

Outside Podcast
Outside
Outside’s longstanding literary storytelling tradition comes to life in audio with features that will both entertain and inform listeners. We launched in March 2016 with our first series, Science of Survival, and have since expanded our show and now offer a range of story formats, including reports from our correspondents in the field and interviews with the biggest figures in sports, adventure, and the outdoors.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 19, 2025 • 27min
The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death
What happens to your body when you get lost and confused on a mountain in the bitter cold of a winter night? In 2016 The Outside Podcast launched with this harrowing story of a lost motorist fighting for his life. Based on Peter Stark's classic feature, Frozen Alive, it is still considered a high-water mark for experiential audio storytelling.The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Jan 29, 2025 • 30min
Surviving at Sea on a Surfboard
Matthew Bryce went surfing alone. Would he die alone, too? As he was riding waves, Bryce got blown out to sea. He had a wetsuit and a surfboard, and nothing else. No way to call for help, or signal to the rescuers that he could see searching for him in a helicopter. Alone and freezing in the ocean, how do you keep from giving up?The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Jan 15, 2025 • 49min
How to Keep Your Chin Up When It Hurts
When John Orth, a violin maker from Colorado, set out to break his own world record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours, he had no idea he was competing against a college kid from Virginia. And that kid, Andrew Shapiro, didn't know Orth had his eyes set on the same number--10,000 pull-ups. No one had previously thought such a feat was possible, and as the two men grabbed their respective bars and started to pull, they would find a new limit to human endurance.The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Dec 18, 2024 • 29min
Who’s Got It Worse, Ass-Pens or J-Holes?
Outside spends a lot of time ranking the best mountain towns in the country, but which one is the worst? Is Aspen’s conspicuous wealth worse than Jackson Hole’s false modesty? How many billionaires does it take to ruin a local economy? Is there any hope for the ski-bum lifestyle? Paddy O’Connell and Frederick “Rico” Reimers bring us a debate you only win by losing.The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Dec 11, 2024 • 43min
Shaun White's Next Twist
Shaun White has been the face of snowboarding for two decades. So what is he doing in retirement? A lot. He’s launching his own snowboard brand. He’s raising money to protect public lands. He’s even starting his own half-pipe competition. In this live interview from The Outside Festival in Denver, former NFL linebacker Dhani Jones talks with White about life after pro sports and how the keys to his past success play a role in his future.Tickets to the 2025 Outside Festival and Summit are on sale now at early bird prices at theoutsidefestival.comThe Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Dec 4, 2024 • 30min
Up A Tree Without A Paddle
It was the trip of a lifetime. Several months paddling the Amazon, trying to eat without being eaten. It almost all went to plan. But when Bruce Frey and Ed Welch found themselves being trailed through the jungle by a jaguar at sunset, their only choice was to take refuge in a tree and hope they could survive the night.The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Nov 20, 2024 • 42min
A Bull Named Party Bus and the Rodeo Clown Showdown
JJ Harrison is the only person at a rodeo who is supposed to get hit by the bulls. As the clown, he’s responsible for everyone’s safety. The crowd loves him. It’s a good life—even if it hurts a little. Then over the summer, with JJ in the ring, a bull named Party Bus jumped the fence at the rodeo in Sisters, Oregon. Five people were injured, and it seemed like the kind of thing that might end the small-town event. Alex Ward reports on the ups and downs of the modern clown. The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Nov 13, 2024 • 33min
How We Survive
The US military is responsible for the emission of more greenhouse gasses than any other single institution in the world. It is actively planning for the consequences of climate change, but is it doing anything to prevent it? In the new season of How We Survive, the team from Marketplace looks at how rising global temperatures and more extreme weather will change the future of conflict and combat, and what that means for soldiers in the field.The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Nov 6, 2024 • 43min
Alone and Broken in the Desert
Claire Nelson was more than a mile off the trail when she fell 30 feet in Joshua Tree National Park. As she lay there with a broken pelvis, she realized she had no cell service, and no one knew where she was. As three days alone and broken in the desert turned into four, she was forced to reckon with all of the choices that had brought her there, and ask: What does it mean to be truly alone?The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.

Oct 30, 2024 • 44min
Navigating a Class V Marriage
When Katie Arnold and her husband Steve were invited to run the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, it was a lifelong dream come true. But then disaster struck in the opening moments of the trip, and the couple faced two daunting tasks—survive the river, and then fix their marriage.The Outside Podcast is made possible by our Outside Plus members. Learn more about all the benefits of membership at outsideonline.com/podplus.


