Out There

Award-winning podcast that explores big questions through intimate stories outdoors.

The Fear of Loneliness 10/09/2025

The Fear of Loneliness has a rule: When someone invites her to do something, she always says yes. It’s her way of staving off loneliness. But when aquaintances suggested a four-day canoe trip in the Boundary Waters, she started second guessing herself. This was way outside her comfort zone. In the weeks leading up to the trip, she was so anxious she was hardly sleeping. On this episode, Julie takes us to the Minnesota wilderness and explores what happens when you ignore your personal boundaries — just to make friends. --- Links: Follow Out There on and Sign up for our --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/38456520

The Gift of Silence 07/25/2024

The Gift of Silence Ilana Nevins loved backpacking with her father. But after she was diagnosed with an eating disorder, their relationship became strained. She worried that hiking together would put her recovery at risk, because so many of her behaviors were modeled after him. In this episode, Ilana shares the story of the difficult challenge she faced: how to prioritize her own wellbeing without wrecking her relationship with a loved one. --- Links: Support Out There on Sign up for our Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/32266437

Running As Medicine 07/11/2024

Running As Medicine In May of 2022, Maria Ordovas-Montanes set out to become the fastest woman to run the Oxford Greenbelt Way, a 55-mile route through the English countryside. She had always loved running, and this was an exciting challenge. But at the event, something happened that would derail her life — and lead to a life-altering diagnosis. On this episode, Maria shares her story. --- Links: Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/32070747

Silence and Sound 07/02/2024

Silence and Sound Humans are noisy. The National Park Service estimates that all of our whirring, grinding, and revving machines are doubling or even tripling global noise pollution every 30 years. A lot of that noise is negatively affecting wildlife and human health. In this guest episode, the team from takes us on an exploration of three sonic landscapes: noise, silence, and something in between. --- Links: Support Out There on Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/31914147

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome 06/27/2024

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Many of us have experienced imposter syndrome at some point in our lives. Often it’s at work, where we doubt our own skills and accomplishments. But what happens when you feel like a fraud simply for being yourself? In this episode, we travel from New York State to a national park in Korea and explore how one transracial adoptee made peace with her own identity. --- Links: Support Out There on Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/31837602

Silencing the Critics 06/13/2024

Silencing the Critics Demetria Lynn always wanted to be a scientist. But growing up, no one believed in her. The negative feedback was so overpowering that she stopped believing in herself. In this episode, we follow Demetria from her elementary school classroom to a geology field trip in the desert, and explore what it took to rekindle faith in herself. --- Links: Support Out There on Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/31607047

Birds of Paradise 05/30/2024

Birds of Paradise Alison Világ pays attention for a living. She counts migrating ducks at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory in Michigan. It's key to getting a pulse on different bird populations. But for Alison, counting ducks is more than just science – it's an escape from the expectations of others. This is a guest story from Points North, a podcast about the land, water, and inhabitants of the Great Lakes region. --- Links: Support Out There on Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/31454882

1,000 Hours Outdoors 05/16/2024

1,000 Hours Outdoors Many of us go outside because the quiet is calming. But what if silence isn't calming for you? What if it’s the opposite? Could you still find a way to love it? In this episode, Florida-based producer Amber Von Schassen explores why silence in the outdoors is so unsettling for her, and shares what happened when she tried to get over her fear by spending 1,000 hours outdoors. --- Links: Support Out There on Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/31275872

The Tonic of Silence 05/02/2024

The Tonic of Silence For many of us, getting outside is more than just fun; it’s how we find inner stillness. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we decided to turn the mic over to you, our community. We asked how silence in nature has been significant to your mental health. On this episode, we’re sharing some of our favorite responses. --- Links: Support Out There on Tell a story at our night Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/30989403

My Dad's Depression 04/18/2024

My Dad's Depression For Paul Barach, hiking is an antidote to depression. Is it that way for everyone? This episode takes us from Washington State to Joshua Tree National Park and explores what happens when we try to impose our own life solutions on a loved one. --- Links: Support Out There on Tell a story at our night Follow Out There on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/30771463

