i love that this podcast takes me around to national parks and then some other destinations sometimes. i have been missing being out in nature a lot and it makes me feel like i’m immersed in it. i enjoy the historical social justice aspect of it too. it’s important for me not to enjoy these lands blindly. this podcast also promotes that yes people of color can enjoy hiking and camping and backpacking, exploring all the majestic lands too and it’s not just limited to the stereotype!

Awesome podcast. Thanks!

REI- if something is rated clean, you should be able to listen to it with children. Unfortunately Misha swears way too much for that to be the case. Quite frankly, it’s giving “my content is kinda mid so I need to spice it up by swearing”. Please change the rating or get this lady to wash her mouth out.

I thought this was going to be about nature and the preserving of nature and urban planning around nature….instead it was all about race….im not against addressing black history by any means, but I thought we were talking abt nature here. I only have so much time in the day and when I click on a nature podcast, it’s because I actually want to dedicate that time to hearing abt nature.

You should do Seattle

Incredible! This podcast was my companion for two days, I listened all the way through. It’s fun and informative, I often teared up from the beauty in the stories.

Misha has produced a brilliant and insightful collection of stories to remind us that we are nature, and we are always in nature. Her adventures are deeply personal and allow us to share her discovery of our intimate relationship to all things, wild and natural, at the same time that it is an illuminating and insightful history of how this relationship has evolved here in America. As a practicing conservation biologist, I am consistently scouring the podcast world for stories that resonate the human-nature relationship therapy we need right now and I keep coming back to this one. I also send my NYU students here to get a great example of how to tell the story of nature. My hope is that Misha keeps up her travels and takes her stories further afield to other parts of the world.

I like the first season and loved the second. Wonderful stories I’ve never heard before about and by people of color or other marginalized groups. I found it entertaining and the shows gave me something to think about.

Could be a good podcast if it could be less about race and more of the fact that our forefathers decided to preserve these lands.

Don't listen to the haters and racists. This is a much needed podcast for the notoriously colorless outdoors community that covers the challenges and contributions made by people of color to outdoors spaces in the US. Really dug the first season over national parks and loved the second season over outdoor urbanism. Blew me and partner away. Entertaining, thoughtful, real, and fantastic host. Will probably be assigning some of these episodes to my students, too. Please renew!!

I had been actively looking for podcasts on National Parks and couldn’t find one. My oldest kid is in 4th grade with an “Every Kid Outdoors” pass and is now hooked on earning Junior Ranger badges. Drives to NPS sites (and they are mostly Historical or Battlefield sites on the East Coast) are the perfect time to educate my kids and myself about where we’re heading. Other reviewers complained about how podcaster is an outdoors newbie. You know what? Plenty of people are! Totally relatable when she shares what went wrong. There are some other reviewers that want their history totally whitewashed. I WANT to learn about the indigenous people who called these parks home long before white people crashed the party. I also want more black & brown folks to discover the joy of camping/Scouts/the great outdoors. Complaints about cursing…I haven’t noticed it yet. But there’s plenty of cursing in PG rated John Hughes movies that I had completely forgotten about (Uncle Buck, Home Alone, Ferris Buller’s Day Off). So you know what? Pause the podcast or movie and remind your kids that it’s a nuanced part of language they themselves are not allowed to use until they’re also adults. She’s moved on to cities in the 2nd season. I really hope she’ll return to National Parks. There’s over 460 sites managed by NPS. Thanks for reading. :)

Great combination of untold history, nature and immigrants. Such a wonderful way to experience the nature with a different perspective !

This would be a good podcast if the host could control her use of f bombs. Its just totally unnecessary and just detracts from the story. I would love to listen to this podcast with my kids or in a professional setting, but unfortunately cannot. REI, you can do better!

I absolutely LOVE this podcast! I’ve recommended it to so many friends. So happy they made a second season and I hope for more!

I just bought a Subaru Outback and discovered this podcast. I’ve also had an REI membership since 1993 AND I’m a national park nut! I have been to probably half the parks and watch the Ken burns PBS documentary on the regular. It is fascinating to hear about our parks through the eyes of an urban person of color. The great outdoors is for everyone, not just those of privilege and I am so happy support companies that value content such as this.

