Outside Podcast

The first written accounts of surfing in Africa predate accounts of surfing in Hawaii by 100 years. In his new movie Wade in the Water, documentarian David Mesfin asks: what else have we glossed over in the history of black surfing? The result is a stunning look at black suffering and black joy, and how a group of people who have been stereotyped as avoiding water actually have a deep and meaningful history with the ocean.

What happens to your body when you get lost and confused on a mountain in the bitter cold of a winter night? In 2016 The Outside Podcast launched with this harrowing story of a lost motorist fighting for his life. Based on Peter Stark's classic feature, Frozen Alive, it is still considered a high-water mark for experiential audio storytelling.

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Matthew Bryce went surfing alone. Would he die alone, too? As he was riding waves, Bryce got blown out to sea. He had a wetsuit and a surfboard, and nothing else. No way to call for help, or signal to the rescuers that he could see searching for him in a helicopter. Alone and freezing in the ocean, how do you keep from giving up?

The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

When John Orth, a violin maker from Colorado, set out to break his own world record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours, he had no idea he was competing against a college kid from Virginia. And that kid, Andrew Shapiro, didn't know Orth had his eyes set on the same number--10,000 pull-ups. No one had previously thought such a feat was possible, and as the two men grabbed their respective bars and started to pull, they would find a new limit to human endurance.

The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Outside spends a lot of time ranking the best mountain towns in the country, but which one is the worst? Is Aspen’s conspicuous wealth worse than Jackson Hole’s false modesty? How many billionaires does it take to ruin a local economy? Is there any hope for the ski-bum lifestyle? Paddy O’Connell and Frederick “Rico” Reimers bring us a debate you only win by losing.

The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Shaun White has been the face of snowboarding for two decades. So what is he doing in retirement? A lot. He’s launching his own snowboard brand. He’s raising money to protect public lands. He’s even starting his own half-pipe competition. In this live interview from The Outside Festival in Denver, former NFL linebacker Dhani Jones talks with White about life after pro sports and how the keys to his past success play a role in his future.

Tickets to the 2025 Outside Festival and Summit are on sale now at early bird prices at theoutsidefestival.com

The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

It was the trip of a lifetime. Several months paddling the Amazon, trying to eat without being eaten. It almost all went to plan. But when Bruce Frey and Ed Welch found themselves being trailed through the jungle by a jaguar at sunset, their only choice was to take refuge in a tree and hope they could survive the night.

The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

JJ Harrison is the only person at a rodeo who is supposed to get hit by the bulls. As the clown, he’s responsible for everyone’s safety. The crowd loves him. It’s a good life—even if it hurts a little. Then over the summer, with JJ in the ring, a bull named Party Bus jumped the fence at the rodeo in Sisters, Oregon. Five people were injured, and it seemed like the kind of thing that might end the small-town event. Alex Ward reports on the ups and downs of the modern clown. 

The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

The US military is responsible for the emission of more greenhouse gasses than any other single institution in the world. It is actively planning for the consequences of climate change, but is it doing anything to prevent it? In the new season of How We Survive, the team from Marketplace looks at how rising global temperatures and more extreme weather will change the future of conflict and combat, and what that means for soldiers in the field.

The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Claire Nelson was more than a mile off the trail when she fell 30 feet in Joshua Tree National Park. As she lay there with a broken pelvis, she realized she had no cell service, and no one knew where she was. As three days alone and broken in the desert turned into four, she was forced to reckon with all of the choices that had brought her there, and ask: What does it mean to be truly alone?

The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.