Tony sits down with Jake Hanson, former church camp director and now Director of Development at Pheasants Forever. They discuss being called to ministry and philanthropy, ministry burnout, deer hunting with grandpa, putting your heart and soul into your career, pheasants as a gateway drug to upland hunting, times of discernment, three dimensions of spiritual connections to the outdoors, never having regrets for being generous, and much more.  Read more about Jake here:...

Tony talks with Sam Shephard, associate professor of biology at Ave Maria University and lead author of "Recreational killing of wild animals can foster environmental stewardship," recently published in Nature Sustainability. Tony and Sam discuss being from the Isle of Skye, wandering barefoot around India, fishing with indigenous people in Guyana, why the person who's catching the most fish is probably the person most embedded in the environment, how humans are deeply related to all of...

Tony sits down to share some news about the Reverend Hunter Podcast, give some shout-outs, and talk about the future of the podcast. He also talks about a tough summer, full of both joys and sorrows, and updates listeners on his book, GodOfWildPlaces.com. Be sure to tune in for this very special episode.   Find Tony's new book at GodOfWildPlaces.com   https://reverendhunter.com/    

Tony chats with Oregon wildlife biologist Ben Padilla about what drives wildlife populations, failing as a high school teacher, growing up on a seminary campus, the practice and attention that comes from hunting, the power of disturbance, bugs killing caribou, climate change, the beauty of evolution, the damage of dualism, the indigenous ways of embodying nature, maintaining hope, and more.   Find Tony's new book at GodOfWildPlaces.com   https://reverendhunter.com/

Tony sits down with Evan Moffic, the "Carnivore Rabbi." They discuss Evan's journey into the carnivore lifestyle, plus antisemitism in America, political divisions, stomach issues, becoming keto, hunter-gatherers, a life full of extremes, the lion diet, cows' stomachs as filters, feeding our kids crap, eating more fat, poop, the Jewish aversion to hunting, and much more.   Find Evan on all the socials under @CarnivoreRabbi, and follow his videos here:...

Tony talks with Jake Lindemann, founder of Chief Upland, a hunting gear and apparel company. They talk about being an entrepreneur at 16, Wisco bow bros, being born without a left hand, wearing jeans to thread a fishing hook, Chief and Buzz, fighting anxiety and imposter syndrome, spending less time in church and more time in the woods, an epiphany moment on the roof of a houseboat, watching a coyote chase a turkey, and more.   Find out more about Jake and his gear at chiefupland.com   Find...

Tony sits down with Jan Dizard, retired professor of sociology at Amherst College and author of several books on hunting, including "Hunting: A Cultural History" (MIT Press, 2022). They discuss hunters at Amherst, non-utilitarian views of nature and animals, struggling R3 efforts, growing up in Duluth, hunting by two rivers, the spiritual attachment that human beings have to food, the mortal stakes of hunting, growing uneasy with killing as you age, the Rinella/Hanes/Rogan effect on hunting,...

In this special episode, Tony reads from his new book, "The God of Wild Places," at the book launch event on April 2. He tells a harrowing story of getting caught in a storm with his kids in the boat.   Find Tony's new book at GodOfWildPlaces.com   https://reverendhunter.com/

Tony talks with Jerusalem Greer, author of "At Home in this Life," and executive director of Procter Camp and Conference Center. Topics include living on the Darby Plains, rewilding projects, something not clicking in the city, Phyllis Tickle, needing to get to the land, a theology of place, being an early mommy blogger, staring at our spiritual bellybuttons, the growth of wild churches, the hunger to be connected, zhuzhing, and more.    Find Jerusalem at jerusalemgreer.com   And find Tony's...

Tony sits down at PheasantFest in Sioux Falls to talk with Tim Brown, the "Bearded Uplander." Topics include having an angry gall bladder, hunting in a blizzard, released pheasants, shooting a turkey on the wing, the ethics of hunting, scoring a deer, not having a bird dog, thanking farmers with a 30-pack of Busch Light, hunting on Sundays, taking kids turkey hunting, snakes, and more.   Find Tim at https://beardeduplander.com/   And find Tony's new book at...

John Dailey is a retired Marine and the author of the forthcoming book, Tough, Rugged Bastards. He talks with Tony about his parents’ conversion, having a holy roller pastor dad, being scared of God, how the Marine Corps is somewhat cult-like, boot camp indoctrination, 9/11 in Darwin Australia, waiting for bad guys outside of Kandahar, a big truck full of Taliban coming across the road, the correlation between sex and killing, the crisis of masculinity, when fiction is truer than the...

Fisher Neal is the "Hunting Actor," and the founder of Learn to Hunt New York. Fisher talks with Tony about hunting being foundational to his identity, growing up in a church that frowned upon clapping, moving to New Jersey, the use of crossbows, how it's morally superior to use the most effective weapon available, being the most prolific hunting mentor in the U.S., the Austrian last meal, appearing on Law & Order, and much more.   Find Fisher at...

Tony sits down with upland hunting zealot and writer Mike Neiduski, and they discuss growing up in Worchester, Mass., writing poetry, stopping writing poetry, getting a German Wirehair Pointer, training dogs so that you can hunt year-round, letting it rip, divorce and dead dogs, growing up Catholic, writing about grief, becoming an entrepreneur, and more.   Find Mike's writing here: https://www.instagram.com/mneiduski/, and find the company he just acquired here:...

Tony talks with Julia Schrenkler, subject of the Franchi film, "Old Dog / New Dog," about how her dog recruited her into hunting, post-Wegman confusion, how you can't just look at puppies, watching your dog bring you a pigeon for the first time, the eyelash rule, the tailgate of death, cultivating reverence, making your own mistakes, hunting out of a VW Vanagon, the partnership of dogs, and more.   See the film here: https://youtu.be/mnwTzt4pHgQ?si=F5YHoEhDKyX7XXAN   https://reverendhunter.com/

Tony and Brandon welcome 2024 with some thoughts about what's coming up on the podcast and in their lives.https://reverendhunter.com/

Tony sits down with Tripp Fuller, author of several books and founder and host of the world's most popular theology podcast, Homebrewed Christianity. They talk about growing up as a rural Baptist preacher's kid, seeing crooked, offering a Whopper to a Jain and making her cry, the ethics of eating pork, epiphenomenology, life being more complex than we think, our complicity in suffering and death, having permission to be screwed up and working on it, polyamorous elements in the periodic table,...

Tony chats with hunter, angler, and essayist Johnny Carrol Sain about Mississippi pot roast, flying with elk meat, the danger of removing ourselves from the processes of the world, the inevitability of being eaten when we die, feeling things deeply, weeping over dead deer, hunting as core to who we are, becoming intimate with the animals we kill, and more.Read Johnny's writings at https://jcarrolsain.substack.com/, read his essay "To the Bone" here:...

Tony talks with Bob Herbst, who had a legendary career in conservation, culminating as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Tony talks with Bob about keeping Minnesota green, denying an airport in Ham Lake, protecting Lake Superior from taconite tailings, taking a sauna with Sigurd Olson, conservation as a never-ending process, Sigurd's writing shack, Jimmy Carter tying his own flies, protecting 115 million acres in Alaska, growing up in a family of Lutheran pastors, great...

Tony sits down with Aaron Hebeisen, Chapter Coordinator of IA, IL, MN, MO, and WI for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. They discuss growing up in Mora, Minnesota, the awesomeness of Irish Setter boots, deer camp traditions, canoe hunting, elk hunting, finding God inside and outside of church, assortments of ball caps, vegetarians vs. veterinarians, hitting the pipe, and a big announcement about BHA Rendezvous coming to Minnesota! Learn more about Aaron and BHA at...

Tony talks with outdoorsman, writer, and marine, Russell Worth Parker, about marine vs. Marine, "might could," pulling items out of dogs' anuses, writing without a pitch letter, doing this thing that thing and the other thing, becoming a writer, the military-civilian gap, the lack of battle epiphanies, how military and clergy are similar, not understanding the misery of war, and much, much more. Find Worth at https://russellworthparker.com/, read his essays from Garden & Gun at...

Jason Micheli is a Methodist pastor, podcast host, Substacker, and author of Cancer Is Funny. He talks with Tony about living with cancer, not being able to hear animals scream, the end that will summarize the story of you, our modern cathedrals, when the science ends and the dying begins, discovering that the Bible is interesting, becoming more Christian, the war in Israel, the astonishing pristineness the BWCA, the difference between exercise and labor, and much more.Find Jason at...

Tony's guest is Rev. Dr. Todd Littleton, a Baptist pastor in Oklahoma. Todd joined Tony on a canoe trip to the BWCA recently, and they talk about their shared experiences, paddling for the first time in 50 years, the importance of pilgrimage, lakes and trees and stillness and quiet, how hard it is to describe the BWCA, uncontrollability, finding subversive things, a long obedience in the same direction, and more.Find Todd at https://www.toddlittleton.net/, and find Rosa's book on...

Jessica Carew Kraft is the author of "Why We Need to be Wild: One Woman's Quest for Ancient Answers to 21st Century Problems." Tony talks with her about watching her mother die of MS, the epiphany of a beehive, what it means for a species to be successful, the rewilding movement, living like the Pleistocene, being called by ancestral wisdom, converting to Judaism then away from it, the importance of social ties, when kids discover the wonder, how the whole idea of the world is a little...

Tony talks with fly fisherman and essayist, David N. McIlvaney, about growing up in a Canadian steel town, a grandfather who was conscripted into the Russian army, the strike of a salmon and death, picking up a flyrod at age 50, a cabin the Catskills, being peers with nature, Andy Griffith experiences, a thousand ways not to shoot a deer, how standing in a river is redemptive, and more. Read David's essay, "A More Perfect Day of Fishing" here:...