A book review and follow up of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods (before I forget, here is my website: https://www.leahrenee.co/ ) I go down a rabbit hole fact-checking his 30-year-old predictions about the environment, talk about OG (Old Granny) Grandma Gatewood and connect it all back to hedonic adaptation, digital detox, and even Mormon Girls Camp.

CHAPTERS

0:30 A Walk in the Woods on a whim

0:50 Hiking the Appalachian Trail is a massive ordeal

3:10 I'm very much into walking books and deprivation

4:14 The Salt Path — homelessness and the housing crisis

6:40 Camino de Santiago books on my list

7:20 Grandma Gatewood the most bada** lady who hiked the AT thrice

9:00 US Hiking is scarier than European Hiking

9:20 Fact-checking Bryson's climate predictions

13:00 The ozone layer and the Montreal Protocol

15:40 Nature reclaiming abandoned industrial sites

16:20 Benton MacKaye's utopian vision for the AT

19:40 Hedonic adaptation and voluntary discomfort, shout out stoics

21:00 Mormon Girl's Camp

22:20 Bryson and Stephen Katz, the odd couple that works

25:10 AT deaths and hypothermia

27:00 William Bartram, Philadelphia's Most Famous Naturalist

29:40 I Guess I Have to Camp Now

30:40 Cal Newport, Johann Hari, and reclaiming attention

34:00 Send me book recommendations

Books mentioned:

A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson)

The Long Walk (Sławomir Rawicz)

The Salt Path (Raynor Winn)

Stolen Focus (Johann Hari),

Cal Newport's writing on attention and reading.

Watch more fun podcast videos:

→ https://youtu.be/YfERMrrskWQ

→ https://youtu.be/yKZPaA1b-XA

Listen to more of these to learn about a life in stand up comedy, life post Mormonism, and moderately woo woo stuff. :)

#BillBryson #AppalachianTrail #LeahRenee #Podcast

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Leah Renee is a comedian based in Philadelphia and New York City.

She’s storyteller comedian with a uniquely personal perspective on culture, religion, gender roles andmotherhood. Leah's comedy offers a warm and distinct hug and wagging finger in a crowded field of Tinder/Trump/Am-I-right? jokes.

Four time Edinburgh Fringe performer Leah's shows have been described as:

"Funny, daring and quite surprising in places with laugh out loud moments of wryness, poignancy, shock and tenderness."

EdFringe Review ★★★★★

"Renee’s exploration of the realities of Mormon life...is eye-opening, funny, well told and, ultimately, very interesting."

One 4 Review ★★★★

Here is how to find Leah Renee other places:

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/LeahReneeComedian/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leahreneecomedian

IG: https://www.instagram.com/leahreneecomedian/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahcreative/

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you like vampires, Imperial Twilight is for you because it's all about compulsive blood suckers!: 19th century opiųm smugglers and 21st century tech billionaires. P.S. This is my website: https://www.leahrenee.co/ and this is the author of Imperial Twilight (the book I review in episode 21) Stephen R. Platt: https://www.stephenrplatt.com/

This episode is not just about old timey trade relations between Britain and China, it's about addiction. What we can learn about China's handling of the dangerous opiųm epidemic admidst our modern day attention fracking crisis?

Is there hope for the human race when it comes to reclaiming our attention which is being harvested at a rate that would make the East India Company blush.

This episode is full on with anecdotes, personal stories, excerpts, animated GIFS, and of course: unnecessary references to Mormonism. How could I not get in on the Mormon + Twilight game that Stephanie Meyer started?

You'll have to wait for the monkey anecdote, just like I did. It was over 400 pages deep in the book when Platt dropped the most delightful glitter bomb of an aside, as the book was wrapping up. Only those who stay until they've eaten their dinner get desert.

For the purposes of indexing and clarity, here's what episode 21 of the Leah Renee Podcast covers:

- Is social media the opiųm of our day?

- Cal Newport's five cognitive fitness tips, I promised to share where you can learn the five things from Episode 16 here: https://youtu.be/yKZPaA1b-XA?si=KuuxnOSWfyo-jJ_Y&t=223

- The Switch Cost Effect (including references to Johann Hari and Gloria Mark's research at UC Irvine)

- Lin Zexu's famous letter to Queen Victoria and the physical, social, and economic harm of the opiųm trade to China

- British dependence on Chinese goods, and China's indifference to their "toys"

- The sobering social media statistic that matches up with heavy opiųm users, that I ran by a teenager to find the numbers may just be right

- New social media bans rolling out in Australia and UK

-  Center for Humane Technology www.humantech.com a fantastic site run by digital ethicists and the creators of The Social Dilemma

- Current bills and legislation to protect children from the harms of the modern digital world:   Kids Off Social Media Act, COPPA 2.0, KIDS Act

- I also complain about how everyone's handwriting sucks, and I don't remember phone numbers or basic math any more.

- The ChatGPT study MIT published about cognitive debt and why using ChatGPT makes you dumber

Linkage:

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: / @leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: / leahreneecomedian

Facebook: / leahreneecomedian

IG: / leahreneecomedian

LinkedIn: / leahcreative

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I met JP a couple of months ago and he offered me free admission to his online breathwork class. Slightly skeptical but always down to woo woo, I went and cried like a frickin baby. I can't say enough good things about my experience, even though it reminded me of the time my ovary exploded.

Episode 20 is a delightful reminder about how what seems like a devastation (being diagnosed with Aaopecia) can be just the nudge you needed to change course.

This episode we talk about:

JP's background in acting/screenwriting background

Losing all his hair to alopecia, and pivoting from the screen to writing comedy

The lightheartedness of JP's classes, despite the heavy material

Leah's Mormon background and scrupulosity (religious OCD), and why a tiered heaven is like wanting a 5.0 GPA

Leah's discovery how breathwork strips back layers of vanish she didn't know was there

JP's first breathwork experience with crappy music and people talking about spirit animals

His epiphany to bring an "East Coast edge," science, good music, and a trainer's push to breathwork

JP's online breathwork pre-COVID set him years ahead of his luddite peers

The insights you can get from stepping back, like realizing you actually want kids

Letting go of dreams and getting really good at the thing you were born to do

How breathwork beats ayahuasca for it's cost, convenience, and no need to puke

The CO2 science behind why hard core athletes get tetany more often than chill people do

Super sciency drops like: transient hypofrontality (shutting down the critical part of your brain)

Tips on how to fit breathwork into busy schedules

Conspiracy-theory siloing and how algorithms will lead grandpa down a Greater Idaho rabbit hole

The agony of "picking a lane," self-trust, and avoiding social media's harms

🙏🙏🙏Thanks for clicking on the description! You're freeing me from spending my time growing on social media, to putting my time into this podcast♥️

You can find JP here:

https://breathewithjp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoo2rpt8qhu_-U1jj76BVDA

https://www.facebook.com/breathewithjp/

https://www.instagram.com/jonpaulcrimi/

Leah's Links:

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: / @leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: / leahreneecomedian

Facebook: / leahreneecomedian

IG: / leahreneecomedian

LinkedIn: / leahcreative

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🪱 Let's open a can of worms...and like it! Oh yeah, here is my website before I forget: https://www.leahrenee.co/ This episode is so much fun! We learn about everything from the myth about cutting worms in half to the origins and practice of laughter yoga.

Cathy Nesbitt is an environmentalist, professional laugher, and worm extraordinaire. She talks about America's trashiest state (thanks to Canada) and how she teamed up with her husband to grow an unconventional business: worm composting! Get to know this lovely vermicomposter in episode 19.

We talk about how

- Worms are the canary of the soil

- Why Red Wigglers are the GOAT of composting worms and how they transformed a desolate patch of land in India

- Cathy's worm stand up show and big idea for worm dating apps

- Why all the worm hate (maybe for the fact that they'll eat us when we die?)

- If men or women like worms better?

- The science behind laughter (oxygen, oxytocin, and how your body doesn't know the difference)

- How you can trick your body into thinking everything is great

- A life hack on how diffuse tension when you want to rage

- To start a laughter club

Cathy's Links:

Buy worms here: https://www.cathyscomposters.com/

Sign up for Laughter Yoga: https://cathysclub.com/

Cathy's Sprouts! https://www.cathyssprouters.com/

🙏🙏🙏Thanks for clicking on the description! It's like hearing my dad say he's proud of me.

