#239 - Joshua Church’s life starts with a shock: his lung collapses right after birth. What follows is years of injuries, surgeries, chronic pain, and a quiet belief that takes root early, “Maybe I’m broken.” When that story hardens, it doesn’t just shape how he moves through sports and school. It shapes what he thinks his future can be.

We talk through the rock bottom moment that forces a change, and the surprisingly simple first step that cracks the door open: an invitation to yoga. From there, Joshua walks us into the deeper work that transforms his health and mindset, including breath work, nervous system regulation, and cold water immersion. He explains how breath can shift us from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest, why cold exposure is really a practice for stress tolerance, and how the mantra “I am strong, I’m healthy, I’m capable” becomes a tool for rewiring identity in real time.

We also go beyond the body. Joshua shares what faith looks like when life falls apart, including the rise and fall of his ice bath company, and why he believes surrender can be a form of strength. If you’re curious about breathwork benefits, cold plunge benefits, mindset shifts, or healing from chronic pain and self-doubt, this conversation is both practical and deeply human.

Subscribe for more stories like this, share it with someone who needs encouragement, and leave a rating or review if the message lands. What’s one belief you’re ready to let go of?

To learn more about Joshua Church and his book, Cosmic Breadcrumbs, you can check out his website www.joshuadeanchurch.com or check him out on Instagram @joshuadeanchurch.

To learn more about me and see clips from past, present, and future shows give me a follow on Instagram @humanadventurepod.

Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake

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What if the life that scares you is exactly what will set you free? I sit down with Kristy Halvorsen, a former firefighter who traded the predictable path for a solo, off-grid Airstream life driven by intuition, curiosity, and a willingness to not know what’s next. She calls it “coddiwompling,” traveling purposely to unknown destinations while staying open to every possibility, and it turns out to be a philosophy for living, not just a way to roam.

Kristy shares the turning points that made this leap real: a childhood rupture that quietly shaped her ability to love, the pride and intensity of the fire service, and the body-waking-up moment of injury that made “waiting for retirement” feel like a bad deal. We talk about the mental side of fear, the practical reality of being alone when things break, and the kind of freedom that only shows up when you stop outsourcing your courage. If you’re into solo travel stories, off-grid living, and mindset shifts that actually feel usable, you’ll find plenty to steal for your own life.

The conversation gets tender and powerful as Kristy opens up about grief and her mom’s death right before her book launched, the small signs that keep love close, and how gratitude can coexist with pain. She also tells the wild story of injury and illness in remote Newfoundland, plus the surprising joy of writing with radical vulnerability and discovering how truth gives other people permission to live.

If this hits something in you, grab Kristy’s book “Perfect Unfolding,” share this episode with a friend who needs a nudge, and please subscribe, rate, and review so more people can find The Human Adventure.

To learn more about Kristy and her book check out www.perfectunfolding.com and give her a follow on Instagram @kristy.halvorsen.

To learn more about me and see clips from past, present, and future shows give me a follow on Instagram @humanadventurepod.

Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake

Xploreum connects you with authentic wilderness expeditions led by trusted local experts. Browse real adventures, book directly with experienced guides, and get $200 off your first trip using code HumanAdventure2026 at xploreum.io/humanadventure.

#237 - Melody Harman didn’t come to Utah for a postcard life, she came because staying put felt like drowning in reminders. After losing her dad following 70 days in the hospital, and carrying earlier grief from losing her brother as a teen, she hits that brutal stretch where your world looks “normal” on the outside but everything inside is rearranged. So we talk honestly about what it’s like when grief becomes a daily environment, not a single moment, and why a big change can be the first real breath you take.

We start with Melody’s roots in Jacksonville, Florida, then follow the path through school, career pressure, and the “success equals title” mindset that so many of us inherit. From there, we get into the heart of it: the decision to let go, the depression that followed, and the way nature can act like nervous system support when life feels too loud. Melody explains why hiking without headphones, listening to water and birds, and simply moving forward on a trail can create calm when your brain won’t.

Then we go full adventure mode with practical stories from Utah hiking and beyond. You’ll hear what Angel’s Landing is really like (permits, switchbacks, chains, crowds, heat, and real risk), plus her first backpacking trip to Havasu Falls and the lessons you only learn when you carry your life on your back. We also talk solo travel, self-trust, and what happens when you lose a corporate job and have to rebuild your identity, one “A to B” step at a time.

If you’ve been searching for stories about grief healing, outdoor therapy, Utah trails, Zion hikes, Angel’s Landing tips, backpacking lessons, or solo travel confidence, this conversation meets you where you are and gives you a clear next step. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a rating or review so more people can find the show.

To learn more about Melody and follow her adventures be sure and give her a follow on Intagram @melody.onthemove.

To learn more about me and see clips from past, present, and future shows give me a follow on Instagram @humanadventurepod.

Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake

Xploreum connects you with authentic wilderness expeditions led by trusted local experts. Browse real adventures, book directly with experienced guides, and get $200 off your first trip using code HumanAdventure2026 at xploreum.io/humanadventure.

#236 - The Darien Gap has a legend attached to it, but Daniel Eggington brings the parts that don’t fit the movie version: endless wet days, rivers fought step by step, fear used as a tool, and the mental math of staying alive when you’re deep in the jungle with no easy reset button. Daniel doesn’t chase comfort or bragging rights. He chases places where there’s no blueprint, because that’s where he learns fastest and where the story is earned instead of staged.

We start with the moment that set his trajectory: leaving the UK as a teenager for Sumatra after working at a zoo and falling in love with wildlife. From there we dig into expedition travel the way it actually works: preparing for snakes and insects, relying on locals for real knowledge, and keeping your impact low. Daniel shares his Guyana journey down the Essequibo River by dugout canoe, including encounters with local belief systems like Kanaima and how culture can shape safety choices as much as terrain does.

Then we go deep on the Darien, including geopolitical shifts, how different groups control different areas, why “permission” is part of the route, and what a truly miserable day looks like when you’re soaked, underfed, and still pushing forward. We also talk endurance training, why people choose suffering in controlled doses, and Daniel’s next massive goal: a first-of-its-kind Congo River walking expedition planned for 12 months or more, supported by a broader team and modern field comms.

If you’re into extreme adventure, jungle survival, expedition planning, and the mindset behind big goals, hit play, subscribe, and share this with someone who needs a push. After you listen, leave a review and tell us: what would your no-blueprint adventure be?

To learn more about Daniel Eggington and his upcoming expedition along the Congo River check out www.danieleggington.com and follow him on Instagram @danieleggington.

To learn more about me and see clips from past, present, and future shows give me a follow on Instagram @humanadventurepod.

Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake

Xploreum connects you with authentic wilderness expeditions led by trusted local experts. Browse real adventures, book directly with experienced guides, and get $200 off your first trip using code HumanAdventure2026 at xploreum.io/humanadventure.

#235 - The woods “understood her” before she could understand herself, and Alison Monda’s story makes that feel less like poetry and more like a practical roadmap. She’s a full-time firefighter, a search and rescue volunteer, a musician, a longtime hiker, and someone who finally got an ADHD diagnosis that explained decades of feeling scattered, intense, and constantly in motion. When we sit down to talk, it turns into an honest look at what it means to build a life around adventure while also trying to build a brain that feels steady.

Alison doesn’t dodge the hard chapters. She talks about teen addiction, entering rehab at 19, and how sobriety forced her to relearn fun, connection, and self-respect. From there, hiking becomes more than a passion. It becomes outdoor therapy, a mental health reset, and one of the only places her mind reliably drops into a flow state. We get into solo backpacking, why it can feel freeing and terrifying, and how she thinks about safety as a woman alone on trail.

We also go deep on real backcountry moments: a bear encounter that spikes the fear meter, the difference between wildlife risk and news-cycle myths, and the rare but real “creepy human” situations that change how you camp. Along the way, Alison shares practical advice for getting started, including the 10 essentials, offline GPS tools like Gaia GPS and CalTopo, and when an SOS device like a Garmin inReach makes sense. Plus, we talk community on the Appalachian Trail, big-mile dreams like the PCT, and her memoir Fearless.

If you like stories about hiking for mental health, ADHD and resilience, addiction recovery, and the kind of adventure that’s messy in the moment but meaningful later, you’ll feel at home here. Subscribe to The Human Adventure, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a quick rating or review so more people can find the show.

To follow along with Alison check her out on Instagram @get_the_f_outside. You can also get a copy of her book, Fearless, on Amazon.

To learn more about me and see clips from past, present, and future shows give me a follow on Instagram @humanadventurepod.

Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake

Xploreum connects you with authentic wilderness expeditions led by trusted local experts. Browse real adventures, book directly with experienced guides, and get $200 off your first trip using code HumanAdventure2026 at xploreum.io/humanadventure.

#234 - Your childhood dream is supposed to save you, not send you to the burn ward. Dan Schlund is one of the rare people who has flown a real rocket belt, a true rocket motor strapped to your back with about 30 seconds of fuel, superheated thrust, and no room for hesitation. After his third flight off the training cable, a bad landing turns into a nightmare: he gets slammed into the ground, can’t shut the belt off, and is burned in the field until the crew can pull him free.

We talk about the long recovery, skin grafts, and the part that lingers even longer: anxiety and the mental scars that follow a catastrophic crash. Dan explains why he still chose to fly again, how stunt work taught him to never let your last run be a failure, and what it feels like to lift off under full throttle with a roaring crowd and a ticking fuel clock. Along the way, he shares global performance stories, including high pressure flights like the Rose Parade and surreal moments performing in Turkmenistan.

Then the dream ends hard with a later crash during a Guinness World Records flight, a neck injury, and the identity crash that comes when the applause disappears. Dan’s pivot is the plot twist: he rebuilds his life as a paramedic and founder of National Set Medics, helping protect cast and crew across film and TV productions nationwide. If you’ve ever faced a career change, burnout, or the question “who am I now,” this conversation brings both honesty and practical hope.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

To learn more about Dan check out www.rocketman.tv. You can also give him a follow on Instagram @rocketman.tv.

To learn more about me and see clips from past, present, and future shows give me a follow on Instagram @humanadventurepod.

Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake

Xploreum connects you with authentic wilderness expeditions led by trusted local experts. Browse real adventures, book directly with experienced guides, and get $200 off your first trip using code HumanAdventure2026 at xploreum.io/humanadventure.

#233 - He thought he might do a couple years for breaking into fur farms. Instead, a DOJ press release tells him he’s facing animal enterprise terrorism and RICO-related charges with a maximum of 82 years. That’s the moment Peter Young goes from activist to full-time fugitive, living under a fake name, dodging fingerprints, and trying to build a life while the federal government waits for one mistake.

We trace Peter’s path from a middle-class childhood to punk rock politics, veganism, and underground animal rights activism. He explains how early actions escalated from petty sabotage to fur farm raids that released thousands of mink, and why he believed illegal direct action could force media attention when peaceful protest couldn’t. We also get into the uncomfortable questions that sit underneath the headline: how conviction changes your sense of right and wrong, how fear and adrenaline reshape decision-making, and what it means to accept consequences you never expected.

Then the story turns practical and personal. Peter describes the day-to-day logistics of life on the run, the close calls, and the arrest that finally ends it. We talk sentencing guidelines, why the “82 years” didn’t happen, what federal prison is really like, and how he rebuilt his identity afterward through writing and, surprisingly, entrepreneurship. If you’re interested in true crime stories with moral complexity, activism and extremism, risk psychology, and second acts after prison, this conversation stays with you.

Subscribe to The Human Adventure, share this episode with a friend who loves unforgettable real-life stories, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

To find out more about Peter Young check out www.peteryoung.me.

To learn more about me and see clips from past, present, and future shows give me a follow on Instagram @humanadventurepod.

Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake

Xploreum connects you with authentic wilderness expeditions led by trusted local experts. Browse real adventures, book directly with experienced guides, and get $200 off your first trip using code HumanAdventure2026 at xploreum.io/humanadventure.

#232 - You think you know someone, then you hear what they had to survive. Calvin Bagley looks like the guy with the steady career and the good family, but as a kid he was literally taught to hide when the school bus came by so no one would discover he wasn’t being educated at all.

We talk through Calvin’s childhood in rural Utah with isolation, fear, and extremist beliefs that kept the world at a distance, plus the strange whiplash of showing up to church on Sundays and then returning to what he describes as hell at home. Instead of walking away from spirituality, Calvin explains how faith became his lifeline, and how his view of God slowly shifted from fear and anger to love, stability, and hope.

Then we trace the hard, practical path of adult education: learning to read with help from his sister, serving a mission in Brazil where learning Portuguese forced him to finally learn English structure, grinding for a GED, bombing the ACT, and getting into UNLV through an unconventional “non-admitted student” route. We also get into his years as a flight attendant, the impact of 9/11, the mentors who opened doors, and why he finally chose to tell the truth in his memoir, Hiding from the School Bus, including the boundaries and therapy that helped him stop living in hiding.

If Calvin’s story hits you, share it with someone who needs proof that healing and growth are possible, then subscribe and leave a review so more listeners can find Th Human Adventure.

To learn more about Calvin and to get a copy of his book check out www.hidingfromtheschoolbus.com. Calvin is also on Instagram @calvinbagley.

To learn more about me and see clips from past, present, and future shows give me a follow on Instagram @humanadventurepod.

Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake

Xploreum connects you with authentic wilderness expeditions led by trusted local experts. Browse real adventures, book directly with experienced guides, and get $200 off your first trip using code HumanAdventure2026 at xploreum.io/humanadventure.