On the Dogwatch

A well-cut linen shirt , an organic cotton chore coat , or an extra soft merino wool sweater and cap are perfect to wear on any Dogwatch, which makes it even more of a special opportunity that we are joined today by Alex Crane. Alex is the founder and designer of his own clothing brand, Alex Crane , that provides garments intended to help you feel breezy and look sharp at the same time. What’s mor...

If we were all actually on a dogwatch today, on a boat in the middle of the ocean, our guest for this episode is literally the first person I would choose to bring along. His name is David Burch, and he is not only the founder of the Starpath School of Navigation in Seattle, but he has over 70,000 miles of oceangoing navigation experience, has navigated across the Pacific over 10 times, and even h...

It turns out that this episode of the Dogwatch is brought to you by the letter “W,” a show that can be described with an alliterative string on watches starting with our guest, Zach Weiss of Worn & Wound .  Being one of the co-founders of Worn & Wound, Zach describes how the business grew from an inauspicious blog intended to help a friend choose a watch into what is now one of the primary...

Today we talk with Antone Martinho-Truswell , a biologist who studies learning and cognition in birds, and author of the just-released book entitled The Parrot in the Mirror: How Evolving to Be Like Birds Made Us Human .   Our conversation today is about much more than birds. We as humans recognize the unique place birds occupy amongst animals, whether it is by putting an eagle on top of a flagpol...

On top of the stack of the world’s expedition narratives, survival stories, and inspiring but hard-to-believe-they-are-true adventure books, sits Ernest Shackleton . The tale of the Endurance and Shackleton has become so legendary not only because of what he and his men did, but also because of how they did it: the underlying values they relied on, the character traits they exhibited, and the huma...

There is plenty to learn from the British in terms of classic style, especially for those who are interested in the outdoors. On this episode of the Dogwatch, we speak with David Evans, the man behind the Grey Fox Blog , one of the early style blogs and a mainstay of classic British lifestyle commentary. David is frequently featured in the media, and you can see his take on summer style this past...

Most listeners of this podcast will be familiar with the epic adventure of Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance . However, the Endurance does not have a monopoly on being stuck in Antarctic ice, nor does it have precedence. Before the Endurance, Belgian captain Adrien de Gerlache took the Belgica on a southward expedition with the hopes of reaching the magnetic south pole.  On the Dogwa...

For a normal shift On the Dogwatch, we proceed at the measured pace of a ship under sail, looking out at the natural world, considering interesting ideas as if we were having a conversation on an evening dogwatch shift. Today, however, we ramp the speed significantly as we learn how to time things that go very fast. We visit with Judy Stropus, who is a legendary timer and scorer in the auto racing...

As we get into the warmer weather of spring, many of us On the Dogwatch will start to think of road trips. One of the many great things about these trips is that they can afford us time to think about our lives. There is no more iconic North American road trip than Robert Pirsig’s travels in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance . On this Dogwatch, we have the pleasure to be joined by Mark Ric...

It is rare to have the opportunity to speak with a true expert in the practice of bonsai. In fact, there aren’t very many of them, and most speak Japanese. We have the great fortune on this episode of the Dogwatch to be able to speak with Bjorn Bjorholm, who is one of the rising stars in the practice and study of bonsai. Luckily for us, Bjorn speaks Japanese and English, as he grew up in Knoxville...

There is no more important first step when one heads to the field than to put on quality footwear, and many times this means a great pair of boots. In my search for long-lasting, aesthetically pleasing, and comfortable footwear I found Helm Boots, of Austin, Texas . I got to know Brad Day, their CEO , and am grateful that he was willing to join us for a shift On the Dogwatch. In our conversation,...

We turn the compass north on this Dogwatch and thankfully are joined by Andrea Pitzer , a person who not only has been on multiple Arctic expeditions, but has also written  Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World , a book about one of the early European polar explorers of the region, William Barents. Along with being a writer of books and a freelance journalist, Andrea has a wealth of other...

We take to the skies on this episode of the Dogwatch and speak with Abingdon Mullin , who is a wide-ranging pilot who also started a watch company. When Abingdon became a working pilot, she wanted to reward herself with a pilot’s watch but couldn’t find one that was a good fit for her wrist. So she decided to make one herself. In this conversation we discuss Abingdon’s life as a pilot and her adve...

On this episode of the Dogwatch we visit with horologist, museum curator, and author David Rooney . We have the opportunity to talk with David about how he learned about clocks and watches from his parents, his path to becoming a museum curator at several prestigious institutions in England , and some of the most interesting timekeeping devices he has known. David teaches us not only about specifi...

On this episode of the Dogwatch we have the true pleasure of visiting with James Cox , who is an environmentalist, business leader , and someone who is a main character in what is possibly the most iconic watch story in the history of wristwatches . We discuss the meaning that can be contained in watches and objects, James’s relationship with Paul Newman , how Newman gave him what is now known as...

Have you ever attempted to create your own terrarium? Have you wondered how to design one, what plants to use, or why they fail? If so, today’s podcast is for you.  Especially in temperate parts of the world, winter is a time when there is less sunshine, colder temperatures, and much less green in our worlds. But there is an answer–one can keep their own miniature jungle, stream, or peaceful fores...

Today we explore the ways in which learning, memory, and creativity are affected by our level of activity, specifically while walking. Shane O’Mara, author of In Praise of Walking , helps us understand the overall health benefits of movement, the ways in which walking specifically helps nourish the brain and how it relates to creativity, and the intricate interplay among memory, navigation, and im...

Today On the Dogwatch we have an opportunity to talk with Tom Bartels, the former and longtime director of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors , which runs both the NAWCC Museum, and Library and Research Center in Columbia, PA. Tom has been a member of the NAWCC for 54 years, and has lectured throughout the world on clocks and horology. He joins us from his home in Nevada and di...

Imagine that you have always loved the design of the original Rolex GMT Master, with that old bakelite radium Pepsi bezel. Or maybe you love an internal rotating bezel, or the panda look and the spirit of Paul Newman. Today, we talk with Lauren and Lorenzo from Lorier Watch Company, and discuss how their watches are inspired from elements of classic vintage watches like these, and they provide the...

So, have you ever wondered if you can actually shave with an ax? Or why axes have curved handles? Or even what would happen if your hand got caught under a 300 lb. power hammer? Along with getting answers to these questions, on today’s episode we have the chance to speak with expert blacksmith and Forged in Fire Champion Liam Hoffman at Hoffman Blacksmithing about the development of his craft, his...

Today On the Dogwatch we turn our attention to the appreciation of the Seiko watch, and how much satisfaction one can get from taking them apart, fixing them, and putting them together again as new. We speak with Spencer Klein at Klein Vintage Watch and discuss his journey into the watch world from the moment he traded a t-shirt for a Girard-Perregaux, some of the history of the Seiko company duri...

In looking for words to describe what the Vortic Watch Company does in taking vintage American pocket watch movements and making them into one-of-a-kind, American-crafted wrist watches, some have called “upcycling” to mind. But the Vortic process is much more. It has been a path of research and development, engineering, trial and error, and a demonstration and appreciation of the very best in the...

Sometimes an apron is just an apron, and other times it is a carefully made, quality tool with an inspiring story behind it. Today On the Dogwatch we have the pleasure of talking with Kate Boerboon Meier, who started the Craftmade Apron company. These aprons came into this world organically, with Kate being called on as a mother whose son needed an apron for his work in the food industry. Starting...

Today On the Dogwatch we have a chance to talk with Paul Pirner from the Hairless Dog Brewing Company, which is the first 0.0 alcohol by volume craft beer in the United States. In our conversation, Paul helps us understand how 0.0 craft beer is made, how it is different from other so-called NA beers, how Hairless Dog has developed as a brewery, and advises us on their current offerings.

On this episode we talk with Josh Wolfe of Wolfe Vintage Watches , who is a largely self-taught horologist who restores watches, mostly from the American giant Hamilton. We speak with Josh about how he got into watches, why he is fascinated with Hamilton, and how he goes about his work.