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Outside Podcast

PRX

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.

Location:

United States

Networks:

PRX

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.

Language:

English


Episodes

Wild Animals Taught Me to… Run!

3/27/2024
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

Duration:00:26:59

On the Front Lines of NYC’s ‘Kittenpocalypse’

3/20/2024
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

Duration:00:35:52

The Size Disadvantage

3/13/2024
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

Duration:00:29:46

The Trouble with the Internet’s Most Famous Moose

3/6/2024
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

Duration:00:32:53

Way, Way Too Close to a Whale

2/28/2024
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

Duration:00:33:21

Can Golf Be an Endurance Sport?

2/21/2024
How do you make the best of a golf addiction? Add running. That’s the formula contributor Alex Ward tried to perfect a few months ago, when he started figuring out a way to turn his rounds of golf into real exercise. Would golf be an endurance sport if he played sunrise to sunset? What if he wore running gear, carried just three clubs, and played this notoriously slow and calm sport absolutely as fast as he could? 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

Duration:00:34:34

Do Couples That Ski Together Stay Together?

2/14/2024
Adventures can provide fuel for romance, but only if you know how to take what you learned in the mountains back home. Just askPaddy O’Connell. Paddy loves two things: fresh pow, and his wife, Carly. On their one-year wedding anniversary, the cutest couple in all of the outdoors ventured to Portillo, Chile to contemplate their affection for skiing and each other. And eat great food. And get massages. And hike to powder so they could eat more great food. Then came the hard part: holding onto those feelings when it was all over. 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

Duration:00:32:48

The ‘Into the Wild’ Bus Has Another Story to Tell

2/7/2024
The abandoned vehicle where Chris McCandless died teaches us a lot about modern Alaska. Ever since Outside published Jon Krakauer’s feature about the young, adventurous drifter who attempted to live off the land near Denali National Park, people have been making the pilgrimage to Bus 142 to see it for themselves. But the hike involves a dangerous river crossing. So after two drownings and countless rescues, the state of Alaska decided they needed to solve this problem once and for all. Reporter Eva Holland wanted to know: Can you make the wilderness safe without ruining it? How do you take the Into the Wild bus out of the wild? 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

Duration:00:31:39

A Wild Conversation with E. Jean Carroll

1/31/2024
Before she became famous for her lawsuits against former President Trump, the writer took a road trip for an Outside story that had her asking total strangers if they had sex outdoors. Her destination: the many American towns named Eden. Were Americans copulating in the gardens of Eden? She was in a car that she had hand-painted with blue polka dots and green frogs, her snacks consisted of cakes and pies, and her copilot was a giant poodle. In this gem of an episode from our archives, producer Paddy O’Connell hangs on for dear 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

Duration:00:25:29

The President of Off-the-Couch Fitness

1/24/2024
What’s an acceptable baseline of fitness? What should you be able to do off-the-couch? For some people it’s running a mile. For others, it’s a marathon. In the waning days of his presidency, Theodore Roosevelt decided that for members of the American military, it would be a 50-mile hike, completed in 20 hours. Late last year Outside contributing editor Tom Vanderbilt decided he wanted to get a sense of what that was like. Turns out, it’s pretty hard. 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

Duration:00:31:40

Training Like a Pop Star (Taylor's Version)

1/10/2024
Is Taylor Swift an elite endurance athlete? On the Eras tour, the singer-songwriter is performing three nights a week, singing and dancing for as long as it takes most people to run a marathon. When ultrarunner and Outside editor Zoë Rom read about the six-month fitness program Swift used to prepare for the tour, she decided to give it a try—and quickly learned that being a pop star is harder than it looks. But training like one may change the way you think about fitness. Check out trainer Brookelynn Miller’s Couch to Eras Tour training plan here: Couch to Eras Tour Training Plan Couch2Eras Strava Group 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

Duration:00:29:28

The Anti-Bonk Diet

1/3/2024
After a certain number of hours, endurance races are basically eating competitions. We spend years training our bodies for peak performance on race day. Producer Maren Larsen wanted to know: how do you train your stomach? 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

Duration:00:33:29

Burgers, Palm Trees, and Buried Treasure

12/20/2023
In-N-Out Burger’s iconic palm trees are a reference to buried treasure, but they also make the restaurant a very unlikely climate change indicator. As the chain expands into places where palm trees can’t yet grow, science writer Meg Duff wondered: Does In-N-Out know something we don’t? The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of becoming a member and sign up at OutsideOnline.com/podplus.

