she explores - a podcast for and about women who are inspired by time spent outside. Gale Straub interviews people about their relationships with the outdoors. While most of the interviewees have either started a successful company, are advocates, or have accomplished some amazing physical feat, their accomplishments are not the sole focus of the podcast. Some episodes are thematic, talking to several people about one topic, or a stand-alone interview.Â
Itâs empowering as hell!!! The outdoor industry is male-centric that it never occurred to me that other women might want to camp and hike and explore alone. Hearing women talk to women - of all backgrounds - about exploration and being outdoors and the stuff they have going on in their lives is inspiring and motivating. WOMEN ARE STRONG AS HELL!!!
Inclusiveness is a central theme of the podcast. And theyâre doing it right: elevating voices of color instead of speaking over them. The podcast talks about race and discrimination and challenges and the unique relationship people actually have, rather than skirting around it or pretending it doesnât exist. They cover mental illness and the outdoors. Fat girls hiking (me)! While thereâs always room for growth and improvement, itâs leaps better than any other outdoors podcast Iâve found. Skinny white girl hiker aesthetic, this is not.
In that vein, itâs introduced me to a plethora of bamf women explorers to follow on social media.
Personally, itâs helping me conquer my fear of being alone in the wild. I work in risk management for a life insurance company. Everything I do is measured!! I hike alone, but Iâve never taken a solo backpacking trip because I thought it was too risky or intimidating. Wrong! The podcast covers this subject in a few different episodes, and it doesnât just dismiss those fears or tell you to âbuck upâ.Â
It both satiates and fuels my wanderlust. I binged every episode during a work week and took a spontaneous road trip to Niagara Falls the next. Direct correlation between the two! What this has done is encouraged me to think seriously about how I interact with the outdoors and what I want. Now, Iâve made a list of things Iâd like to do (solo backpacking trip) and the steps to get there: I completed step one, hammock camping, this past weekend!Â
You love being outdoors, or you would love to be outdoors more, but donât know how.
You are a woman, or you want to better understand womenâs perspectives.
You want to be inspired by womenâs stories.
You care about conservation.
3Â + 3a-Â âBeing Hereâ how the outdoors makes us feel, plus a microepisode of reader responses
6 - Women Outdoors, Online
7 - Fresh Air on the Job -Â Women Who Work For The National Park Service & US Forest Service
8 - Alone on the Trail -Â Exploring The Benefits Of Going Solo While Hiking, Backpacking And Camping
13 - Diversity, Beyond the Buzzword -Â Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors. (Part 1. )
16 -Â Towards A More Inclusive Outdoors: What We Can Do (Part 2.)
22 -Â Small Beauty on the Appalachian Trail (Interview with Rahawa Haile, an Eritrean-American writer living in Oakland, CA, about her northbound thru hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2016.)
23 - A Safe Space:Â Mental Health & the Outdoors
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