Rekindling the Spark 04/04/2024

Rekindling the Spark We’re told to follow our dreams. But often, that’s disappointing. Reality typically doesn’t measure up to what we’d imagined. So what then? How do you reignite your passions? On this episode, we travel from an observatory in Puerto Rico to a hillside in New Jersey, and explore how one scientist overcame the disillusionment of academia. --- Links: Support Out There on Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/30599463

Silence 03/21/2024

Silence Our upcoming season is all about silence. From the Grand Canyon to South Korea, we’ll travel the globe, exploring how we find stillness amidst the noise — whether literal or figurative. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the stories. The season launches April 4, 2024. --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/30446033

Building Self-Confidence 01/04/2024

Building Self-Confidence Maya Kroth’s goal for the New Year was to build self-confidence, and she decided to start by taking herself snowboarding. But things did not go well. In this episode, Maya shares her story and explores how we can get our mojo back when life throws us curveballs. --- Links: --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/29158103

Closing the Gender Gap 11/30/2023

Closing the Gender Gap Women are often told we can do anything we want in life: ride bikes, scale cliffs, surf waves. But in some areas of outdoor recreation, the gender gap remains shockingly large. In this episode, we visit a women’s mountain bike camp in Wyoming and explore what’s really needed to get people of all genders on equal footing. --- Links: /episode/index/show/outthere/id/28837178

The Flood 11/02/2023

The Flood This is a story about fear. It makes sense to be scared when we're facing danger. But what happens when disasters occur in unexpected places? In this episode, we travel from a desert in Utah to a suburb in Missouri and explore how a flood changed one woman's relationship with fear and risk. --- Support Out There on Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/28479362

Learning to Swim 07/13/2023

Learning to Swim Learning something new as an adult can be daunting, especially when it's something that a lot of people have been doing since childhood. On this episode, Naomi Mellor takes us from a beach in Australia to an archipelago in the UK and explores how she got past her fears and pushed herself to take a big plunge. --- --- Links: Sign up for our Support Out There on Follow us on and --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/27444684

Excavating Grief 06/29/2023

Excavating Grief Mykella Van Cooten was angry, and she didn’t know why. It got so bad that she began to feel unhinged. And then, she went to a little cabin in the woods. In this episode, she tells the story of what happened. It’s a story about stopping, about letting go, and about uncovering the real feelings that are buried deep beneath the surface. --- Links: Support Out There on --- Out There is a member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/27238863

Ice Swimming 06/15/2023

Ice Swimming In Finland, it’s commonplace to go swimming in the winter — outdoors. The practice offers surprising mental-health benefits, and it isn’t just for die-hard adventurers. On this episode, we share the story of one woman who started “ice swimming” in an effort to soothe the brain by shocking the body. --- Links: Support Out There on --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/27147132

Queer in Appalachia 06/01/2023

Queer in Appalachia As a nonbinary person, Newt Schottelkotte never felt at home in Appalachia. But then, they went on a road trip with their dad. Driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains, something started to shift. This is a story about figuring out how to be yourself without abandoning where you’re from. --- Links: about next season's theme Sierra Club panel: Support Out There on --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/26988552

Rekindling Hope 05/18/2023

Rekindling Hope Carolyn McDonald's depression had gotten so bad that she couldn’t see a way forward. Then, one particularly miserable day, she went to the beach — and something happened that she never could have imagined. Something that opened the door to healing and sparked a deep and genuine joy. --- Links: about next season's theme Support Out There on --- Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/26816658

Moonlight 05/04/2023

Moonlight We’ve all had moments when we feel lost. Sometimes it’s literal; sometimes it's emotional. Either way, it’s unnerving. And lonely. This episode takes us from the deserts of California to the jungles of the Philippines, and explores how one young woman got back on track, when she lost her way, both literally and figuratively. SUPPORT OUT THERE: Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/26683224

Living Without Hope 04/20/2023

Living Without Hope When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness, there’s often a flood of difficult emotions. Grief. Depression. Learning to live without hope. But more and more, people are experiencing that kind of anguish even when they’re perfectly healthy. In this episode, we bring you the story of a young man named Jacob Erickson, who almost died from climate anxiety — before a pivotal moment in nature rekindled his will to live. --- SUPPORT OUT THERE: Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/26565372

Secrets of the Earth 04/06/2023

Secrets of the Earth This season, we’re exploring the theme SECRETS OF THE EARTH. Each episode, we’ll share a story about an outdoor experience that uncovered new truths. Through introspective personal narratives, we’ll harness the power of nature to make sense out of our lives and give us a fresh look at humanity. Here’s a little taste. Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/26460771

This Is How You Win the Time War 03/02/2023

This Is How You Win the Time War Clock time is a human invention. So it shouldn’t be a box that confines us; it should be a tool that helps us accomplish the things we care about. But consider the system of standard time, first imposed by the railroad companies in the 1880s. It constrains people who live 1,000 miles apart—on opposite edges of their time zones—to get up and go to work or go to school at the same time, even though their local sunrise and sunset times may vary by an hour or more. And it also consigns people who live on the eastern edges of their time zones to ludicrously early winter sunsets. For over a century, we've been fiddling with standard time, adding complications such as Daylight Saving Time that are meant to give us a little more evening sunlight for at least part of the year. But what if these are just palliatives for a broken system? What if it's time to reset the clock and try something completely different? This is a guest story from the podcast , first published in 2021. Links: VIRTUAL HAPPY HOUR: by March 5, 2023 to get an invitation NEW KIDS' PODCAST: Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/26035632

Notes in the Trees 02/02/2023

Notes in the Trees Most parents would never consider leaving their kids in the dark woods at night, and letting them find their way back. But the Dutch do just that. They call it Dropping. This is a guest episode from , a podcast that explores the night and how thoughts, feelings and behaviors transform in the dark. --- NEW KIDS' PODCAST: is set to launch in February 2023 SUPPORT OUT THERE: and get an invitation to our virtual happy hour Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/25705260

Fallen Sky 01/12/2023

Fallen Sky “Fallen Sky,” a work of installation art at New York’s Storm King Art Center, is like a moon map etched into a hillside. On this episode, Tamar Avishai explores how Sarah Sze’s striking sculpture helps visitors pay attention to the world around us — and the world inside our heads. This is a guest episode from , a podcast that returns art history to the masses, one object at a time. NEW KIDS' PODCAST: is set to launch in February 2023 SUPPORT OUT THERE: Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/25567239

Fear is the Thing with Fins 12/01/2022

Fear is the Thing with Fins Fear is a powerful indicator that something could hurt us. But sometimes, the fear itself is the most dangerous part. This is the story of marathon swimmer Pat Gallant-Charette. Because of something that happened to her when she was a teenager, Pat has to overcome a fear of deep water every time she competes. But she doesn’t let that stop her. This is a special guest episode from , a podcast about how we’re changing the sea, and how the sea changes us. SUPPORT OUT THERE: Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/25116879

High on Failure 11/10/2022

High on Failure Every year, in the mountains of Vermont, a group of ultra runners gather for a 550-mile race called Infinitus. It’s one of the toughest trail running races in existence. Jordan Wirfs-Brock was no stranger to ultra marathons, but Infinitus broke her: she failed to finish. Surprisingly, though, the failure turned out to be one of the best things that's ever happened to her. This story first aired in 2016, and it won a gold medal for best independent podcast from Public Radio News Directors, Inc., or PRNDI. SUPPORT OUT THERE: Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/24947871

Pedaling and Paddling 10/20/2022

Pedaling and Paddling Dewey Gallegos and Jessica Flock bonded over their passion for the outdoors. But the thing they had in common was also one of their biggest differences. Their story explores how hard it can be to share the thing you love most, with the person you love most. PITCH US A STORY: SUPPORT OUT THERE: Out There is a proud member of /episode/index/show/outthere/id/24739335

The Instinct to Kill 09/29/2022

The Instinct to Kill When Sam Anderson’s father invited him to go hunting for the first time, Sam was worried. What if he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger? And conversely, what if he could? What would that say about him? On this episode, Sam takes us into the woods of New Jersey and explores the emotional complexity of taking the life of an animal. This story first aired in 2017, and it won a gold medal for Best Independent Podcast from Public Radio News Directors, Inc. SUPPORT OUT THERE: Out There is a proud member of . /episode/index/show/outthere/id/24517290

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