Whether you’re on an epic road trip through the American southwest or cooking an elaborate dinner at home, podcasts help us pass the time, entertain ourselves, and often learn something new. Voices of strangers keeping us company, giving us the news, sharing information.
I usually listen to podcasts on my daily commute — one of my 2020 goals was to listen to at least one episode of my French language podcast every workday. They help make my driving time fly by as I admire the western Colorado landscape outside my window and listen to stories about beavers, long-lost Indian royalty, and astronauts.
As a lover of the outdoors, two of my favorite podcast categories are naturally outdoor adventure and travel (which often go hand in hand). I thought I’d share my 5 favorite outdoor and travel podcasts, which you can find below in no particular order.
1. She Explores
Gale Straub founded She Explores for women to explore the complex ways they interact with the outdoors, from solo hiking to conservation to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The She Explores podcast features interviews and listener submissions that provide a platform for voices in these spaces to share their experiences with these themes and more.
Recommended Episodes
#73 How To Be A Role Model: “Ultrarunner Mirna Valerio is a role model for many because by doing what she loves, she shows others what is possible. She’s modeling being a black, fat girl running, moving her body up and over mountains. Which begs the question – what are you modeling for others?” Mirna is just a joy to listen to.
I work in the film & photo industry, so I was especially drawn to these interviews with Krystle and Sarah:
#62: All In: “Sarah Menzies is all in. Whether it’s her adventure documentary film career or her relationships, Sarah is fully committed to following through on giving back to others. Sarah’s story is about what she would do for her many loves, and in turn, and what they would do for her.”
#132: Room to Play: “Krystle Wright is an Australian adventure photographer who’s worked really hard to make a name for herself taking risks and creating images all over the world: base jumping in the arctic, storm chasing in the American West, free diving with orcas, wandering the desert in Morocco. As she looks ahead to the new year, she’s welcoming rest and building more room in her life for play.”
2. The Wild with Chris Morgan
A production of KUOW in Seattle, The Wild examines nature’s relationship with humans, focusing on different types of wildlife and the environments they inhabit. Host Chris Morgan is an engaging storyteller as he takes listeners from the Pacific Northwest to the wilds of Siberia.
Recommended Episodes
#4 Leave it to beavers, seriously: “Host Chris Morgan hangs out in Seattle’s backyard with some very eager beavers.”
#6 Let the bear make the first move, and other tips to stay safe in the wild: “I’m not someone who looks for trouble, but on my travels I’ve been peed on by orangutans, charged by grizzly bears, treed by moose, bitten by squirrels, stalked by polar bears, followed by wolves, chased by wild boar, and even had my finger sliced open by a leaf-cutter ant once. These encounters always make me wonder not just what is going through these animals’ minds, but why. And understanding that is key to staying safe in the wild.”
3. Passing Through
Nneka has the most enjoyable, soothing voice I’ve ever heard from a podcast host; she recounts stories of her travels and the lessons she’s learned from each experience, with beautiful descriptions woven throughout.
Recommended Episodes
#1 Passing Through Puerto Rico: A good place to start.
#13 Passing Through Kampuchea: In a deviation from her standard format, Nneka tells her mom’s story — from her mother’s perspective — of fleeing from the Cambodian genocide in 1979.
4. Wild Ideas Worth Living
Host Shelby Stanger’s enthusiasm is hard not to get on board with while listening to this podcast from REI. Shelby interviews cool people doing cool things outside in a cheerful, upbeat way that keeps me coming back for more positive energy and interesting tidbits.
Recommended Episodes
Creating Art as a Couple with Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi: “Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi directed “Free Solo,” an Academy Award-winning documentary about Alex Honnold free soloing El Capitan. Learn what it takes to create a wildly successful documentary as a couple.”
What to Cook While Camping: “I spoke with Bon Appetit’s Brad Leone and Best Served Wild authors Brendan Leonard and Anna Brones for advice on how to eat well, cook well and impress friends with your camp cooking.”
5. Overheard at National Geographic
If you, like me, wrote down “National Geographic photographer” when asked what your ideal career would be in 6th grade science class, then this is the podcast for you.
Recommended Episodes
#3 The Hidden Cost of the Perfect Selfie: “From pop-up beluga whale pools in Russian parking lots to sloth hugs in the Amazon, wildlife tourism is a big business. But animals are suffering for it. National Geographic writer Natasha Daly helps us navigate the murky space found at the intersection of conservation and consumption.”
#7 The Glass Stratosphere: “What if women had been among the first to head to the moon? A NASA physician thought that wasn’t such a far fetched idea back in the 1960s.” My jaw actually dropped a few times during this one — highly recommend.
6. Bonus: This American Life
OK, this one’s not necessarily outdoor or travel-related, but my partner and I listen to this long-running podcast on long road trips, and so I tie certain episodes to specific places in my mind based on where we were when we listened to them.
There was that creepy, stranger-on-the-side-of-the-road story we listened to while driving through the winding roads of Washington’s Orcas Island late at night; or the story of the demon child who was terrorizing his family, playing out on a drive from D.C. down to Assateague Island National Seashore.
Also, we like to think we’re best friends with host Ira Glass.
Recommended Episodes
#610 Grand Gesture: “This week we have stories of people going to very extreme measures to demonstrate their feelings. Elna Baker makes a questionable trip to Africa, while a man in Florida commits a series of disturbing acts in the name of love. Ira also goes to a high school to talk to kids before a dance.”
This was the first episode I ever listened to and it’s still my favorite. Listened to during a long commute when I lived outside D.C., and again shortly thereafter when I told my partner, “You HAVE to listen to this podcast.”
#543 Wake Up Now: “As New Year’s approaches and people are contemplating things they want to change about themselves, we have stories of people trying to wake themselves up, shake up their own lives, or wake up others. Including the story of a company – or maybe it’s a movement – called WakeUpNow.”
Listened to during a beautiful day driving around Mount Rainier National Park. The main story is CRAZY.
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And there you have it! What I think are the best outdoor and travel podcasts out there. Happy listening — and let me know if you have any favorites that didn’t make the list!