One Step Beyond
60 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago -One Step Beyond is back. Whether it’s to hike a local trail or climb a distant mountain, move to a new country or travel somewhere new, run a first 5k, go rock climbing, tackle sexism in soccer or undertake an ultra-marathon, write to relieve PTSD or take up wildlife photography, this is the show for people looking to step outside their comfort zone and enrich their life. Join author, runner, broadcaster, and traveler Tony Fletcher every month on the podcast all about positively engaging with the world outside our door.
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Whether it’s to hike a local trail or climb a distant mountain, move to a new country or just travel somewhere new, run a first 5k, go rock climbing, tackle sexism in soccer or undertake an ultra-marathon, write to relieve PTSD or this is the show for you: people looking to step outside their comfort zone and enrich their life. Over the course of 40+ episodes, our shows have featured guests from Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania and Colombia, as well as the USA and UK, talking about .
Those guests have included: the rock star who established the cancer foundation Love Hope Strength, and the former professional athlete behind the soccer-based initiative Equal Playing Field; an Afghan war veteran who became the first double above-knee amputee to climb Mt Kilimanjaro unaided; a Zen Buddhist teacher who authored a book on running; one American who moved to Bogota and set up an art colony; and another who gave up dreams of becoming a professional ventriloquist to instead find a new life as an award-winning wildlife photographer.
We have talked to the pioneering female founder of Africa's first running shoe company, to a family that traveled round the world together for over two years, and to a teacher who founded a travel company to support students of color, along with several of those students. We have also talked to amateur adventurers of all ages who have set themselves fierce goals - like walking the length of India, or running the Sparta course in Greece unaided - and achieved them. The show includes several episodes recorded on location, beginning with a 4-part documentary about climbing Kilimanjaro, but also including in-the-field tips on hiking without navigational tools and running on trails; how to master an ultra-marathon; and how to give up your possessions and start a new life. Shows generally stay under an hour, include additional commentary and information, and do not shy away from current affairs.
Tony Fletcher is the British-born author of best-selling biographies of Keith Moon, Wilson Pickett, R.E.M. and The Smiths, as well as a memoir, a novel and many other books on or about music. In 2016, he backpacked around the world with his then-wife and 11-year old younger son. In 2019 he hosted and wrote “It's A Pixies Podcast." A keen runner, with dozens of road and trail marathons to his name, he lives in Kingston, New York.
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Episodes
S2E18: Henk Rogers vs. The World
February 23, 2024 11:06 - 1 hour - 99.5 MBIn an earlier life, Henk Rogers brought the computer game Tetris to the world, as you will know if you saw the movie Tetris. Following a near-fatal heart attack in 2005 just after selling a different company for over $100,000,000, he is now bringing his renowned determination, business acumen and innovative thinking to environmentalism. Mission #1: to eliminate our use of carbon-based fuels. For this final episode of Season 2, Henk talks with Tony about why we have to do this, how his home ...
S2E17: Everybody Loves Elephants. So How Do We Save Them?
January 04, 2024 10:15 - 1 hour - 86.9 MBIt's hard to find someone who doesn't appreciate the elephant, the largest land mammal on earth with the biggest brain, and the longest gestation period, an animal known for its sense of family, its empathy, its memory, and for being damn cuddly to boot. Yet we humans consistently sanction the murder of (primarily African) elephants for (primarily) their ivory, at a rate faster than new elephants are born, and we capture Asian elephants to use for hard labor or so-called "entertainment." Thr...
S2E16: 500 5ks in 500 Days, with Jamie Kennard
December 07, 2023 11:15 - 1 hour - 123 MBTony interviews Catskills resident Jamie Kennard about his recent undertaking of 500 5ks in 500 days – across multiple sporting disciplines, and all of them outdoors – as a means of coping with the loss of his wife Tracy to a particularly rare and brutal cancer at the age of 47. Jamie and Tracy had been together since they were 16, and married for the last 20+ of those 30 years. Compared with her suffering and her fighting spirit, Jamie’s own determination to ski, hike, bike, run, canoe and...
