Wild Ideas Worth Living

Dudley Edmondson is a legendary outdoorsman and birder, nature photographer, cinematographer, speaker and an author. In 2006, he published a book called Black and Brown Faces in America's Wild Places. He hopes that his books, photos and film work will inspire the next generation of Black, Indigenous and other people of color to get outside. Connect with Dudley:  Website  Instagram  Dudley's book,...

What if swiping on a dating app led you to your partner and an epic bike ride the length of Latin America? This was the case for Erin Azouz and her now-husband Mehedi. The bike trip profoundly shifted Erin's relationship with her work, her husband, and most importantly with herself. Connect with Erin:  Website  Instagram If you enjoyed this episode:  Listen to  Adventure and Business with David Sa...

Kanoa Greene was born into a family of surfers in Hawaii, but for a long time she didn't feel like she belonged in the ocean. She'd never seen a plus size person out in the water and she struggled to find gear to fit her body. Eventually when she was in her 30s, she stood up on a wave for the first time and it opened up a new world for her. Now Kanoa's goal is to help other people, no matter their...

Over the past few years, Moondog Roop has done three major thru-skates. First in 2021, he spent 45 days on the 1,100 mile Florida Trail. In 2022, he thru-skated across the entire state of New Mexico, and in 2023 he skateboarded 444 miles on the historic Natchez Trace, a trail which passes through parts of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Connect with Moondog:  Instagram If you enjoyed this epi...

What if your life revolved around leading groundbreaking polar expeditions? In 1986, polar explorer Ann Bancroft became the first woman to ski to the North Pole after a chance encounter with Will Steger.  Connect with Ann:  Website  Ann Bancroft Foundation Instagram Ann Reed website & featured song If you liked this episode:  Listen to Chris Fagan: South Pole Quest Thank you to our title sponsor,...

In September of 2022, at 39 years old, Chad Vanags was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal lung cancer. Chad is a surfer, runner, and all-around athlete. In the year and a half since his diagnosis, Chad has been living his wildest most authentic life as he faces his own mortality. Cancer isn't the message, but it's been the vehicle that's pushed him to become what he calls physically and mentally elit...

Professional climber Nina Williams is known for her highball bouldering career. Highballing is somewhere between bouldering and free soloing. Climbers scale rocks 20 to 50 feet tall, sometimes even taller, without a rope. Nina was the first woman to climb a number of extremely challenging routes around the world, from Bishop, California to Rocklands, South Africa. In her sport, Nina deals with fea...

That's a wrap on lucky season seven! Join host Shelby Stanger to celebrate the 50 phenomenal guests who shared their adventures with us this year as well as listeners who let us in on the wild ideas they have planned for 2024!  Projects & episodes mentioned in this episode:  Watch Melissa Kegler's documentary, Ice Mermaid: Cold Resolve   The Wisdom of Expeditions with Conrad Anchor The Will to Wil...

Ultra runner, Courtney Dauwalter is known as one of the greatest athletes of our time She's also know for running in long basketball shorts, scarfing down pizza and nachos between races, and her mindset when it comes to mastering the "pain cave." This summer, Courtney ran three of the most prestigious ultramarathons in the world and ended up winning every single one. The most impressive part is th...

Eavan O'Neill started running at 21 years old when she was diagnosed with Stargardt Disease, a rare degenerative disorder that leads to visual impairment and blindness. Although there is currently no cure and she can't slow the progression of her symptoms, Eavan leans into running as an incredible source of joy, and a powerful way to connect with the running community.  Connect with Eavan:  Instag...

Erick Cedeño is known for bikepacking around the U.S. He rides through some of the most beautiful parts of the country, but his trips aren’t just about taking in the scenery. Erick has a passion for history and has biked along historical routes including the Underground Railroad and most recently, he traced the footsteps and tire treads of a group of U.S. soldiers known as the Iron Riders. Connect...

When Alvarez Silberstein was 18 years old, he was in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Before his accident, Alvaro had a dream to go Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia. Once he started using a wheelchair, he assumed it would be impossible for him to fulfill this dream. But in 2017, Alvaro and his incredible friends organized a trip to make his wild idea a reality...

In 2019, outdoor guide Kielyn Marrone was put to the test when she competed on the TV show Alone. On the show, contestants are dropped into remote places with only 10 pieces of equipment and challenged to survive in the wild. Kielyn finished third in her season, lasting a total of 80 days in a hand built shelter, cooking over a fire, and hunting and forging for food. Connect with Kielyn: Instagram...

