The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Check out the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle that includes the 2026 Kick-Off Pack ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Get your free 2026 tracker sheet ⁠here ** If you’ve been living in that exhausted loop—your kid pushes, you react, everyone feels awful, and then you hate how the day ended—this conversation will feel like someone opened a window in your house. Kirk Martin (The Calm Parenting Podcast) helps you name what’s actually happening when you’re “triggered" and why your anxiety often creates the exact opposite outcome you want. Together we talk about the real-life triggers that hijack parents (dawdling, messes, perceived disrespect), how to stop taking kid behavior personally, and how to slow your world down enough to respond with clarity instead of resentment. Then we go deeper because strong-willed kids don’t just test your patience, they test your marriage. Kirk shares practical ways couples can stay aligned, how to stop getting played off each other, and why your home doesn’t need more lectures or tighter control—it needs connection and a little more fun. This is the perspective shift every tired parent needs: the very traits that irritate you now may be the same traits that will make your child brave, persuasive, resilient, and capable later. You’re not behind. You’re not failing. And you can start changing the tone of your home today. Learn more about Kirk and all he has to offer (including his podcast and courses) here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle that includes the 2026 Kick-Off Pack ⁠here⁠ Get your free 2026 tracker sheet here ** If you’ve ever looked around at your family and thought, Why is everything so hard right now? - this episode will make you feel less alone, and a whole lot more clear. Ginny Yurich sits down again with Mike McLeod, author of The Executive Function Playbook, and it’s one of those conversations that puts language to what parents are living every day: the exhaustion of being your child’s “prefrontal cortex,” the nonstop prompting, the homework vortex, and the fear that this isn’t getting better. Mike is honest about ADHD being serious and also full of hope about what actually helps kids build independence. You’ll learn why ADHD is better understood as an executive function developmental delay, why “not everything is a screen problem” but the internet-connected screens are in a league of their own, and why play and boredom aren’t frivolous extras. Mike explains working memory and why it matters and so much more. This episode is a rallying cry for parents who want to protect childhood, lower the temperature in their home, and give their kids back the experiences that build a capable life. If it helps you, share it with a friend and leave a review. Get your copy of The Executive Function Playbook here Get your copy of The Executive Function Playbook in Action here Learn more about GrowNow ADHD here Listen to Dr. Russell Barkley on YouTube here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out the 1000 Hours Outside Mega Bundle that includes the 2026 Kick-Off Pack here Get your free 2026 tracker sheets here ** In this conversation, Ginny Yurich sits down with natural playscape designer and author Rusty Keeler to talk about what kids are actually built for: climbing, hiding, building, negotiating, tumbling, experimenting, and testing themselves in the real world. Rusty shares how a trip to Europe shifted his whole philosophy from equipment-based playgrounds to wild, nature-rich spaces full of loose parts, nooks and crannies, mud, water, tools, and possibility—plus why his book Adventures in Risky Play is basically a permission slip for parents who feel like childhood has gotten over-managed. Rusty reminds us that kids don’t need us to manufacture wonder. They need time, space, and a little more trust. Find Rusty’s work (including his Play Nature Podcast) and explore the book/resources he mentions here. **Intro song performed by In Paradise and Two Better Friends. Learn more at www.inparadisemusic.com and stream "Beautiful World" here Follow Two Better Friends here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Modern life is quietly thinning out things that matter like friendship, purpose, contentment, and presence. In this episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, Ginny Yurich talks with pastor and author Noah Herrin about what it actually looks like to grow into manhood in a culture that keeps lowering expectations while demanding more attention than ever. They talk about why real friendships don’t happen by accident, why community without commitment never lasts, and why some men need to stop waiting for connection and start “friend hunting” on purpose. This is a hopeful, honest conversation for husbands, fathers, teen boys, and the parents raising them. Noah shares simple boundaries that protect family life, tools for using technology without being owned by it, and a brilliant system for capturing ideas without mental clutter. If you’ve felt the tension between wanting a meaningful life and feeling pulled in ten directions, this episode names it—and offers a better way forward. Get your copy of Welcome to Manhood here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Gustin didn’t set out to be a parenting voice. He became one the hard way. In this conversation, Jon talks honestly about early exposure to alcohol, years of running from anxiety, and what happened when becoming a father forced him to stop numbing and start paying attention. He shares what it was like to quit drinking, face anxiety head-on, and rebuild his marriage and inner life while raising young kids. There’s no dramatic turnaround story here—just the quiet, difficult work of changing patterns so they don’t get passed down. From there, the conversation turns to modern childhood. Screens. Phones. Messy houses. Kids growing up too fast. Jon makes a simple but urgent case: childhood needs protection—not through fear or control, but through attention. Paying attention to what kids are doing, who they’re becoming, and whether they’re being pushed into an adult world too soon. This episode is for parents who sense something is off, who don’t want to overreact or opt out of modern life—but who also refuse to sleepwalk through it. Thoughtful, steady, and deeply reassuring. Learn more about Jon and all he has to offer here Pre-order Jon's book, The Tired Dad here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices