Open Air Humans

In episode 11, Linda Black Elk shares her transformative experience with and expansive knowledge of indigenous plant medicines and foods. As an indigenous ethnobotanist working at the intersection of plant medicine and food sovereignty, Linda shares her experience regarding the unacknowledged sentience of plants and how they’re always communicating with each other and with us - if we’re open to looking and listening more closely. Follow Linda @linda.black.elk

In Episode 10, an exploration of how immersion in nature literally changes our physiology and how micro-dosing awe can keep us more resilient against life’s mental and physical challenges. All of this from award winning journalist and author Florence Williams, whose books The Nature Fix and Heartbreak look at the actual science behind how time outside make us happier, healthier and more creative. In the Nature Fix, Florence travels the globe looking at how different cultures use nature experiences as a tonic in modern times and in Heartbreak, she goes into the wild in attempt to heal her own. Find Florence’s books and articles for Outside Magazine, The Atlantic and more at florencewilliams.com Photo courtesy Mikaela Hamilton Steinwedell.

Also today, an Open Air Diary from Marilyn who recounts a powerful memory of a childhood thunderstorm.

Part two of our discussion with Jim Zartman.

In episode 8, searching for beauty as an emotional & spiritual practice, cold exposure to cure nearly all that ails you and how extended mileage in nature is medicine for the mind heart and body. All of this from author, artist, podcaster and enneagram coach Jim Zartman. Through his work as a coach, mentor, speaker & author, Jim helps individuals grow and self-actualize through the Art of Growth. To read a collection of Jim’s poems and essays visit jimzartman.com or look for his book “And I Would LIft You” on amazon.com - You can learn more about his enneagram coaching, discover your enneagram type and listen Jim’s insightful podcast The Art of Growth at theartofgrowth.org

In episode 5, an exploration of how Forager Chef Alan Bergo is making forgotten food unforgettable. Having spent more than a decade in some of the best restaurants in the midwest before coming to foraging, Alan brings a unique culinary mindset to gathering wild food and you can feel that in his first book, The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora as well as in the wild food series Field Forest Feast. In today’s discussion, a meditation on how gathering, harvesting and eating wild food with a focus on micro-seasonality can have a profound impact on your physical, mental and spiritual well being.

In episode 6, poet and Yosemite park ranger @yosemite_shelton on how the raw beauty of our national parks can rearrange your molecules and allow you to live in the miraculous. Shelton is an historian, author and advocate to get more people of all backgrounds into our national parks to discover how these places can return us to the sacred connection we humans once had with the land. Shelton’s likely invited more first-time visitors to our national parks than anyone else in America, including a special invitation to @oprah to camp out in Yosemite. Listen to the end to find out what happened when she received his moving letter.

In episode 5, a meditation on what happens when we look more closely at the world around us and participate in something humans have been doing since they began walking the Earth: gathering wild food. Author and edible plant expert Sam Thayer discusses how the small miracles you witness while out gathering food reveals the sacredness of the forest and how tending the wild can lead to a spiritually rewarding relationship with nature.

On March 6th, 2021 Emily Ford made history as the first woman and person of color to thru hike the 1200 mile Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin in the dead of winter, sleeping out in temps as low as -35 for 69 days as she made her way across the state. Emily set out on this journey with a borrowed sled dog named Diggins to challenge herself but also to offer representation to inspire more people of color to spend time in wild places to which they may not have easy access or in which they’ve historically been made to feel unwelcome. In episode 4, a discussion about what happens in your mind during a very long hike, why winter is the most under-appreciated season (including the benefits of cold plunging) and how you can help Emily introduce more young people to the wilderness for the very first time. This episode also includes our first Open Air Diary from Becky in Minneapolis.

In episode 3, the life-improving qualities of discovering our cosmic insignificance through nature-immersed moments of awe — and what happens when you begin to cook and eat more of your meals outside. All of this from James Beard award-winning chef and television creator Andrew Zimmern. Andrew is well known as the host of the Bizarre Foods franchise but more recently has created shows like What’s Eating America for MSNBC, Family Dinner for Magnolia Network and the forthcoming Wild Game Kitchen for the Outdoor Channel, which we discuss his motivations for making in this wide ranging discussion with a one-of-a-kind culinary adventurer. Don’t be surprised if you leave this episode planning to cook your next meal over an open fire.

In episode 2, a story about second chances. And how wild things can turn a life right side up - in incredibly profound ways. Rodney Stotts is one of very few black falconers in America. He’s recently written a book about how birds of prey helped to lift him out of a life of dealing drugs after his first encounter with a Eurasian Screech Owl he calls Mr. Hoots. The story of what he’s come through and what he’s building now is one you’ll never forget.