Behind the Bastards - Introducing: Natural Causes

Episode Date: August 19, 2026

Natural Causes is a podcast about the politics and practicalities of going outside in a world on fire, hosted by Dr. James Stout. It approaches the outdoors, conservation, agriculture, food sovereignty, and Indigenous land rights as interconnected issues. We want to combine unflinching journalism with unabashed advocacy for the land we all share, and welcome everyone into the outdoors and the fight for our public lands. Our shared wild spaces are under threat like never before, from climate change, the Trump administration, and extractive capitalism. Now, more than ever, we need serious journalism and serious solidarity that engages people with the struggle to protect these spaces for generations to come. New episodes weekly.Listen here and subscribe to Natural Causes on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hi, I'm Dr. James Stout. You might know me as a host of the It Could Happen Here podcast, but now I'm also hosting natural causes, a podcast about going outside. I'm a historian, journalist, and outdoors person. You might know me from my working conflict and migration. But I grew up with both parents working in agriculture, and since then I've hiked, climbed, ridden, and paddled all over the world.

I've always found healing in nature, and I've always felt most at peace in the wilderness. That's why I'm mad as hell about the people trying to destroy our special places, and the places that are sacred to some of us, just so they can make a quick buck. In 2006, going outside is political. We've got senators trying to sell off public land, wildfires burning on our big cities, and the Trump administration stripping protections on sacred land from the Southern California desert to the Arctic Circle. And I'll be bringing you on the ground reporting from both places.

I've written for outdoor publications for more than a decade, and I'm proud of the work we've done. But there are some things that you can't say there now that I can say here. capitalism is destroying our planet public land is stolen land and I don't think giving one percent of profits to NGOs is going to fix it I want to combine unflinching journalism with unabashed advocacy for our planet and the people and creatures we share it with

so that future generations can enjoy the same things we do and I promise you no top 10 gear lists so join me as we talk about what cyclospora might tell us about the rights of farm workers where the DOJ is suing big egg producers how your raincoat might be putting forever chemicals in fish and how we can all benefit from Indigenous leadership on fire management and living with fire.

We'll have some fun too, like talking about our ungovernable friend, the Havillina and their war on golf. I want you to love the outdoors as much as I do, and that means making more people feel safe, comfortable and welcome in the back country and the front country. So we'll be covering how, when and where to touch grass and answering the questions you didn't know to ask. Listen to Natural Causes on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts.