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In this special guest episode of The Dubcast with Dubside, Dubside sits down in Copenhagen with Mikkel Larsen — a Danish teacher who spent six transformative years living in Sisimiut, Greenland from 2010 to 2016.

What began as a leap of faith — moving to Greenland to teach Danish to high school students — turned into a deep immersion in Greenlandic culture. Mikkel shares what it was like navigating language barriers, silent kaffemik gatherings, and the subtle social codes of a small Arctic community. Along the way, he found his way to Qajaq Sisimiut and, before long, was building his own skin-on-frame kayak inside the clubhouse.

Despite having almost no experience, Mikkel was pushed — in classic Greenlandic fashion — straight into competing in the National Greenland Kayaking Championships. He recounts lining up for his first race after only minutes in his new kayak, battling fear, cold water, long-distance takisuumut races, and the humbling reality of always finishing last — yet always finishing.

This is a story about cultural humility, persistence, embarrassment, pride, and the profound feeling of being alive on Arctic water. It’s also a portrait of how Greenlanders welcome outsiders — slowly, quietly, and on their own terms.

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During the Greenland National Kayaking Championships, Dubside sits down in Sisimiut with Danish veterinarian Asger von Wenck, who has made the leap from teaching veterinary surgery at the University of Copenhagen to living and working full-time in Greenland.

With race starts and kayak songs drifting through the background, Asger shares stories about his work with sled dogs, government vaccination programs, rabies prevention, and the surprising absence of ticks in Greenland. He explains the strict microchipping system for dogs, the realities of veterinary care along the vast Arctic coastline, and what it’s like helping patrol teams in the Northeast Greenland National Park.

The conversation ranges far beyond dogs. They discuss Greenlandic food (including raw seal liver and mattak), winter darkness, homelessness in Nuuk, language learning, and the evolving relationship between Denmark and Greenland in a changing political climate.

A thoughtful, wide-ranging 30-minute conversation about life in Greenland—from kayak clubs to seal soup—with the sounds of competition echoing in the Arctic air.

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Before the conversation turns to Tim Gallaway’s Greenland adventures, Andrew and Dubside open the episode with a wide-ranging, characteristically candid check-in on everything surrounding the upcoming Greenland National Kayaking Championships.

Tim Gallaway returns to The Dubcast with Dubside to relive his 2018 trip to Greenland—and to offer a reality-check (and a boost of encouragement) for anyone thinking about heading to Nuuk to compete.

Tim walks Dubside through the whole arc: flight delays and fog diversions, hauling a cut-up skin-on-frame kayak through airports, and the gamble of arriving early enough to rebuild and skin it in the clubhouse. Along the way he shares the unlikely housing luck that made his trip possible, what daily life felt like inside a local home, and the practical rhythm of getting around Nuuk on foot, by bus, and with a backpack full of “just in case” layers.

From there it’s straight into the competition: the short race, rolling—solo and team—harpoon throwing, and the ropes event inside the gym, where the energy of the crowd can turn a single feat into a full-on eruption. Tim also talks food (seal stew, musk ox, and humpback whale), ice-cold glacier water, long golden-hour nights, and post-event hikes.

The conversation closes with Tim’s reflections on why Greenland still calls him back—not just for competition, but for a true expedition.

Tim Gallaway/Kayak To The Sea

The Masik (Qajaq USA's electronic newsletter)

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In this episode of The Dubcast with Dubside, Dubside sits down with longtime friend and expedition paddler Skip Pauls on San Juan Island to trace a lifetime of sea kayaking. Skip recalls cutting his teeth on long-distance days along the New England shoreline—circumnavigating Cape Ann, crossing from Plymouth to Provincetown, and threading the islands of Maine—before discovering the raw, three-dimensional coastline of Mendocino, California.

From solo explorations of unmapped sea caves and surge channels to bull kelp forests, abalone divers, near-misses in rock gardens, and an unforgettable close encounter with a gray whale in stormy seas, Skip paints a vivid portrait of what it means to really know a coastline. Along the way he reflects on mentors, boat choice, safety, and the unique headspace required to paddle big water day after day.

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In this episode, Dubside steps away from kayaks and Greenland to tackle one of the most consequential questions of our time: artificial intelligence. Using simple but unsettling examples—like exponential growth, folded paper, and doubling pennies—he explores why AI’s impact on humanity will be profoundly counterintuitive and easy to underestimate.

From autonomous AI, the Internet as an AI ecosystem, and the impossibility of enforcing ethics or punishment, to environmental costs, religion, theology, and power, Dubside traces a sweeping arc that connects Silicon Valley, colonial history, Indigenous dispossession, and biological vulnerability. Along the way, he asks whether AI represents humanity’s salvation, its undoing, or something even more disturbing—invoking ideas like the Rapture, the Antichrist, and a chilling bargain where convenience is exchanged for control.

Referencing cultural voices like Dolly Parton, historical myths, and moral blind spots, this episode is a provocative meditation on exponential change, narrative power, and whether humanity truly understands what it is giving away—for something that seems cheap at first, but doubles every year.

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In this special guest episode of The Dubcast with Dubside, Dubside sits down with acclaimed Greenlandic filmmaker and artist Inuk Silis Hoegh for a wide-ranging conversation recorded aboard a boat in Nuuk Harbor.

They explore Inuk’s creative journey—from his early short films and fiction work to his powerful documentary Sumé: The Sound of a Revolution, which chronicles the legendary Greenlandic rock band whose music helped ignite cultural self-determination in the 1970s. The discussion also revisits Melting Barricades, Inuk’s provocative 2004 performance art project that imagined a Greenlandic army resisting cultural invasion—an idea that feels newly resonant today.

Along the way, Inuk reflects on art, identity, colonial history, archival memory, and the challenges of filmmaking in the Arctic, including mosquitoes, frost, and fleeting windows of green. The episode closes with insights into his recent land-art film installation The Green Land and his ongoing documentary work.

Melting Barricades

Sumé The Sound of A Revolution

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In this episode of The Dubcast with Dubside, we visit kayak designer and rough water paddler Warren Williamson in his Anacortes workshop. Warren walks us through the evolution of his designs—from the perfectly curved hull of the Cayenne, to the true-to-form baidarka, to the fast and fluid Rosario—each born from years of experimentation with how water truly wants to move around a kayak. We also explore Warren’s innovative paddle development, as he explains how a single Greenland paddle set him on a path from classic narrow blades to the short, wide, ultra-thin power blades he now carves by hand. Chessy Knight shares how these designs perform in the real world of whirlpools, surf, and tidal races. We close with a remembrance of Warren’s long time friend and founder of the Skin Boat School, Corey Freedman, whose mentorship and legendary “Corey’s Goop” helped shape an entire generation of builders. 

LINKS: 

Masik Kayak Rolling (Chessy Knight) 

 The Skin Boat School 

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In this special guest episode of The Dubcast with Dubside, Dubside sits down with longtime SSTIKS organizer and mentor Joanne Barta. Recorded in May 2025 at the TRAQS gathering in Florida, the conversation traces Joanne’s journey from her first awe-filled paddle in Southeast Alaska to becoming a central figure in the South Sound Traditional Inuit Kayak Symposium (SSTIKS) and Qajaq USA events.

Joanne shares how she discovered Greenland paddles, built her own boats, and grew into a respected instructor—especially known for her work teaching kids to roll. She and Dubside talk about what made SSTIKS unique: its deep commitment to families, a full kids’ program with appropriately sized skin-on-frame kayaks and paddles, and a collaborative organizing culture that kept costs low and community at the center.

They also discuss the challenges of keeping an event alive through COVID, and then sparking a rebirth of SSTIKS in 2025 at Vista Park in Skamokawa, Washington. Along the way, Joanne recalls memorable international adventures, including an early traditional kayaking event in Argentina with improvised kayak builds, unfamiliar local customs, and a mayor-backed exemption just to get kayaks home on car roofs.

It’s a 40-minute tour through the history and future of SSTIKS—and a tribute to the community that keeps traditional kayaking thriving.

LINKS:

SSTIKS 2025

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In this episode, Dubside and Andrew visit legendary sea kayaker Nigel Foster and ceramic artist Kristin Nelson at their home in Seattle during their road trip to SSTIKS 2025. Nigel reflects on his lifelong journey on the water — from his early days paddling skin-on-frame boats on the English coast, to designing the Vyneck for his record-setting 1977 circumnavigation of Iceland, and creating iconic kayaks like the Legend, Shadow, and Silhouette. He shares stories of innovation, independence, and the spirit of exploration that has shaped a generation of paddlers. Kristin talks about her ceramic work, her collaborations with other artists, and how handmade objects bring warmth and meaning into everyday life. A conversation about craftsmanship, curiosity, and finding art in both water and clay. 

Links: 

Nigel Foster’s Amazon Page  

Nigel Foster Kayaks 

VitCeramics.com

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A whirlwind primer on Greenland’s National Kayaking Championships—past, present, and (very likely) Nuuk 2026. Fresh from Delmarva, Dubside breaks down the events (races, rolling, ropes, harpoon), the divisions, how scoring works, and what it actually feels like to compete. He shares travel/lodging realities, costs, gear options (including Qajaq USA fleet ideas), and why “attitude over ability” is the only qualifier that matters. Along the way: stories from the beach in Qaqortoq, a lesson in patience from judging days, Nate Apgar’s mid-start mindset shift, and why the whole thing ultimately exists “for the kids.” If you’re curious about joining Team Qajaq USA—or cheering from home—this is your roadmap. #QUSANUUK2026

LINKS:

Delmarva Paddler’s Retreat

Find transcripts to our episodes on The Dubcast with Dubside website on Buzzsprout

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