Dr. Michael Gervais is one of the world's top high-performance psychologists. He's the co-creator of the Performance Institute at USC, and he's the host and creator of the podcast Finding Mastery. In this episode, Michael shares how we can use psychology to help pursue our wildest ideas. Connect with Michael:  Website Instagram Finding Mastery podcast Finding Mastery YouTube Order Michael's new bo...

Jedidiah Jenkins is a bestselling author who embraces outdoor adventurer as inspiration for his beautiful and deeply personal work. When he turned 30, Jedidiah quit his job, and set out on a bike ride that took him from the Oregon coast all the way down to Patagonia. When he returned, he wrote his a memoir about his journey called, To Shake the Sleeping Self . In 2021, Jedidiah's wild idea involve...

Rachel Heaton, member of the Muckleshoot Indian tribe, with Duwamish Ancestors, led an All Native Tahoma (Mount Rainier) Climb this September with the goal to see her people represented on the mountain while inspiring the other Native climbers to enjoy the connection to their land. Due to weather constraints, the group was not able to summit, but in the end, they realized the climb was about so mu...

Sarafina El Badry-Nance is a scientist, an author and a speaker, she's dedicated the last several years to studying the stars and is currently working on her PhD in Astronomy at UC, Berkeley. Sarafina's research focuses on supernovae or exploding stars. Connect with Sarafina:  Website Instagram  Purchase Sarafina's new book, Starstruck Episode sponsors:  Shop  Allbirds Book your next camp adventur...

Hawaiian filmmaker, Justyn Ah Chong, focuses his work on telling the stories of his people. A few months ago, Justyn won a regional Emmy for a short film, Pili Ka Moʻo.  The movie follows a native Hawaiian family as they fight to protect the land where their ancestors are buried.  Pili Ka Moʻo is a part of Reciprocity Project, a series of original short films made by Indigenous directors on their...

Ashley Rodriguez is a certified nature and forest therapy guide who is passionate about sharing her love of foraging and cooking over an open fire as a way to help people connect with nature and find themselves outside. She has worked in world-renowned restaurants, written an award-winning food blog, published two cookbooks, and wrote and hosted the James Beard award-winning web series Kitchen Unn...

Gabaccia Moreno is an outdoor enthusiast and advocate, whose career centers on encouraging people to rethink how they engage with nature. Over the years, Gabaccia has worked on a variety of projects— from being a member of the conservation corps in Montana to writing for outdoor publications, and creating the online community, The Outdoorist Oath.  Connect with Gabaccia: Website Instagram The Outd...

Renowned paleoclimatologist Dr. Lonnie Thompson has been on over 60 expeditions to collect ice core samples from glaciers around the world. These samples hold precious clues to understand human-caused climate change.  Connect with Lonnie:  Get tickets to Canary , the documentary feature film starring Lonnie, playing in select theaters nationwide September 20th Episode sponsors:  Shop  Allbirds  Bo...

Ashley Davies is a lifelong runner who's building community her own way.  In 2017, she co-founded Club Seattle Run Division with the intention to make the club as inclusive as possible, focusing on community rather than performance. CSRD's motto is All Faces, All Paces. The club encourages people of any background and fitness level to come run with them and make some friends along the way. Connect...

Shane Dorian is a legendary surfer, winning his first surf contest when he was just 11 years old. At 21, he joined the World Surf League and traveled the globe to compete with other athletes. Shane has won countless competitions over the years including 11 WSL Big Wave Awards. He was part of a generation of surfers who became influential in the sport, and was able to make a career out of surfing f...

Susan Casey is an accomplished journalist who's spent years writing about the ocean, and most recently, the deep sea. The deep sea generally starts around 600 feet below the surface where you could no longer see the light from above, but it goes way beyond that. In some places, the ocean is almost seven miles deep. Susan is one of the few people who's gone deeper than 5,000 meters in a submersible...

Professional climber Emily Harrington met her husband, pro mountaineer Adrian Ballinger, on an expedition 11 years ago. While their paths to become pro athletes were different, the couple has figured out how to balance their partnership and build a family while continuing to pursue what they love— adventuring in the mountains.  Connect with Emily & Adrian:  Emily's Instagram & website Adrain's Ins...