Out of the Wild is a podcast hosted by writer Ken Ilgunas. We discuss nature, adventure, simple living, culture, history, and politics.
https://kenilgunas.substack.com
26. Antonia Malchik on poverty, shame, and identity wars in the American West
Antonia Malchik joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation about the commons, class, and the fractured political landscape of the American West. We start with walking and a decade of intellectual kinship, then dig into whether certain temperaments draw people toward commons-based thinking, and how class, hardship, and family history shape a justice-oriented worldview. From there we get into Montana identity — the distrust that comes with geography and rapid change, why environmentalism so often feels like a threat to local identity, and how to have real conversations across propaganda, echo chambers, and fractured realities. We close by looking at how personal relationships can open space for political change, and set up the next conversation on 'Sordid Little Stories' and Antonia's childhood in poverty.
9 Sept 2026
25. Roderick Nash on Wilderness, Old Age, and the Next Thousand Years
Historian Roderick Nash — author of the landmark Wilderness and the American Mind — joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on the roots of America's wilderness idea and where it should go next. We trace his early awe in places like the Grand Canyon, why Thoreau and Muir were received so differently, and how his scholarship pulled him into advocacy. Nash argues the case for wilderness must shift from human benefit to the intrinsic rights of other species, and unpacks his 'Island Civilization' vision — a future in which humans live concentrated in a few dense enclaves so most of the planet can return to wild nature. Along the way: where the ethical line falls on hunting and technology in a rewilded world, whether meaningful change requires catastrophe or can come gradually, and what a life of ambition, rivers, and writing has taught him — in his 80s — about attention, time, and what he'll leave behind.
18 Aug 2026
24. Gordon Buchanan: Rewilding Scotland, ADHD, and the second half of life
Wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan joins Ken for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from The Talking Parcel to the wild edges of Scotland. Gordon opens up about the favorite book, movie, and album that shaped him, what it's meant to recognize his own neurodivergence, and how ADHD medication has changed his day-to-day life. He reflects on the transition out of full-time parenting and constant striving — and the new phase of life that's opening up on the other side. From there the conversation heads outdoors: the unexpected corners of Scotland Gordon would take a visitor to, what the country has lost ecologically, and what a hopeful, rewilded Scotland could look like 500 years from now — including whether wolves might really return, and how technology could help manage them. Along the way, Gordon shares what he's learned from communities that seem to have found the right balance of wilderness, adventure, and belonging, how his own island upbringing shaped him, and the dream wildlife documentaries he'd make if he had a time machine.
Who has been a guest on Out of the Wild
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Nancy Rommelmann
Sean Garrity
Melanie DG Kaplan
Louis Dalton Hall
Paul Robbins
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 27 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
42
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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