The MeatEater

In this episode of the Bear Grease Podcast, host Clay Newcomb continues the story of Ishi, known as “The Last Stone Age Man,” following his relocation from the small town of Oroville, California, where he emerged in 1911 to the museum in Berkeley, California. During this period, Ishi forms a remarkable friendship with Saxton Pope — the namesake of the Pope and Young Club. Archery historian Gene Hopkins joins Clay to explore Ishi’s transition and adaptation to modern society, as well as the circumstances surrounding his tragic death.

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This week, Tony breaks down some of the sneaky ways an upland road trip can break bad for you and your dogs, and how to avoid them.

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This week on Rut Fresh, we’re breaking down how to hunt the first major cold front of the October and what it means for deer movement across the country. Jake is joined by Mark Kenyon, Javin Mullet of Whitetail Edge, Zac Keim from Ohio, and Aaron Hepler of the InCamp Podcast in Pennsylvania.

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Thanks to our sponsor Land.com

Spencer Neuharth hosts MeatEater Trivia with Janis Putelis, Randall Williams, Brody Henderson, Seth Morris, Cory Calkins, Maggie Hudlow, and Jordan Sillars.

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The Gnome arrowed the moose in late afternoon after days of stalking it through the rugged mountain terrain. It hadn’t been an easy hunt, but after one glimpse, he couldn’t get the idea of those paddles adorning his hut out of his mind. And the size of the hindquarters on the beast assured him that the effort would be well worth it.

He knew he’d have to make quick work of gutting and quartering the meat, and quickly got to it. As the golden light of the sunset faded into darkness, he lit a fire to facilitate his knife work and hopefully discourage any hungry scavengers from disturbing him.

As he finished hanging the massive moose quarters in a tree and stood back to admire them, draped in the distant glow of the flames and moonlight, his stomach growled. He’d be eating well this winter.

With a long walk out ahead of him, he decided to have a quick meal before starting the trek to his hut. He grabbed the crimson heart he had pulled from deep in the cavity of the moose and, using his bloody fingers and knife, began to break it down. He started by removing the arteries atop the organ and trimming away the waxy fat that encased it. Then, he followed the lines of the arteries to easily slice it into three large steaks.

He sharpened a stick and wove the meat through the skewer until he was satisfied it would stay put during cooking. He then pulled a small pouch of mushroom dust from his pants’ pocket and thoroughly seasoned the meat.

The Gnome crouched low beside the fire and held the stick so the meat began to cook over the hot coals. The smell of the meat charring over the heat of the fire made his mouth water immediately. He rotated the stick to ensure even cooking, but his patience was dwindling. The heart steak nearest the end of the stick began to curl up, and the Gnome quickly swiped it up, juggling the steaming meat in his unoccupied hand.

Still too hot, he greedily bit into the steak, scorching the insides of his mouth but reveling in the warmth and explosion of flavor. Rich, earthy seasoning, enhanced by the kiss of flames, enveloped the tender, slightly irony flesh of the heart. The Gnome let out a satisfied *mmmm *and quickly devoured the rest of the steak. He sat back and, as he finished cooking and eating his supper, marveled at the cloudless starry night and toenail moon that hung lazily above him.

With a full belly, he decided it was time to get moving. He loaded the backstraps, tenderloins, and skull onto his pack. The paddles stuck out so far that he’d have to be careful walking out of the timber. Again, he marveled at how such a massive creature had moved so casually through the tight trees, downed logs, and steep terrain. Unaccustomed to having such a wide load, his journey would not be quite so effortless.

Before thoroughly putting out the fire, he decided to light a torch to guide his way home. The Gnome had excellent vision, but the moon was slight, and he didn’t want to risk tripping and breaking off a tine. With a heave, he shouldered the heavy pack and, torch in hand, began to weave his way down the mountain.

His every step was calculated, but his progress was slow. Without such a burdensome pack on, he’d be walking in double time. But eventually, he made it out of the steepest country and decided to stop by a familiar lake for a drink and a quick break. The galaxies reflected in the glass water, and the Gnome took a moment to be thankful for the stillness and serenity in such a majestic place.

Realizing he didn’t have much longer to walk, the Gnome loaded back up and set out once again. When he reached the distant shore of the lake, his torch shone on a sign that hadn’t been there when he walked in over a week before.

“Public Land For Sale,” the sign read. The Gnome read it again in disbelief. He continued to stare at it, and disbelief turned to disgust. Disgust turned to fury.

He set the sign aflame with his torch. He stood and watched it burn until nothing was left but cinders. Then he poured some water over them to ensure they wouldn’t spread and huffed with a sense of relief.

He chuckled to himself. They could try to sell this land, but they’d have to get past The Gnome first. And the giant trolls that dwelled in the mountains. And the fairies, as small as they were, could release fury like no other. All the creatures, mythical and otherwise, that relied on this land would never stand for this. And they sure as hell would put up a fight.

Want to celebrate the Gnome in all his glory? Click here to get the Warden of the Wild Gnome T-Shirt. We’ll be dropping new shirts and stories every month to commemorate the Year of the Gnome.

A suspect has been arrested for murdering two teenagers who were camping in Arizona in May of this year.

Thomas Henry Brown, 31, is being held on a $2 million cash bond for two counts of first-degree murder after authorities say he shot and killed Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17, on May 26, 2025. The murders took place at a campsite on Mt. Ord, which is part of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest.

The murders shocked local residents as the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) struggled for months to detain a suspect. But according to a report from that office obtained by MeatEater, detectives zeroed in on Brown after his DNA was found in Clark’s vehicle, on both victims, and on gloves found near Clark’s vehicle.

“Based on the evidence collected, Thomas Brown provided false or misleading information regarding his involvement. Despite stating he was never inside V2’s [Clark’s] vehicle, Thomas Brown’s DNA evidence was recovered from inside the vehicle, directly contradicting that claim,” the report reads. “Additionally, Thomas’ DNA evidence was collected inside the two gloves located near V2’s vehicle, containing DNA from both V1 [Kjolsrud] and V2 [Clark]. V1’s blood was present on the exterior of both gloves.”

Clark and Kjolsrud had gone camping on Mt. Ord on Sunday, May 25th, according to Clark’s mother, Sandra Sweeney. But when they didn’t return home by the next day, Kjolsrud’s mother called the Gila County Sheriff’s Office to report that her daughter was missing.

Deputies arrived on the scene and found Clark’s vehicle, a 1998 Mercedes-Benz SUV, and noticed blood on the rear bumper. The rear door was unlocked, and they also found a bloody pillowcase inside.

They found the teens’ campsite a short time later and followed what appeared to be drag marks in the dirt heading towards a fenceline. They crossed the fence and found the bodies of the two victims 10 to 20 feet away.

Both Clark and Kjolsrud had been shot multiple times and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Brown first appeared on law enforcement’s radar when he volunteered his drone footage to help with the investigation.

“One of the tips received was from a male subject who was identified as Thomas Brown, who advised he was camping on Mount Ord on 05/25/25,” according to the report. “Thomas advised he flew his own personal drone on the mountain and had video which he wished to share.”

That account is corroborated by a since-deleted Reddit post that was made by an account that appears to belong to Brown.

“This weekend my wife, pup, and I checked it out for the first time and it was great. Terrible news to hear when my wife came home and told me what happened. Devastating to see this happen to these two who literally are just starting their adult life,” the post reads, adding, “EDIT Called the tip line; I have some drone footage from the weekend.”

In interviews with law enforcement, Brown admitted to camping on Mt. Ord on the day of the murders. He said his wife left on the morning of Sunday, May 25th, and he was by himself until he left on the morning of the next day. He was also seen by a separate group of five campers on the evening of May 25th.

Thomas admitted to interacting with the victims while at a campsite near the top of the mountain. He provided accurate descriptions of the teens and their vehicles, but he denied having physical contact with them or entering their vehicles. Instead, he said, he went back to his car and drove it back up to that campsite near the top of the mountain, but Clark’s SUV was no longer there.

The five campers who saw Thomas told law enforcement they interacted with Thomas throughout the evening. They said they observed Thomas’ blue Kia Rio parked near Clark’s vehicle and told detectives they perceived Thomas as “strange.”

Along with the DNA evidence collected from the victims and their vehicles, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office found belongings from both victims along a trail Brown claims to have hiked. On September 27, 2025 (over four months after the homicides took place), MCSO homicide detectives returned to Mt. Ord and attempted to retrace the routes Brown claims to have traveled. Along that trail, they found “items… associated with the victims from social media posts and video surveillance obtained from a store.”

The sheriff’s office does not say what those items were, but investigators claim the fact that they were found along a trail Brown admitted to hiking is further evidence of his guilt.

Brown was married but does not appear to have any children.

He owned and operated Brown’s Brush, which sells 3D-printed handguards and stocks for firearms. He also at one point sold painted, 3D-printed figurines.

Authorities say he was a veteran of the U.S. Army, which he references in a Reddit post from last week.

“My psychiatrist resigned when Donald and DOGE started impacting the VA and I still haven't been able to get in for an appointment; in over 200 days lol. I've had nurses call me to make sure all is well with me, apologize, and ensure I've been getting my prescriptions,” he wrote.

Brown was extremely active on Reddit, posting multiple times per week for the past seven years. He would occasionally post about politics and firearms to accounts such as r/Trumpvirus and r/MarchAgainstNazis, which describes itself as “an Antifascist/Anti-Nazi subreddit standing AGAINST radical white nationalist terrorists and other hate groups and enablers, both on-site and off.”

Law enforcement has not released a motive for Brown’s alleged actions, and MCSO’s Captain David Lee declined to speculate when asked about it at a press conference.

Lee did confirm that Brown does not appear to have known either victim.

The families of both teens have remembereded their kids in comments given to the media.

“He was a very happy, funny, helpful, wonderful person. I think a lot of people always want to think of their child, living or dead, as this great human being. He actually really was a great human being,” Sandra Sweeney, Clark’s mother, told MeatEater.

Sweeney recalls a time not long ago when she was in a car accident and her son was the first person who came to help her.

“He was the first person that came. And he was sitting there talking to the police officers, and he's like a little adult. He's a 17-year-old boy who, if you didn't know him, you'd think he was 25. And he's having a conversation with the officers, and they're like, wow, you're really a responsible young man. You show up here for your mom,” she said.

Simone Kjolsrud, Pandora’s mother, remembered her daughter in remarks during a press conference announcing Brown’s arrest.

“My daughter, Pandora, was a beautiful, brilliant light in this world. She was so full of life and joy and love. She was the type of person you never forget after meeting her. She was always up for an adventure and she lived every day to the fullest,” she said.

Sweeney says her son had only recently gotten into camping, but Kjolsrud’s obituary describes her as an “avid hiker.”

“She felt most at peace when she was outside in nature,” it reads. “A few of her favorite things to do were traveling, playing music, hanging out with friends, gymnastics, horseback riding, dancing to loud music, kayaking at the lake, swimming in the ocean or simply hiking a new trail. She was an avid hiker and often went to Camelback Mountain or Piestewa Peak for a morning hike or to watch a sunset.”

Brown’s next court appearance is scheduled for October 8, 2025.

On this week’s episode, Mark Kenyon and Jake Hofer break down how to pick the right ‘trap’ location and design a setup that consistently puts mature bucks in archery range. From natural terrain funnels like creek crossings, ridge systems, and ditch tops to man-made funnels such as fence gaps, strategically placed trees, and two-track logging roads, they explain how to guide deer movement right where you want it. Presented by RAM and Can-Am

This week, Tony shares his thoughts on the things a lot of hunters get wrong about blood trailing deer, and what they can teach us about ourselves and the deer in general.

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Steven Rinella talks with Ronnie Boehme of The Hunting Dog Podcast.

Topics discussed: A wild, near-death story involving Ron's hunting dog, Tagus. 

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This week Reid and Dan host Cody and John of Whiskey Myers out in God's Country. Cody and John share the origin of Whiskey Myers and how it stemmed from high school baseball in Texas. Cody shares how he brought his Lure company, Toad Thumper, to life during covid and how perfecting the lures has become a true passion of his. The four of them dive into the ins and outs of elk hunting with a bow and what it feels like to experience a September season in the mountains chasing them. They share the process of creating their latest album with Jay Joyce and some of the unexpected moments from that experience. Reid poses the question of where they would love to play as a band and Reid and Dan still can't believe their response.

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