Open Air Humans

In this spritually expansive episode, author, teacher and wild church pastor Daniel Cooperider digs into the themes of his first two books: Speak With The Earth And It Will Teach You & the forthcoming Live Each Season As It Passes: Re-Earthing Spiritual Practice. Daniel also discusses the emergence of the Wild Church community and his convening of the new Flicker Wild Church near Madison, Wisc...

Leigha Horton & Travis Norman of Silvae Spiritus dig into the ritual and physiology of thermic cycling: the practice of combining sauna with cold therapy and how it can help us stay close to nature in the winter months as days get colder and darker. For more about Silvae Spiritus visit silvaespiritus.com . For the other sauna experiences mentioned visit openairoutpost.com , cedarandstonesauna....

Tim Clemens, who goes by the handle mnforager, is known for his educational posts on all things related to harvesting wild foods, be it plants, mushrooms or insects - and often in an urban setting. Today we dig into the practice of urban foraging, the art of eating insects or entomophagy, Tim’s first-ever hunting experience and what happens when you move from observer of nature to participant with...

Inspired by the conversations with our incredible guests, we’ve created a nature escape to help you put all of the great wisdom and advice shared on this show into action. It’s an 18-acre sanctuary where the woods meet the water on a private, non-motorized lake in western Wisconsin. We’ve just opened a luxury tiny cabin for you to unplug, unwind and restore yourself. Listeners of this podcast can...

Swedish American writer Linda McGurk is the author The Open-Air Life and There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather. In episode 17, she shares some of the fascinating Scandinavian histories that gave rise to the Nordic concept of Friluftsliv and how it’s practiced today - from troll forests to barefoot walkabouts to forest cemeteries. This episode is brought to you by The Open Air Outpost, a nature esca...

Ep 16 is a very special and very musical episode of Open Air Humans! The Okee Dokee Brothers are a Grammy Award-winning bluegrass and American roots children's music duo of Joe Mainlander and Justin Lansing. They’re known for their joyful brand of music that that inspire families to spend more time outside. In 2012, the duo won a Grammy for their adventure album Can You Canoe, which was created du...

In episode 15, Dexter Patterson, who enthusiastically extolls the many benefits of what he calls bird joy through his exuberant online presence, The Wisco Birder, shares how paying closer attention to winged creatures forever changed his life. He’s now on a mission to inspire other people to slow down, look up and let the magic of birding bring all of us the joy it brings him. If you’re ready to g...

Can looking closer at the natural world help erase our fear of death? In episode 14, naturalist Emily Stone shares how observing the small miracles of death and renewal in plants, mushrooms and animals has affected her feelings on the subject. We learn how a tree becomes more alive after it has died and get a welcome dose of poetry from Mary Oliver. Emily is the education director at The Cable Nat...

In Episode 13, an invitation to go on a nocturnal excursion and experience the enchantment of night time in the forest. Today’s guest Chris Salisbury is the author of Wild Nights Out - The Magic of Exploring the Outdoors After Dark. It’s an inspiring, hands-on guide for adults and kids of all ages to go adventuring in the dark. In this far-ranging discussion, Chris shares how to attune our senses...

In episode 12, naturalist Emily Stone Emily shares stories about the wonderous interconnectedness of plants and animals of the Northwoods, many hidden in plain sight. She also shares a really fun way you can see the natural world in an entirely new way with a UV light when you head out into the field and forest after dark. Emily is the education director at The Cable Natural History Museum in nort...

In episode 11, Linda Black Elk shares her transformative experience with and expansive knowledge of indigenous plant medicines and foods. As an indigenous ethnobotanist working at the intersection of plant medicine and food sovereignty, Linda shares her experience regarding the unacknowledged sentience of plants and how they’re always communicating with each other and with us - if we’re open to lo...

In Episode 10, an exploration of how immersion in nature literally changes our physiology and how micro-dosing awe can keep us more resilient against life’s mental and physical challenges. All of this from award winning journalist and author Florence Williams, whose books The Nature Fix and Heartbreak look at the actual science behind how time outside make us happier, healthier and more creative....

Part two of our discussion with Jim Zartman.

In episode 8, searching for beauty as an emotional & spiritual practice, cold exposure to cure nearly all that ails you and how extended mileage in nature is medicine for the mind heart and body. All of this from author, artist, podcaster and enneagram coach Jim Zartman. Through his work as a coach, mentor, speaker & author, Jim helps individuals grow and self-actualize through the Art of...

In episode 5, an exploration of how Forager Chef Alan Bergo is making forgotten food unforgettable. Having spent more than a decade in some of the best restaurants in the midwest before coming to foraging, Alan brings a unique culinary mindset to gathering wild food and you can feel that in his first book, The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora as well as in the wild food series Field Forest Feast. In t...

In episode 6, poet and Yosemite park ranger @yosemite_shelton on how the raw beauty of our national parks can rearrange your molecules and allow you to live in the miraculous. Shelton is an historian, author and advocate to get more people of all backgrounds into our national parks to discover how these places can return us to the sacred connection we humans once had with the land. Shelton’s likel...

In episode 5, a meditation on what happens when we look more closely at the world around us and participate in something humans have been doing since they began walking the Earth: gathering wild food. Author and edible plant expert Sam Thayer discusses how the small miracles you witness while out gathering food reveals the sacredness of the forest and how tending the wild can lead to a spiritually...

On March 6th, 2021 Emily Ford made history as the first woman and person of color to thru hike the 1200 mile Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin in the dead of winter, sleeping out in temps as low as -35 for 69 days as she made her way across the state. Emily set out on this journey with a borrowed sled dog named Diggins to challenge herself but also to offer representation to inspire more people of color...

In episode 3, the life-improving qualities of discovering our cosmic insignificance through nature-immersed moments of awe — and what happens when you begin to cook and eat more of your meals outside. All of this from James Beard award-winning chef and television creator Andrew Zimmern. Andrew is well known as the host of the Bizarre Foods franchise but more recently has created shows like What’s...

In episode 2, a story about second chances. And how wild things can turn a life right side up - in incredibly profound ways. Rodney Stotts is one of very few black falconers in America. He’s recently written a book about how birds of prey helped to lift him out of a life of dealing drugs after his first encounter with a Eurasian Screech Owl he calls Mr. Hoots. The story of what he’s come through a...

In episode 1, an understanding of what it feels like to stand on the very top of the world - from the very first woman to do it. Polar explorer Ann Bancroft has forged a path that’s taken her to both poles, 1,700 miles across Antarctica on skis and into the classroom of millions of elementary school children. She made history and lit the world on fire in 1986 when she became the first woman to rea...