Tune in to hear what's in store for Out There in the coming months.
Also, it's Giving Tuesday, a day when we make contributions to organizations we believe in. If Out There has brightened your life, please consider making a donation to the show. If you've been putting off supporting us, don't wait; today is the last day we're offering t-shirts as a thank you gift for donations of just $10.
Photo by Rebecca Martinez
This is a story about garbage.
Across the country, communities are running out of landfill space -- and running out of money to deal with their trash. But recently, some cities have been responding with creative new plans.
From Durham, North Carolina, reporter Rebecca Martinez brings us the story of one community's quest to turn its problems into an asset.
“Back in the day, people would say, ‘Oh they’re tree huggers.’ That’s not true. They are people who have thought patterns ahead of their time. ... And the rest of us are going to have to get on board.”
photo courtesy brendan leonard
“You’re not stuck in a situation with a certain identity. ... You can write your own story if you just see it the right way.”
Fresh out of college, Brendan Leonard was an alcoholic. A total mess.
And -- spoiler alert -- he got sober. But drinking had been his favorite thing; it was what defined him. After alcohol was taken away from him, he didn't know who he was anymore.
On this episode, he joins me to talk about the difficult process of creating a new life for himself. For Brendan, that new life came about in the outdoors, through rock climbing. And it happened completely by accident.
Brendan Leonard runs the website Semi-Rad.com, and his new book is called Sixty Meters to Anywhere.
Growing up, Heather Kitching loved the countryside. She loved the rolling hills, the open fields, the horses, country music. And she dreamed of a home in a close-knit small town, with a rocking chair on the porch and wide open spaces all around.
But there was a problem: Heather was gay. And that wasn't OK in her rural utopia.
On today's episode, Heather shares her story. It's a story about what happens when the place you love becomes your enemy. And it's a story about abandoning an important part of you, in order to build a life where you fit in.
“Nothing in the culture that surrounded me taught me that being gay was ok. Instead, it taught me that I was deviant and immoral, and that God would send me to hell if I ever acted on my feelings. So I’d pray every day for God to make me straight.”
“There’s a temptation, when we look at history, to think it’s just ... a story from the past – sort of one or two dimensional. But … there’s really no difference between young people from the past and young people today. Young people want to take chances, they want new experiences.”
Lynn Downey first fell for Fred Loring when she discovered a photo of him amongst some archives in a small town in Arizona. Her crush led her on a journey across the American West, and through time.
On this episode, she shares her story. It's a story about exploration -- about what drives us leave the comfort of home and venture into the unknown -- and about the timeless thirst for discovery.
The story was reported and produced by Diane Hope, a journalist based in Flagstaff, AZ.
Frederick Wadsworth Loring. (photo by timothy o'sullivan, photographer for the wheeler expedition)
Music in this piece included: 'Flaked Paint' by Blue Dot Sessions, 'Memories' by Tales of Painting & SPCZ, 'It beckoned across the yard pt1' by Ben McElroy, and 'Harmonica Funeral' by Colin Langenus.
“The things that apply to all these different animal weapons also apply to military technologies. ... Once I started digging into the literature, it was mind blowing, actually, to see how similar these stories were.”
When we think about weapons, we usually think of guns and bombs and swords -- military instruments. But in his book "Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle," beetle biologist Doug Emlen gives us an inside look at the weapons that animals use: things like horns and tusks and claws.
The book combines science and military history to show just how much we can learn about our own wars and arms races, by understanding the way animals fight. Emlen joins us on this episode to talk about it.
Photo by olga helmy
In the Spring of 2015, writer Chilton Tippin quit his job and set off on the Continental Divide Trail, a 3,000-mile hiking route that runs from Mexico to Canada along the Rocky Mountains.
In the five months he spent on the trail, Chilton made friends with fellow hikers, pushed himself to exhaustion, delighted in the natural splendor of the American West and got a taste for what it's like to live life as a vagabond.
In some ways, he learned lessons you'd expect someone to learn on a trip like this, like how to rely on himself in the wilderness. But the trail did something else to him too -- something quite unexpected. On this episode, he shares his story.
Photos courtesy Chilton Tippin.
Photo by Victoria Petryshyn
Photo by Mark McCaslin
Photo by Mark McCaslin
Photo by Victoria Petryshyn
Photo by Victoria Petryshyn
Photo by Mark McCaslin
Photo by Victoria Petryshyn
Photo by Victoria Petryshyn
Photo by Mark McCaslin
Photo by Victoria Petryshyn
Photo by Mark McCaslin
Photo by Mark McCaslin
Photo by Mark McCaslin
“For me, running has always been this way to turn the impossible into the possible. ... When you succeed, something that used to be scary, unattainable, downright bananas, becomes real. Even becomes normal. So when my friend Greg suggested a 500+ mile mountain trail race, I knew I was in.”