Duration:00:25:36

The Most Unexpected Way for an Athlete to Get Faster

12/13/2023
We try to gain a competitive edge from things like nutrition, recovery, weight training, and new shoes. But what if becoming a parent does the trick? Ultrarunner Tyler Green was entering the biggest year of his running life when he became a father. Suddenly, instead of carefree miles through the parks and trails near his house, he was timing his runs around nap time and hiking with a baby on his back. Can a running career withstand a year of compromised training? Can a baby make you faster? 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

Duration:00:32:56

Are We Done with the Endangered Species Act?

12/6/2023
After 50 years, one of the most consequential environmental laws in U.S. history may no longer be relevant to the world we’re living in. Which makes sense: the ESA was written for a planet that was several degrees cooler than the one we're living on right now, by politicians who weren’t even arguing about climate change yet. So producer Aaron Scott started to wonder: if the ESA is out of date, what would it take to keep this comprehensive piece of legislation relevant going forward? The answers he found take the form of three stories, about a fish, a bird, and a bear. 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

Duration:00:29:01

The Curious Rise (and Fall) in Cougar Attacks

11/29/2023
Mountain lions are becoming more aggressive. Or maybe they aren’t? But their populations are certainly increasing. Or not? After cougars killed multiple people in the Pacific Northwest in a few months in 2018, Outside Podcast host Peter Frick-Wright noticed that there sure was a lot of contradictory information about these predators out there, including the scariest rumor he could imagine. Why is it so hard to nail down the facts about cougars? Is it even possible to get good information about an animal that’s mastered the art of stealth and surprise? 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

Duration:00:23:41

Big News About Our Show

11/22/2023
Our founding host, Peter Frick-Wright, is returning—and we couldn’t be more excited. After taking the last four years to focus on short-run podcast series like Missed Fortune, Bundyville, and Timber Wars, Peter will be back starting with our November 29 episode. Together with his creative partner, Robbie Carver, Peter will be bringing a diverse cast of talented journalists and storytellers to the Outside Podcast. Our best is yet to come. 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

Duration:00:02:33

What Mikaela Shiffrin Only Tells Her Mom

11/15/2023
When you’re one of the greatest skiers of all time, there are some things you only say to the person you trust most in the world. For Mikaela Shiffrin, that person is her mom, Eileen Shiffrin, who has coached and traveled with Mikaela since her first season on the World Cup circuit, at age 15. Eileen has always played an enormous role in her daughter's life and that role grew even larger when Mikaela's father died suddenly a few years ago. So, when Outside decided to interview Mikaela for our Outsiders of the Year issue, we figured the best way to get truly candid answers would be to have Eileen ask the questions. In this episode, we sit in on their conversation, which offers a rare chance to hear how an Olympic champion really feels about the personal challenges she’s faced on her path to the top of her sport. 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

Duration:00:29:15

Celebrating the Spirit of an Adventurer

11/8/2023
Honoring the life of someone who spent their days exploring wild places often means embracing the pursuits that brought them joy. This approach can lead us to all kinds of unconventional memorials, from marathons that are also eating contests, to costumed snow-blading event, to mountaintop poetry readings. In this episode, we talk to snowboarding icon Jeremy Jones and author Peter Moore who, after losing loved ones, found a home for their grief—and their joy—in the mountains. 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

Duration:00:30:38

The Strange New World of DIY Sufferfests

11/1/2023
All over the country people are creating outrageous unofficial athletic contests that are equal parts grueling and just plain silly. What’s going on? When did it become a thing to bike into the mountains, swim across a frigid lake, then complete an alpine climb? To investigate the peculiar rise of this new breed of multisport non-events, which have neither sponsors nor aid stations, we spoke with the folks behind The Picnic, a Jackson Hole, Wyoming invention that has become quite competitive, despite the fact that it was supposed to be all about the fun. 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.

Duration:00:25:05