The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

What if one open-ended question could turn a hospital room (or a hurried life) into a place where people feel seen? In this conversation, ICU nurse–turned–story gatherer Hunter Prosper shares how asking a dying patient about her greatest love cracked his own burnout and sparked Stories from a Stranger, a project he calls “therapy for millions.” Together we explore why real listening restores our h...

What if homeschooling wasn’t a conveyor belt of quizzes and boredom—but the most flexible, life-giving way to raise whole humans? In this conversation with Amber O’Neal Johnston, editor of the new anthology Homegrown, we dismantle the myths: how Amber went from “absolutely not” to “never looked back,” why freedom to pivot becomes a family superpower, and how learning in community (like Erin Loechn...

When feeding your family feels confusing and chaotic, this episode is your reset. Functional-medicine dietitian Ali Miller (RD, LD, CDE) shows how to move from “immediate” choices to environmental shifts to true habit rewiring—simplifying dinner with 5–7-minute protein sears, sheet-pan veggies, and one slow-cook a week. We talk “God foods” vs. ultra-processed products, why kids’ moods track their...

What if joy isn’t a mood but a muscle? In this heartfelt, fast-moving conversation, Rachel Awtrey shares how she learned to “nod to hard things without bowing to them" from cayenne-in-the-chili nights and Lego landmines to job loss and grief. She unpacks three kinds of hard days (typical interruptions, long tough seasons, and true tragedies), why we often compare ourselves to an ideal version of o...

What if the antidote to our frantic, hyper-scheduled lives is a single pot of herbs on the back step? In this deeply honest conversation, returning guest Bailey Van Tassel shares how planting one container cracked open a new way of living—rewiring how she mothers, works, and measures “success.” We talk about the joy of learning again as an adult, the “just-enoughness” a garden offers in every seas...

This conversation is a deep breath and a practical roadmap for a time when parenting has become so challening. Bestselling author Kari Kampakis (mom of four girls) joins Ginny to share what truly equips daughters for today’s pressures—friendship shifts, online comparison, dating drama, and the “conformity engine” that can steal childhood wonder. Kari’s hope-forward framework is simple and memorabl...

In our most light and peppy episode to date, Danielle Kartes reminds us that joy is available today—not if or when. In this upbeat, heart-forward conversation, the celebrity chef behind Rustic Joyful Food shares how a closed restaurant, tight budgets, and a whole lot of grit became the soil for fourteen books, national TV appearances, and a ministry of encouragement. We swap stories about building...

This special September Sunday episode is a deep breath for weary and wondering parents. Ginny welcomes author and podcaster Maeve Jemison to dismantle the most persistent homeschool myths—socialization, schedules, screens, “I’m not patient enough,” “we both work,” single parenting homeschool, and more—and to show why home can be the ultimate individualized education plan. Maeve shares how she pull...

Beloved guest Luis Fernando Llosa returns with a simple, gritty rescue plan for modern families: rebuild the family base camp so your kids can handle pressure, bullying, and performance culture without losing their joy. We dig into free play over frenzy, why most kids quit organized sports by 13, and how to prepare your child for the possibility of many job changes in adulthood. Resources: Emotion...

In this heart-opening conversation, Ted Page and Ginny explore why grandfathers are oddly absent from popular culture—and why their presence might be exactly what modern families are missing. Drawing on Ted’s new book, Good Grandpa: Stories from the Heart of Grandfatherhood, and voices from grandpas across cultures and generations, they unpack the joy (chocolate for breakfast!), the work (moving r...

In this heart-lifting conversation, Ginny sits down with author and mama of nine Amy Hughes to explore how ordinary phrases shape extraordinary childhoods—often more than we realize. From the “funny” comment a six-year-old takes as literal truth, to why “be careful” and “calm down” backfire, Amy shows simple swaps that lower fear, raise connection, and help kids think for themselves. You’ll hear p...

What if boyhood isn’t a problem to fix—but a strength to steward? In this energizing, tender conversation, Ginny Yurich and author Rebekah Lovell dismantle the myth that lively boys need taming. From a golf-cart rescue on Rebekah’s farm to the everyday habits that build courage and character, they name what our culture gets wrong: over-scheduling, medicating drive, and treating noise, dirt, and ri...

Philosopher and author Dr. Kay Toombs joins Ginny to name the thing so many parents feel but can’t quite describe—a hyperactive worldview that trains us (and our kids) to crave instant results and reject slow, quiet, real life. Drawing on her brilliantly researched book, Changing Our Minds (get the book), and decades living in an intergenerational, agrarian community, Kay explains how always-on te...

In this bonus Sunday episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, host Ginny Yurich sits down with unschooling mom Raven Kramer to make a beautifully simple case: when we let kids be kids, learning takes root. Raven shares how healing her own story shaped a “life schooling” approach where play isn’t fluff - it’s physics, literacy, fractions, and emotional intelligence in disguise. From board-game ma...

On this off-beat, surprisingly aligned episode, Ginny sits down with producer Brennan McPherson to unpack Light of the World—a hand-drawn, theater-released animated feature that tells the life of Jesus through the eyes of a teenage John. Brennan shares how a small nonprofit rallied 400 artists over four years to make a reverent, funny, deeply human film that families can actually enjoy together—be...

Rabbits, worms, sheep…and a whole lot of hope. In this lively, can-do conversation, Ginny meets homesteader and educator Laura Cox—the new friend she made at the Homestead Festival—who shows how ordinary families can reclaim food, skills, and sanity without moving to 50 acres. Laura de-mystifies meat rabbits (hello, “bunny berries” that are cold compost and garden-ready), explains simple worm-bin...

What happens when a family of six points themselves south and walks the entire Pacific Crest Trail—Canada to Mexico—with kids ages 16, 14, 13, and 11? In this powerful conversation, author Vince Strawbridge ( Pretty Good at Walking ) shares the decision to trade GPAs and schedules for a five-month “classroom with no walls,” and what the trail taught them about capacity, character, and family. We g...

In an era where smartphones slip into children’s hands long before they’re ready, parents are left asking the same desperate question: What should I do about my kids and technology? Dr. Jean Twenge, renowned psychologist, researcher, and author of iGen and Generations, returns to The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast with a lifeline: her brand-new book Ten Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World. Dra...

We live in a world where every fact is at our fingertips, but what about the questions no search engine can resolve—What makes a good mother? What does the person next to me fear the most? Author Anna Mitchael joins Ginny to share insights from her book They Will Tell You The World Is Yours, a collection of short, powerful vignettes that push back on the cultural noise of “they say.” Together they...

What happens when early choices snowball into a decade-long battle with addiction—and what does it take to finally break free? In this powerful episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, Jake Widmann opens up about his rocky start to adulthood, his battles with alcohol, and the near-misses that could have changed everything. He shares the moment he discovered that life and fun didn’t require a dri...

Most of us listen to music every day—but what if it could do more than just fill the silence? In this powerful conversation with father–daughter duo Mort and Sara Sherman, authors of Resonant Minds: The Transformative Power of Music One Note at a Time, we explore how music shapes brains, bonds families, and even heals communities. From lowering stress and strengthening executive function to synchr...

When Melanie Hempe’s oldest son became so addicted to video games that he dropped out of college, she realized she had unknowingly handed her child an experiment with devastating consequences. What began as “just middle school gaming” escalated into an all-consuming addiction that stole years of real life, purpose, and potential. Out of that heartbreak came ScreenStrong—a movement to help parents...

What happens when you raise kids without smartphones, video games, or social media in a world where nearly everyone else is plugged in? Twins Andrew and Evan Hempe are living proof that screen-free childhoods don’t leave kids behind—they launch them ahead. In this powerful and refreshing episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, Ginny Yurich welcomes Andrew and Evan to share their firsthand exper...

In this radically honest and thought-provoking episode, Andrew Laubacher (aka ALob) returns to share the life-altering decision that changed everything: stepping away from the platforms designed to keep us addicted and unhappy. From addiction and burnout to healing and purpose, Andrew opens up about the crushing weight of social comparison, the lies of digital liberation, the trappings of pornogra...

What if the key to parenting isn’t molding your child into a smaller version of you—but learning to truly see them for who they are? In this deeply moving conversation, Ian Morgan Cron, bestselling author of The Road Back To You, returns to The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast to talk about the Enneagram, emotional self-awareness, and how these insights transform the way we parent, love, and lead. Ian s...