Outside Podcast

When we head into wild places, we accept a certain amount of risk. Often, we don’t think much about it, because we’re excited to be in an extraordinary place. But then something happens, and we are forced to reckon with the potential costs of our quest for adventure. So it went for Kyle Dickman, whose life had been defined by a strong exploratory spirit until he was bitten by a rattlesnake in a remote section of Yosemite National Park during a trip with his wife and infant son. In this harrowing episode from our archives, Dickman recounts his desperate survival tale and the lingering questions he struggled with in the aftermath. This episode is brought to you by Stillhouse, the official spirit of adventure. Stillhouse’s award-winning spirits come in unbreakable stainless steel cans, so they can go places where glass can’t. Check out all their offerings at stillhouse.com.

Sweating is evolution’s most efficient cooling strategy, allowing humans to stay on the move far longer than most fur-covered animals. But how much sweat is too much? Where should we be perspiring the most? (Our armpits? The backs of our knees?) And why does some sweat smell so much? These are among the questions that journalist, amateur athlete, and heavy sweater Tom Vanderbilt has pondered for years. In this episode, he finally gets them answered by Canadian chemist Sarah Everts, author of the new book, The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration. This episode is brought to you by Sonos, maker of the Sonos Roam, the portable smart speaker for all of your listening adventures. Check out the Roam for yourself and discover sound made easy at sonos.com.

Today, Melinda Spooner is the founder and CEO of the SheTravels Adventure Company, which designs trips and experiences for women of color. It's the most meaningful work she could imagine—but getting here was a long journey. After growing up in subsidized housing in Chicago, Spooner committed herself to earning as much money as possible as a management consultant. She was successful, but also miserable and at a crisis point with her physical health. It took a series of powerful outdoor experiences for her to find what she really wanted in life. This episode is brought to you by Travel Texas, which invites you to visit a place where you can find authentic adventures at every turn. Learn more about the many unique adventures you can find all across Texas at traveltexas.com.

Every so often, Outside magazine publishes a collection of stories that fit into what we call a “zero to hero” package. The idea is to send our contributors out into the world to try something new that pushes them far outside their comfort zone. They might be asked to learn a new skill, break a bad habit, or even confront a long-held fear. For our most recent version of the package, our hope was to inspire our readers to set some ambitious goals for themselves after the long months of COVID-19 shutdowns. In this episode, six of our brave correspondents talk about their efforts to take on big challenges and why it’s pretty much always worth going for it even if you don’t succeed. This episode is brought to you by Eureka Springs, a one-of-a-kind destination nestled in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas. People say the most curious things when they visit Eureka Springs. Come for yourself and find out why. Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Curious, indeed.

When we watch an elite endurance competition like the Tour de France, it’s easy to get caught up in the drama of moments that generate headlines—particularly the gnarly crashes that send riders slamming into the pavement. But while a crash is undeniably painful, the most agonizing part of professional biking is almost always the pedaling. If don’t believe that, talk to any racer who has dared to pursue the hour record—the longest distance cycled in an hour. In this favorite from our archives, we bring you the story of Italian cyclist Vittoria Bussi's excruciating quest to make history, and how the ordeal forced her to transform her relationship with pain. This episode is brought to you by Sonos, maker of the Sonos Roam, the portable smart speaker for all of your listening adventures. Check out the Roam for yourself and discover sound made easy at Sonos.com.

In May, professional climber Jordan Cannon celebrated his birthday by publicly announcing that he was gay. Getting to this point wasn’t easy for Jordan—he’d had a hard time coming out even to close friends. But something inside him began to change after he met legendary Yosemite climber Mark Hudon, who became his mentor as well as a father figure. The two men, who are separated by 38 years, soon agreed to work together on an ambitious climb of Yosemite’s El Capitan. But what began as an unlikely athletic partnership turned into a life-changing friendship for both of them, that rare kind that allows you to fulfill your dreams in ways you never thought possible. This episode is brought to you by Travel Texas, which invites you to visit a place where you can find authentic adventures at every turn. Learn more about the many unique adventures you can find all across Texas at traveltexas.com.

