Outside Podcast

In the mid-90s, the cultural collision of music and sports was everywhere in pop culture. You saw it through the brand new X Games and MTV Sports, in movies like “Point Break” and “Airborne,” and you heard it through what we used to call “alternative rock.” The band Third Eye Blind was a staple of this era, so you’d think that frontman Stephan Jenkins might have followed a similar trajectory to his rock god peers of the era. But you’d be wrong. Stephan, a surfer since childhood, grew up in the Bay Area and his break of choice is San Francisco’s notoriously big, dangerous, and sharky Ocean Beach. And he’s not just out in the water looking for stoke; he's a tireless ocean advocate. For as long as he’s surfed, Stephan has fought for kelp restoration and plastic reduction along the California coastline. He also regularly volunteers with the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation, which helps veterans treat PTSD through surfing.  This connection endlessly—even subconsciously—influences the music Stephan makes. Turns out, when you spend your life in the water and making music, the two things combine in ways that it takes a lifetime to understand.

Dr. Paul Piff, social psychologist at UC Irvine known for studying awe and prosocial behavior. He explains how brief moments in nature—big vistas and tiny wonders—ignite awe. Research from Lake Tahoe shows simple prompts boost empathy, connection, and well-being. He explores measuring awe, cultural differences, practical ways to notice it, and its promise for reducing loneliness and polarization.

Chris Benchetler, professional skier, artist, and filmmaker behind Mountains of the Moon. He talks about chasing audacious creative projects, shooting a neon-lit film almost entirely at night in brutal conditions, and how painting and skiing share flow, intuition, and the drive to do the hard thing.

Alex Honnold, legendary free solo climber and TV host, talks about his mellow Nevada adventures and new series. He discusses fame versus focus, choosing Nevada for family-friendly climbing, and why he says yes to rare opportunities. He also shares stories of humble outdoor moments, van life versus a home, and rediscovering simple, intentional living.

Big wall climbing is about as relatable as space travel to the average human. To whit: When Sasha DiGiulian and her partner Elliot Faber attempted the audacious Platinum route, they planned to spend 15 days on the massive wall. Then, 2,600 feet up, a freak winter storm pinned them inside their tiny portaledge tents for nine full days. But just because Sasha has the skill to get herself into that bonkers situation and the focus and pain tolerance to make it out—her and Elliot ultimately completed the climb in 23 (?!) days—doesn’t mean she herself is unrelatable. In fact, in a career racking up one of the most impressive big wall resumes in climbing, Sasha has developed a remarkably simple recipe for success. Fortunately for you, understanding it is a lot easier than hanging off a massive cliff for over a week.

Bill Bradley, aka Epic Bill, is a long-time endurance athlete who rebuilt his life through ultra challenges after losing his video-rental empire. He talks about diving into ultras after bankruptcy, learning from repeated failures, surviving extreme heat and cold, the role of relentlessness and suffering, and why big scary goals matter for ordinary lives.

April Vokey turned a gift for fishing into a career as a guide, a TV personality, a podcast host, and the founder of an online community and education platform under the brand name Anchored. This gift set the direction of her life as a teenager, and it helped her after a drunk driver nearly killed her in her 20s. It’s powerful stuff, but possibly less powerful than April’s other gift: the gift of gab. It’s tough to describe the infectiously exciting way that experiences and insights pour out of her, so best to just sit back and enjoy the feeling of being swept away. Needless to say, April’s our first guest who managed to spin a single yarn that included catching the fish of a lifetime, a foiled backcountry skinny dip, a takedown of fishing bro culture, and the intersection of menstruation and adventure. Buckle up folks. You’re about to get the April Vokey experience.

Brenna Huckaby, Paralympic snowboarder and cancer survivor who lost her right leg as a teen, shares her journey from amputation to multi-time world champion. She talks about why the Paralympics deserve attention. She recalls reclaiming identity, fighting classification rules to compete, and how snowboarding became a form of liberation and resistance. Practical gear and accessibility hot takes round out the conversation.

Jeremy Jones, award-winning big-mountain snowboarder and founder of Protect Our Winters, reflects on parenting fearless kids who follow his daring lines. He recounts humbling learning moments like wing foiling, evolving from heli drops to exploratory expeditions, and balancing mountain parenting with home life. He also explains why he started POW and how outdoor perspective drives climate advocacy.

These days, traditional definitions of masculinity are in tension with the need for a more expansive understanding of how to be a man in the world. This is as true in the outdoors as anywhere, but the natural world also offers unique paths for men, toward emotional liberation, connection, and strength. For today’s episode, we dipped into our archive from last year’s Outside Festival (which is now called Outside Days) for a touching and deeply honest conversation with action sports legend Selema Masekela,  artist and author Mike de la Rocha, artist and Apache Skateboards founder Douglas Miles, and  cultural strategist and storyteller James Andrews. These four men credit their time outdoors with helping them make sense of complicated, often messy relationships with their parents, siblings, and friends. Listen in to explore how nature and community help a new generation of men redefine strength on their own terms.