This is The Outside Podcast with Paddyo.

Thank you for putting the amazing generation in the background. How neat. I loved the book. Okay, the inclusion of the graphic novel. Oh. Like, I loved all of the stats and all of the writing, of course. But any time, like, the, you know, three pages of the graphic novel would, like, end and the next, like, chapter or section would begin, I'd be like, wait, hold on a second. What about my friends? What's happening with my friends, though? I want to know. That's so funny. You know, I didn't realize you were our target audience. We thought it was 9 to 12, but I guess it was 41 also.

Well, I might be 9 to 12.

I guess you tell me, after we talk, you tell me, you're like, wow, how are you even existing

in the world right now as a 41 year old?

Because I believe you are in fact nine.

I used to teach middle school at an all-boys school.

Perfect.

We'll get along just fine.

I felt very close to my students.

This is great.

We're going to have so much in common then.

This is awesome.

Jesus Christ, this is great.

The first time the O'Connell's all went camping together when I was a kid is seared into my memory.

We were somewhere in the boonies, a few hours outside Chicago, using my parents' 70s gear.

Imagine a canvas tent big enough for a small circus and a two-burner stove that looked like we had just lifted it off the range in our kitchen.

We trumped through the woods, cooked hot dogs over the campfire, slept in sleeping bags, and I loved

every second of it. That trip played a big part in why I moved to Colorado and devoted my life

to being outdoors. It is also why I've made instilling a love of the outdoors and my toddler

daughter a priority. Of course, because it's 2026, this doesn't just feel like a gift I'm

bestowing on my daughter. It feels like an urgent inoculation against a growing threat to her well-being.

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