When our fathers tell us tales of their wild youth, we usually listen closely. This is partly because hearing about pop’s bolder, bearded past is entertaining. But more importantly, when your dad shares an experience from his younger days, you learn something about who he is—which gives you a glimpse into your own origins. This week, in the run-up to Father’s Day, we bring you the story of a family that wanted to better understand the meaning behind dad’s crazy stories. What they discovered is that his pursuit of adventure was all about transforming himself into the best kind of man and parent he could be.  This episode is brought to you by Eureka Springs, a one-of-a-kind destination nestled in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas. People say the most curious things when they visit Eureka Springs. Come for yourself and find out why. Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Curious, indeed.

When he was in his early twenties, Mason Earle was living the dream. After dropping out of college so he could climb full-time, he signed a sponsorship deal with a major outdoor brand and began taking climbing trips all around the world. But then, as he approached his 30th birthday, he was on a trip to Yosemite when he began experiencing flu-like symptoms that wouldn't go away. He would later be diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly called chronic fatigue syndrome. In this powerful episode from our friends at the Death, Sex & Money podcast, Mason speaks with host Anna Sale about going from being an elite athlete to spending most of his waking hours in bed, the pleasure he now finds in the littlest things, and why he actually doesn’t miss climbing. This episode was brought to you by 303 protectants and cleaners, designed to take care of the boats, trucks, RVs, and SUVS that you depend on for your adventures. Outside Podcast listeners get 20 percent off all 303 products for a limited time. Go t

Just how long can someone last in the desert without a drink of water? That’s something listeners asked us after last week’s episode about Claire Nelson (“Alone and Injured in the Wild”), a solo hiker who took a fall in Joshua Tree National Park and ended up spending days waiting on the ground for a rescue. In this episode, we provide the answer in the form of a remarkable story from our archives. In 1905, a gold prospector named Pablo Valencia reportedly wandered through 110-degree heat in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert for six days before stumbling into a geology camp. He was about as close to dead as you can get while still breathing. His tale forever changed our understanding of the limits of human endurance. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to go over any type of terrain. Learn more at ford.com/bronco.

After years of family trauma, Kayla Lockhart was desperate for relief from the panic that plagued her. At her lowest moment, she picked up a fly-fishing rod and headed out to a stream—and for the first time in her life, she was able to quiet all the alarm bells in her head. For the final episode in our spring Wild Files series, we tell the story of Lockhart’s brave journey from a painful childhood to the healing waters that she now wants to share with everyone. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to go over any type of terrain. Learn more at ford.com/bronco.

There’s a special kind of appeal to a solo adventure—being out on your own, away from everything and everyone. Unless, of course, something goes wrong and you find yourself in serious trouble. For the latest installment of our Wild Files series, we tell the story of Claire Nelson, who was seeking peace and solitude in the desert but ended up badly injured, all alone, and unable to call for help. To survive, she would have to hold on to the hope that eventually someone would find her. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to go over any type of terrain. Learn more at ford.com/bronco.

Most tales of adventure follow a predictable arc: someone sets off on an epic trip, they encounter moments of great peril, and they come out the other side stronger. But every so often you hear about a different kind of transformational journey—one that takes place beyond the parameters of a wilderness expedition or a global quest, and one that allows you to truly understand the experiences of another human in a deeper way. For this episode of our Wild Files series, we bring you the story of Alex Showerman, an outdoor athlete who spent years trying to outrun a secret about herself, only to crash headlong into it. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to go over any type of terrain. Learn more at ford.com/bronco.

Biologist M. Sanjayan has traveled to remarkable places around the world, crossing a vast desert in Namibia, tracking man-eating tigers in Bangladesh, and studying a despised rodent in California. Along the way, he’s become a well-known television personality and an outspoken advocate for an approach to conservation that’s less about fencing off wilderness and more about safeguarding nature to benefit humanity. In this episode of our Wild Files series, Sanjayan, now the CEO of Conservation International, relives the journeys that spurred him to look at our relationship to the planet—and each other—in a whole new way. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to go over any type of terrain. Learn more at ford.com/bronco.

A decade ago, Santa Fe art dealer Forrest Fenn filled a box with a box with treasure, placed it somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, then published a poem containing clues to its location. Thousands of searchers would go looking for the loot, and five of them would die in the process before it was discovered last year. Nobody has followed this saga more closely than journalist Daniel Barbarisi, who broke the news of how the treasure was found and is now coming out with a book about the hunt, Chasing the Thrill​​​​​​​. In this episode, our former host, Peter Frick-Wright, who published his own feature about the chase in 2015, digs deep with Barbarisi on the story that captured the world. This episode is brought to you by 303 protectants and cleaners, designed to take care of the vehicles you depend on for your adventures. Outside Podcast listeners get 20 percent off of all 303 products for a limited time at 303products.com when they use the promo code OUTSIDE2021.

