The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Ginny Yurich sits down with Tamara Neufeld Strijack, co-author of Reclaiming Our Students, for a powerful conversation about what children need to thrive in a world increasingly dominated by screens, schedules, and peer influence. Tamara explains why children are meant to orient around caring adults—and how strong relationships with parents, teachers, and mentors create the safety children need to learn, grow, and become themselves.

They explore the essential role of play, nature, movement, and the arts as “emotional playgrounds”—places where frustration, anxiety, and other emotions can safely move through rather than erupt as aggression. Tamara also unpacks the powerful shift from “mad to sad,” explaining why allowing children to experience disappointment and tears is actually part of developing resilience.

Plus, Ginny and Tamara discuss “collecting”—the simple practice of intentionally welcoming children back into relationship—and why feeling seen, enjoyed, and cared for can transform homes and classrooms. It’s a hopeful, practical conversation about slowing down, reconnecting, and making room for the experiences children were designed to have.

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Ginny Yurich sits down with physician, resilience expert, and Your Brain on Nature author Dr. Eva Selhub to explore the remarkable ways nature influences our brains, bodies, relationships, and overall well-being. Drawing from decades of research, Dr. Selhub explains why our increasing separation from the natural world—combined with constant screens, information overload, and chronic stress—may be taking a greater toll than we realize.

They explore surprising research on everything from indoor plants and cognitive performance to texting, mental fatigue, dopamine, attention, empathy, and the accumulating effects of everyday stress. Dr. Selhub explains how nature can help restore an overwhelmed nervous system, improve our capacity to think and connect, and provide a powerful counterbalance to modern life.

Plus, hear why pets can strengthen connection, how gardening and walking support the brain, why even the aromas of trees may influence our health, and how small doses of nature woven into everyday life can make a meaningful difference.

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What if one of the most effective parenting tools isn’t another consequence or reward, but play?

Ginny is joined by Dr. Kim Van Dusen, licensed marriage and family therapist, registered play therapist, and author of Parenting Through Play, to explore how play can transform challenging behavior, strengthen connection, and bring more peace into family life. Dr. Kim explains why play is a child’s natural language and shares simple ways parents can use it to diffuse power struggles, ease transitions, and encourage cooperation without abandoning healthy boundaries.

They also discuss the importance of decompression time, why saying “yes” more often can reduce conflict, and how parents can recognize when they’re over-parenting and give kids more opportunities to build independence and confidence. Dr. Kim offers practical strategies for helping parents regulate themselves, making mealtimes and picky eating more playful, and continuing to connect through play as children grow into tweens and teens.

This conversation is a refreshing reminder that parenting doesn’t always have to become more serious when things get difficult. Sometimes, adding a little play is exactly what changes everything.

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Learn more abou her work here!

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What happens when the faith that once sustained you no longer feels big enough for the questions you’re carrying?

Ginny sits down with bestselling author Ian Morgan Cron to explore the newly re-released Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale, a novel about a burned-out pastor whose crisis of faith sends him on an unexpected pilgrimage through Italy and into the life and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.

Ian shares why seasons of questioning don’t necessarily signal the loss of faith—they can become invitations into something deeper, richer, and more resilient. Together, he and Ginny explore pilgrimage, the wisdom of ancient Christian traditions, the importance of listening to our bodies, and what can happen when we step outside our routines and relinquish control.

They also explore St. Francis’s profound connection to the natural world and why time outdoors can awaken wonder, restore perspective, and reconnect us with God. It’s a thoughtful conversation about embracing mystery, paying attention, and allowing our faith to grow alongside us through every season of life.

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What if one of the best tools for raising capable, confident kids is already sitting in your kitchen?

In this episode, Ginny talks with Jack and Emmy Zhang, founders of Cooking for Levi and authors of Weeknight Winners: Family Dinners, about how cooking alongside their five-year-old son, Levi, has become about so much more than food. What started with Jack sharing his love of cooking has grown into a family rhythm that builds connection, confidence, curiosity, language, and real-world skills.

Jack and Emmy share practical ways to involve kids in the kitchen—even when they're young or parents aren't confident cooks themselves. From pouring and stirring to choosing ingredients, exploring foods from around the world, and eventually learning more advanced skills, small opportunities to contribute can have a lasting impact. They also discuss how food naturally opens doors to sensory exploration, vocabulary, geography, culture, and meaningful family conversation.

It’s a joyful reminder that children don't always need another activity or screen to keep them occupied. Sometimes they simply need to be invited into the things we're already doing.

Grab the cookbook here!

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Ginny welcomes midwife and longtime friend Beth Barbeau of Indigo Forest back for her tenth appearance to continue their conversation about birth, motherhood, and the often-overlooked postpartum season. Ginny shares the story of her third and final home birth and reflects on the different lessons each birth taught her—from realizing her body wasn’t broken, to seeing how small changes can dramatically affect outcomes, to discovering a deeper sense of confidence, surrender, and trust in herself.

The conversation then turns to what Beth calls the “fourth trimester” and why mothers and babies need far more rest, support, and protection after birth than our fast-moving culture typically allows. Beth offers practical ideas for creating a slower postpartum period, setting boundaries with visitors, accepting help, and giving the body time to recover.

Ultimately, Ginny and Beth explore a bigger question: What does birth and postpartum ask of us—and what can it give back? Their answer keeps returning to something simple but increasingly countercultural: slow down, create margin, seek support, and make space to experience one of life’s biggest transitions.

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Ginny Yurich sits down with Active Skin Repair founder Justin Gardner to talk about the surprisingly simple product that has become a go-to in the Yurich household for the inevitable cuts, scrapes, bug bites, burns, and skin irritations that come with an active childhood. Justin explains the science behind hypochlorous acid—a molecule naturally produced by the body’s immune system—and how he helped bring a medical-grade version of the technology from hospitals into everyday family life.

They explore why formulation matters, how Active Skin Repair can replace a cabinet full of single-use products, and why its non-stinging, scent-free approach has resonated especially strongly with parents looking for simpler, cleaner options. Justin also shares the entrepreneurial journey behind growing the company from personally mailing its first orders to serving more than a million customers and landing on shelves in every CVS.

Plus, hear about the company’s expansion into hydration products and mineral sunscreens, the grit required to build a category-defining brand, and why sometimes the best products for getting kids outside are the ones that make parents a little less worried about what happens when they get there.

Don’t forget to put this in your first aid kit! Visit ActiveSkinRepair.com and use the code 1000HOURS to save 20% on all Active Skin Repair products.

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Ginny Yurich sits down with acclaimed designer Jean Stoffer and her daughter Grace Start for a conversation that reaches far beyond beautiful homes. Jean shares the remarkable, decades-long journey from earning $3.85 an hour at an interior design firm to building Jean Stoffer Design and Stoffer Home alongside her family—a story filled with unexpected turns, new skills, big risks, and a willingness to keep asking, “Why not try?” Along the way, Jean and Grace offer a refreshing picture of what can happen when parents recognize the unique gifts of their adult children and make room for them to contribute, grow, and build something together.

They also discuss Jean and Grace’s children’s book, We Are Home When We Are Together, and its message of trusting God through moves, changing seasons, and the inevitable transitions of family life. From raising adaptable kids to navigating the empty-nest years, respecting adult children, embracing imperfect and well-lived-in homes, and trusting God with what comes next, this episode is a beautiful reminder that home is ultimately less about where we live and more about the people—and the faith—we carry with us.

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Ginny Yurich sits down with psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Rick Hanson to talk about a truth mothers desperately need to hear: you deserve to be happy and healthy, too. Drawing from his new book A Happy Healthy Mom, co-written with his wife, Jan Hanson, Rick explains why motherhood can be profoundly depleting, and why caring for mothers is one of the most important ways we can care for children.

Together, Ginny and Rick explore practical ways to lower demands, increase support, and build resilience during the motherhood years. They discuss the invisible workload many mothers carry, learning to let things go, asking more of partners, avoiding over-giving, managing anxiety and anger, and recognizing the small moments of goodness woven into ordinary days.

Ginny also shares how getting outside transformed her own experience of motherhood, while Rick explains how nature, perspective, and intentionally “taking in the good” can help restore an overwhelmed nervous system. This is a compassionate, practical conversation for any mom who has ever felt exhausted, stretched thin, or like she’s running on empty

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What if the secret to a calmer home isn’t organizing more—but taking more away?

Ginny sits down with New York Times bestselling author Myquillyn Smith to talk about her new book, House Hushing, and a refreshingly different approach to decluttering. Myquillyn introduces “backwards decluttering”: temporarily removing the visual noise from a room before deciding what deserves to come back. The goal isn’t a picture-perfect minimalist home, but one with enough margin to handle the beautiful mess of real life.

From empty kitchen counters and warmer lighting to meaningful collections, rounded edges, natural elements, and the “infrastructure of welcome,” Myquillyn shares practical ways to create a home that feels both simpler and deeply personal. She and Ginny explore why our surroundings affect our moods, how clutter becomes a silent—or not-so-silent—to-do list, and why hospitality is less about having a spotless house and more about creating space for people.

This conversation is an invitation to create a home that asks less of you—and gives you more room to actually live.

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