The Joy Trip Project

An all inclusive adventure for the disabled only I’m packing my bags and taking this show on the road. And you’re wondering, so what’s new? James you travel all the time. That’s right. I do. The Joy Trip Project is all about venturing out into the wide world and finding those stories about people who are doing what they can to make a difference, to make the world a better place. But this time, it’...

An interview with author Jennifer Jordan In 1939 Dudley Wolfe was on one of the earliest expeditions to reach the summit of K2. An adventurer and one of the wealthiest men in the world he was left for dead with a rescue team of Sherpa after a devastating avalanche. Some say he was the victim of his own foolishness, others say he was abandoned by the members of his climbing party as they fled the m...

I know. It’s been a long time since the last audio edition of The Joy Trip Project. But if you’ve been following the blog and the Facebook page you’ll know that I’ve been traveling on an extend Joy Trip. I just got back. Over the past several weeks of summer I’ve been conducting interviews and collecting stories about people and institutions hard at work making the world a better place. I know tha...

An interview with director Louie Psihoyos The truths discovered in documentary films often reveal far more than meet the eye. In his Oscar winning movie "the Cove" photojournalist Louie Psihoyos takes us on an adventure that perhaps shows us more than we want to see. “I lead an elite team of activists to penetrate a secret cove in Japan to reveal a dark secret,” Psihoyos said. The Cove, part actio...

One of the great pleasure of putting together this podcast every week is finding those amazing individuals whose work bring art and culture together to tell the story of adventure. Unfortunately it’s not often that I can make a more direct connection to the active lifestyle through the performing art of music. But more two years ago I became acquainted with the work of climber and rap artist Kris...

Once you reach a certain point in your career it’s great to be able to sit back and reflect upon what you’ve accomplished. It’s gratifying to see in hindsight how far you’ve come and this vantage point you can also look forward to what you have yet to achieve in the future. At the age of 29 professional climber Chris Sharma is in a good position to see the route his life has taken so far and start...

I just got a  new set of tires from my Volkswagen Jetta. Got an oil change and I’m packing my gear for the next Joy Trip. I’ll be heading east for the first time to report from The New River Rendezvous in Fayetteville, West Virginia. The three-day event is another one of those terrific gatherings of our tribe, we who find adventure in play at climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, trail running. May...

It says in the Talmud, the sacred text of Jewish law, “Save one life and you save world.” Dr. Rick Hodes has saved dozens of lives and his continuing work in service of the children has made the world a better place for us all. A pediatric oncologist who specializes in the treatment of heart disease, spine disease and cancer, Dr. Hodes compassionately practices medicine at Mother Theresa’s Mission...

President Barack Obama signs the Great Outdoors Initiative to promote conservation efforts across the United States

You might have heard that not everyone agrees when it comes to climate change. While living in New York City, after graduating from college photographer Alan Winslow and journalist Morrigan McCarthy came to realize that across the America people have a difference of opinion. photo by Meghan Peterson "Because living in New York City you can kind of feel like you’re in a bubble. Maybe any city is li...

An interview with climber and writer Majka Burhardt If you’re a writer, there are few things better than to combine your passion for storytelling with something else that you truly love. For writer Majka Burhardt climbing has long been the subject of her many articles in adventure magazines. A certified rocking climbing instructor and a member of the American Mountain Guides Association Burhardt b...

In 1971 John Francis witnessed a catastrophic oil spill in San Francisco Bay. The greasy black sludge that coated resident sea life and stained nearby beaches left an indelible impression him as well. As a young man at the dawn of the environmental movement he felt compelled to act. But what can one person do to change a society bent on its own destruction? Left with little do that would make a di...

An interview with Love Hope Strength executive director Shannon Foley A couple of weeks ago I got an email from my friend Maitri. A friend of hers was in serious trouble and she wanted my help. "I’d seen her the day before and everything was fine. And she said, 'I think my husband has leukemia'." Maitri said. "And they’ve checked him into the UW cancer ward." Here in Madison the University of Wisc...

An interview with Time Magazine reporter and author Pico Iyer From a very young age  Pico Iyer has had a close personal relationship with one of the worlds great spiritual and political leaders. In 1960 his father a professor of philosophy and a student of world religions was among first westerners to seek an audience with the Dalai Lama.  Traveling from his home in England Iyer’s father journeyed...

An interview with adventure filmmaker Dominic Gill I don’t know about you. But I’ve got a hard time getting motivated, especially when it comes to doing something hard, something that might take a lot of time, cost a bit of money or might even be a little scary. Life’s journey can be tough enough just trying to get by making it from day to the next. But every once in a while, someone comes along t...

Even though temperatures across the country are still well below freezing there are still plenty of people out there riding their bikes through the winter. On this blustery day in Madison Wisconsin a small class of avid bikers have gathered together to learn the finer points of riding around town in some pretty rough road conditions Dwyer: So on one of the hills practice unweighting your seat a li...

Racism is a word that seldom comes up in a discussion of environmental protection. Clean air, water and soil are universal human values that transcend ethnic identity or the color of one’s skin. But in metropolitan centers around the United States minority communities are being inundated with a disproportionate burden of pollution. Industrial waste, municipal garbage and sewage treatment plants ar...

An interview with adventure filmmaker Bryan Smith It’s been more than a month since the last podcast. Thanks to everyone for all the emails and Facebook messages asking for the next edition. After an action packed first season of production, the realities of life came crashing down like a devastating wave. The recession of 2009 made times a bit tough. Simply put the project was placed indefinite h...

Now that winter is here it’s a good opportunity to discover that despite the cold there were many opportunities to enjoy your time outside. Hopefully you get out to ski or ice climb or skate or make angles in the snow.  By far one of the coolest moments I had last winter was the better part of a morning I spent riding through the woods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on a dog sled. I’m not sure...

An interview with urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter JTP: Delegates from about 190 countries are gathering over the next two weeks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Although this is a landmark event, the largest meeting ever to discuss the environmental future of our planet. I’m a little concerned that we may not be talking about the most important issues. T...

In 1978 Rick Ridgeway was on the first American team to reach the summit of K2, the second highest mountain in the world. After a long career as a professional adventurer Ridgeway is now vice president of environmental initiatives at the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. Today he’s devoting his life to the preservation of wildlife corridors across North America. Working with a coalition of envir...

A Joy Trip Flashback: Remembering Todd Skinner I got an email from an old friend, Amy Skinner. We hadn’t connected in a while so it really good to hear from her. Her message read, “Thought you might get a kick out of my son's third grade writing assignment. We're going to have to have a little talk about plagiarism, but it's apparent that he has listened to your podcast many times.  I have it on m...

An interview with mountaineer Peter Athans We’ve explored much of the modern world. Today very little is left to tempt the imagination. We’ve succeeded in climbing the highest mountains. We’ve traveled to the depths of the ocean. There’s not much of our planet that we haven’t seen. It would seem then now that what remains of adventure, at least on earth, isn’t to discover where human beings have y...

An interview with Banff Mountain Literature Award winner Steve House Leading alpinist Reinhold Messner once called Steve House “the best high altitude climber in the world today.” That’s no small praise coming from the first man to solo the summit of Everest without oxygen. In his late 30s House has had a distinguished career ascending the most challenging routes on many of the highest mountains i...

Empowered women like Kim Reynolds call themselves what they like. This Chick runs a business out of Colorado showing other women how to climb rock and ice called Chicks Rock. "It’s fun. I think sharing life experiences, climbing experiences, there’s a certain comradery," Reynolds said. " Someone might have the same challenges or same talents or whatever as I as do and it’s nice to experience that...