I really wanted to like this podcast. After all, it’s from REI, it’s backed by Subaru, and it’s - supposedly - about the outdoors. NOT SO! It’s all about the color of people’s skin, immigration, and as an aside the host will occasionally make a comment about the outdoors. I haven’t listened to this much soft bigotry in a long time, and I’m unsubscribing from this hate speech. I absolutely cannot fathom how a company like REI or an auto producer like Subaru can sponsor this dreck.

Why bring up race and slavery in a nature podcast? Disgusted and disappointed. Move on….

I highly recommend this podcast if you’re into the outdoors and hiking. It offers a fresh perspective and as someone as a POC, I could relate to a lot of her experiences. I definitely felt seen and learned so much!

I just got into the whole hiking/camping lifestyle recently, so I don’t have much experience or knowledge and this podcast was super insightful. I love the host. She is super genuine and engaging. I feel like she’s not pushing any agendas just trying to educate and be positive about the outdoors experience. Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the outdoors.

My favorite podcast! The host asks questions with courage, with compassion, and, above all, with a searing humanity that has made me both more eager to explore the outdoors and more open to perceiving the natural beauty around me. Living in a city and listening to this season in particular, I now have a newfound appreciation of the synastry between city life and natural resources. Each episode, I feel heartened, uplifted, and inspired by the people honoring our environment and intentionally cultivating a deep relationship with it. I especially love the podcast’s emphasis on making the outdoors more accessible and demystifying it for listeners.

Honestly, it’s refreshing to have such a transparent and open conversation around our National Parks. Are the questions we’re led to ask ourselves always comfortable? No. But there is growth in the lack of comfort and they’re all still so valid. This is a must listen.

Really dope podcast!

I find this podcast so interesting and accurate. Not afraid to tell the real history of some of these historical lands and parks. The host is informative and makes listening to the podcast really enjoyable. Can’t wait for more episodes!

Love all of the places this podcast has taken me. It’s beautiful, informative, and feels like your hanging out with your very smart and social friend. I only recently started getting into nature and I love the perspective this podcast brings. I hope season 03 goes back to some more national parks!

I absolutely love this podcast. Misha does an incredible job in every episode. I feel like I'm there with her and learning as she is learning. I re-listened to the first season a few times as a comfort podcast the same way people rewatch tv shows and movies. Season 1 was incredible, but Season 2 is inspiring so much more interest in what I can find out about nature and how to be a better ally to the BIPOC communities in not only my own city, but every time I travel as well. I really hope there is a season 3 in talks.

I love this podcast. I was excitedly waiting for the 2nd season. Misha has brought to light a lot of history that was not in our history books growing up. This country has a dark history and it should not be hidden. We can be aware and be proud of our country. We should move forward with this knowledge and support each other instead of tearing each other down. I appreciate all this podcast does to educate and entertain.

I love learning more about places I have previously traveled and the vivid imagery which allows me to picture the places I haven’t traveled yet.

A beautiful and sometimes necessarily hard look at our nation through the national parks!

This podcast weaves together compelling stories with history and practical information. Misha is great! You learn so much without it ever feeling like homework. I’m particularly fond of season 2 which focuses on the natural beauty right around us in major cities. I am already an avid outdoorsman but I learned about nature in my own city that I’m excited to check out!

I am an outdoor inclined person already, but was surprised to learn so much more through this incredibly fun and engrossing exploration of our American outdoor spaces. Measured and intelligent storytelling, the host is great!

I love this podcast because it goes deeper than "this is x park and it's located here." There are personal stories that are lovingly weaved in and out, and it explains the history (the good and bad) so you get the whole story.

I had hoped this would be an interesting podcast about the national parks but was disappointed. This may resonate better with the 20-30 year old demographic. The entire first episode was narrated through the lens of race. It is important to get the bigger picture but when the topic of canceling John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt was discussed, without considering the times they lived in, is a limited view.

I love REI and I have trusted the brand for 25 years. I worked my way through graduate school as a REI employee in Berkeley. With that said, this podcast is a weird deviation from the REI brand I have known. This podcast is poorly edited with an inexperienced host, emphasized non-nature related commentary on racial issues, and lacks focus on the joy of getting outside. At best, it feels as though the host uses nature as a backdrop to her political beliefs. To be clear, I’m sympathetic to many of the social issues in the podcast, I just don’t think REI is the medium in which I want to hear these issues explored. I trust REI for excellent outdoor experiences, and there are many other venues more qualified to speak on the social issues.

