On today’s episode, I chat with Brad Brooks, the co-founder of Argali, a hunting gear and equipment company specializing in lightweight, functional gear made by and for hunters. Brad tells me about how he got into the hunting industry and was inspired, initially, to innovate by making his own game bags, and how Argali then expanded out to knives, a belt, and now a line of tents. We also chat about Argali’s approach to creating stunning hunting video content and how they choose the landscapes and stories they tell. In the conservation segment, I talk about the links between wildlife disease and human health, including the emerging One Health approach and how addressing increasing concerns about zoonotic diseases will be increasingly important in the context of climate change (42:26). I also cover some new research on bison that tells us more about both their historical range and the current state of their genetics, and what this means for ongoing conservation efforts (53:39).

On this episode, we discuss:

• Argali: https://argalioutdoors.com/
• The Wildlife Society: “House Committee Discusses Wildlife Disease”: https://wildlife.org/house-committee-discusses-wildlife-disease/
• The Wildlife Society: “Wildlife biologists can learn from One Health”: https://wildlife.org/wildlife-biologists-can-learn-from-one-health/
• The Wildlife Society: “Changing climate may worsen wildlife disease outbreaks”: https://wildlife.org/changing-climate-may-worsen-wildlife-disease-outbreaks/
• CBC News: “Thousands of blood-sucking ticks found on bodies of Canadian moose”: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/winter-ticks-climate-change-moose-1.5452694
• The Atlantic: “Climate Change Enters Its Blood-Sucking Phase”: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/ticks-can-take-down-800-pound-moose/583189/
• Landscapes and Letters: “Genetically Pure Bison in North America”: https://landscapesandletters.com/2015/12/27/genetically-pure-bison-in-north-america/
• Science Daily: “New research documents domestic cattle genetics in modern bison herds”: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220510163401.htm
• Bozeman Daily Chronicle: “MSU study: Bison inhabited large portion of North America over past 20,000 years”: https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/msu-study-bison-inhabited-large-portion-of-north-america-over-past-20-000-years/article_6412bf9a-6111-5c41-8e60-bb69832c7ff9.html