Outside Podcast

When a technological breakthrough gives some athletes a major advantage, how should we think about the victories, the medals, the world records? Is new technology unfair? Is it cool? Does it matter which sport it affects? In this episode Outside’s running correspondent, Fritz Huber, travels to the Nike Sport Research Lab to try to figure out why some sports embrace new technology, and others ban it. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Some of the most hardcore athletes in the world are elite race walkers. Moving faster than most people can run, their sport pushes the limits of endurance, pain tolerance, and fueling. Canadian race walker Evan Dunfee was looking for any edge he could get when he signed up for an experimental nutrition study in Australia. He immediately became one of the world’s best. But not for the reasons everyone thought. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

A few years ago, after suffering a mental health crisis during a mountaineering expedition, National Geographic photographer Cory Richards walked away from his climbing career. In 2016, after a terrible rafting accident, Outside writer Katie Arnold nearly ended her marriage. This summer, they are both telling their stories in powerful new books. In The Color of Everything, Richards describes using the body to heal the mind. In Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World, Arnold talks about using the mind to heal the body. They spoke with contributing editor Florence Williams at The Outside Festival, in Denver. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

After My Octopus Teacher won the Oscar for Best Documentary, the producers realized they had left an important voice out of their movie—indigenous South Africans who had been silenced and separated from the ocean by apartheid. In the new podcast “Back to the Water,” Pippa Ehrlich and Zolani Mahola explore the relationship between South Africans, their history, and the sea. Listen to the full series here. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Caroline Gleich is a renowned climber and skier, a climate activist, and now the Utah democratic party’s candidate for US Senate. But what would she actually do in Washington? And does she have a chance of getting elected? Gleich joined author and conservationist Luis Benitez onstage at the Outside Festival in Denver in early June to talk about how life in the mountains has prepared her for life in the political jungle. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

What does a professional kayaker do when he realizes he’s in the twilight of his career? He releases a rap album, of course. Producer Paddy O’Connell sits down with pro kayaker and musician Rush Sturges to find out how the many paths in his life have led to the most eclectic rap album you’ve ever heard. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Three days in total blackout darkness doesn’t sound that hard, until you hear this story about someone who tried to do it. Following in the footsteps of a famous quarterback who made headlines for his dark cave retreat, Outside writer Tim Neville went underground looking for nothing. And wow did he find it. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

If your family dog ran off on its first camping trip, how far would you go to get them back? Scott and Shelby Prue had to ask themselves this question repeatedly on a trip to West Virginia when Holly, their Labrador mix, took off into the forest. Things quickly got weird, then they got scary. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Is the Aurora Borealis magic, science, or something in between? For photographer Hugo Sanchez, the Aurora is an obsession he discovered when he picked up a camera to photograph a meteor shower. He was hooked. And then tragedy struck. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

When the British Empire finally put boots on top of the world on May 29, 1953, the news was entrusted to a young man named Ten Tsewang Sherpa, who ran 200 miles to Kathmandu. Likely the last piece of world news sent by runner, he delivered the message and died. And his story was lost until now. See pictures and videos from the original article here. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Athletes train for years to overcome pain, exhaustion, and fatigue. But some people take it too far and are never the same again. In this episode from 2019, Outside contributor Meaghan Brown started looking into this strange phenomenon, and found a bunch of frustrated athletes, and confused doctors. Read Meaghan's original story on Overtraining Syndrome. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

When PTSD changed the course of Chad Brown’s life, the subtle art of catch and release fly fishing changed it back. In this episode, the filmmaker, fisherman, soldier, and survivor tells the story of how giving back—to his community, to the river, to the fish—gave him a template for rebuilding his life. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Movies don’t get much better than surfer-heist popcorn flick Point Break (1991). Movies don’t really get much worse than surfer-heist popcorn flick Point Break (2015). What happened? Each week on the movie and culture podcast Captive Audience, regular Outside contributor Alex Ward and his co-hosts break down a classic film that one of them hasn’t seen. This week, they invited Outside Podcast host Peter Frick-Wright to discuss the Keanu Reeves cult classic, and the debacle that is the remake. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

'Forever Chemicals' keep mud out of your boots, and make rain jackets waterproof, but they’re about to be illegal. Back in 2013, footwear maker Keen decided to try and figure out the formula for keeping everyone dry without poisoning our drinking water and contaminating our soil. Could they make high performance boots and shoes without causing cancer and suppressing the immune system? Would the rest of the outdoor industry follow their lead? Outside Online: Forever Chemicals are Bad. And Everywhere The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Where did eagles come from? Why are grizzly bears so mean? In this Audible Original excerpt, host James Dommek Jr—the great-grandson of a famous Iñupiaq storyteller— travels around the state listening to legends from different cultures and traditions. The result is a beautiful portrait of life in the north, and a new twist on the idea of a survival story. Alaska isn't the last frontier, it's the center of the universe. The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Singer-songwriter David Lindes found his way into running with help from the most unexpected teacher: a bull moose. Growing up in Guatemala David had learned to ignore his body. Thanks to beatings by his adults, his body was a source of pain, and not much else. So he didn’t play sports, he didn’t dance, he found out later he wasn’t even walking correctly. But as an adult, as he started to heal, he began to learn about his body. What it could do, how good it could feel to run and hike through the canyons near his home. Then, one day, he encountered a family of moose. And they put his newfound trust in his body to the test. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

We think of New York as having a rat problem, but cats are doing just as much damage. They hunt staggering numbers of birds, they carry parasites that cause birth defects, they spread diseases that wash into the ocean and kill sea otters and seals. NYC’s cat population is exploding. There are more cats in North America than ever before. Reporter Meg Duff investigates what, if anything, might be done about that. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Look around the start line of an endurance race and you don’t see many tall competitors. Look on the podium, and you never see any. Why is that? Why don’t tall people win endurance races? Host Peter Frick-Wright and producer Paddy O’Connell are pretty much the two tallest athletes in all of the outdoors. Will they ever be champion runners? No they will not. But the reasons why might surprise you. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

When Marty Moose strolled into Santa Fe looking for a mate, he became a viral sensation in New Mexico. But that did nothing to help his search for love—and it created big issues for wildlife managers. Moose don’t usually wander that far south. Marty got a lot of “likes” but eventually his notoriety began to cause problems. Producer Steph Joyce explores why we all have such a hard time around celebrity animals. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

People dream of boating or swimming with whales. But that’s based on the false assumption that they are gentle giants that don’t bother humans. But they’re not. And they do. Just ask Liz Cottriel and Julie McSorley, who found themselves kayaking off California’s Central Coast when a group of humpback whales began feeding all around them. Producer Aaron Scott reports on how the dream of boating with whales stacks up against the reality of being surrounded by some of the largest creatures on the planet. The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus