Sauna Talk

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome back Mika Meskanen and Wendy Liu. Mika, originally from Finland, and Wendy, with roots in China, now call London home. We recorded this conversation together on the sauna bench in my backyard sauna in Minneapolis—just the way Sauna Talk is meant to happen. This is our second conversation, following Episode #54, and as always, something special happens when we settle...

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome back Jon Sabes. Jon first joined us on Episode #61, and in this conversation, we reconnect on the same sauna bench in Minneapolis. He's in town from Los Angeles for a winter weekend, and we meet after a cross-country ski on Lake Minnetonka—just as the sauna is coming up to temperature. There's something about talking with authors on the bench. The conversation tends...

Thinking about building your own sauna? This episode of Sauna Talk brings you inside a live panel discussion on sauna design, construction, and best practices—recorded at the West Coast Sauna Summit near Vancouver, BC. On the bench with Glenn are two experienced Canadian sauna builders—Andrew (Saunabuilder) and Josh (Theraluxe)—sharing real-world insights on everything from bench heights and wall...

This episode of Sauna Talk comes from a fireside gathering at the West Coast Sauna Summit, held at Loon Lake in the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest. It was late in the evening on the second night. Some were still cycling through the saunas. Others had turned in. But about 25–30 of us gathered in a circle—some in sandals, some barefoot, some wrapped in towels or robes—for an impromptu Sauna Talk....

This episode of Sauna Talk comes to you from New York City, recorded during the Culture of Bathing gathering in January 2025. Rather than a single conversation, this is a walk-through—capturing voices, perspectives, and moments from across the event. With nearly 100 attendees from around the world—many of them bathhouse owners, operators, and builders—this gathering offered a unique snapshot of wh...

Today on Sauna Talk, we celebrate the spirit of backyard sauna culture with highlights from Parade of Saunas 2024 in Minneapolis. This community event brought visitors through 10 home saunas across the city, offering a chance to step into the creativity, craftsmanship, and hospitality of backyard sauna owners. Along the way, the event also raised $1,500 for charity . What stood out most was the ge...

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome Dr. Ashley Mason. Dr. Mason is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF, where she works within the Osher Center for Integrative Health. Her research focuses on sleep, mental health, and behavioral treatments for insomnia, and she directs the UCSF Sleep, Affect, and Eating (SEA) Lab. In this conversation, we explore her work on whole bod...

Today on Sauna Talk, we connect with Earric Lee. This conversation was recorded in London, just outside the British Sauna Summit—so you'll hear a bit of the city in the background as we talk. Earric is a researcher focused on the health benefits of sauna and a fellow board member of the Sauna Research Institute. His work centers on helping bring greater coordination and visibility to sauna researc...

This is Episode 100 of Sauna Talk. When I started this podcast back in 2016, the idea was simple: capture a bit of what happens on the sauna bench. It's a unique place for conversation. The body is under stress, yet the mind is relaxed. Distractions fall away. And something opens up—thoughts, ideas, stories, and connections. Sauna Talk has always been about that space. It's the kind of conversatio...

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome Ragna Marie Fjeld, Secretary General of Oslo Badstuforening—the Oslo Sauna Association. Founded in 2016, Oslo Badstuforening began with a single sauna along the Oslo fjord. In just a few short years, it has grown into a remarkable network of floating and mobile saunas—now numbering well beyond its original footprint, and continuing to expand. In this episode, we tak...

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome Alan Jalasjja who shares with us "The Spirit of Sauna." Alan is an evangelist who is with us to help promote the experience. Growing up with sauna his whole life, as a Finnish Canadian, we get the perspective of what sauna spirit means to him. World Sauna Forum 2024 The growth of the event compared to 2022 Globe and Mail article I encourage you to click through the...

In this episode of Sauna Talk, Glenn reconnects with Lasse Eriksen—this time on the beach at Farris Bad , one of Scandinavia's premier waterfront sauna and spa destinations. A lot has evolved since Lasse first joined Sauna Talk, and this conversation captures that next chapter. Now serving as Development Manager at Farris Bad, Lasse is helping shape sauna not just as a place, but as a fully realiz...

On this episode of Sauna Talk, Glenn is joined on the bench by three generations of sauna builders—the Wilson family of Homecraft: Stew, David, and Kyle. Based outside Vancouver, British Columbia, Homecraft is one of Canada's longest-running sauna heater manufacturers. But this conversation goes far beyond specs and steel. It's about the people behind the product —and why that matters more than ev...

In this episode of Sauna Talk, Glenn reflects on Sauna Days 2024—a weekend where over 200 sauna enthusiasts gathered along the shores of Larsmont Cottages for a one-of-a-kind celebration of heat, cold, and community. Set against the vast backdrop of Lake Superior , Sauna Days has become more than an event—it's a living, breathing expression of modern sauna culture rooted in nature. The formula is...

Today on the actual sauna bench, we are joined and talk with Jake Newport from  Finnmark . Jake makes the journey from Northern England to join me on the Larsmont Cottages sauna bench in Northern Minnesota, by the cold, clear clean water shores of Lake Superior. You can also check out my podcast with Jake and Brother Max from 2020  here . During this episode, we learn more from Jake about the ther...

Today on Sauna Talk we welcome Charlie from  Community Sauna Baths  in England. Who is Community Sauna Baths? Well, they are Community Interest Company, a CIC, who is dedicated to providing affordable sauna sessions to the communities they serve. Currently with four locations, including their flagship locale in Hackney, East London. Here is where we catch up with Charlie, one of the directors at C...

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome Tom Carlson, a sauna enthusiast and a SaunaTimes public sauna map supporter. Tom caught the sauna bug in Germany, and brought home his love and appreciation for good heat. And, like many of us, Tom recognizes how good sauna is like a candle that lights another candle. And with this, there are really good saunas dotted all over the world. Several years ago, we built...

Today on the Sauna Talk bench, we welcome three guests who are aligned to helping veterans through sauna as a means of healing our heroes. Their stories are heartfelt, their passions are clear. And for those of us who know sauna, we know that their purpose is meaningful and their success rate undeniable. (ie sauna is good for us!)! Who is Healing Heroes Saunas? The co-founders, Mike and Josh: as i...

Today from any one of 22 saunas, we Sauna Talk from  the Great Northern Sauna Village , Malcolm Yards, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. "The Great Northern Sauna Village is a social and therapeutic experience hosted at Malcolm Yards. Visitors can immerse themselves in sauna culture by interacting with various Thermaculture traditions. And connecting with local sauna companies and builders. During 60-9...

Today we welcome back Dr. Charles Raison to this Sauna Talk podcast part 2. I encourage you to check in with Part one, where Chuck and i work from the starting block about Sauna health benefits and research surrounding hypethermia and hot/cold contrast therapy. In this episode, by design we go deeper. We unpack hot cold therapy as a novel treatment for mental health. 101.3 101.3 isn't just the rad...

Today on the virtual smoke sauna bench, please welcome my friend Jarmo Hiltunen. Author of the brand new book:  Building a Traditional Finnish Smoke Sauna. I am overjoyed that for many, Jarmo will be your voice to the introduction to the wonderfulness of smoke sauna. Jarmo is a builder, but I would call him more of an artisan. Also, he is also a smoke sauna spiritual evangelist. His book is now av...

Welcome to this Sauna Talk podcast episode with Nick Fox: Minnesota's first Wim Hof certified instructor and baker of amazing homemade bread. We communed in heat, cold plunge and nature in my backyard sauna recently and you'll hear my interview with Nick in just a moment. But before then, I'd like to take you back to a dark and cold February night in Minnesota a few years ago when Nick first sat d...

Today we welcome a very special guest to Sauna Talk: Dr. Charles Raison. His biography is as follows: Dr. Raison is a the Mary Sue and Mike Shannon Chair for Healthy Minds, Children & Families in the School of Human Ecology and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Dr. Raison received his medical degree from Washington University in St Louis, Missour...

Welcome to this mini Sauna Talk episode from inside and around the World's Largest Sauna. The sauna was constructed as part of the RunningMan festival outside of Atlanta Georgia, this past weekend, mid October 2023. I'll try to connect the dots to how the World's Largest Sauna came about. And it started with the folks at  Embrace North , building a few saunas for the All Day Running organization....