The Adventure Podcast

Episode 231 of The Adventure Podcast features explorer and polar activist, Matthieu Tordeur. Starting with a solo trip to Antarctica at 26, Matthieu talks through his shift from solo self-funded expeditions to purpose-driven exploration. He explains what drew him to polar landscapes specifically, and they talk in detail about a kite-skiing research-driven traverse he recently did with glaciologist Heidi Sevestre. They discuss what that expedition actually involved logistically - data collection, kites, navigation, no hierarchy. And they get into some of the harder questions facing modern expedition life. The conversation also touches on glaciers, hope, hypocrisy, and whether there's still time to act.For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.Chapter Breakdown00:00-06:07: Matthieu's relationship with solitude and what led to a self-funded solo expedition at 26.06:07-8:32: The specific pull of polar landscapes over other extreme environments.08:32-13:54: Returning to Antarctica years later, this time for a different purpose.13:54-23:23: The shift from expeditions as personal journeys to expeditions with scientific intent, and the tension of travelling extensively while advocating on climate.23:23-26:22: Reconciling personal freedom, fatherhood, and environmental responsibility without easy answers.26:22-37:37: How the kite expedition with glaciologist Heidi Sevestre was built around research from the outset.37:37-46:35: The physical and logistical demands of the trip, and whether it was enjoyable or simply hard.46:35-49:33: Decision-making and conflict within a two-person team with no fixed hierarchy.49:33-54:59: Weighing privilege and personal travel against a backdrop of wildfires and climate change.54:59-58:04: Rediscovering everyday adventure through his young son.58:04-1:02:39: Whether it's too late for the world's glaciers, and choosing to act regardless.1:02:39-1:06:42: What scares Matthieu, what gives him hope, and a close.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 230 of The Adventure Podcast features survival instructor, bushcraft expert, and TV adventurer, Naomi Allsworth. Naomi started as a sportswear fashion designer in London, before pivoting to bushcraft and working alongside Bear Grylls as a survival expert. She talks to Matt about finding her place in the bushcraft world, but also the criticism she has and still receives from some. She also reveals what it was like being cast on survival show, 'Alone', with just three weeks' notice, and how authentic survival TV shows really are. Naomi also opens up about her crippling postpartum depression, and that pushing herself back into wild, uncomfortable places was the only thing that pulled her out. Together they dig into the double standards facing adventurous parents, and they both get candid about the guilt, privilege, and precarious balancing act of a career built on being away. They also touch on Naomi's upcoming unsupported expedition, and representation vs community skepticism. It's an honest, no frills conversation around what it costs to build a career that lives online and away from home, but also what that can give you.For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.Chapter Breakdown00:00-02:31: Naomi on identity, growing up in rural Wales, and finding herself through fashion design in London.02:31-05:53: Swerving her degree toward mountaineering clothing, and testing kit in the Sahara and on Everest.05:53-13:42: Naomi's postpartum depression, the fear of leaving her son, and how bushcraft became her lifeline.13:42-24:01: Matt and Naomi compare notes on parental guilt, presence, and the different judgement mums and dads face for going away.24:01- 26:34: Why having the right partner makes an adventurous career possible.26:34-34:00: Naomi's whirlwind three-week casting, hostility from a fellow contestant, and finishing third.34:00-39:48: How authentic survival TV actually is, and the tension between bushcraft purism and entertainment.39:48-48:00: Wanting to represent women in the outdoors while keeping the respect of a skeptical community.48:00-58:36: Why paid TV work funds real expeditions.58:36-1:03:36: The impossible task of pleasing everyone online, and how criticism still stings even after years in the spotlight.1:03:36-1:05:34: What scares Naomi and what gives her hope.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dom Ferris, founder and CEO of Trash Free Trails and longtime mountain biker, reconnects people with nature by removing and recording single-use pollution. He talks about burnout from relentless activism, how small local actions like picking litter rebuild connection, the charity’s non-shaming philosophy, and the science linking single-use waste to disconnection from nature.

Dispatches are our shorter form episodes, usually around a single question, subject or story. In this episode, Niall McCann recites an incident from a couple of years ago when he, alongside a group of rangers, tracked buffalo poachers for over an hour through incredibly complex terrain.For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A sailor sells his business, buys a boat and sets off with his family, delayed by Covid, Brexit and a baby. Tales of crossing the Bay of Biscay, navigating the Saloum Delta and motoring upriver in search of hippos, chimps and dolphins. Stories of solo motorcycle rides, a Jungfrau paragliding search, and how adventurous parents keep adventuring without losing themselves.

