Show Notes
The history of ticks in the United States is far stranger and more disturbing than many of us realize. Award-winning science writer Kris Newby, author of Bitten The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons and senior producer of the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Under Our Skin, joins Ginny Yurich to uncover the documented Cold War programs that experimented with weaponizing ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes. Kris shares her own family's devastating experience with Lyme disease, the years she spent investigating scientist Willy Burgdorfer, the open-air tick releases she uncovered, and why she believes we still don't know the whole story. But this conversation isn't meant to scare families indoors. It ends where parents need it to with information on how to take ticks seriously, what to do when you find one, and how to keep giving our kids the childhood outdoors they need. Learn more about Kris and her work at Kris Newby and watch Under Our Skin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast
Children know something about enjoying life that adults have largely forgotten. A stick, a cardboard box, or even a marshmallow can become an entire world of discovery, while grown-ups increasingly measure experiences by their productivity or future payoff.
Even if you spend every possible moment with your children, you'll still grieve how quickly they grow up. That sadness isn't proof you missed something. It's part of loving someone who is constantly changing.
We live in a world that rewards performance, comparison, and constant approval. But what is that doing to our children—and to the people we're becoming?
Childhood was never meant to be a race. Bestselling author and Slow Movement pioneer Carl Honoré returns to The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast for a conversation about what happens when we stop rushing our kids and ourselves through life. Carl and Ginny talk about why boredom matters, how overscheduling can turn childhood into a race for perfection, why some of the best conversations with our kids happen when nobody is watching the clock, and the power of the small things like family meals, puzzles, books, nature, sleep, and simply having nowhere else to be. They also explore slow schooling, homeschooling, our complicated relationship with screens, and Carl’s beautiful book Slow Adventures, which invites children to experience the world at a more human pace. Find Carl, his books, courses, and videos at CarlHonoré.com, explore In Praise of Slowness, watch his TED Talk In Praise of Slowness, and watch his free How to Slow Down TED course.
Church hurt can leave you grieving far more than a bad experience because you can lose your community in the process. In this deeply personal conversation, Ginny Yurich sits down with counseling pastor and author Tim St. John to talk about his book After Church Hurt and what actually happens when the place meant to care for you becomes the source of the wound. Ginny shares her own family’s experience of raising serious concerns inside their church, being pushed out, and still dealing with the effects years later. Tim explains the three waves of church hurt, why naming what happened matters, how shame and hypervigilance can linger, and what to look for when you're ready to trust a church community again. They also talk about something surprisingly hopeful: churches intentionally building cultures of care where people know exactly where to turn when life falls apart. Tim shares free counseling training and resources through Lighthouse Community Church, along with more resources, sermons, articles, and information about his work at TimothyStJohn.com.