The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Latest Episodes:

1KHO 715: Extreme Ownership at Home | Jamie Cochran, Echelon Front Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

Purchase Ginny's trio of books: ⁠Until the Streetlights Come On⁠, ⁠Homeschooling⁠, and ⁠1000 Hours Outside Activity Book

Leadership isn’t just for boardrooms—it’s for breakfast tables, hard conversations, and the million tiny decisions that shape a home. In this powerful, practical conversation, Ginny Yurich sits down with Jamie Cochran, COO of Echelon Front, the leadership company founded by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, to talk about why Extreme Ownership changes everything—especially for parents. Jamie shares how SEAL-proven principles like taking ownership instead of blaming, simplifying communication, role-playing hard conversations, and “seeing a need and filling a need” can transform family culture from the inside out. You’ll also hear the story behind Echelon Front’s growth, why women’s leadership needed a clearer on-ramp, how Warrior Kid equips kids with discipline and courage, and the surprising freedom that comes when you realize: if you’re the problem, you can be the solution.

Get your copy of Extreme Ownership here

Find Echelon Front resources, events, and training at https://echelonfront.com/

Explore the Online Academy at https://academy.echelonfront.com/

Learn more about The Assembly (Women’s Leadership) at https://echelonfront.com/the-assembly/

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1KHO 714: Do We Have Free Will in an Algorithmic World? | Kartik Hosanagar, A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Get our free Top Ten 1000 Hours Outside Podcast Books from 2025⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Kartik Hosanagar has been tracking AI long before “ChatGPT” became a household word, and in this conversation with Ginny Yurich, he helps parents see what’s already shaping their homes (and possibly children). AI can affect what we watch, what we buy, what we believe, who we date, and our career paths. Drawing from his book A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence, Kartik explains how machines stopped simply following “recipe-like” instructions and began learning like children do—surprising us, improvising, and sometimes operating as black boxes we can’t fully interpret. You’ll hear the jaw-dropping story of the early chatbots that felt like real friends, why recommendation engines narrow our options without us noticing, and what it looks like to reclaim agency by adding “friction” back into family life. This episode is both a wake-up call and a steadying roadmap for staying human in an algorithmic world.

Get a copy of the Book: A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence

Check out Kartik’s Substack Creative Intelligence: https://hosanagar.substack.com

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1KHO 713: Disentangling Faith From Fear | Jeremy Vuolo and Jinger Duggar Vuolo, You Always Belong Feb 17, 2026

Show notes

Jinger Duggar Vuolo grew up in front of millions of viewers on 19 Kids and Counting, raised inside a tightly controlled religious subculture that promised certainty, safety, and success if you followed the rules exactly right. In this deeply honest conversation, Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo sit down with Ginny Yurich to talk about what it actually took to separate the truth of Jesus from a system built on fear, performance, and man-made expectations. They discuss growing up under public scrutiny, the exhaustion of people-pleasing, the stress of trying to get every decision “right,” and the courage it takes to question teachings that once defined your entire world. This episode is about freedom. It’s about what happens when faith becomes personal instead of performative and when belonging replaces approval-seeking.

Find Jeremy + Jinger’s show here: The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast.

Get your copy of You Always Belong here

Get your copy of People Pleaser here

Get your copy of Becoming Free Indeed here

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1KHO 712: Write It Anyway | Melissa Ferguson, Meet Me in the Margins Feb 16, 2026

Show notes

Melissa Ferguson is back for her second appearance—and she’s very pregnant, wildly funny, and living proof that dreams don’t arrive on your schedule. In this conversation with host Ginny Yurich, Melissa pulls back the curtain on the book world: why publishing wants you to “stay in your lane,” how rejection and slow progress can still lead to a long-tail payoff, what writers really need to watch for in agents and contracts, and why the pressure to market everywhere can crush the very work you’re trying to create. Along the way, she shares the surreal joy of watching her beloved rom-com Meet Me in the Margins move toward the screen (with her credited as Executive Producer) and what it’s like to juggle farm life, homeschooling, deadlines, and a baby on the way—while still choosing relationships, rest, and meaning over the endless chase for more.

*Get your copy of Meet Me in the Margins here

*Get your copy of Without a Clue here

*Check out Melissa and all she has to offer here

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1KHO 711: A Healthy Society Begins With Healthy People | David Stelzer, Azure Standard Feb 15, 2026

Show notes

Azure Standard founder David Stelzer joins Ginny Yurich for a direct, fascinating conversation about how food quality, farming practices, and community are tied together. David tells the origin story of Azure: his family’s early move away from chemical-intensive farming, the hard years of transition, and the moment they lost a major buyer forcing him to start delivering organic grains himself, one small route at a time. That scrappy beginning grew into today’s nationwide drop system (now 3,000+ locations), where families can access organic and carefully vetted products at scale while staying connected to independent farms and producers. Along the way, David explains what healthy soil actually does, why nutrient density matters, and why he believes rebuilding health has to start with rebuilding what we grow and what we eat. If you care about feeding your family well without getting lost in labels and marketing, this episode will give you a bigger framework—and a practical path forward.

Learn more about Azure Standard and all they have to offer here

A huge thank you to our sponsors! Check them ALL out below:

BetterHelp: Visit www.BetterHelp.com/1000HOURS today to get 10% off your first month.
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IXL Learning - Head to www.ixl.com/1000hours to get an exclusive 20% savings on your membership
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1KHO 710: More Than Marriage | Chelsea Damon, I Thought This Would Make Me Happy Feb 14, 2026

Show notes

This episode is a little Valentine’s gift with a backstory: Ginny recorded it in 2024 during Chelsea Damon’s launch week—back when her brand-new marriage book had just come out—and then thought she lost the file in a computer crash… until now. She found it! And thought this was the perfect day to post it.

Chelsea (author of I Thought This Would Make Me Happy) shares the hard-won lessons that actually hold a marriage together when life gets loud—role-swaps, job loss, living with in-laws for three years, the pressure-cooker years (she cites the 5–8 year window as a common breaking point), and the small resentments that quietly stack up if you don’t deal with them with grace and honesty. You’ll walk away with practical, doable ideas and a hope-filled reminder that joy in marriage isn’t found in a perfect season, but in learning how to grow together through the imperfect ones.

Get your copy of I Thought This Would Make Me Happy here

Learn more about Chelsea and all she has to offer here

A huge thank you to our sponsors! Check them ALL out below:

BetterHelp: Visit www.BetterHelp.com/1000HOURS today to get 10% off your first month.
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1KHO 709: Play Is Practice for the Future | Lauren and Mia Sundstrom, National Institute for Play Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

Play isn’t a break from learning — it is learning. In this powerful conversation with Lauren and Mia Sundstrom — daughter and granddaughter of renowned play researcher Dr. Stuart Brown — we explore why play is practice for the future in a world that feels increasingly uncertain. From rough-and-tumble childhood experiences to teenage burnout, adult loneliness, brain health, and even leadership, this episode makes a compelling case that unstructured, self-directed play builds resilience, creativity, emotional regulation, and adaptability — the exact skills our kids (and we) will need in an AI-shaped world. If you’ve ever wondered whether play is “productive,” this conversation will change how you see your afternoons, your marriage, your parenting, and your own sense of joy. Learn more at nifplay.org and connect with Mia at miasundstrom.com.

A huge thank you to our sponsors! Check them ALL out below:

BetterHelp: Visit www.BetterHelp.com/1000HOURS today to get 10% off your first month.
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IXL Learning - Head to www.ixl.com/1000hours to get an exclusive 20% savings on your membership
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1KHO 708: When You Want Your Life the Way It Was | Amber Emily Smith, The Girl on the Bathroom Floor Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

In this tender, unflinching conversation, Ginny Yurich sits down with author Amber Emily Smith to talk about the kind of loss that splits life into “before” and “after”—and the slow, sacred work of learning to live in the “after.” Amber shares the astonishing love story that began on a music video set with her husband, Granger Smith, and the devastating day their little boy River drowned—followed by the spiraling “what ifs,” the pressure of public opinion, and the choice to keep getting out of bed when everything in you wants to disappear. You’ll also hear the practical, hope-filled layers that carried their family: faith that meets you on the bathroom floor, grief support and play therapy, honest talk about fathers and hidden despair, and the water-safety lessons they wish they’d known. It’s a story about heartbreak—but also about purpose, organ donation, and unexpected friendships. Listen, share with a friend who’s hurting, and find Amber’s book and work here: The Girl on the Bathroom Floor • Arise with Amber

A huge thank you to our sponsors! Check them ALL out below:

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IXL Learning - Head to www.ixl.com/1000hours to get an exclusive 20% savings on your membership
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1KHO 707: The Best Bad Option | Brad Thor, Cold Zero Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor joins Ginny Yurich to talk about his newest novel Cold Zero, a high-stakes Arctic thriller centered on a race for powerful AI technology after a commercial plane goes down at the top of the world. Brad shares how he almost walked away from writing before committing to two disciplined hours a day, why loyalty and strategy matter more than bravado, and how real-world geopolitics shape his fiction. They explore mental toughness, celebrating small wins, and what it means to choose wisely when there is no perfect option — only the best bad one. A thoughtful conversation about resilience, craft, and the human element behind global power struggles.

Get your copy of Cold Zero here

Learn more about Brad and all of his books (including the Ultimate Reader Experience) here

A huge thank you to our sponsors! Check them ALL out below:

BetterHelp: Visit www.BetterHelp.com/1000HOURS today to get 10% off your first month.
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1KHO 706: Held Hostage By the Food Industry | Dr. Robert Lustig, Metabolical Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Robert Lustig—pediatric endocrinologist, bestselling author, and one of the clearest voices on what’s happened to our food—joins host Ginny Yurich on The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast for a conversation that feels equal parts wake-up call and real hope. Lustig explains why so much chronic disease isn’t really “druggable” but foodable, how ultra-processed food quietly sabotages the mitochondria that power everything, and why the “calories in, calories out” story is the perfect industry shield. Along the way, he breaks down the eight internal “pathologies” that turn our bodies from a shiny red Corvette into a jalopy, shows why kids are paying the price first (from school lunches to baby food), and offers a simple way forward that doesn’t require perfection—just a steady return to real food. Mentioned in the episode: Eat Real schools initiative (eatreal.org), Lustig’s fiber project BioLumen and Monch-Monch (monchmonch.shop), the grocery-filter tool Perfact (perfact.co), plus his books Metabolical, Hacking of the American Mind, and Fat Chance.

Learn more about Dr. Lustig and all he has to offer here

A huge thank you to our sponsors! Check them ALL out below:

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IXL Learning - Head to www.ixl.com/1000hours to get an exclusive 20% savings on your membership
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