When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness, there’s often a flood of difficult emotions. Grief. Depression. Learning to live without hope.

But more and more, people are experiencing that kind of anguish even when they’re perfectly healthy.

In this episode, we bring you the story of a young man named Jacob Erickson, who almost died from climate anxiety — before a pivotal moment in nature rekindled his will to live.

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This season, we’re exploring the theme SECRETS OF THE EARTH.

Each episode, we’ll share a story about an outdoor experience that uncovered new truths. Through introspective personal narratives, we’ll harness the power of nature to make sense out of our lives and give us a fresh look at humanity.

Here’s a little taste.

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Clock time is a human invention. So it shouldn’t be a box that confines us; it should be a tool that helps us accomplish the things we care about.

But consider the system of standard time, first imposed by the railroad companies in the 1880s. It constrains people who live 1,000 miles apart—on opposite edges of their time zones—to get up and go to work or go to school at the same time, even though their local sunrise and sunset times may vary by an hour or more.

And it also consigns people who live on the eastern edges of their time zones to ludicrously early winter sunsets.

For over a century, we've been fiddling with standard time, adding complications such as Daylight Saving Time that are meant to give us a little more evening sunlight for at least part of the year.

But what if these are just palliatives for a broken system? What if it's time to reset the clock and try something completely different?

This is a guest story from the podcast Soonish, first published in 2021.

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NEW KIDS' PODCAST: Once Upon a Meadow 

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Most parents would never consider leaving their kids in the dark woods at night, and letting them find their way back. But the Dutch do just that. They call it Dropping.

This is a guest episode from Nocturne, a podcast that explores the night and how thoughts, feelings and behaviors transform in the dark.

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NEW KIDS' PODCAST: Once Upon a Meadow is set to launch in February 2023

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“Fallen Sky,” a work of installation art at New York’s Storm King Art Center, is like a moon map etched into a hillside.

On this episode, Tamar Avishai explores how Sarah Sze’s striking sculpture helps visitors pay attention to the world around us — and the world inside our heads. This is a guest episode from The Lonely Palette, a podcast that returns art history to the masses, one object at a time.

NEW KIDS' PODCAST: Once Upon a Meadow is set to launch in February 2023

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Every year, in the mountains of Vermont, a group of ultra runners gather for a 550-mile race called Infinitus. It’s one of the toughest trail running races in existence.

Jordan Wirfs-Brock was no stranger to ultra marathons, but Infinitus broke her: she failed to finish. Surprisingly, though, the failure turned out to be one of the best things that's ever happened to her.

This story first aired in 2016, and it won a gold medal for best independent podcast from Public Radio News Directors, Inc., or PRNDI.

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Dewey Gallegos and Jessica Flock bonded over their passion for the outdoors. But the thing they had in common was also one of their biggest differences. Their story explores how hard it can be to share the thing you love most, with the person you love most.

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When Sam Anderson’s father invited him to go hunting for the first time, Sam was worried. What if he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger? And conversely, what if he could? What would that say about him?

On this episode, Sam takes us into the woods of New Jersey and explores the emotional complexity of taking the life of an animal.

This story first aired in 2017, and it won a gold medal for Best Independent Podcast from Public Radio News Directors, Inc.

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We often hear that “the outdoors is free.” But for Charlsie Shaver, just driving to a trailhead was often cost-prohibitive; hitting the road to explore America’s wild places was a luxury she could only dream of.

On this episode, Charlsie explores what it takes to build the life you want. How do you balance the need for stability with a thirst for freedom? And how do you keep dreaming, when you can barely pay the rent?

This story first aired in 2019.

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Click here to see the full show notes for this episode.