The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

1KHO 675: The Outdoors Rebuilds a Person | Ginger Naylor, Outward Bound

Get your free 2026 tracker sheet ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out the 2026 Kick-Off Pack as part of the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (available through January 12th!) ** Ginny Yurich talks with Ginger Naylor, CEO of Outward Bound about why challenge, play, and real-world adventure shape people in ways classrooms alone never can. Ginger shares how the outdoors becomes a classroom for learning resilience, confidence, communication, problem-solving, and leadership - and why kids (and adults) need unstructured experiences, healthy risk, and a little discomfort to grow. They talk about how childhood has become over-engineered, how nature’s unpredictability trains the brain for a changing world, and why stepping outside changes more than just your scenery. The conversation also introduces Outward Bound’s Nationwide Reset Day on Saturday, January 24, 2026, inviting families and communities to put the screens down for a bit and take back their time, attention, and sense of calm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1KHO 674: There's a Big Difference Between Food and Nutrition | Ruthann Zimmerman, The Heart of the Homestead

Get your free 2026 tracker sheet ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out the 2026 Kick-Off Pack as part of the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (available through January 12th!) ** Ruthann Zimmerman grew up Old Order Mennonite with horse and buggy, big gardens, a family milk cow, workdays that revolved around real needs and real rhythm. In this conversation, she and Ginny talk about what happens when “old ways” collide with the modern world and why so many families are searching for the kind of home life that builds capable kids. This conversation is about a return to skills, chores, and shared work that create something most families are missing: steady connection. And then Ruthann says it plainly: there’s a difference between food and nutrition and in a world full of convenience, it’s skills that put nutrition on the table. You’ll hear practical, doable starting points (no, you don’t need a milk cow), but also the deeper why: children need the natural reward cycle of effort, mastery, and a job well done because artificial highs from screens can flatten the rest of life. If you’ve felt the urge to simplify, to shrink your supply chain, to rebuild family culture from the inside out this episode will feel like a deep exhale and a clear next step. Learn more about Ruthann Zimmerman and all she has to offer here Get your copy of The Heart of the Homestead here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1KHO 673: Children Are Growing Up Without a Future They Can Clearly See | Issy Butson, Stark Raving Dad

Get your free 2026 tracker sheet ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out the 2026 Kick-Off Pack as part of the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (available through January 12th!) *** The world our kids are heading into is changing so fast that the old map from childhood to adulthood doesn’t work anymore—and Issy Butson (Stark Raving Dad) explains why that matters right now. We talk about how AI is already reshaping work (starting with entry-level roles), why school still rewards sitting still and fitting in, and what actually builds the kind of young person who can thrive when the future is unclear: autonomy, real competence, and genuine connection. Issy breaks down the research behind motivation (Self-Determination Theory) and makes a powerful case for boredom, agency, mixed-age community, and real-world learning—not as trendy ideas, but as essential training for adaptability. If you’ve ever had wobbly knees in your homeschool journey (or you’re just trying to raise resilient kids in a rapidly shifting world), this episode will steady you and give you language for what you already sense is true. Learn more about everything Issy has to offer here Check out The Complete Life Without School Collection here Check out Issy's Podcast here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1KHO 672: My Generation Had Our Childhoods Burned Down | Sean Killingsworth, The Reconnect Movement

Get your free 2026 tracker sheet ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ Check out the 2026 Kick-Off Pack as part of the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (available through January 12th!) ** This episode turns “just have better phone habits” on its head and replaces it with something that works. Seán Killingsworth explains why individual willpower can’t solve a problem that’s environmental: when every hangout, hallway, and lunch table becomes a screen habitat, connection gets crowded out and kids grow up feeling constantly “on stage.” But this isn’t a despair episode. It’s a blueprint for moving forward. Seán’s Reconnect Movement is building phone-free spaces (with a simple “phone valet” system) where real friendship becomes possible again. The movement is showing up on college campuses, in high schools, and in local communities. If you’ve been craving a realistic way to give kids what they’re actually starving for this conversation will show you how to start and encourage you to keep at it. Learn more about The Reconnect Movement and how you can get involved here Watch Sean's keynote at James Madison University here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1KHO 671: The Mental Health of Young People Has Cratered | Hara Estroff Marano, A Nation of Wimps

Get your free 2026 tracker sheet ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Check out the 2026 Kick-Off Pack as part of the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ (available through January 12th!) ** Ginny Yurich sits down with Psychology Today editor and author Hara Estroff Marano to talk about the quiet shift that started long before smartphones—and why it’s been devastating for kids. Drawing from A Nation of Wimps, Hara explains how fear and rapid cultural change pushed parents into “invasive” parenting, accidentally transmitting anxiety and squeezing play, risk, and independence out of childhood. The result isn’t safer, stronger kids—it’s more rigidity, perfectionism, and fragility. This episode is a steadying, permission-giving reset: play isn’t extra, it’s training for uncertainty; disappointment is information; and childhood doesn’t need to be optimized to be successful. If you’ve felt the pressure to manage every outcome, this conversation will help you step back, rebuild resilience the natural way, and give your kids what they actually need to grow up well. Get your copy of A Nation of Wimps here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices