The Scenic Route Podcast
By Scenic Route Media
Categories: Society & Culture
Hosted by a college student and Biology and Economics major, The Scenic Route explores the lives of people who have chosen unconventional paths, pursued wild adventures, and carved careers out of unexpected places. Each week, Cal shares conversations that highlight amazing stories, valuable lessons, and the unexpected outcomes living differently, all while inviting listeners to come along on his own journey of learning how to step of the beaten path and take the scenic route in life.
63 episodes indexed on PodSearch.
Recent episodes
- 62: I Loved Marine Science but "Settled" For the Tetons - Lily Johns | Teton Science Schools
Lily Johns is a Field Instructor at Teton Science Schools in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she teaches kids science in the shadow of the Tetons. She grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Biology, but had no idea what she wanted to do, so she tried everything…
- 61: Photographing Every Wild Cat Species on Earth - Sebastian Kennerknecht | Cat Expeditions
Sebastian Kennerknecht grew up in Munich Germany and is now one of the world's leading wildlife and conservation photographers. He's photographed 35 of the 40 wild felid species on Earth, builds his own camera traps from scratch, and holds a distinction shared by no other photographer alive, the…
- 60: What An Ocelot Eats - Aaron Davies | Fauna Forever
Aaron Davies is a conservationist and mammal ecologist from the United Kingdom currently working in the Peruvian Amazon as an Assistant Mammal Coordinator with Fauna Forever. He holds a degree in Geography with Applied GIS from the University of Exeter and an MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity…
- 59: The Backyard Bears of Lake Tahoe Got Me a Job - Riley McClaughry | Endless Venture
Riley McClaughry is a wildlife filmmaker, cameraman, and editor who grew up in Sacramento before moving to Lake Tahoe after high school, trading a conventional path for van life and a camera. Starting out filming adventure sports at age 14, he eventually turned his lens toward wildlife, spending…
- 58: The Brother and Sister Duo Turning Their Faith and the Outdoors Into a Business - Salem & Soleil Rutan | Steez Fish
Salem and Soleil are a brother-sister duo from Northern California who grew up homeschooled in the Colorado mountains before relocating with their family to Sandpoint, Idaho in 2024, the same year they launched Steez Fish, an outdoor apparel brand rooted in skate, snow, and fishing culture that…
- 57: Observing Means Conserving - Jon Hall | MammalWatching.com
Jon Hall is a dedicated mammal watcher and the founder of MammalWatching.com. He is one of the most active explorers in the quest to find and protect the world's most elusive species. For 20+ years, Jon worked on different ways of measuring wellbeing and progress, most recently with the United…
- 56: The Surprising Power of Storytelling - Kayla Shepherd | Wildlife Photographer
Kayla Shepherd is a wildlife ecologist, conservationist, photographer, and storyteller based in Alaska. Through her work as both a field biologist and content creator, she documents the wildlife and ecosystems of one of the most remote and rapidly changing landscapes in North America. She now…
- 55: Putting the Wild on Canvas - Des McCaffrey | Wildlife Artist
Desmond McCaffrey is a self-taught wildlife artist from northern Alberta whose work is deeply rooted in a lifelong connection to the outdoors. Born in Saskatchewan and raised exploring the forests and waterways of Alberta, he developed his artistic ability by sketching wildlife and landscapes from…
- 54: What It Takes to Name a Jaguar - Abbie Martin | Jaguar Identification Project
Abbie Martin is a wildlife ecologist, conservationist, and founder of the Jaguar Identification Project, a long-term research initiative dedicated to studying and protecting jaguars in Brazil’s Pantanal. Her work combines science, citizen participation, and story telling to better understand…
- 53: They Call Me "The Wolf Guy" - Oliver Starr | Tahoe Wolf Center
Oliver Starr is a wolf conservationist, author, and Executive Director of the Tahoe Wolf Center, a federally licensed nonprofit dedicated to wolf conservation and public education. His work focuses on closing the gap between myth and reality, helping people understand wolves not as symbols of…
- 52: Bitten for the Truth - Jack Schonhoff | Jack’s World of Wildlife
Jack Schonhoff is a wildlife content creator, filmmaker, and on-screen host best known for Jack’s World of Wildlife, a documentary-style series he launched in 2018. He works as a writer, producer, and presenter on his own projects, focusing on hands-on experiences with wildlife, particularly…
- 51: She Built a Luxury Music Brand From Scratch - Morgan Treni | Golden Estate Entertainment
Morgan Treni is a singer, songwriter, and the Founder of Golden Estate Entertainment, a boutique agency specializing in live music for luxury events, weddings, and corporate gatherings. She leads the Golden Estate House Band and performs a mix of jazz standards, Broadway, and contemporary music…
- 50: I've Got Enough to Last Me Through Tomorrow - Jack Kadis | Walking America Alone
Jack Kadis is a 22-year-old content creator attempting to walk the entire perimeter of the United States. He began the journey in January and has been heading south with everything he owns on his back, documenting the experience as he goes. Without a strict plan, deadline, or support crew, Kadis…
- 49: How a Birder Outsmarted Everyone to Win Destination X - Rick Szabo | Birding With Rick
Rick Szabo is the creator of Birding with Rick, a rapidly growing birding platform, with more than 200,000 followers. There he teaches people how to find, identify, and truly enjoy birds in the wild. Rick leads small-group birding retreats across North America and Costa Rica, publishes the popular…
- 48: The Ultimate Adventure - Asher Wild | Wild Brothers
Asher Wild is one of the four brothers behind The Wild Brothers, a group of missionary-raised filmmakers known for their adventurous storytelling, wildlife encounters, and faith-driven content. The brothers grew up deep in the rainforests of West Papua in Indonesia, where their parents worked as…
- 47: The School With No Grades, No Tests, and a Green Door - Lauren Dahl | Green Door Folk School
Lauren Dahl is the Programs and Operations Director at Green Door Folk School, a folk school based in northern Michigan focused on hands-on, community-centered learning. Folk schools began in Denmark in the mid-1800s, inspired by educator N. F. S. Grundtvig, who believed education should focus on…
- 46: Walking Away From the Sirens - Atherium Bommarito | Former Firefighter
Atherium Bommarito is a former firefighter and paramedic who spent a decade serving his community in high-intensity medical and emergency response roles before making a bold life shift. After ten years of emotionally and physically demanding work, including time working in hospital settings in…
- 45: Quiet at the Northern Terminus - Titus Humphreys | Return to the PCT
Titus Humphreys is an outdoor filmmaker and storyteller based in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Originally from Papua New Guinea and Australia, he brings a unique, global perspective to the rugged landscapes he documents. After five years working as a ski technician and bike mechanic, Titus is currently…
- Ignite Possibility: We Are OWU Special - Christopher Mickens | Ohio Wesleyan University
Christopher Mickens is the Director of the Department of Public Safety at Ohio Wesleyan University and has worked at the university since 1999. Over more than two decades on campus, he has become a familiar presence to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. In addition to overseeing public safety…
- 44: Resurrecting My Grandfather's 50-Year-Old Unfinished Film - Max Sauerbrey and Juliette Benedetto | Quick Draw Films
Max Sauerbrey and Juliette Benedetto are filmmakers and the co-founders of Quickdraw Films. They directed The Way It Was, a documentary built from archival footage shot in 1970s Alaska by Max’s grandfather, Chuck Wirschem, and brought the project to completion decades after it was originally…
- 43: A Thousand Miles Alone in a Canoe With No One Coming to Help - Stephan Kesting | Essential Wilderness
Stephan Kesting is a lifelong martial artist, outdoor expeditionary, and educator. Stephan is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt with more than 30 years of training across multiple martial arts systems, he is also a veteran firefighter of over 25 years and a recipient of the Canadian National Medal…
- 42: Making $120K at 18 and Losing It All - Kehinde McComb | Content Entrepreneur
Kehinde McComb is a content entrepreneur who built his way out of hourly work by learning how attention really works online. Raised by a single mother, he worked 22 different jobs before turning 18, from warehouses and restaurants to delivery apps, before discovering online business. After nearly…
- 41: What 55 Years of Bonsai Can Teach You About Time and Patience - David Easterbrook | Bonsai Master
David Easterbrook is a bonsai artist with over 55 years of experience and a central figure in the development of North American bonsai. He served for more than three decades as curator of the Montreal Botanical Gardens Bonsai Collection, where he helped build one of the most respected public…
- 40: How Harvard Basketball's Locker Room Snacks Built the Next Big Nutrition Brand - Ciaran Brayboy | Skye Performance
Ciaran Brayboy is the Co-founder of Skye Performance and a former Harvard basketball player who received over 30 Division I offers. Ciaran credits much of his competitive edge to the clean nutrition habits he grew up with in a functional-medicine household. When he arrived at Harvard, he was…
- 39: How Microplastics Are Reshaping Our World - Dr. Dimitri Deheyn | Scripps Oceanography
Dr. Dimitri Deheyn is a professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. He leads the Deheyn Lab, where his work focuses on marine biology, environmental health, and materials in the natural world. Dimitri studies how organisms interact with light and color, and he also…
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