S2E15: Why We Travel
November 02, 2023 09:15 - 1 hour - 118 MBWhy do we travel? Does travel make us happier? Smarter? Braver? Or, given the current climate crisis, why should we travel? What's the difference between a tourist and a traveler? And what's a Digital Nomad and why does that term make some people cringe? These and many other key, core questions are answered by Nathan James Thomas, editor of the Intrepid Times, and author of Travel Your Way and Untethered, and Dr. Andrew Stevenson, a Professor of Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan Univers...
S2E14: Beer Hiking New York and Wine Running Europe
October 05, 2023 09:15 - 1 hour - 104 MBJason Freedman and Philip Vondra are outdoorsy New Yorkers with a book just published entitled Beer Hiking New York: The Tastiest Way to Discover the Empire State. Colin Renton is an outdoorsy Scotsman with a book recently published entitled The Wine Runner: My Year of Hard Yards and Vineyards. Host Tony Fletcher (an outdoorsy half-Scot and half-English Brit who also has USA citizenship) talks with Jason and Colin about the joys travel both near and far, about running and hiking and… you ...
S2E13: Pura Vida in Costa Rica?
September 07, 2023 02:52 - 1 hour - 113 MBTurtles! Volcanoes! Caiman! Monkeys! Museums! Fumaroles! Scuba Diving! Swimming Holes! And Sunsets! Paula is back as co-host for the first time since the Season 1 finale as she and Tony discuss their recent travel to Costa Rica, not only from an environmental and cultural perspective, but also from their uniquely different personal perspectives. Paula had not traveled outside the USA in 35 years, whereas Tony spent almost a whole year backpacking round the globe only back in 2016. Similarl...
S2E12: Rock-A-Holic: How Climbing Saved A Life (or 3)
August 02, 2023 10:00 - 56 minutes - 124 MBIn the late 1990s, Michael Dorame was a house music fanatic living in San Francisco, who became addicted to the drugs that kept him dancing all night long in the clubs. After OD'ing twice in three weekends, he found release, relief and redemption in the sport of rock climbing. With producer Aaron Fong and celebrated outdoor sports cinematographer Chris Alstrin, Michael has now made a film, Rock-A-Holic, about his story and that of two other former addicts, Ben Polanco and Maureen O'Reilly. ...
S2E12: Rock-A-Holic: How Climbing Saved My Life
August 02, 2023 10:00 - 56 minutes - 124 MBIn the late 1990s, Michael Dorame was a house music fanatic living in San Francisco, who became addicted to the drugs that kept him dancing all night long in the clubs. After OD'ing twice in three weekends, he found release, relief and redemption in the sport of rock climbing. Now, with producer Aaron Fong and celebrated outdoor sports cinematographer Chris Alstrin, Michael has made a film, Rock-A-Holic, about his story and that of two other former addicts, Ben Polanco and Maureen O'Reilly. ...
S2E11: Travel for Good? with Shafik Meghji
July 06, 2023 09:15 - 1 hour - 91.1 MBSign up for a free weekly article, links to Tony's other podcasts, writings, music and more at tonyfletcher.substack.com Is Travel Good For The Planet? This question is tackled by our return guest, the environmentally-focused, award-winning travel writer Shafik Meghji. In a conversation that includes the subject of Shafik's recent book, Crossed Off The Map: Travels in Bolivia, and host Tony Fletcher's upcoming journey to Costa Rica, the pair discuss: The difference between travel and tou...
S2E10: Driving the Blues Highway and Riding the Soul Train, from Chicago to New Orleans
June 01, 2023 09:15 - 58 minutes - 108 MBOn this Episode, host Tony Fletcher is in conversation with his old London friend Richard Heard about the latter's recent Great American Road Trip from Chicago to New Orleans, setting out to trace the Story of the American Blues. Covering 1300 miles in 10 days, Richard and his American road partner also visited the Stax Museum of American Soul in Memphis, took in revered Country revue show the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, attended Jazz Fest in New Orleans, traveled through the Robert Johnson...
S2E9: The Rough Guide to Travel Writing with Shafik Meghji
May 04, 2023 09:15 - 58 minutes - 80.7 MBIf you have ever traveled, and if you have ever been able to string a sentence or two together in writing, you have probably thought of becoming a travel writer. After all, who wouldn’t want to get paid to travel? On this episode of One Step Beyond, Shafik Meghji, co-author of 40 travel guidebooks, sole author of the acclaimed new book Crossed Off the Map: Travels in Bolivia, and a prolific freelance travel writer for many esteemed print and web publications, pulls the cover off the Guide Bo...
S2E8: What is Fell Running and Why is it Punk Rock?
March 02, 2023 16:57 - 57 minutes - 105 MBBoff Whalley is an author and musician (you may remember his old band Chumbawamba and their global hit "Tubthumping"),who put "Fell Runner" as occupation on his daughter's birth certificate. Gary Devine is his mate from the Leeds punk scene of the 1980s, who is a former British champion fell runner. "Faster! Louder!" is Boff's new book, all about Gary, and fell running, and punk rock. It is a damn good book, because Boff is a damn good author. Beaming in from the Yorkshire Dales (Boff) and ...
S2E7: Building an Intentional Community
February 02, 2023 12:23 - 58 minutes - 80.2 MBFor this episode, we reconnect with Ric Dragon, originally featured way back on Episode 7 of Season 1, in July 2020, shortly after he had opened Arte Sumapaz, a Centre for the Arts outside of Bogotá, Colombia. That episode focused on Ric’s middle-aged reset, in which he migrated to a new country with a troubled history and had just started this ambitious project. Now that I have been to Arte Sumapaz for an incredible residency myself, it’s time to check back and see how things are progressin...
S2E6: The Write Way out of PTSD
January 05, 2023 11:06 - 58 minutes - 107 MBMichael Anthony is the 36-year-old author of the new graphic memoir JUST ANOTHER MEAT-EATING DIRTBAG, published by Street Noise with art by Chai Simone. While Michael describes his new book as essentially a ‘love story’ between two seemingly distinct characters with different outlooks on life and death in the human and animal kingdoms, it draws in part – as did the entirety of his first two books, Mass Casualties and Civilianized – from his experiences serving in the US Army in Iraq in the 2...
Climbing Kilimanjaro: The 4-part Documentary
December 21, 2022 11:00 - 2 hours - 147 MBWhat it's like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro? Your host Tony Fletcher documented his own experiences climbing to the Roof of Africa, as narrated in real time, alongside interviews with fellow climbers and guides, and on-the-mountain 'field' recordings; these were then combined with detailed historical and contextual studio narrative to form a four-part documentary with which One Step Beyond was originally launched. On this special episode, those four parts are edited together for the first time...
S2E5: Colombia's Calling, with Claire Yandell
December 06, 2022 22:20 - 57 minutes - 79.3 MBClaire Yandell is a 27-yr old traveler and artist who has managed to take her art on her travels and even have it help pay for her travels. She and Tony met in October 2021 at Arte Sumapaz in Colombia (check Episode 7 of One Step Beyond for more about Arte Sumapaz), a country with which Claire fell in love and lived for eighteen months, until just recently. (She intends to return in the New Year of 2023.) In this ‘reunion’ conversation, the American-born Claire tells Tony about her extensive...
S2E4: Apply Pressure & Elevate, with the O Positive Festival
November 10, 2022 13:35 - 52 minutes - 72.1 MBThe O Positive Festival, held in Kingston, New York, in early October every year, presents a weekend full of music, art and wellness activities across all genres and disciplines, for all age groups, indoors and outdoors, and all for the price of a donation. But it's behind the scenes that O Positive has the biggest impact. The festival confronts the lack of affordable and free health care amongst the USA's artistic community by exchanging 'The Art of Medicine' for 'The Medicine of Art' by wh...
S2E3: We Can't Run Away From This, with Damian Hall
October 27, 2022 09:15 - 1 hour - 111 MBDamian Hall is a British trail runner with several Fastest Known Times to his name, including a famed record-breaking 261-mile run on the UK’s Pennine Way in 2020. A former journalist, he has become equally well known for his environmental activism, qualities that come together in his new book We Can’t Run Away From This: Racing to Improve Running’s Footprint In Our Climate Emergency. In this interview with Tony Fletcher, Damian discusses why our outdoor lifestyle choices - including but n...
S2E2 - Barefoot Hiking, with Ken Posner
October 13, 2022 09:15 - 1 hour - 103 MBKen Posner recently completed the 211-mile John Muir Trail in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains... barefoot from start to finish. On this episode, he takes host Tony Fletcher onto a trail in the more forgiving Shawangunk Mountains of the Hudson Valley to explain, and demonstrate, the benefits of hiking barefoot, on easy trails like this but also on the toughest parts of the John Muir Trail. Ken was previously the guest on Season 1, Episode 15 of One Step Beyond, when he took Tony on a 'b...
S2E1 - The Joy of Exercise with Matt Fitzgerald
September 29, 2022 09:15 - 1 hour - 110 MBTo get us warmed up on this first episode of our long overdue new series/season, Tony talks to Matt Fitzgerald, an endurance coach, nutritionist and prolific author about physiology and running, the joys of exercise, the ABCs of fitness, and the 80/20 philosophy of training that puts the emphasis on keeping most workouts easy. Matt also explains the pitfall of Superhumanization in regard to East African running dominance, the reality of the Group Effect within sports, how what biologists cal...
Season 2 Trailer
September 23, 2022 09:15 - 2 minutes - 3.84 MBOne Step Beyond, the podcast all about positively engaging with the world outside our door, is back. Yes, we’ve been away for a full year, but fear not, a new season will be returning to your podcast feed as of the last week of September 2022. What can you expect from the first few episodes? Well, there’s an interview with sports author, endurance coach nutritionist and all-round good guy Matt Fitzgerald on why exercise is fun… We will be talking to record-breaking British fell-runner a...
Ep. 34: Having a Hemorrhage
September 16, 2021 10:00 - 56 minutes - 77.1 MBFor this episode, the last in Series 1 of One Step Beyond, we flip the script, and allow regular host Tony Fletcher to be interviewed by guest host Paula Lucas about his recent brain hemorrhage - and how lucky he feels to have fallen into the small percentage of people who get to walk away unscathed. Paula asks the questions surely pounding away in the back of your mind (ouch!), like: How did the hemorrhage come about? Is it true that a hemorrhage manifests as your 'worst headache ever'? ...
Ep. 33: The Day I Met Macca
September 02, 2021 10:00 - 27 minutes - 50.9 MBIt’s not every 17-year old who gets the chance to interview Paul McCartney for three hours, especially at the point, back in early 1982, that Macca had barely been heard from publicly since the assassination of his former Beatles band mate John Lennon on that tragically book-marked day of December 8, 1980. That 17-year old was your One Step Beyond host, Tony Fletcher, and the story you will hear on this Episode, The Day I Met Macca, ties in to two of his ongoing book projects. One is The Be...
Ep. 32: Manitous Revisited
July 29, 2021 10:00 - 58 minutes - 80.4 MBFollowing on from Episode 31, Running An Ultra, which featured Mike Siudy, co-Race Director of the Manitou's Revenge ultramarathon in the Catskill Mountains, this episode features a round-table discussion with five people who have all themselves completed at least one Manitou's Revenge, and were all involved in this year's event either as competitors or volunteers. Joining host Tony Fletcher are Sheryl Wheeler, one of the great trail runners in the East but as unpretentious as they come, Max...
Ep. 31: Running an Ultra
July 14, 2021 09:15 - 43 minutes - 79 MBHave you ever considered upping your outdoor game to take on an ultra marathon? Or do you consider those who willingly subject themselves to something like Manitou’s Revenge - the 54 mile race through, or rather, up and down the Catskill Mountains, and which One Step Beyond's Tony Fletcher just completed for the second time – to be complete lunatics worthy only of an almost morbid fascination? Either way, this episode is for you. Rather than bore you with his own race account, Tony talks in...
Ep. 30: Travel Days and Travel Diaries
July 01, 2021 09:15 - 54 minutes - 74.5 MBIn this episode, host Tony Fletcher reads another short story from his Round The World, backpacking trip of 2016 with wife and 11-year old son: A Travel Day, set in Morocco. Doing so inspires him to discuss the definition and purpose of travel, to consider how the joy is to be found in the sum of its parts, not in largely mythical grand epiphanies or supposedly magical destinations. “Great travel experiences are often about the moments in between those destinations. They come from the days w...
Ep. 29: Equal Playing Field, second half
June 17, 2021 05:00 - 40 minutes - 73.4 MBIn this second half of our interview with Erin Blankenship, a former professional football player in leagues around the world and the co-founder of Equal Playing Field, we talk more about the initiative’s all-female, full-size pitch, full length football match on top of Mount Kilimanjaro (the highest ever played). We then learn about the challenges and triumphs of its second record-breaking game, the lowest played on earth following a 100km hike down to Jordan’s Dead Sea, 500m below sea leve...
Ep. 28: Equal Playing Field, first half.
June 03, 2021 11:17 - 49 minutes - 90 MBEver considered arranging an official 90-minute football/soccer match, on a full-size pitch, at 18,746ft/5714 meters above sea level, in the oxygen-starved atmosphere on top of Mt Kilimanjaro? Erin Blankenship did; in 2017, she helped co-ordinate a World Record for the highest altitude match ever played, one in which every participant, from 22 different countries, was female. Erin was born in the USA, grew up in Saudi Arabia, played college soccer in the States, professional football in t...
Ep. 27: Love Hope Strength with Mike Peters
May 13, 2021 09:15 - 1 hour - 87.6 MBMike Peters is the rare rock star to have an MBE after his name - awarded not for his musical successes with Welsh rock band The Alarm, considerable though they have been, but for his charity work with the Love Hope Strength foundation. That story starts In 1995 when, on the eve of an American tour, Peters was informed that he had Non Hodgkin's Lymphona, or cancer of the blood cells; deciding to push on through the tour, cloak himself in a fighting attitude, and turn down a bone marrow tra...
Ep. 26: You Do Not Need A Guide
April 29, 2021 09:15 - 31 minutes - 57.7 MBFor this episode, we revisit India in the form of another short story I wrote about our travels backpacking round the world, with then wife and then 11-year old son, in 2016, for almost the whole year. It’s set in the hills of Karnataka, and it's called You Do Not Need A Guide. This story has been on my mind to read for you for a while now, but I’ve been pushed to move it up the timeline because of the covid crisis convulsing India right now. In the intro to this episode, I talk a little a...
Ep. 25: The Anniversary Episode
April 15, 2021 09:15 - 1 hour - 102 MBOne Step Beyond is one year old, and to celebrate, we revisit some of our best episodes and catch up with the guests, each of whom was invited to answer four questions about how they coped with this past pandemic year and how they are staying optimistic and motivated moving forwards. A dozen of them responded, sending in their recorded replies from five different continents, and over the course of this episode, you’ll hear from authors, runners, painters, adventurers, film-makers, musicians,...
Ep. 24: Saharan Sundown
March 18, 2021 09:15 - 38 minutes - 53.4 MBFollowing on from Episode 15.5, and the short story "You Don't Believe In God?" I return to our round the world backpacking trip from 2016 and pick up where that last short story left off... In Morocco, disembarking an all-night bus in Merzouga, on the edge of the Sahara. If you enjoy this story, and especially if you’d care to hear more like it, please do let me know via e-mail at [email protected], where you can also subscribe to the newsletter. Or, find One Step Beyond on so...
Ep. 23: The Backcountry Bug
March 04, 2021 10:15 - 54 minutes - 74.9 MBThree years ago, Julie McGuire, a High School English teacher in the South Bronx, came home from work eager to set off on another weekend in the Catskills, only to find her wife waiting to declare the end of their marriage. The sudden announcement threw Julie into a deep depression fueled by days full of self-loathing and nights full of NyQuil; she admits that she lost the will to live. Julie slowly regained her mojo by throwing herself into her love of backcountry skiing - hiking uphill, a...
Ep. 22: Conquering the Unthinkable
February 18, 2021 10:15 - 59 minutes - 81.3 MBIn 2009, in the first month of his first tour of Afghanistan with the British Army, James Rose had his legs blown off when he stepped on an IED. He barely survived with his life. Yet in 2019, he became the first double, above-the-knee amputee to climb Mount Kilimanjaro unaided. The decade in-between saw James struggle with PTSD, weight gain, alcohol and drug abuse… but also, the unending support of his now wife, who finally convinced him to try the sport of rowing. This inspired a turnarou...
Ep. 21: A Winter Day's Hike
February 05, 2021 10:15 - 31 minutes - 43.3 MBI live at the gateway to New York’s Catskill Mountains, which I consider my playground. And I’m not the only one. In what seem to be record numbers right now, people run these mountains, they ski these mountains, they bike some of these mountains, they camp out in these mountains, they forage in these mountains, at times they are allowed to hunt in these mountains, but more than anything, they hike these mountains. And on a Sunday in late January, taking on Halcott Mountain for the first tim...
Ep. 20: Black Travel Matters
January 21, 2021 10:15 - 57 minutes - 78.8 MBAshley Scott is a teacher in Atlanta, GA, who grew up believing that travel was not for people like himself. In his mid-30s, having still never been outside the USA, he established an educational travel program at his school, and began taking female students of color to countries where they could immerse themselves in local culture while having a safe and non-prejudiced experience. Some 40 countries and 5-600 students later, Ashley now also has his own travel company, Abiri Tours, "a Georgia...
Ep 19: Berlin Bound
January 15, 2021 05:33 - 36 minutes - 67.1 MBIn this second of a two-parter about New Beginnings for the New Year, I talk to David Watts Barton, a writer, traveler, musician, Burner and all-round optimist who upped and left the USA for Berlin in the middle of the 2020 pandemic year. He talks about how and why he made the move, what makes Berlin so special, and about his ongoing writing projects: Music1967.com, and Japan From Anime to Zen. You can find David and his writings at his web site, DavidWattsBarton.com Tony's writings about ...
Ep. 18: Not the Samos It Ever Was
January 07, 2021 17:35 - 45 minutes - 83.3 MBOne Step Beyond launches 2021 with a two parter about two people who refused to let the pandemic of 2020 prevent them making planned life changes. In part 1, Adam Fletcher - yes, he is a relation - talks about his volunteer work with asylum seekers on the Greek island of Samos, and why it has inspired him to hang up his career as a touring musician, including lucrative work in a touring Abba tribute band, and go back to college to become a doctor. In an interview conducted from the Island ...
Ep. 17: It's a Wonderful Life... On the Road
December 24, 2020 10:15 - 57 minutes - 78.6 MBIn May 2016, halfway through my 3-person family's year-long backpacking trip around the world, we met the Norths - Phil, Amanda, Sophie and Nate - in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They had left their former Alaska hometown of Kenai behind for good in the fall of 2013. and would not resettle in the States until 2017. On this episode of One Step Beyond, I catch up with the the Norths - in their new hometown of Bellingham, Washington - for the first time in four and a half years. Sophie is now 17, Na...
Ep. 16: Travel in the Age of Covid
December 11, 2020 10:15 - 59 minutes - 82 MBLong term international travel has proven nigh impossible in 2020, and will be well into 2021 as well. But what if you live on the road, what if you are already somewhere else on the planet when lockdown happens. Does it all stop? And if it does stop, where do you find yourself and can you survive there? And if it doesn’t stop, what does that mean, and how is it to travel in the age of covid? What are the challenges, the pitfalls, and hopefully the rewards? I talk with Trevor Warman, the N...
Ep 15.5 "You Don't Believe in God?"
November 24, 2020 10:15 - 23 minutes - 43.9 MBRegular listeners may know that in what I sometimes call the ‘default world’ – the one outside this podcast – I am a writer by trade, and my books have included one published memoir with another to come. And those same regular listeners have probably heard me talking, on a few episodes now, about the trip I took in 2016 with my then wife and our younger, then 11-year old son, whereby we went backpacking round the globe for ten and a half months. Not surprisingly, I wrote about those travels...
Ep 15.5 It's Not True
November 24, 2020 10:15 - 23 minutes - 43.9 MBRegular listeners may know that in what I sometimes call the ‘default world’ – the one outside this podcast – I am a writer by trade, and my books have included one published memoir with another to come. And those same regular listeners have probably heard me talking, on a few episodes now, about the trip I took in 2016 with my then wife and our younger, then 11-year old son, whereby we went backpacking round the globe for ten and a half months. Not surprisingly, I wrote about those travels...
Ep. 15: Who was Diogenes and why should we care?
November 12, 2020 10:15 - 53 minutes - 73.2 MBOn this Episode, I go for a "bush wack'" hike up Rusk Mountain in the Catskills to disengage from the American elections. Guiding me on the climb through the snow is Ken Posner, whose minimalist approach to outdoor activities takes inspiration from the Greek vagabond-philosopher Diogenes. Ken frequently sets off on marathons, hikes, climbs and other adventures without food, water, navigational tools of any kind, and often – as on his 24-hour ‘Diogenes Challenge’ through nine Catskills peaks ...
Ep. 14: Walking the length of India
October 30, 2020 15:40 - 56 minutes - 78.3 MB"If you’re not interested in culture or community, then don’t walk through a country. And if you don’t want to fall in love with humanity, then don’t go to India." (Note: Spotify listeners will notice an out-of-sync narration during parts of this episode. Please listen on another platform if you care and apologies to all listeners for allowing an episode to go out with an editing error!) In 2017, the 70th Anniversary of India’s Independence from Great Britain, self-styled British expedit...
Ep 13: 'Still' Running
October 08, 2020 15:10 - 48 minutes - 88.2 MBWelcome to Episode 13 of One Step Beyond. This time around, we discuss ‘Still Running: The Art of Meditation in Motion,’ a new book by Vanessa Zuisei Goddard. I first met Zuisei in 2006, at the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, in the Catskills, where I was taught how to sit zazen - the form of meditation practiced there - by Zuisei herself. But Zuisei is also a runner, and for all that she has spent much of her life sitting zazen, she has never stopped moving. I would often see her r...
Ep 13: Still Running
October 08, 2020 15:10 - 48 minutes - 88.2 MBWelcome to Episode 13 of One Step Beyond. This time around, we discuss ‘Still Running: The Art of Meditation in Motion,’ a new book by Vanessa Zuisei Goddard. I first met Zuisei in 2006, at the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, in the Catskills, where I was taught how to sit zazen - the form of meditation practiced there - by Zuisei herself. But Zuisei is also a runner, and for all that she has spent much of her life sitting zazen, she has never stopped moving. I would often see her r...
Ep. 12: Letting Go and Hitting the Road
September 24, 2020 09:02 - 56 minutes - 78.2 MBHey you… Welcome to Episode 12 of One Step Beyond, a fortnightly show about positively engaging with the world outside our door, with host Tony Fletcher. In 2016, Jess Gumkowski and her husband BJ – the ‘YogiTriathletes’ – sold or gave away almost everything they owned, and packed what was left (primarily their triathlon gear and their dog) into a Honda Fit with no fixed destination. 2016 was also the year that I hit the road, with my then wife and then 11-year old younger son, embarking on...
Ep. 11: Take a Step Outside Your... Shoes?
September 10, 2020 13:38 - 49 minutes - 91.1 MBWelcome to Episode 11 of One Step Beyond, a show that encourages you to take a step outside your comfort zone and enrich your life. Ten years ago, Bill Hoffman was just another busy, middle aged, married 40-something father carrying an extra 40lbs of weight around his midriff. He hadn’t run since high school, and had barely engaged in any other athletic activity during those 25 years either. Then he read Born To Run, the best-selling book by Christopher McDougall, and took more than a step ...
Ep. 10: If Not Now, When?
August 27, 2020 09:15 - 44 minutes - 82.3 MBWelcome to Episode 10 of One Step Beyond, a show that encourages you to take a step outside your comfort zone and enrich your life. This episode: IF NOT NOW, WHEN? The title of a Primo Levi novel served as motivation for British sculptor Peter Naylor to attempt the 153-mile, 2-day run taken by Pheidippides from Athens to Sparta in the year 490BC. (Pheidippides was sent by the outnumbered Athenian army to recruit the Spartans in their impending battle against the invading Persians. He promp...
Ep. 9: From Kathmandu to Vermont
August 06, 2020 14:14 - 49 minutes - 79.6 MBHey you… Welcome to Episode 9 of One Step Beyond, a fortnightly show about positively engaging with the world outside our door, with host Tony Fletcher. At the age of 4, Manu Shrestha, along with her two siblings, was found abandoned on the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal, a not uncommon occurrence in a country of devastating poverty, where women generally have little by way of education, opportunity or rights. Manu was taken in by House With Heart, established in the Kathmandu neighborhood of ...