When you’re one of the greatest skiers of all time, there are some things you only say to the person you trust most in the world. For Mikaela Shiffrin, that person is her mom, Eileen Shiffrin, who has coached and traveled with Mikaela since her first season on the World Cup circuit, at age 15. Eileen has always played an enormous role in her daughter's life and that role grew even larger when Mikaela's father died suddenly a few years ago. So, when Outside decided to interview Mikaela for our Outsiders of the Year issue, we figured the best way to get truly candid answers would be to have Eileen ask the questions. In this episode, we sit in on their conversation, which offers a rare chance to hear how an Olympic champion really feels about the personal challenges she’s faced on her path to the top of her sport.

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Honoring the life of someone who spent their days exploring wild places often means embracing the pursuits that brought them joy. This approach can lead us to all kinds of unconventional memorials, from marathons that are also eating contests, to costumed snow-blading event, to mountaintop poetry readings. In this episode, we talk to snowboarding icon Jeremy Jones and author Peter Moore who, after losing loved ones, found a home for their grief—and their joy—in the mountains.

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All over the country people are creating outrageous unofficial athletic contests that are equal parts grueling and just plain silly. What’s going on? When did it become a thing to bike into the mountains, swim across a frigid lake, then complete an alpine climb? To investigate the peculiar rise of this new breed of multisport non-events, which have neither sponsors nor aid stations, we spoke with the folks behind The Picnic, a Jackson Hole, Wyoming invention that has become quite competitive, despite the fact that it was supposed to be all about the fun.

The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Spiders and other hairy scary critters are everywhere. It’s best—for us and the planet—if we can figure out how to coexist. Backpacker executive editor and devoted spider enthusiast Adam Roy wants to teach you how to do just that. In this episode, he takes our arachnophobic producer Maren Larsen on a journey to go from being a spider-killer to a spider-watcher, where she will stare directly into the eight beady eyes of her greatest fear.

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There’s no way to guarantee that your kids will embrace nature and adventure, but you can do some things to point them in the right direction. Just ask Steven Rinella, host of the MeatEater TV series and podcast, whose earliest lessons to his three children included getting them comfortable with holding worms and snakes and bugs. Or talk to author Katie Arnold, creator of Outside’s Raising Rippers column, who took her first daughter on a multi-day river trip before she could walk. For this episode, aspiring outdoor super dad Paddy O’Connell quizzes Steven and Katie about the lessons they’ve learned while trying to raise dirt-footed tumbleweed nature kids.

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For endurance athlete Dillon Quitugua, ultramarathons are a way to empower fellow Pacific Islanders and also work through the pain of the abuse he’d suffered as a child. Growing up in Hawaii and Guam, he’d been regularly beaten by his father and was diagnosed with PTSD as a teenager. When he began running after college, it enabled him to process what he was feeling. But as he pushed himself to take on longer distances, the physical and emotional toll of the effort caused him to relive the trauma of his past. And yet, for Dillon, the only choice was to keep going—until he reached a place of love and forgiveness.

If you’re suffering from abuse or you know someone who is, help is available. Call or text the Child Help Hotline at 800-422-4453. Or reach the the National Domestic Abuse Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE or texting START to 88788.

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Indigenous model and activist Quannah ChasingHorse lives her life in two very different worlds. Growing up in a tiny Native village just south of the Arctic Circle, she has seen the effects of climate change firsthand her entire life, and she says that it left her with no choice but to become an activist. But for as long as she can remember, she’s dreamed of becoming a model. When her activism work got her noticed by a scout at Calvin Klein, she saw her chance to live both dreams at once. In this episode, she tells the story that landed her on the cover of Outside Magazine and has been turned into a documentary from the North Face called Walking Two Worlds.

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The singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie applies the same approach to ultramarathons that he does to touring: just keep moving. A decade ago, he got into distance running almost by accident, entering a trail race in Northern California with little idea of what he was doing. He’s since become a passionate and committed ultramarathoner, entering close to 50 races and training hard even when he’s on the road with a band. For Ben, running is a way to both connect back to the playfulness of childhood and embrace the unknowns that come with pushing your body and soul to the limit. As he laps the U.S. on a joint tour with Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie, he talks about the freedom he finds on the trail and the lessons he learned this summer after breaking down physically and emotionally during the hardest run of his life.

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Nothing says “for better or for worse” like forcing your wedding guests to trek 60 miles to a ceremony deep in the jungle. While many people dream of nuptials involving elegant dresses, long-winded toasts, and tasteful floral arrangements, others hear the call of the adventure wedding. The more hardcore the experience, the more meaningful it is for all involved—or something like that. In this episode, we bring you the story of a union forged in the Guatemalan rainforest, where a creature came in the night to drink the blood of one of the guests.

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What really happens to you when you spend months trekking the Pacific Crest Trail? Getting tired and filthy is just the start of it. We talked to dozens of PCT thru-hikers during their resupply in Ashland, Oregon—a popular stopover point some 1,500 miles into the 2,665-mile route—about how their really long walk through the mountains had changed them. For some, the journey had been exactly what they imagined. For others, it was full of surprises.

Want to learn more about life on the PCT? Follow reports from the field at backpacker.com/pct2023.

The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus.