The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Jeremy Puglisi returns for his seventh appearance on The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast—and it’s a powerful one. What began as a pop-up camper and a couple of sleep-deprived twins has become a movement, a media company, and a meaningful legacy. In this episode, Jeremy and host Ginny Yurich reflect on what it really means to invest in your children—not with money, but with time, presence, and outdoor a...

She was a face you grew up with—DJ Tanner from Full House—but today, Candace Cameron Bure is a creative force, entrepreneur, and mom of three navigating a media landscape that’s changed dramatically since the 1980s. In this refreshingly honest conversation, Candace opens up about what it's like to raise kids in a streaming world—one with infinite entertainment options but fewer shared family exper...

What if the waiting seasons of your life weren’t detours—but the very place where the deepest growth happens? In this beautiful, vulnerable, and soul-stirring conversation, DawnCheré Wilkerson joins Ginny Yurich to talk about her book Slow Burn and the hidden work God does in our hearts while we wait. From infertility to surprise pregnancies, from palm trees weathering hurricanes to century plants...

Modern screen time isn’t just harmless entertainment—it’s reshaping our kids’ brains. In this summer mashup with Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, we explore how immersive, interactive tech—especially in early childhood—alters neurological development and leads to impulsivity, poor focus, and even addiction. Packed with clinical insights and hopeful strategies, this episode is a wake-up call for parents who...

What happens to a generation when screens become the centerpiece of childhood? In this powerful 500th episode, Ginny Yurich is joined by Kim John Payne, author of Simplicity Parenting, to explore the quiet crisis unfolding in families across the world. From rising anxiety to declining play, from screen dependency to emotional disconnection—this conversation exposes how the very sanctity of childho...

What Have We Done to Childhood? That’s the question at the heart of this gripping conversation with Dr. Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn and one of the world’s foremost researchers on human development and education. In his fourth appearance on the podcast, Dr. Gray unpacks how cultural shifts—from agricultural hierarchies to today’s anxiety-fueled overprotection—have stripped childhood of its...

If our kids are achieving but not thriving, what are we actually working toward? In this profoundly helpful and eye-opening conversation, Ned Johnson and Dr. William Stixrud—authors of What Do You Say? and The Self-Driven Child—return to share powerful insights about raising kids who can handle stress, stay motivated, and actually enjoy their lives. We talk about what it means to be a non-anxious...

What happens when grief, loss, and hardship become the soil where storytelling grows? In this unforgettable episode, Sean Dietrich — bestselling author and beloved writer — shares the raw, redemptive beauty of his childhood, where pain and hope sat side by side. With trademark warmth and honesty, Sean opens up about his father’s death, the ache of feeling like an outsider, and the strangers who sh...

In this unforgettable conversation, New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist Lee Strobel joins Ginny Yurich to explore the unseen realm—where science, faith, and mystery collide. Drawing from his newest book Seeing the Supernatural, Strobel shares powerful, documented stories of near-death experiences, angelic encounters, supernatural dreams, and miracle healings that challen...

You’ve read the book, maybe even underlined your favorite sentences—but have you ever wondered who helped shape those words before they reached your hands? In this refreshingly candid and surprisingly emotional episode, Ginny Yurich sits down with Will Parker Anderson, senior editor at Penguin Random House (WaterBrook & Multnomah), to explore the mysterious world of publishing and the unsung heroe...

What if the key to more family adventures started in your kitchen? Mandy Klentz of Plandy Mandy returns to The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast to show us how home-cooked, additive-free meals can actually save time, money, and stress. In this warm and practical conversation, Ginny Yurich and Mandy unpack the real cost of convenience foods—and how a freezer full of homemade muffins might just be your tic...

What if the biggest risk to our children’s future isn’t failure—but our fear of it? In this bold and deeply affirming episode, Ginny Yurich is joined by bestselling author and father of four, Mark Gerson, to explore how overprotection is quietly robbing kids of the very traits they need to thrive: independence, resilience, and confidence. Drawing from his new book God Was Right, Gerson shows how t...

When life falls apart, learning doesn’t have to. In this heartfelt conversation, Ginny Yurich sits down with Christine Alexander of Wonder and Wildflower to talk about a season of homeschooling marked by deep challenges—job loss, a cross-country move, and a year without any seatwork. And yet, in the middle of that chaos, something beautiful happened: connection deepened, resilience bloomed, and th...

Jon Acuff has joined The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast six times—and every time, he’s delivered unforgettable encouragement, truth bombs, and just the right amount of hilarious honesty. In this special summer edition, we’ve pulled together his greatest hits. These aren’t just highlights—they’re life-giving reminders about courage, purpose, parenting, progress, and the myth of perfection. From “auditi...

In this unforgettable episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, Ginny Yurich welcomes author and Yale Law graduate Mary Marantz for a conversation that is as heart-wrenching as it is hope-filled. Mary shares her journey from a trailer on a mountaintop in West Virginia to the halls of Yale, weaving together stories of dirt-stained roots, childhood magic, absent parents, and the quiet faithfulness...

In one of the most powerful episodes of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast to date, Ginny Yurich welcomes back Angela Hanscom—pediatric occupational therapist, author of Balanced and Barefoot, and founder of TimberNook—for her fifth and most stirring conversation yet. Angela unpacks the developmental consequences of our modern restrictions on movement—from limited recess to screen-heavy lifestyles—and...

Life is already complicated—dinner doesn’t have to be. In this refreshingly down-to-earth conversation, Ginny Yurich sits down with Emily Ley, bestselling author, planner designer, and creator of The Simplified Cookbook, to talk about what it really takes to make family life easier. Emily shares her journey from climbing the corporate ladder to launching a wildly successful business that helps wom...

What if doing less was actually the key to doing what matters most? In this powerful episode, Ginny Yurich sits down with Technicolor Woman author Courtney Smallbone for a raw, hope-filled conversation about legacy, identity, and the cost of burnout. Courtney shares how embracing rest, resisting cultural pressure, and choosing a slower path has helped her build a family life rooted in purpose. Tog...

What if education wasn’t about grades or transcripts—but about becoming the kind of person who can figure it out? In this powerful and timely episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, Matt Beaudreau returns for a second time to help launch Ginny Yurich’s brand new book, Homeschooling: You’re Doing It Right Just by Doing It, which he proudly endorsed. Together, they dismantle the conveyor belt mod...

International parenting icon Maggie Dent joins Ginny Yurich for a critical conversation that challenges everything we’ve been told about raising children in today’s fast-paced, screen-saturated, achievement-obsessed world. With wit, wisdom, and warmth, Maggie shares the truth that every overwhelmed parent needs to hear: childhood is not a race. From toddler tantrums to reading readiness, she expla...

Joel Salatin—farmer, author, and foreword writer for Ginny Yurich’s new book—joins us for his fifth episode, and it’s a powerhouse. This conversation is a front-row seat to what happens when you raise kids in real life instead of a classroom. Joel walks us through the radical decision he and his wife made in the 1980s to homeschool, back when it was still illegal in parts of the country and deeply...

What if the things you don’t have are exactly what God wants to use? In this powerful conversation, Tauren Wells joins The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast to share the story behind his new book Joy Bomb: Unleashing Jesus’s Explosive Joy for an Extraordinary Life. Together with host Ginny Yurich, Tauren unpacks the deeper meaning of the Beatitudes—revealing how Jesus' first sermon wasn’t just a list of...

What if the most powerful world your child will ever explore isn’t inside a screen—but just outside your door? In this magical episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, naturalist and author Susie Spikol returns to share enchanting stories, unforgettable facts, and simple, wonder-filled activities that celebrate the everyday wild. From dandelion tea and fairy rings to moss gardens and mushroom lo...

What if the root of our youth mental health crisis isn’t just academic pressure or social media—but the quiet erasure of childhood itself? In this gripping and deeply practical episode, ADHD executive function expert Mike McLeod to The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast for his most urgent conversation yet. Together, we dive into the realities of raising kids in a screen-saturated, performance-obsessed cu...

In this power-packed episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, Ginny Yurich welcomes back two of the most trusted voices in parenting—David Thomas and Sissy Goff from the Daystar Counseling Clinic and The Raising Boys & Girls Podcast. For the first time together on the show, David and Sissy dive deep into the social, emotional, and spiritual milestones our kids must hit to thrive—skills that don’...