Last spring, Jordan Wirfs-Brock attempted one of the toughest trail running races in existence: a 550-miler called Infinitus, which took place in the rugged mountains of Vermont.
Jordan wasn't new to ultra running, but this race was more extreme than anything she'd done before. And it broke her: she failed to finish.
Curiously, though, the failure didn't leave her feeling defeated. In fact, it turned out to be one of the best things that's ever happened to her. On today's episode, she shares her story.
Photo by Elena Rossini
“My sometimes-tendency to overlook my physical environment is not only about preferring the world of ideas. It’s also about something more banal: a lack of patience, a tendency to rush. ”
When we talk about the outdoors, we often think of mountains, rivers, or seashores -- places that are wild and untouched. But even in cities, there's a world outside our walls.
On this episode, New York-based writer Jessica Gross recounts how a simple experiment changed the way she sees the urban outdoors.
"Grangers versus Grasshoppers, or the irrepressible conflict," carte-de-visite, c.1880. (image courtesy the minnesota historical society)
On this episode, writer-philosopher-entomologist Jeff Lockwood shares an essay that was inspired by his work as a grasshopper killer. The story takes us out into the grasslands, and grapples with a child's question about just when it is moral to kill other animals.
photo by laura isensee
You're finally in a relationship. You go out for dinners with your partner, meet for drinks, maybe take in some shows together. But how do you move from casual dating, to something more meaningful?
On this episode, Houston-based reporter Laura Isensee recounts her attempt to become closer with her boyfriend by undertaking a major athletic endeavor: a 180-mile bike ride from Houston to Austin.
“I thought if I could share Scott’s favorite hobby, then he would appreciate me, and our relationship, more.”
“I craved certainty, and I felt that I wouldn’t get it in my current frenzied routine. I wanted to know myself again. I wanted to find out what I wanted. And so, I decided to hike.”
Last summer, writer Erin Jones set out to hike the Colorado Trial, a 500-mile footpath through the Rocky Mountains. (In case you're wondering, it's the same trail that Out There host Willow Belden hiked in 2014, described in Episode 9).
Erin was pursuing her master's degree, and as is so often the case for grad students, her future seemed uncertain. She felt powerless, oppressed by adulthood. And so, she decided to hike. The journey, she hoped, would help her figure out what she wanted, allow her soul to unfurl.
But it didn't work out that way. On this episode, Erin shares the story of her hike -- the story of what happens when you strive for something big, and fail.
tiara lin in chitwan national park, nepal (photo courtesy tiara lin)
“Whenever I saw a plant, I would feel like I could not breathe. ... I felt like I was going to die.”
Tranquility; meditation; serenity. These are words that many of us might use to describe what we feel when we’re in the woods. But for Tiara Lin, a different word comes to mind: terror. Since she was a teen, Tiara has had botanophobia—a crippling fear of plants. Most people laugh in disbelief when she first tells them that such a phobia exists. But the laughter stops when they see her dissolve into panic near a tree, or when they hear that she has broken up with boyfriends for sending her flowers.
On this episode, reporter Chelsea Davis brings us Tiara’s story. It’s a story about a fear so powerful that it disrupts how you function in society. And it’s a story about the struggle to overcome that fear – to experience nature the way others do.
This summer, I signed up for a 70-mile mountain bike race called the Laramie Enduro.
I've always liked big athletic challenges, like triathlons and half marathons. But this race was different. This time, pushing my limits turned out to be a big mistake.
On today's episode, I share the story of that mistake. It's a story about trying to prove yourself, about testing what you're capable of. And ultimately, it's about learning when to say no.
willow belden rolls into the fourth 'aid station' at the laramie enduro. (photo by leigh paterson)
“Understanding what’s happening in these lakes allows us to kind of put together another piece of what’s affecting the oceans, and what that might mean ... as climate is changing in Antarctica.”
On Episode 5, a scientist named Trista Vick-Majors shared a first-person account of her team's quest to find out if there's life in lakes that are buried deep beneath the ice in Antarctica. After the story aired, several listeners asked to know more about the discoveries that Trista and her colleagues had made. So we invited her back on the show.
In this episode, Trista explains how tiny organisms cling to life in one of the least hospitable places on the planet.
Cells from Subglacial Lake Whillans, fluorescing under the microscope. Photo by Trista Vick-Majors
Last year, I quit my job, packed everything I needed into a backpack, and started walking. The plan was to thru-hike the Colorado Trail, a long-distance footpath through the Rocky Mountains.