I love the personal aspect of the narration. Every episode is interesting, but the Mammoth Cave episode knocks it out of the park! If that episode doesn’t move you, you may want to check to see that your heart and soul hasn’t calcified like a obelisk. I hope the department of the interior lessons!

Love the combination of nature exploration, history and social issues. It’s riveting and soothing.

I loved the anticipation of wondering what each episode would bring. The Mammoth Cave episode was beautiful and moved me to tears. Love the concept for the new season as well and can’t wait to hear more! Before the next episode gonna look for a new hike in my area!

I really enjoyed season one of this podcast and I’ll definitely be coming back for season two. I recently read some other reviews of this show and was disappointed to see that it currently has only 3.9 stars. Many people gave this show a low rating because it was heavily focused on race. But I think this topic is extremely relevant because nature should not just be for white people. The host goes into this topic to spread the word that nature is for everyone and I think this is very on track with REI’s values. I was honestly surprised that so many people found this topic boring or hard to follow. I can understand coming into this podcast expecting something else (REI’s other podcasts are more focused on just outdoor activities) but I can’t understand not staying with it anyway. As my title states, this podcast was a gentle adventure for my ears and was perfect for my long drives.

This podcast is like a first date where the way they act and the comments they make about things make it clear that its just not going to work out.

More of a diary style show. Not engaging.

I was excited to listen to this podcast because I enjoy national parks. I was really interested in the Arches episode because I live in Utah. But wow this is extremely hard to get through. Some of the info is interesting with the experts she brought on, but that was the only thing that got me through the episode. The host herself is extremely hard to listen to. The gimmicks she does by giving soil a personality, talking to other parts of nature is cringy and not in a good way like The Office.

an extremely biased, frankly negative, singular view on all of your wonderful national parks and treasures. Libs simply can’t enjoy anything anymore. What a shame

Yes, this podcast discusses race and the history of indigenous people in America, and how that history has affected the nature that we love to enjoy. Nature is not independent or immune to human history and actions, so they do affect each other and our history does explain a lot of what we see happening around us. If this makes people upset, a friendly reminder that there are many things we can do to take responsibility and try to make changes moving forward. The show has a relaxed and casual narrative atmosphere, personally I found it enjoyable and relatable.

But more of the host views on America and how it was built. And how she thinks it should be. This podcast should not be called Hello Nature!! Nothing to do with Nature

In the first 23 minutes, they talk about race as if it is the thesis of this podcast. I was disappointed that the host repeatedly brought up race as a focal point (her race, the race of the people at the national parks, the race of the park rangers, etc). I love hearing about the history of the parks (different races and cultures are a great part of that - they mention the great contributions of the Chinese road builders. Amazing!), but this podcast missed the appeal of why I started listening: THE NATIONAL PARKS! In a world where we should try to love everyone (and enjoy our America), we should not ONLY see people through the lens of race - a perspective this podcast cannot resist.

The bad reviews are either people offended by bad language or overly sensitive white conservative men who take it personal when discussions on American history inevitably cover the destruction white people have wrought on the environment or native peoples. Here’s a message to these conservative white men: get over yourself, it’s not about you.

Very disappointed in this podcast. The host lost me with her cussing and yelps of seeing a scorpion in the desert. I was hoping for more mature and knowledgeable host.

Just listened to first episode. A little history to go with the national park info. You have a really interesting perspective and it makes for a great listen. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

I was interested in hearing about the national parks from a POC’s perspective but she lost me when she started talking about her love of astrology. It just seemed that the podcast lost focus along the way.

I enjoyed bits and pieces. I’m in love with our national parks. The host is rather inexperienced and afraid of nature. Disappointing that she chose to perpetuate unfounded myths like bears lurking around every corner and being something to fear or snakes coming for her tent. Promotes an idea of nature as dangerous and people disconnected from nature. Would be better to be more educated on how to safely enjoy nature and root fears in the reality that if you leave them alone, they leave you alone. Also should educate herself about the Central Park Karen incident and how it is not a simple black/white power imbalance and how there were threats made to the young woman (see Bari Weiss and NYT for more). The host cusses a lot and it takes you out of the moment and enjoying the beauty of nature to hear her idiotic comments.

I was looking for a nice informative listen on arches instead I got lectured to about staying on trails and other common sense respectful things for 25 mins. If your listening to a podcast about national parks you probably don’t need to be told to respect nature.