power of slowly moving through nature in an increasingly distracting digital world.
Three comedians walk into a festival…no, this isn’t a joke set up. This is exactly what happened in Denver, Colorado, at the second Outside Festival. Professional giggle-makers Matt Lyons, Katie Burrell, and Eeland Stribling joined host PaddyO on stage to discuss how the outdoors are really just one big punchline. After all, we spend our hard-earned dough on gear to help us sleep in the dirt, run unreasonable distances, hike in brutal weather, and fall booty over tea kettle into snow. Comedy not only abounds, it also thrives in the outdoors. Whether it’s Matt Lyons’ gear jargon satire, Eland Stribling's fly-fishing observations, or Katie Burrell’s roasting of outdoorsy relationships, these folks are here to remind us: if you can’t laugh at yourself in the outdoors, you’re probably dehydrated.
If your father is like PaddyO’s dad, he probably likes to spin a yarn about his wild youth. Hearing about a father’s daring, scruffy, comedy-of-errors adventures is hilarious, but it also gives you a glimpse into how your old man became a man. And also old. And that winds up being a kind of crystal ball into your own past, present, and future, too. So, in honor of Father’s Day (it’s this week – you better get your dad something), we bring you a pod from the archives: The story of PaddyO’s dad, and what adventure looked like back when the shorts were short, the gear was not waterproof, and there weren’t that many guys from Chicago crawling around the Colorado Rockies.
Griff Wasburn, better known to the world as musical act Goth Babe, had a drive to create since he was a child. He grew up in Tennessee running wild in the woods, skateboarding, and riding bikes on self-built tracks in his backyard. He filmed and scored short films of his adventures, and transformed old cardboard boxes into whatever he dreamt up. At 16 years old, he picked up a guitar and so began Goth Babe. In adulthood, Griff DIY’d truck bed campers, tiny homes, and trailers, drove them all over the country seeking out adventure and space to create. But a brutal surfing accident and its lasting effects on Griff’s brain threatened to derail the expansion and evolution of his music career and creativity. Lucky for Griff, life and creativity cannot stay constrained and contained.
Melissa Arnot Reid’s mountaineering resume is a jaw dropping list of accomplishments; hundreds of summits of the world’s tallest, most dangerous peaks, including becoming the first American woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. Melissa has an uncommon athletic prowess, but what truly fueled her mountain pursuits was a long held and long protected emotional emptiness. In a gut-wrenching new memoir, Enough, Melissa details the childhood abuse that created harmful adult behaviors, like pushing her body to dangerous physical limits and pushing her psyche into abusive relationships. Both her trauma and her mountaineering accomplishments are singular, but everyone can understand the challenge of grappling with your parents and your past.
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this is great. dogs are the best! also, common error: *champing at the bit, not chomping.
yesss! yep. works for traumatic brain injury too. neural network creator drug! watch "fantastic fungi" a lot of people have been saying all this for years and advocating for this as treatment.
bonkers... 0% chance is pay 200$ for a single day ticket, that's bonkers. plenty of cheaper not crowded absolutely awesome resorts.
I think that everyone is faced with mental disorders at different ages. And it is very important to turn for help in time. I recently found a website https://www.businessinsider.com/gay-patient-said-betterhelp-therapist-told-him-turn-straight-wsj-2022-12 and found out about a company that helps in difficult life situations. This has become especially relevant during the pandemic. I think that it is important to know such information when you feel bad.
That is so nice. waffle unlimited
You have a list of things to do and projects to https://allaboutrestock.com/when-does-home-depot-restock/ complete hastily, but you’ll need to wait on some supplies. You feel the disappointment of missing out on a good deal.
I work as a volunteer taking people down a suburban river. One contribution that I make is to carry a pop-up room and a lugable-loo, a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat top, and a liner bag. But as a nod to the story that I read in Outside many years ago, the extra bags, tp, wipes, and hand sanitizer, are carried in an ammo can. Groover Boy lives on!
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i Really do love this podcast but some of the recent stories are going away from the telling of great adventures and storytelling and turning into a political left leaning progressive lecture on where my moral compass should be pointing, i don't mind a little bit of that but it's getting out of hand can we get back to the roots of Outside please!
Why does everything have to be an NPR episode and why does every NPR episode have to be "green, diversity, and progressive" politics?
n d.djedd
sounds like a tent will hold up better than what these genius’s built, i’d be curious how they passed an inspection with something build so shoddy.
Iam not sure if I can make that work if you want to come to my house and I can come 😊😊😁😊😀😀😊😁😁😀😉😀 to get a ride to the airport 😁😊😁😊 hiI love you too ❤️ 😘😘 uyyu Ihope you have a wonderful day and I love you too my love I love you too baby I hope you have a great day and I will be in touch with him and he said he would be great if I could get some help with the kids and get it done by the end of the day I was in the shower and then I will be able to make it to the meeting tonight but I will be there in a few days and I have an appointment at 5 30 but I can come in at the end of the day today and tomorrow and tomorrow but I will be there in a few minutes to talk to you about it when I get home I will send you a check 😊😁 I will you be around 😘😊😁😊 hiI and I are going really well and I hope you are you still looking for some fun w w be few minutes to talk to him about it and he w he would have to go back to few questions about your 💯 it in when I get home u7uu want to you the updated resume
This was great. I find "the wedge" riding my mountain bike. I find, as a 41 year old newbie to mountain biking, that those uphill pushes and the ensuing state of exhaustion, that point of "I can't breathe any faster or harder"... is actually something I've come to crave. Not just the fun of the downhill but the sheer uncomfortable exhaustion if the uphill... Good stuff
I as the same experience after a brain injury/concussion. Music was my worst nightmare. It took me 8 months to be able to listen to a song and another 6 months to listen to music more regularly. I am just now (18 months after accident) to be able to listen to music in a car and have a conversation at the same time. Its amazing what your brain filters and ignores when it is not injured. I also found that being quiet in nature was a huge part of my recovery and lower my developed anxiety. I had to go through extensive vestibular and vision therapy to further heal. I hope you are getting the help you need to make a full recovery. Best wishes!
this podcast is so quiet. I have my volume maxed and can hardly hear it
what a bunch of shit...taken from scripture of those whom no nothing about how natural ecosystems,have been working for a billion years. go smoke some shit.
Someone should show this guy the Mosin Nagant. He'll lose his mind.