Would you make it? This is the question that haunts us when we hear about survival situations. All of our training, our experience, our will- would it be enough to make it home? We go in for a deep dive on the topic of survival, all backed by science, using Laurence Gonzalez’s excellent book on the topic as our guide. Listen through to the end to learn Gonzalez’s 12 rules for survival- a must listen for anyone interested in making it through dire situations!

By far, this interview was our favorite podcast. Sitting down with Dana Gleason was a lifetime highlight for both Matt and myself, and Dana shared some awesome stories, advice, and laughs as we discussed his 30+ years as one of the best makers in the outdoor gear industry. Some of the topics covered:

-Advice for gear designers and entrepreneurs

-How (and why) Dana started Mystery Ranch

-Dana’s journey as a businessman and gear designer

Honestly, this podcast is for anyone that has any interest in the outdoor gear community- Enjoy!

Ruthsac vaporware. Picture Courtesy of The North Face.

What are the boundaries of consciousness? Where do cognition and a sense of self begin? These are some of the questions we seek to answer, and we use an unlikely vehicle- the raven. Join Matt and I as we explore the world of avian consciousness, and by doing so, maybe learn something about our own. 

(image courtesy of wikipedia)

This episode is all about bugs- we start with a classic short story on Man Vs. Nature, and then transition to a discussion about our relationship with insects, and what we can do to minimize their interference with our enjoyment of the outdoors. Also, if you've ever wondered why the indigenous people of the Amazon are so badass....you'll want to tune in. 

This episode features an interview with former Air Force Pararescueman Mike Lauria. Mike has just finished his time at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, and will be starting his residency shortly. We discuss his step by step process for promoting peak mental and technical performance while under stress, and he gives us a how-to demonstration, with lots of supporting information. If you want to know how to perform at your absolute best when it really matters, be it a survival situation, a combat zone, or an important negotiation, this is definitely the episode to tune in for.

www.michaellauria.com

https://www.airforce.com/careers/detail/pararescue

www.emcrit.org

https://twitter.com/resuspadawan?lang=en

In this Special Episode, Matt and I go through our kits (the various levels thereof), and their contents. If you've been wondering about how we decide what gets a place in our bags and what doesn't, this is the episode for you!

In this podcast, we discuss the sometimes divisive figure Christopher McCandless (AKA, Alexander Supertramp).  We focus on three main questions: Who was Chris McCandless, Why did he die, and Why do we care? Some answers belong to science- and some to the individual. 

Photo of the "Gran Desierto" where McCandless watched the moon rise on the New Year

Marked Map, showing location of the "magic bus"

Chris McCandless' last photo. Courtesy of the Christopher McCandless Foundation.

A collection of vignettes about Craig Child's experiences with a wide ranging type and number of animals, we found many of the stories in here to echo our own thoughts and beliefs. Not the sort of book that needs to be consumed all at once, you can sit down, read a story or two, and come back to it later. And you will.

The Bloody Sire, by Robinson Jeffers

It is not bad.  Let them play.

Let the guns bark and the bombing-plane

Speak his prodigious blasphemies.

It is not bad, it is high time,

Stark violence is still the sire of all the world’s values.

What but the wolf’s tooth whittled so fine

The fleet limbs of the antelope?

What but fear winged the birds, and hunger

Jewelled with such eyes the great goshawk’s head?

Violence has been the sire of all the world’s values.

Who would remember Helen’s face

Lacking the terrible halo of spears?

Who formed Christ but Herod and Caesar,

The cruel and bloody victories of Caesar?

Violence, the bloody sire of all the world’s values.

Never weep, let them play,

Old violence is not too old to beget new values.

Skull of a Mountain Lion. Notice the wide zygomatic arch beneath the orbits.

The Mountain Hardwear Kiva 4 Person Tent. No longer made.

• HYPERLITE MOUNTAIN GEAR

• MYSTERY RANCH

This book was a formative one for both Matt and myself. I was given a copy by a very good friend while we hunted elk together in New Mexico- Nelson gives voice to many thoughts that I myself have had. It's raw, and honest, and speaks to something deep inside. 

Assefi, N. P., Sherman, K. J., Jacobsen, C., Goldberg, J., Smith, W. R., & Buchwald, D. (2005). A randomized clinical trial of acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture in fibromyalgia. Annals of Internal Medicine, 143(1), 10–19.

Berger, L. R. (2006). Brief communication: Predatory bird damage to the Taung type-skull ofAustralopithecus africanus Dart 1925. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 131(2), 166–168. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20415

Krzywicki, H. J., & Chinn, K. S. K. (1967). Human Body Density and Fat of an Adult Male Population as Measured by Water Displacement. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 20(4), 305–310. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/20.4.305

Free HTML Version of To Build a Fire

In this podcast, Matt and I go through one of London's most famous works about the elemental relationship between men, dogs, and fire. In the second half, we discuss our preferred fire starting techniques and kits, and share some anecdotes about our times in the backcountry.

http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/LostFace/fire.html (1908 Version)

http://london.sonoma.edu/writings/Uncollected/tobuildafire.html (1902 Version)

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/arts-culture/the-juhoansi-tribe-in-action/

Dana Lynn, C. (2014). Hearth and campfire influences on arterial blood pressure: Defraying the costs of the social brain through fireside relaxation. Evolutionary Psychology, 12(5), 147470491401200500.

Fessler, D. M. (2006). A burning desire: steps toward an evolutionary psychology of fire learning. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 6(3), 429–451.

Kox, M., van Eijk, L. T., Zwaag, J., van den Wildenberg, J., Sweep, F. C. G. J., van der Hoeven, J. G., & Pickkers, P. (2014). Voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system and attenuation of the innate immune response in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(20), 7379–7384. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1322174111

Wiessner, P. W. (2014). Embers of society: Firelight talk among the Ju/’hoansi Bushmen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(39), 14027–14035.