I was a total novice at backpacking, but I craved an escape from the daily grind of work and life. And so, I decided to escape from society for a summer and head to the wilderness.
In this episode, poet Amy Strieter interviews me about the hike, and how it changed both my career path, and my mental health.
Campsite near Cataract Lake. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
Morning coffee. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
Wildflowers on the Ten Mile Range, just outside Breckenridge. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
A joyful moment above treeline. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
My trusty Osprey pack. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
After a 105-mile stretch between resupply points, a mostly empty jar of peanut butter was all that was left. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
Upon arriving in towns, ice cream was always a priority. PHOTO COURTESY WILLOW BELDEN
Monsoon. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
The headwaters of Elk Creek. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
Crossing the Animas River, near Silverton. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
Storm clouds brewing over Black Hawk Pass. PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
To learn more about my Colorado Trail hike, you can visit my blog, or read this story I wrote for Quartz.
This spring, I found myself in a lonely situation: I craved a vacation (and actually had time for one), but I had no one to go with.
This is the story of what transpired -- how I turned a social failure into an emotional victory.
PHOTO BY WILLOW BELDEN
What happens when something you love keeps hurting you? Many of the activities that draw us to the outdoors are inherently risky, and millions of sports injuries are documented in the U.S. each year.
On this episode, Denver-based reporter Dan Boyce shares a personal story about pushing onward, injury after injury. And we talk with a sports psychologist about the challenges --- and merits -- of giving up a sport that has come to define you.
“If you have multiple injuries, over time they start to feel less like battle scars and more like limitations.”
What should conservation look like, in a world where people have affected every inch of the planet?
“The places that we think of as wilderness are highly managed, and the places that we think of as trash are really wild.”
Environmental writer Emma Marris, author of Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, joins us to discuss a new approach to caring for the earth.
She argues that we shouldn't just focus on preserving "pristine" environments -- shouldn't try to freeze every landscape in time. Instead, she says, we need to expand our definition of wildness, and celebrate change.
Copyright Harley Soltes
Trista Vick-Majors carries samples from the ice cave freezer at Subglacial Lake Whillans to the lab. PHOTO BY J.T. THOMAS
The traverse of equipment makes its way across the ice. PHOTO BY J.T. THOMAS
Shrine to Subglacial Lake Whillans, at McMurdo Station. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
Students attempt to hitch a ride to Subglacial Lake Whillans, as the wait at McMurdo drags on. Hitchhiking in Antarctica is not very effective. PHOTO BY SUSAN KELLY
A Twin Otter prepares to drop off team members as Subglacial Lake Whillans. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
Peyton Adkins drives a Pisten Bully, one of the team's modes of transport from McMurdo to the drill test site. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
The camp at Subglacial Lake Whillans, with yellow tents for sleeping and red shipping containers for the drill and labs. PHOTO BY J.T. THOMAS
Sleeping tents at Subglacial Lake Whillans. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
Inside the rack tent, where the team ate and relaxed. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
A crane lifts a large instrument to prepare it for its trip down the borehole. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
John Priscu of Montana State University and Brent Christner of Louisiana State University deploy the sampling bottle down the borehole. PHOTO COURTESY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
Trista Vick-Majors and Amanda Achberger wait for samples to arrive. PHOTO COURTESY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
The microbiology/chemistry lab at Subglacial Lake Whillans, set up to receive a water sample, with a black cradle to hold the sample bottle. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
The first view of the bottom of Subglacial Lake Whillans. PHOTO COURTESY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
Montana State University professor John Priscu carries the first sample from the drill platform to the lab. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
Water from Subglacial Lake Whillans, ready to be filtered.
Scientists retrieve sediment samples from Subglacial Lake Whillans. PHOTO COURTESY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
The microbiology team in the "ice cave freezer," a pit dug into the snow and ice in which samples were kept. PHOTO BY J.T. THOMAS
Microbes from Subglacial Lake Whillans. PHOTO BY TRISTA VICK-MAJORS
Antarctica is dotted with a series of lakes buried deep beneath the ice. Several years ago, scientists set out to discover whether those subglacial lakes contain life. Team member Trista Vick-Majors joins us to offer a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at what it’s like to work in one of the most extreme places on the planet – a place so remote and unforgiving that failure seems imminent every step of the way.
To find out more about the discoveries Trista's team made at Subglacial Lake Whillans, check out the paper they published in the journal Nature.
Out There is a proud member of Hub & Spoke, a nonprofit collective of smart, independent, idea-driven podcasts. Check out all of the Hub & Spoke shows: The Briny | Iconography | The Lonely Palette | Mementos | Ministry of Ideas | Nocturne | Open Source | Out There | Rumble Strip | Soonish | Subtitle
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