Out of the Wild

Ben Lamm is the co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences , the world’s first de-extinction company. Matt James is Colossal Biosciences’ Chief Animal Officer and Executive Director of the Colossal Foundation Stefano Daza Arango is Colossal’s Manager of Conservation Partnerships.

Tristan Schinke is a first-year student of psychology in Maastricht. He is from the town of Gelnhausen, Germany. He was my partner on a 400-mile hiking and kayaking expedition across Montana’s American Prairie wildlife refuge.

A chat with a Norwegian demographer and the director general of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health Vegard Skirbekk is a social scientist studying how global demographic change is reshaping health, economies, and society. He is co-founder of the Centre for Fertility and Health and is a professor at the University of Oslo. He is the author of Decline and Prosper: Changing Global Birth Rates an...

Sebastian Junger is the author of The Perfect Storm , War , Tribe , Freedom , and most recently In My Time of Dying: How I came face to face with the idea of an afterlife . We discuss… * Sebastian’s literary heroes * Sebastian’s literary motivations * The state of Sebastian’s “tribal health.” * The wealthier the neighborhood, the weaker the community? * How big spaces pull us apart—as discussed in...

Sebastian Junger is the author of The Perfect Storm , War , Tribe , Freedom , and most recently In My Time of Dying: How I came face to face with the idea of an afterlife . We discuss… Sebastian’s literary heroes Sebastian’s literary motivations The state of Sebastian’s “tribal health.” The wealthier the neighborhood, the weaker the community? How big spaces pull us apart—as discussed in Sebastian...

Jacob Savage is a former screenwriter, a freelance writer, and a ticket scalper based in Los Angeles. His essay, “ The Lost Generation ,” about the systematic discrimination of white millennial men in the industries of academia, media, and publishing, was one of the most talked about essays of 2025.

Roman Dial is a scientist, adventurer, and author based in Alaska. His scientific work has appeared in journals like Science and Nature . He’s a pioneer of packrafting — using lightweight boats to explore remote rivers and landscapes that were previously unreachable. And he’s the author of The Adventurer’s Son , a memoir about the love of exploration, the bond between parent and child, and his two...

Nancy Rommelmann is a journalist and an author of many books , including her latest, Forty Bucks and a Dream : a collection of nonfiction pieces about her time in Los Angeles. She is also the co-host of one of my favorite podcasts—Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em. We discuss…. Nancy’s favorite books . Nobody “snows you” like your kids. What percent sociopath are you? If you got a voucher for a free strip-...

Sean Gerrity is the co-founder and former CEO of American Prairie —a giant wildlife refuge in the making in Montana, which I hiked and kayaked this past August. Sean is the host of The Answers Are Out There podcast in which he interviews leaders who’ve taken on bold conservation projects. He’s the author of Wild on Purpose: The American Prairie Story and the Art of Thinking Bigger . Some of Sean’s...

Melanie Kaplan’ s work has appeared in The Washington Post , The Wall Street Journal , and National Parks magazine. She’s a former Knight Science Journalism fellow at MIT. Her new book, Lab Dog , tells the story of Hammy — a beagle rescued from a research lab — and follows Melanie’s journey to uncover what really happens to the thousands of dogs used in biomedical and consumer testing in the Unite...

Louis Dalton Hall is the author of In Green: Two Horses, Two Strangers, a Journey to an end of the Land . He is also the founder of Big Hoof , an organization that organizes horseback rides and raises money for charity. We discuss: Subscribe now The Great Plains Trail . (Here’s my old Backpacker article on the GPT .) What sets Fifers apart from the rest of the Scottish? Dunfermline Abbey, in Fife...

Paul Robbins is America’s foremost authority on the lawn. He is the author of Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are . He is the dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Subscribe now We discuss: Is Paul the Cary Elwes of academia? Julie Guthman’s work on pathogens, chemicals, and strawberries . What is a “lawn person...

Daniel Oppenheimer is a cultural and political critic, the author of Exit Right: The People Who Left the Left and Reshaped the American Century , and the host of the Eminent Americans Podcast . Subscribe now We discuss… Dan’s terrific NYT Magazine story, “ How I Learned That The Problem In My Marriage Was Me .” Why some people expose themselves in front of a therapy audience (exhibitionism + despe...

Adam Weymouth is a British author of Kings of the Yukon , about his 2,000-mile voyage down the Yukon River, and, now, Lone Wolf: Walking the Faultlines of Europe , about his 1,000-mile hike following the path of a wolf. We discuss… Subscribe now Are we better humans when we’re on journeys? Why have there been so many more deaths (wolves killing humans) in Europe than in North America? Ken has a bo...

Adam Weymouth is a British author of Kings of the Yukon , about his 2,000-mile voyage down the Yukon River, and, now, Lone Wolf: Walking the Faultlines of Europe , about his 1,000-mile hike following the path of a wolf. We discuss… Subscribe now Are we better humans when we’re on journeys? Why have there been so many more deaths (wolves killing humans) in Europe than in North America? Ken has a bo...

Sam Graham-Felsen is the historian at the Philip Roth Personal Library in Newark, New Jersey, and he’s the author of the acclaimed coming-of-age novel Green . We discuss… Subscribe now Sam’s article with New York Times Magazine , “Where Have All My Deep Male Friendships Gone?” Sam’s favorite boyhood comedy, Weird Al’s, UHF. When did American men stop being physically close? And do we need to go ba...

Bill Deresiewicz is a writer and cultural critic. He’s written popular essays such as “ Solitude and Leadership ,” and books including Excellent Sheep , a critique of elite education; the The Death of the Artist , which explores the precarious lives of creative workers; and The End of Solitude —a collection of Bill’s greatest essays. We discuss… Subscribe now Is Portland still the Portland of Port...

Mike Finkel is the author of True Story , about a killer who stole Mike’s identity. His second book The Stranger in the Woods is about a hermit in Maine who didn’t talk to anyone for decades. And The Art Thief , about history’s greatest art thief. We talk about: Subscribe now Why are we, as a culture, so drawn to true crime? I ask Mike why women are attracted to criminals. He gives an impressive a...

Tim Kreider is a cartoonist and essayist. If you’re not familiar with Tim’s work, sign up for his Substack (“ The Loaf ”), and read his two books of essays, “ We Learn Nothing ” & “ I Wrote this Book Because I Love You .” Tim’s writing is a deadly combination of elegant & original prose, wicked humor, and bare-it-all honesty. He’s my favorite writer. We discuss… With Cormac McCarthy gone,...

Dan Flores is a historian and writer who writes about the natural and cultural history of North America. His books—including Coyote America , American Serengeti, and Wild New World, bring to life North America’s most iconic species and landscapes, weaving together science, folklore, and history. Dan’s work not only illuminates the past but also asks urgent questions about the future of conservatio...

Sarah , aka Father_Karine, is a very funny writer. On Substack , she writes about her high maintenance dog , about her young adulthood characterized by all manner of misadventure and disinhibition , and about how she can’t be trusted with excellent fruit . She co-hosts the Brutal Film Girl Experiment Podcas t. Subscribed We talked about her post, “ A SECOND manic list of 10 film scenes I believe a...

Alastair McIntosh is a human ecologist, theologian, activist, and writer known for his work on the interplay between community, ecology, and spirituality. Alastair is best known for his 2001, but still very timely book, Soil and Soul —part autobiography, part theology, part history. Subscribed We talk about… The concepts of psychohistory & cultural psychotherapy, and how our deep past, going b...

Seth Kantner is an Alaskan photographer, hunter, fisherman and author. He’s written two of my favorite books: Ordinary Wolves , a fictional book about a boy growing up with the ways of his indigenous neighbors; and his latest book, A Thousand Trails Home , about Alaskan caribou and our relationship with them. Topics include… Upgrade to paid Ken thinks that couples in arctic cabins should be highly...

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at The Brookings Institute and the author of eight books, including Kindly Inquisitors: the New Attacks on Free Thought and my favorite mini memoir, Denial: My 25 Years without a Soul . Jonathan is a friend, the father of the introvert liberation movement , and one of the reasons our country has expanded marriage rights to the LGBTQ community. I brought Jonathan o...

Rob Twigger is a UK-based author of 16 books, many of which are travel. He and I discuss: A book Rob admires: The Colossus of Maroussi A travel book Ken admires: Big Dead Place * Rob’s philosophical movements: Micromastery and Zenslackerism * The Refusal of Work by David Frayne * American listeners get a primer on what Guy Fawkes is. * We make 2024 US presidential election predictions. (One of us...