One Step Beyond

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S2E18: Henk Rogers vs. The World

2024-02-2301:12:59

In an earlier life, Henk Rogers brought the computer game Tetris to the world, as you will know if you saw the movie Tetris. Following a near-fatal heart attack in 2005 just after selling a different company for over $100,000,000, he is now bringing his renowned determination, business acumen and innovative thinking to environmentalism. Mission #1: to eliminate our use of carbon-based fuels.For this final episode of Season 2, Henk talks with Tony about why we have to do this, how his home state of Hawai'i is already doing this, how he moved to New York to ensure other states and countries follow suit, and why he won't rest until we succeed. He then talks about Mission #2: Making a back-up of human life. And yes, we also talk about Tetris.Please visit https://tonyfletcher.substack.com/p/one-step-beyond-henk-rogers-vs-the for links to Hank's ventures, other interviews with him, and for an explanation for the end of this show's road. At least for now.Thanks to Lance Gould at Brooklyn Story Lab for setting up the interviews for the last two episodes.Thanks for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S2E17: Everybody Loves Elephants. So How Do We Save Them?

2024-01-0401:03:48

It's hard to find someone who doesn't appreciate the elephant, the largest land mammal on earth with the biggest brain, and the longest gestation period, an animal known for its sense of family, its empathy, its memory, and for being damn cuddly to boot. Yet we humans consistently sanction the murder of (primarily African) elephants for (primarily) their ivory, at a rate faster than new elephants are born, and we capture Asian elephants to use for hard labor or so-called "entertainment." Through deforestation and other destructions, we have also decreased their natural habitat in Asia by up to 95%. As a result, where there were 100,000 Asian elephants in Thailand alone only 50 years ago, there are now just 4,000, out of a population of only 40,000 Asian elephants across the entire continent. One out of every three of these Asian elephants is in captivity.Patricia Sims has documented the plight of captive Asian elephants across two documentaries, Return To The Forest (2012) and When Elephants Were Young (2016). Both films were narrated by William Shatner, and the first led Sims to launch World Elephant Day, which takes place on August 12 every year. Speaking from her home in British Columbia, Canada, Sims talks to One Step Beyond host Tony Fletcher about why these beautiful animals are a "keystone species," about the complex historical reasons so many are kept in captivity, and about programs that seek to return captive elephants into their natural habitat, so that they can once again be free to roam, maintaining the ecosystems on which we all rely.Please visit https://tonyfletcher.substack.com/p/everyone-loves-elephants-so-how-do for full YouTube videos/links etc. as listed below.Links:World Elephant DayWorld Elephant Day YouTube channelReturn to the ForestWhen Elephants Were YoungThe Elephant QueenTony and Noel Fletcher's Vlog on their "Government Elephant Ride" in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, 2016 is hereZe Franks on "True Elephant Facts" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvOr1-P6XR8https://unitedforwildlife.org/news/10-amazing-elephant-facts-need-knowhttps://www.worldwildlife.org/species/elephanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ElephantFor more information on this and Tony's other podcasts, and to subscribe for weekly culture updates and a long-form weekend article, visit https://tonyfletcher.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S2E16: 500 5ks in 500 Days, with Jamie Kennard

2023-12-0701:07:25

Tony interviews Catskills resident Jamie Kennard about his recent undertaking of 500 5ks in 500 days – across multiple sporting disciplines, and all of them outdoors – as a means of coping with the loss of his wife Tracy to a particularly rare and brutal cancer at the age of 47. Jamie and Tracy had been together since they were 16, and married for the last 20+ of those 30 years.Compared with her suffering and her fighting spirit, Jamie’s own determination to ski, hike, bike, run, canoe and even surf 5k a day minimum seemed… minimal. On One Step Beyond, he talks of how the undertaking nonetheless grounded him, guided him, led him to a surprising love of running, and about the so-serendipitous-it-is-almost-cosmic circumstances surrounding the conclusion of his 500th and final consecutive 5k-plus.Jamie may have been new to running, but he’s certainly no stranger to the Great Outdoors. Back in 2014, he and his brother became the first and currently still the only people known to have ski’d all 35 of the Catskill 3500ft peaks, though as part of his foray into film-making and photography, he is following former OSB guest Julie MacGuire on her own quest to become the first woman to see through this incredible feat.For full shownotes, with photos and videos, and to sign up for regular updates on this and host Tony's other shows and writings, please visit https://tonyfletcher.substack.com/p/midweek-update-20-love-life-lossTheme song "A Word That Doesn't Rhyme" by The Dear Boys. Listen to the whole song here.Sign up for free to the "Wordsmith" newsletter at tonyfletcher.substack.com/subscribe for further information about this episode, news of Tony's other podcast, a Midweek Update with recommendations for shows, reading, websites, videos, books and more, and a weekly long-form article. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S2E15: Why We Travel

2023-11-0201:04:55

Why do we travel? Does travel make us happier? Smarter? Braver? Or, given the current climate crisis, why should we travel? What's the difference between a tourist and a traveler? And what's a Digital Nomad and why does that term make some people cringe?These and many other key, core questions are answered by Nathan James Thomas, editor of the Intrepid Times, and author of Travel Your Way and Untethered, and Dr. Andrew Stevenson, a Professor of Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University and author of the new book The Psychology of Travel, alongside host Tony Fletcher.Some of the subjects, people and places covered in this episode:"The Sheltering Sky" by Paul BowlesThe sugar ants of the Northern Territory in AustraliaThe joys of buying a brown paper bag in MexicoFlight shaming and why it's a red herringNathan's travels through China, South America, Central Asa and why he now lives in PolandAndrew's cycling tours through Malaysia, Corsica, France and EnglandResearching educational psychology in GuatemalaWhy countries like Iran are not the scary, evil, ominous places they are presented as.Running in Sandakan, Borneo and Yuksom, Sikkim, India.Why walking can be an act of rebellionHow to spell "eudemonic," what the heck it means, and why it won't give you a hangover.Do long-term travelers tend to come from unsettled family homes - or have they all just broken up with a partner and want to get the hell out of dodge?Why encountering people from different cultural groups is a proven way to reduce prejudice......But why we need to encounter them on equal terms.Why staying home can be as bad for the environment as getting on a plane and seeing the worldMonks in Myanmar, and Marmite in Malaysia.Nathan James Thomas' books Travel Your Way and Untethered are available through:https://exislepublishing.com/product/travel-your-way/https://exislepublishing.com/product/untethered/The Intrepid Times is https://intrepidtimes.com and @IntrepidTimes across Facebook, Twitter and InstagramDr. Andrew Stevenson's book The Psychology of Travel is available throughhttps://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Travel/Stevenson/p/book/9781032104799and he can be found through https://www.mmu.ac.uk/research/research-centres/hpac/staff/profile/index.php?id=829Theme song "A Word That Doesn't Rhyme" by The Dear Boys. Listen to the whole song here.Sign up for free to the "Wordsmith" newsletter at tonyfletcher.substack.com/subscribe for further information about this episode, news of Tony's other podcast, a Midweek Update with recommendations for shows, reading, websites, videos, books and more, and a weekly long-form article. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S2E14: Beer Hiking New York and Wine Running Europe

2023-10-0501:11:38

Jason Freedman and Philip Vondra are outdoorsy New Yorkers with a book just published entitled Beer Hiking New York: The Tastiest Way to Discover the Empire State.Colin Renton is an outdoorsy Scotsman with a book recently published entitled The Wine Runner: My Year of Hard Yards and Vineyards. Host Tony Fletcher (an outdoorsy half-Scot and half-English Brit who also has USA citizenship) talks with Jason and Colin about the joys travel both near and far, about running and hiking and… you guessed it, about beer and wine.Along the way, the three discuss:The similarities between craft beer and craft wine, the stewardship of the land and how the taste of that land ends up in the can or the bottle… it’s terroir, people.How Colin set about running 12 races in 12 countries in 12 months, visiting 12 wineries and bringing home 12 bottles of wine.How he set on this ambition with the goal of running his first marathon at age 60How Jay and Philip set about choosing just 33 great hikes and breweries in a State that has hundreds of each.Why the first hike in the book starts from Port Authority Bus Terminal in the middle of Manhattan.Why there is only one brewery in Manhattan but tons in Brooklyn.Why high-ABV IPAs are so popular in New York but why there is much to the State’s beer-making culture than that.The different types of hikes that are available to everyone in New York.The multitude of running options across Europe that are either hosted by, or run through, vineyards.Why Colin chose to avoid the obvious regions within France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Portugal……And why he included runs and wineries from England, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Belgium.The greatest hike on Colin and Philip’s doorstep that they never knew of.The best Belgium beer in New York.How climate change is affecting wine making (and running) all across Europe. And how Colin sought to minimize his carbon footprint with his travels.Why it’s okay to choose not to drink alcohol – and why it’s okay to enjoy alcohol. Beer Hiking New York: The Tastiest Way to Discover the Empire State is published by Helvetiq Jason Freedman can be found at Instagram.com/gunksrunnerThe Pain Cave podcast he hosts with Philip Vondra is https://www.gunksrunner.com/paincaveThe Wine Runner: My Year of Hard Yards and Vineyards is published by Polaris.Colin can be found at https://twitter.com/ColinRenton1 Theme music this episode is ‘A Word That Doesn’t Rhyme’ by The Dear Boys. One Step Beyond Instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/onestepbeyondpodcast/Sign up at tonyfletcher.substack.com for a weekly newsletter with recommendations across all media and for updates on this and Tony Fletcher's other activities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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