Wild Ideas Worth Living
High-impact interviews for those who love adventure and the outdoors. Host and journalist Shelby Stanger interviews world-class explorers, athletes, authors, scientists, health experts and entrepreneurs about how they’ve taken their own wild ideas and made them a reality, so you can too. Some of the wildest ideas can lead to the most rewarding adventures.
Episodes
Barrington Scott is a record-holding scuba diver who has spent the last decade exploring the underwater world through snorkeling, scuba, and freediving. He’s lived in coastal towns around the globe, diving as often as possible and immersing himself in coral reefs, sea caves, and marine life. In 2024, Barrington set a Guinness World Record for scuba diving on all seven continents.
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...Chad Caruso kicked off his wild idea in Venice Beach, California, with a skateboard and a goal: to cross the country on four wheels. Over 57 days, he pushed through deserts, mountain ranges, and extreme weather, ultimately landing in Virginia Beach, Virginia and setting a Guinness World Record for the fastest coast-to-coast skateboarding journey.
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Alex Hutchinson is a science journalist who explores how technology is reshaping the way we experience the outdoors. While apps can guide us to trailheads and campsites, they can also strip away the thrill of the unexpected.
In his recent book, The Explorer’s Gene, Alex blends stories of adventure with insights from psychology and neuroscience to show how breaking routine and embracing the unknown can lead to a more meaningful, fun,...
In October 2024, Tracee Metcalfe became the first American woman to climb all 14 of the world’s tallest mountains, each towering above 8,000 meters. Her journey demanded years of preparation and survival in some of the most unforgiving conditions—from the deadly slopes of Annapurna to the steep walls of K2.
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Jacob Lemanski is a long distance cyclist who embarked on a global journey in 2013 with no set destination, just a desire to see how far his legs could take him. Over two and a half years, he pedaled more than 38,000 miles across 42 countries, driven by curiosity, endurance, and a love for exploration.
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Nelly Attar has climbed more than 30 notable peaks around the world, including Mount Everest. Her journey to these intense mountaineering expeditions had an unconventional origin: dance. She grew up learning choreography from YouTube and later opened Saudi Arabia’s first dance studio. As she explored movement through fitness, weightlifting, and hiking, she built the foundation for high-altitude endurance. In 2022, Nelly became the ...
Ron Griswell is an outdoor educator and founder of HBCU's Outside, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting students at historically Black colleges and universities with nature. After taking a gap year from North Carolina A&T State University to work as an adventure guide, Ron discovered a deeper purpose in the outdoors. Motivated by the lack of outdoor opportunities at his HBCU, he launched a movement to make nature more accessible and...
Rickey Gates is a professional athlete and endurance runner known for redefining what it means to explore on foot. After racing at an elite level, he ran 3,700 miles across America and later completed every street in San Francisco. Nearly seven years later, Rickey is tackling his latest challenge: identifying and running 50 Classic Trails across North America. His adventures go beyond distance—they are a way for him to explore, con...
Nadah Feteih spent years working as a software engineer before discovering a deep passion for the outdoors. As she ventured into running, trekking, and mountaineering, she often found herself as the only woman wearing a hijab on the trail. That experience led Nadah to found Ma'wa Collective, an adventure company dedicated to creating space for Muslim women in the outdoors.
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Dorian Anderson was a neuroscientist and geneticist with a promising academic career when he made a radical shift: in 2014, he left the lab to pursue a year-long, cross-country birding adventure—on a bicycle. Pedaling nearly 18,000 miles across the U.S., his goal was to spot over 600 bird species while deepening his sobriety, and reconnecting with nature.
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- Dorian's book, Birding Under the Infl...
Jeska Clark is a human performance specialist who studies how people adapt to extreme environments such as high-altitude peaks, sub-zero temperatures, and the intense pressure of deep ocean dives. Her research combines scientific inquiry with personal experience, as she applies insights from her academic work to her own wilderness expeditions. A skilled outdoorswoman, Jeska has completed several ambitious treks and is now preparing...
Marlene and Dan Lin have been living on the road full-time for the past 17 years. Alongside their three children and two cats, they’ve driven across the U.S. multiple times, explored over 30 countries in Europe, and road-tripped from California to Patagonia via the Pan-American Highway. What began as a short-term adventure turned into a lifestyle they never anticipated—nearly two decades of life in a camper van.
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Libby DeLana began walking every day at age 50, while juggling her role as co-founder of an ad agency and parenting two teenage boys. What started as a one-month experiment became a 13-year streak of daily walks.
Alongside walking, Libby embraced cold plunging as a way to reset her mind and body. These rituals helped her reinvent herself as an author, podcast host, model, and inspiration for others seeking clarity and transformatio...
Albert Lin is a renowned explorer, scientist, and storyteller. He is best known for his role as the host of multiple National Geographic programs. Together with his team, he uses advanced technologies such as satellites, drones, ground penetrating radar, and cutting edge LiDAR to uncover ancient civilizations around the world.
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Ann Rose is a farmer living off the grid in rural North Carolina, where she’s spent most of her life deeply connected to the Appalachian Mountains and forests. After a series of droughts made farming more difficult, she found herself stuck and ready for change. At 58, she set out to kayak from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico. The journey brought unfamiliar waters, unpredictable weather, and more than a few alligators.
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Amy & Dave Freeman are modern-day explorers who have spent over two decades on human-powered wilderness expeditions. In 2010, they completed a 12,000-mile journey across North America by canoe, kayak, and dog sled. Five years later, they lived off the grid for an entire year without re-entering society. No stores, no electricity, no roads, just the two of them, a nylon tent, and the frozen lakes and forests of Northern Minnesota.
C...
Robin Pacquing is a seasoned surfer based near Toronto, Canada, who has spent nearly two decades mastering the waves of the Great Lakes. Braving frigid temperatures and unpredictable swells, she’s become an expert in navigating one of the most unconventional surf scenes in the world.
Robin is also the founder of Lake Surfistas, a grassroots organization that connects and supports women of all abilities who surf, SUP, and SUP surf o...
Earlier this summer, host Shelby Stanger recorded a live episode of Wild Ideas Worth Living with Alex Honnold at the Outside Festival in Denver, Colorado. Alex is one of the most well-known climbers in the world, best known for his free solo climb of El Capitan— the 3,000-foot vertical wall of granite in Yosemite National Park.
In this conversation, Shelby talks to Alex about the projects he’s chasing now, how parenthood has shifted...
Welcome to the Wild Ideas Worth Living Summer Camp Series! In these bonus episodes, we’re exploring camping beyond the traditional tent—from bikepacking and packrafting to camping with kids and dispersed car camping.
Felicia Fullwood is an adventure photographer and van lifer who left her corporate career to embrace the freedom of dispersed camping (also known as wild camping) and life on the road. Since her first wild camping trip ...
Adam Pawlikiewicz Mesa is an endurance mountain athlete and bikepacker who has explored remote regions across Latin America and the U.S. After graduating college, he turned down a financial consulting career to pursue a transformative journey on two wheels. Now a full-time athlete and visual storyteller, Adam documents his adventures through Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil, capturing the landscapes, cultures, and people he encounters. Hi...
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