Investigative journalist Ian Urbina had a bold plan: he would journey to the unpatrolled waters of the open ocean and bring back stories about the last regions on the planet where laws have almost no power. Over three years, he traveled some 12,000 nautical miles and reported on the traffickers, pirates, poachers, and other clandestine characters who operate outside the reach of authorities. His resulting chronicle became a bestselling book, The Outlaw Ocean, but that only spurred Urbina to go farther. Now his mission is taking him in a surprisingly creative direction: partnering with popular musical artists, he's producing songs that push his stories out to a much wider audience. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to go over any type of terrain. Learn more at ford.com/bronco

Jennifer Brindley Ubl had become obsessed with tracking down something that most of us hope never to see: tornados. Every spring, she would close up her portrait photography business in Milwaukee and head off to capture images of what she calls “beautiful storm systems.” Seeing a twister left her in awe—and always wanting more. Then, one day, she found herself fleeing for her life from the largest tornado ever recorded. In this episode of our Wild Files series, we hear the story of how the monstrous El Reno tornado changed her relationship to storms and to herself. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to go over any type of terrain. Learn more at ford.com/bronco

After more than a year of pandemic living, our lives have migrated online to a remarkable degree: we Zoom and tweet and Slack all day, then Netflix and Hulu ourselves to sleep. Now, as we emerge into a hopeful spring and summer, our challenge is to awaken the adventurous sides of ourselves that have gone dormant. In this episode, Chris Colin, author of the brilliantly funny new book Off: The Day the Internet Died, puts forth a simple solution: just start talking about all the awesome outdoorsy things we wish we were doing instead of staring at our devices. He explains how to make your way back to the strange and magical experiences that can only be found in the real world. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by Lake Hartwell Country, a largely undiscovered region in the mountains of South Carolina that’s one of the best adventure playgrounds anywhere. Visit lakehartwellcountry.com to start planning your trip now.

Professional outdoor athletes can seem invincible—like no matter what crazy thing they do next, they’ll come out the other side alive (and probably smiling). But if you actually ask these athletes about their relationship with risk, they’ll likely be quick to tell you about the moment they realized that no matter how good they are at their sport, sometimes bad things happen. For the latest episode of the Wild Files, we share the story of photographer, filmmaker, and climber Savannah Cummins, a rising talent who endured a tragedy last year that forced her to reexamine the life she’s chosen and the kinds of dangers and consequences she’s willing to accept. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to go over any type of terrain. Learn more at ford.com/bronco

When we venture into the wilderness, we accept that there are certain dangers, like bears and snakes and crazy weather. Truth be told, a bit of risk is what attracts many people to the backcountry (even if normal urban life is much riskier). But there are times when the usual natural threats are replaced by something far more menacing: an aggressive human. In this gripping story from our friends at Backpacker’s Out Alive podcast, we hear the tragic tale of a group of hikers who found themselves out in the woods in the worst kind of trouble. This episode is brought to you by Sta-bil, maker of America’s number one fuel stabilizer treatment as well as a growing number of exceptional products that keep the vehicles we depend on for our adventures running the way they’re supposed to. Learn more at stabilradio.com.

Among people who spend a lot of time in the wilderness, there’s a notion that the trail is our teacher. And if you talk to serious outdoor adventurers, you quickly realize just how powerful trail lessons can be. Take the case of professional endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch, who was schooled over the last several winters while riding a bike across the Alaska Range as a racer in the 350-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational. Rusch has long been lauded for her ability to push through the most agonizing of competitive events, but she discovered a new kind of suffering in Alaska—which is exactly what she was after. In this episode of our new series, The Wild Files, Rusch takes us through her hardest moments on the trail and explains why pushing herself to go way, way outside her comfort zone was essential for her progression as an athlete and as a human being. This episode of the Outside Podcast is brought to you by the all-new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, a 4x4 SUV with seven available G.O.A.T. modes that enable it to