Episode 227 of The Adventure Podcast features wildlife camera operator and television presenter, Declan Burley. Declan grew up in Luton, dyslexic and working on building sites. Nobody around him went into the arts and no one really knew what a wildlife camera operator was. In this episode, Declan talks to Matt about the long road to where he is now: three months in the Amazon at 23 that changed everything, years of being flat broke, and a cancer diagnosis in his late twenties. He explains what camera trapping actually involves, and what it was like to work across six critically endangered species for The Wild Ones, from snare-riddled jungle in Malaysia to mine-field leopards on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. They also cover the class divide in British wildlife television, what slowing down teaches you about the natural world, and whether conservation storytelling can actually change anything - or whether it's just preaching to the converted.For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.Chapter Breakdown0:00-06:15: Growing up in Luton, building sites, dyslexia, and why becoming a wildlife camera operator wasn't something anyone around him had ever done or suggested.06:15-14:13: Class, access and the 8% statistic.14:13-26:36: Three months in the Amazon at 23, learning to move slowly, borderline trench foot, and why that trip settled everything.26:36-34:48: Declan talks about receiving a cancer diagnosis in his late twenties, and how camera trapping became his specialist skill and calling card.34:48-42:00: What camera trapping actually is.42:00-50:18: The Wild Ones - six critically endangered species, six countries, and what Declan saw on the ground.50:18-58:00: Whether conservation storytelling can actually change anything, the three choices when faced with environmental despair, and why commissioners need the audience to keep watching.58:00-1:00:00: What scares him, what brings him hope, and why he puts animals and humans on exactly the same level.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ollie Phillips, former England rugby captain turned sailor, rower and polar explorer. He recounts sudden career-ending injury, saying yes to the Clipper Round the World Race with no sailing experience, rapid rise to leadership at sea, charity expeditions, and the emotional journey of identity, grief and rebuilding life through shared adventure.

Melissa Cristina Márquez, marine scientist, TV host and children's author nicknamed the 'Mother of Sharks'. She talks about growing up in Puerto Rico, fighting Hollywood myths from Jaws to Baby Shark, and how media language fuels fear. She explores diversity and indigenous knowledge in science, a shocking crocodile bite on a Shark Week shoot, and why caring loudly about nature matters.

Episode five of our long-term series, The Far Reaches, features ornithologist, environmentalist, writer, and sustainability advisor, Tony Juniper CBE. Tony is the Chair of Natural England, the former president of The Wildlife Trusts, and has devoted over four decades to nature recovery and environmental protection. In this episode, Matt sits down with Tony in his greenhouse for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the natural world. They start with the scale of what’s happening: climate change, collapsing ecosystems, soil loss, freshwater depletion, and how it's all driven by the same forces shaping modern society. Tony explains why many of the biggest environmental debates are framed incorrectly - not as trade-offs between nature and food, or economy and environment, but as problems that can be solved together if approached differently. They talk about farming, land use, and how mindsets are already beginning to shift. This episode is rooted in cautious optimism as Tony shares stories of species already returning to the UK. It emphasises that restoration isn’t theoretical, it’s already happening. Throughout the episode, Matt and Tony keep coming back to the idea of connection. People and nature. Policy and reality. And how the future depends on whether more people engage with it. While this is a stark reminder of what's going wrong, it's also strongly hopeful and shows what's already being quietly put back together.The Far Reaches is a long-term series where we speak to guests about subjects related to our planet and our place on it. These episodes will dig a little deeper, perhaps enter the realm of armchair philosophy, and will tackle some more existential questions surrounding adventure and exploration.For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.Chapter Breakdown00:00-05:00: Why climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion are deeply tied to how society functions.05:00-15:00: How different lifestyles drive vastly different environmental footprints, and consequences.15:00-25:00: Why framing issues as “nature vs food” or “economy vs environment” is misleading, and what a better approach looks like.25:00-35:00: How farmers are responding to climate pressures, and why the conversation is shifting on the ground.35:00-45:00: Examples of restoring ecosystems and improving biodiversity through smarter land use.45:00-55:00: Beavers, white-tailed eagles, cranes, spoonbills - real stories of recovery across the UK.55:00-End: Why this isn’t hopeless - and how reconnecting people with nature is key to change.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 224 of The Adventure Podcast features wildlife cinematographer and third generation commercial fisherwoman, Erin Ranney. The conversation begins with Erin's upbringing in Alaska and Washington State, and how she grew up working on her family tree farm and in the largest sockeye salmon run in the world. She talks about how that shaped her understanding of conservation from the inside out and why she’s chosen to stay connected to that community. From there, Erin traces her path into filmmaking and the point at which she realised it could act as a bridge between science, storytelling, and audiences. Alongside the field stories, Matt and Erin dig into the realities of the industry; the long periods living in tents, years spent building skills through unpaid work and stock footage, and the challenges facing nature storytelling today. They talk about the need for better science communication and the lack of funding for nature content. And why inspiring curiosity might be one of the most important parts of the job.For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.Chapter Breakdown00:00-08:00: Life in Bristol Bay, commercial fishing, and understanding conservation from within a working community.08:00-18:00: A chance fly-fishing class leads to a complete career pivot into ecology and field research.18:00-26:00: Erin discusses her lemur research, and how borrowing a long lens led to realising film could connect people to science.26:00-36:00: Cold emails, buying her own camera, filming stock footage, and landing her first paid job filming bears in Alaska.36:00-45:00: Working in extreme environments.45:00-55:00: Six months in remote camps, bush planes, family involvement, and rediscovering a love for filmmaking.55:00-01:05:00: Glacial retreat, extreme heat, and salmon die-offs - and why these stories couldn’t be ignored.01:05:00-01:15:00: Why Erin stays connected to fishing and farming communities, and sees herself as a bridge between worlds.01:15:00-End: Kids’ programming, inspiring curiosity, mentoring young filmmakers, and what needs to change in the industry.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.