The WALKING podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Snowy Day, by Ezra Walk Feets Feb 19, 2019

Show notes

We had tremendous snow. Historic snow! A back-to-back-to-back #snowmageddon scenario. School was cancelled, life was disrupted, the power went out and everything was white. Finally, I put on my big honking duck boots and noisy nylon pants and went for a proper walk. (By the way, does any one read these summaries? Just curious.) It was all so novel and disorienting: the bristly sizzle the snow made as I sunk in near to my knees; the altered, iced-over geographies of the trail; the disappeared blackberry vines, weighed down and buried somewhere in the drift. The world was familiar, but different: a semi-barren, bleached-out cousin-planet to my ordinary home. I was thinking about the Mars rover, which had shut down that week after all those years zapping back dispatches from its ramble across a similarly alien landscape; its final missive home: "My battery is low and it is getting very dark." Well, unfortunately, my recording rig doesn't carry itself with the same dignity. Friends, it zonked out on me unannounced, a thousand steps from home. And so, this episode ends without ending—we will set out together, but never return. And you will not be hearing my own signature sign off either, though I mean it just as earnestly as I type it out now: Thanks for coming on the walk. That was nice.

This week's walk is sponsored by Erik Bloom's Birthday, brought to you by his friend Chris Colin.

I Fell Down Feb 12, 2019

Show notes

It was bound to happen.

In 1864, Captain William Renton arrived on Bainbridge Island and built what would soon be lauded as the largest sawmill in the world. A town blossomed around it, with churches, a school and a 75-room hotel, and a separate village of Japanese workers, with a bath house and ice cream parlor. Then, in 1888 the mill burned down. In 1907, it burned down again. Then vertically-integrated midwestern logging concerns moved into the area, drove down timber prices, and soon, the mill was gone.

Recently, calamity struck again. I was tromping around the ruins of the mill when my boot slid out from under me on a muddy embankment and—whoosh—I slammed to the ground. Does Marc Maron ever fall down while podcasting? What about the Two Dope Queens or PJ Vogt? Probably not. Probably, I am the first podcaster ever to fall down in the middle of his show. It's a distinction I'm proud of. Damn straight I left that audio in.

The rest of the walk—the upright part—was equally fulfilling: chilly, leisurely, gray. Toward the end, I encountered an unfamiliar Canadian in the forest with news of unusual weather further uphill.

This week's walk is brought to you by Samin Nosrat, who wants to encourage donations to the criminal justice non-profit Uncommon Law. I read Samin's ad beside the giant, upended root ball of a fallen fir.

Walk of the Rising Sun Feb 05, 2019

Show notes

It was one of those Saturday mornings when the wide, blue sky begged to be walked under. So out I went. And I wasn't alone. This episode features several salutary exchanges with other walkers—or, as I like to call them, fellow citizens of "The Trek-nited Feets of Walkmerica" (trademark pending.) Keep an ear out for their doppler-tinged Hi's and Howyadoin's as they shuffle by, all of us enjoying our solitary walks…together!

Meanwhile, the journey was full of surprise Animals. Choruses of crotchety crows caw-cawed overhead; a sea lion ejected his belchy croaks somewhere offshore. Gulls just wanted to have fun. Downhill, uphill, and winding back home: I covered a lot of ground that morning—with my feet, but also with my mind. A joyous and rejuvenating loop. Enjoyed this walk so hard I got a blister on my soul.

This walk is sponsored by North Light, a new, cozy all-day spot in Oakland's Temescal Neighborhood—cafe by day, bar by night.

"What's Sour in the House a Bracing Walk Makes Sweet" Jan 27, 2019

Show notes

The quote is taken from Thoreau. The walk was taken out of stress. I took this walk after getting an email from my editor which (long story) made my work life (which is a big chunk of my total life) feel instantaneously disorienting and urgent. I panicked and started doing lots of stuff to adjust. Then, I went for a walk--to let my brain catch up with my emotions. I walked pretty fast, especially at the get-go, busting along, churning out all the nervous energy with my legs. (Listen to me go!) But by the end of the walk, I was moving at a more reasonable pace, the sun was setting and the owls were starting to make owl noises. The work problem was still bewildering, but I felt bigger in proportion to it. It was a luxury to be able to take that walk. I appreciate it.

Do you ever want to hit pause on life and go for a walk? You should! And if you aren't able, come along on mine...with your ears!

This walk was sponsored by the Walking podcast's inaugural sponsor, MUSCLE, the debut novel from Alan Trotter, out February 7th. (I stopped to read the ad at a sour-looking bog I like to call "Yucky Pond.")

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The WALKING podcast

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6