Life’s Tough, Explorers Are TOUGHER!

Wildlife biologist and conservationist Morad Tahbaz joins host Richard Wiese to share his harrowing story of being wrongfully imprisoned in Iran. Accused of espionage while on a conservation mission, Morad endured solitary confinement, torture, and psychological warfare for nearly six years. He reflects on the brutal conditions he survived, the coping mechanisms he developed through art and creati...

In this enlightening episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wiese speaks with Christian Rutz, an animal-tracking pioneer who has spent decades studying the tool-using behavior of birds—especially the brilliant New Caledonian crow. Rutz shares how these birds craft tools from twigs and leaves, challenging long-held beliefs about human cognitive uniqueness. Through riveting sto...

Entomologist and UCL professor Dr. Seirian Sumner joins host Richard Wiese to challenge everything you think you know about wasps. While most people see them as pests, Seirian makes the compelling case that wasps are unsung heroes of our ecosystems—natural pest controllers, accidental pollinators, and potential allies in sustainable agriculture. She shares humorous and insightful stories from her...

In this moving episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , host Richard Wiese sits down with Shelton Johnson , a longtime Yosemite park ranger and passionate storyteller who has spent decades inspiring visitors to reconnect with the splendors of our natural world. Shelton shares his journey from growing up in Detroit to becoming one of the National Park Service’s most powerful voices. At the...

In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , host Richard Wiese sits down with planetary scientist Dr. Paul Byrne to explore one of the most misunderstood worlds in our solar system: Venus. Often overshadowed by Mars, Venus was once Earth-like—until it became the hottest, most hostile planet in the solar system. Paul explains why this hellish world might hold the answers to some of the...

Exploration isn’t just about where you go—it’s about how you listen. In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , Ben Mirin, an explorer, wildlife DJ, artist, and naturalist, shares how he’s merging science, sound, and storytelling to uncover the hidden voices of the wild. Through innovative technology, Ben captures and interprets animal sounds and environmental patterns, revealing the...

In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , host Richard Wiese sits down with U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum—former Governor of North Dakota, entrepreneur, and advocate for resilience in exploration and leadership. Doug shares how the rugged landscapes of North Dakota shaped his values and why Teddy Roosevelt’s time in the Badlands serves as a powerful reminder that true...

Saving the planet isn’t just about science—it’s about storytelling, indigenous knowledge, and even art. In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , Dr. Natalie Schmitt shares why conservation needs more than just data and research. A geneticist, documentarian, and field explorer, Natalie has studied snow leopards in the Himalayas, worked with First Nations trackers to monitor caribou,...

Exploration isn’t just about venturing into new landscapes—it’s also about uncovering the deeper stories behind cultures, traditions, and creativity. In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , host Richard Wiese sits down with Rebecca Hui, an anthropologist, conservationist, and founder of Roots Studio (now Rurban Studio), whose work bridges indigenous art with global markets in a wa...

Exploration doesn’t stop at Earth’s borders—it reaches into the stars. In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , Dr. Nina Lanza, a planetary scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, takes us on a journey to Mars. As part of the Curiosity Rover’s ChemCam team, Nina has spent years studying the Martian surface, searching for signs that the Red Planet may have once hosted life. She...

What happens when an explorer’s greatest discovery is himself? In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , host Richard Wiese speaks with David Good, an explorer, anthropologist, and founder of The Yanomami Foundation, about his extraordinary journey to reconnect with his Yanomami heritage. Born to a Yanomami mother and an American anthropologist father, David grew up in the U.S., far...

Exploration comes in many forms—sometimes it’s venturing into the unknown, and sometimes it’s unearthing the past to understand our future. In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , host Richard Wiese sits down with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discuss his passion for paleontology, science, and discovery. From dinosaur digs with his children to the larger mysteries of evolution and exti...

In this inspiring episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher , host Richard Wiese sits down with Dr. Sian Proctor, an astronaut, artist, scientist, and the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft. Dr. Proctor shares her incredible journey to space, from growing up in Guam, where her father worked at a NASA tracking station during the Apollo missions, to becoming a finalist for NASA’s astronaut...

 This is Life's Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, with your host, Richard Weiss. Scratch the surface of an explorer and you'll find an adventure and a great story. This show is about their tales.  This podcast is a proud supporter of the Explorers Club and the EC50 Initiative.  50 people changing the world that the world needs to know about. For more information, go to explorers.org.  This i...