Links to take our relationship to the next level:

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: / @leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: / leahreneecomedian

Facebook: / leahreneecomedian

IG: / leahreneecomedian

LinkedIn: / leahcreative

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The shortest podcast I've ever made. (PS: I added more stuff to my site: https://www.leahrenee.co/ ) If for no other reason, listen to this to hear wisdom tooth guy who forgot his entire family, but somehow remembered Batman. 😆

I finished A Mind at Home With Itself, which is basically 300+ pages of Batman guy (he's a metal version of Byron Katie).

I also talk about Julia Cameron's idea of "artist dates" from the book, The Artists Way. On such an occasion this week, I picked up a very fun slang dictionary:  Partridge's Concise Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. An absolute gem of a book.

In this episode we learn phrases like:

• "How you diddling?"
• "to the muttons" (which I'll need to confirm with comedian  @rayolearycomedy  )
• being "mushed up" and
• if I'm a clap trap or not.

I've been reading a lot more because of Cal Newport's five suggestions to improve cognitive fitness, including "landlining" which has been very impactful.

[I talk all about Cal's list in Episode 16 here: https://youtu.be/yKZPaA1b-XA ]

🙏🙏🙏Thanks for showing interest in this episode! It helps the algo know I'm at least moderately interesting.

Links to take our relationship to the next level:

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: / @leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: / leahreneecomedian

Facebook: / leahreneecomedian

IG: / leahreneecomedian

LinkedIn: / leahcreative

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I enjoyed a lovely change of pace interviewing Kris Keppeler. I'm not sure how much you like people talking over the top of each other, but whenever I get the chance to share an anecdote about failed Mormon communism, I can't help but join in. Also, Kris has an incredible laugh which she generously bestows (which is like catnip for me).

This episode includes anecdotes about her time as a dressage and eventing athlete, how she imagined herself as an anteater to get into a role and the importance of how stories change who we are. I don't need to tell you that because if you are a podcast person, you probably already know how stories transform us.

To help this episode's accuracy in search engines, Episode 17 is about:

• Seattle-based Kris Keppeler's work as a voice actor narrator who specializes in non-fiction
• One of her most interesting jobs reading a series of books on Wicca (and how it's actually way more chill than you thought)
• Not all Wiccans are witches or speak Latin, but they do love Gaeilge and Samhain. 
• Betsy Ross, the famous...upholsterer?
• Placing second in a competition using her "sexy voice"
• The most boring part of The Sound of Music is actually pretty good in isolation
• I learn Kris sadly does not share my affection for The Onion, but does love satire
• I fan girl about David Sedaris, yet again
• I ask Kris what her King Midas wish is (and her wish is surprisingly achievable, no genie needed!)
• The importance of Anne Frank, A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea, and connecting the dots
• Why I have Jim Jeffries envy (and his flawless bit about g*n control)
• Learning from the past needs to include a distinction between communism, socialism, downright evil dictators
• Tales from her equestrian days in eventing (a new term I learned, it's basically a horse triathlon)
• Why I'm still in love with Colin Firth

. . . . . Kris' Links! . . . . .

Her website: https://kriskeppeler.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KrisKeppelerNarrates

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KrisKKeppeler

Kris on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2958821/

Substack: https://kriskeppeler.substack.com/

. . . . . Leah's Links! . . . . .

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/LeahReneeComedian/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leahreneecomedian

IG: https://www.instagram.com/leahreneecomedian/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahcreative/

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🤔 Can a white woman be taken seriously when wearing wigs recreationally? To see who's askin', it's me from: https://www.leahrenee.co/

🤔Can female comedians talk about their weight on stage?

🤔 What five things can you do to stop being a crack head (if crack = digital devices).

We get to the bottom of stressful thoughts with unadulterated vulnerability and transparency. (Don't judge me).

Yes, in this episode we talk about the Mother of Inquiry: Byron Katie!

The Father of Digital Distraction Awareness: Cal Newport!

And everything from Bill Burr, addiction +12 Steps, John Robin's appearance on Comedian's Comedian (fantastic podcast by Stuart Goldsmith) and much more.

This episode will have you wondering:

• Will wig wearing be as hateful and taboo as blackface once robots take over?
• Did Cal Newport miss his calling as a ageless child actor?
• What five things can you do to recover your ability to friggin cop on to yourself and concentrate? (One of them is called "landlining")
• Leah admits to being fast pooper #poopprivilege
• The brain equivalent of 10,000 step a day
• The worst book I almost read when I was more than nine months pregnant
• What is a "clarity walk"?
• I ran into the comic who saw me lose it on stage and go nuclear on a bar of Philly Peter Pans
• Why does Leah talk about wigs so much?
• Who is Joh Robins and why does Leah love him?
• The difference between sobriety and abstinence
• When is it considered food addiction?
• What is a "Judge Your Neighbor" worksheet?

NOTE: A video episode version will be available soon! A link to it will be posted when it's live. It will have some bonus content and be slightly longer and way more fun than the audio version. ;)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Leah's Links!

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/LeahReneeComedian/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leahreneecomedian

IG: https://www.instagram.com/leahreneecomedian/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahcreative/

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My first time meeting comedian Danny Johnson and of course we talk about OCD, being easily bothered and why there's not much of a distinction between clean comedy and socially conservative comedy. By the way, here's my website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

If you aren't up to comedy chat, this episode is not for you. We talk alllll about the biz and share interesting trivia like how women exponentially increase the laughter in a room and even having a compelling story (like being paralyzed) doesn't always win over the comedy industry.

Danny Johnson joins the pod to talk about everything from bowling scholarships to losing weight with GLP-1s. Leah laments the difficulty talking about weight loss on stage and Danny's first thought about the Epstein Files were Microsoft Outlook outputs.

If you want to see more of Danny's work here are a few places to check him out:

His recent special, Everything Bothers Me: https://youtu.be/3aZgNtk66Q8?si=pYMdT2cndlD6oSCi

Danny's Dry Bar Special, I Don't Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obpz2eC_6gA

Danny's site: https://dannyjohnson.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiJsx-OdSdpwbK_QnNhmsiA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannyjohnsoncomedy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DannyJohnsonComedy

As always, here's Leah Renee's Links:

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/LeahReneeComedian/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leahreneecomedian

IG: https://www.instagram.com/leahreneecomedian/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahcreative/

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now that I'm not anymor..mon I decided to have a Tarot expert Finbarre Snarey to the pod to introduce me properly! I celebrate one year since my Brighton Fringe debut by talking to a man who got his first Tarot deck in Brighton. I learn all about the hundreds of deck Finn is collecting for a massive project, including gathering cursed decks.

We chat for a bit about the name Barry and the magic shirt that gave him confidence to approach girls as a teenager.

Once we ramble a bit - he pulls the first card! The third card seemed the scariest, thought Finbarre's Tarot pull was delightful.

We make wild predictions about Beanie Babies.

Talk about walking sticks and a mayor who got knocked over by a wheel of cheese.

From Christina Ricci Tarot deck to other bedazzled with crocheted butterflies to the unlikely coupling of Jane Austen and Tarot.

If you'd like to see the work Finbarre Snarey, check him out here:

Finn's website: https://finbarre.com/

Finn's podcasts: https://tarotinterviews.com/ and https://www.tarotdms.com/

Finstagram: https://www.instagram.com/finbarre/

Finn's big project (launching November 2026): https://britishtarotarchive.org/

Leah's Links:

Website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahreneecomedian

Substack: https://substack.com/@leahreneecomedian

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/LeahReneeComedian/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leahreneecomedian

IG: https://www.instagram.com/leahreneecomedian/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahcreative/

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

😳 I bought a used self help book in "good" condition and boy did I get more than I bargained for! I may never find her, but I hope she got what she was yearning for.

🙇‍♀️ This episode includes an apology for last week's rant and the juicy deets about a stranger trying to live a better life.

🚼 I also have a big announcement about a three month old baby boy I adopted this week who's stolen my heart and money.

😙 🎶 I found a delightful trove of whistling professionals.

✅ I will update this description in future, but I can't be bothered getting ready for another weekend in New York.

If you like me, visit my website: https://www.leahrenee.co/

Thanks for listening! See more of Leah's stuff at leahrenee.co

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.