The MeatEater Podcast
MeatEater
Building on the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, host Steven Rinella brings an in-depth and relevant look at all outdoor topics including hunting, fishing, nature, conservation, and wild foods. Filled with humor, irreverence, and things that will surprise the hell out of you, each episode welcomes a diverse group of guests who add their own expertise to the vast world of the outdoors. Part of The MeatEater Podcast Network.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 6, 2026 • 1h 15min
Ep. 957: Cal's Bucket List Hunt | 12 in '26
Producer Jason Roehrig and outdoor filmmaker Garret Smith take you behind the scenes of Ryan Callaghan’s Alaska brown bear hunt. They unpack the tense archery stalk, a split-second decision in fading light, filming in dangerous bear country, and the challenges of capturing the story. Plus, the crew samples bear meat, discusses parasites, remote-hunt logistics, and the moments left out of the final film.
Nov 5, 2026 • 1h 22min
Ep. 956: Deer Hunt Reports - Phoning It In
A wide-ranging roundup covers Colorado’s rejected hunting-rights amendment and why hunters must connect beyond their own community. Field reports span rainy Alaska blacktails, late Montana mule deer, Kentucky small game, Missouri rut hunting, and an improvised elk hunt. The crew also tackles trapping, Austrian hunting traditions, a bizarre gorilla rifle ad, and protecting public lands from illegal off-road use.
Nov 4, 2026 • 53min
Ep. 955: Game On, Suckers! MeatEater Trivia CCXLI
Randall Williams, an outdoor writer, hunter, and fishing personality, joins a lively trivia showdown packed with backcountry know-how. Topics range from building a successful guiding business and choosing hunting knives to trout spawning beds, grouse color phases, wind measurement, shotgun fit, record bass, fishing eddies, beef bourguignon, Illinois deer seasons, and Montana’s mule deer population.
Nov 2, 2026 • 2h 1min
Ep. 954: A Public Land Warrior
Hal Herring, a conservation writer and journalist covering public lands and the American West, joins a wide-ranging conversation on their history, decline, and future. They explore the Malheur occupation, Ed Abbey’s contradictions, privatization, anti-government politics, and the hidden costs of industry. They also discuss public access, conservation jobs, and why wild places matter beyond economics.
Oct 29, 2026 • 1h 50min
Ep. 953: You Can’t Afford Not To Fish
Spencer Neuharth, an outdoor journalist covering wild foods and conservation, explores the surprising value of panfish. Fisheries biologist Ryan Gary breaks down LiveScope’s impact on bass catch rates, skill, and regulation. Mary Peltola, a Yup'ik advocate and former Alaska congresswoman, discusses salmon declines, bycatch, subsistence, and Alaska’s political fight over fisheries. Plus, urban fishing and cormorant policy.
Oct 28, 2026 • 46min
Ep. 952: Game On, Suckers! MeatEater Trivia CCXL
Outdoor trivia tackles tricky public access, calcite, Fred Bear’s famous song, the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker, and the traditions of shore lunch. The competition also covers bass-fishing lures, whitetail harvests, wildlife overpasses, giant taimen, Yellowstone’s creation, and Kentucky’s elk restoration, with a conservation donation on the line.
11 snips
Oct 26, 2026 • 1h 18min
Ep. 951: Will The Colorado River Run Dry?
Dr. Melanie Thornton, a hydrologist and Western water policy leader, examines the Colorado River and Rio Grande crises. They explore outdated water agreements, competing demands from farms and cities, shrinking reservoirs, and the stakes for fish and wildlife. The conversation also covers water recycling, conservation incentives, beaver-based restoration, desalination, and the difficult negotiations ahead.
Oct 22, 2026 • 1h 48min
Ep. 950: Getting Paid to Hunt Deer on an Island
Doug Duren, a Wisconsin landowner and conservation advocate, joins a lively discussion on protecting Driftless Area habitat from a massive power line. The conversation also explores Nantucket’s deer harvest incentives, wild ginseng poaching, Colorado’s hunting-rights fight, New Mexico’s outfitter tag controversy, public-land access, youth firearm readiness, and the questionable morality of wildlife mascots.
Oct 21, 2026 • 45min
Ep. 949: Game On, Suckers! MeatEater Trivia CCXXXIX
Jordan Sillars, a firearms, hunting, and outdoor-culture writer who also hosts Blood Trails, joins a lively round of trivia. Topics range from picking one rifle for multiple species and identifying caribou antler shapes to global bear species, Vermont’s catamounts, suppressor baffles, single-action handguns, Ace Ventura’s mechanical rhino, and Step Brothers’ legendary bonita fish.
8 snips
Oct 19, 2026 • 2h 25min
Ep. 948: MeatEater’s American History: The Alaskans
Randall Williams, a writer and researcher of American frontier and conservation history, explores Alaska’s fur-trapping era. They trace the Klondike Gold Rush, fur fashion, Athabascan seasonal knowledge, and the annual ordeal of surviving the interior. The conversation also ventures into bear encounters, wolverine raids, muskrat cuisine, suicide by snare, and how World War II transformed Alaska forever.
