Outside Podcast

What’s an acceptable baseline of fitness? What should you be able to do off-the-couch? For some people it’s running a mile. For others, it’s a marathon. In the waning days of his presidency, Theodore Roosevelt decided that for members of the American military, it would be a 50-mile hike, completed in 20 hours. Late last year Outside contributing editor Tom Vanderbilt decided he wanted to get a sense of what that was like. Turns out, it’s pretty hard.The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Is Taylor Swift an elite endurance athlete? On the Eras tour, the singer-songwriter is performing three nights a week, singing and dancing for as long as it takes most people to run a marathon. When ultrarunner and Outside editor Zoë Rom read about the six-month fitness program Swift used to prepare for the tour, she decided to give it a try—and quickly learned that being a pop star is harder than it looks. But training like one may change the way you think about fitness.Check out trainer Brookelynn Miller’s Couch to Eras Tour training plan here:Couch to Eras Tour Training PlanCouch2Eras Strava GroupThe Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

After a certain number of hours, endurance races are basically eating competitions. We spend years training our bodies for peak performance on race day. Producer Maren Larsen wanted to know: how do you train your stomach?The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

In-N-Out Burger’s iconic palm trees are a reference to buried treasure, but they also make the restaurant a very unlikely climate change indicator. As the chain expands into places where palm trees can’t yet grow, science writer Meg Duff wondered: Does In-N-Out know something we don’t?The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of becoming a member and sign up at OutsideOnline.com/podplus.

An ultrarunner, Tyler Green, balances fatherhood and his running career. The podcast explores how becoming a parent can impact an athlete's training. Tyler's journey as a pro ultrarunner is covered, along with his experiences as a sponsored athlete and his transition to full-time running. The podcast also highlights the challenges faced by Tyler and his wife, Rachel, as they train for their races while managing family time. It concludes with a mention of the Outside Podcast team and exclusive benefits for Outside Plus subscribers.

After 50 years, one of the most consequential environmental laws in U.S. history may no longer be relevant to the world we’re living in. Which makes sense: the ESA was written for a planet that was several degrees cooler than the one we're living on right now, by politicians who weren’t even arguing about climate change yet. So producer Aaron Scott started to wonder: if the ESA is out of date, what would it take to keep this comprehensive piece of legislation relevant going forward? The answers he found take the form of three stories, about a fish, a bird, and a bear.The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Mountain lions are becoming more aggressive. Or maybe they aren’t? But their populations are certainly increasing. Or not? After cougars killed multiple people in the Pacific Northwest in a few months in 2018, Outside Podcast host Peter Frick-Wright noticed that there sure was a lot of contradictory information about these predators out there, including the scariest rumor he could imagine. Why is it so hard to nail down the facts about cougars? Is it even possible to get good information about an animal that’s mastered the art of stealth and surprise?The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at outsideonline.com/podplus

Our founding host, Peter Frick-Wright, is returning—and we couldn’t be more excited. After taking the last four years to focus on short-run podcast series like Missed Fortune, Bundyville, and Timber Wars, Peter will be back starting with our November 29 episode. Together with his creative partner, Robbie Carver, Peter will be bringing a diverse cast of talented journalists and storytellers to the Outside Podcast. Our best is yet to come.The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at OutsideOnline.com/podplus

When you’re one of the greatest skiers of all time, there are some things you only say to the person you trust most in the world. For Mikaela Shiffrin, that person is her mom, Eileen Shiffrin, who has coached and traveled with Mikaela since her first season on the World Cup circuit, at age 15. Eileen has always played an enormous role in her daughter's life and that role grew even larger when Mikaela's father died suddenly a few years ago. So, when Outside decided to interview Mikaela for our Outsiders of the Year issue, we figured the best way to get truly candid answers would be to have Eileen ask the questions. In this episode, we sit in on their conversation, which offers a rare chance to hear how an Olympic champion really feels about the personal challenges she’s faced on her path to the top of her sport.The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at OutsideOnline.com/podplus

Honoring the life of someone who spent their days exploring wild places often means embracing the pursuits that brought them joy. This approach can lead us to all kinds of unconventional memorials, from marathons that are also eating contests, to costumed snow-blading event, to mountaintop poetry readings. In this episode, we talk to snowboarding icon Jeremy Jones and author Peter Moore who, after losing loved ones, found a home for their grief—and their joy—in the mountains.The Outside Podcast is made possible by Outside+ subscribers. Learn more about all the benefits of a subscription and subscribe now at OutsideOnline.com/podplus