The Joy Trip Project

  If you haven’t figured it out yet, a big part of this program is trying to figure out what makes people happy. Personally I believe happiness isn’t just something that happens. I think we all try to create things in our lives that bring us joy. But as Benjamin Frankly once said The Constitution guarantees all Americans the right to pursue happiness but it’s up to each of us catch it. I learned that quote from my friend Los Angeles filmmaker Roko Belic. At the 2011 Mountain Film Festival in Telluride Colorado he shared with me his latest project a movie he calls Happy.   “The way that I got into making Happy is very simple,” Belic said. “A friend of mine named Tom Shadyack called me and said that he had read an article in the New York Times that compares countries in terms of happiness. And this article said that although America is one of the richest countries it’s nowhere near the happiest. And Tom said ‘you know this is something I’ve been thinking about because I live in Hollywood and I’m surrounded by very successful wealthy, talented people who’ve essentially achieved an exaggerated version of the American dream and yet many of them are not happy. So we should get to the bottom of this and explore happiness in a documentary film.’ And I said Absolutely. Sounds amazing!” So Belic spent more than four years traveling the world to explore many different cultures and communities. Along the way asked several leading experts in the science of human behavior exactly what it means to happy. And through the making of this film he discovered for himself and those of us in the audience a few simple answers to one of life’s most complicated questions. The film Happy by Roko Belic isnow  in festival and special screening distribution. For more information visit www.thehappymovie.com. Music this week by Jake Shimabukur The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia  

The transformational power of bicycles is the subject of a new film by brothers Jacob & Isaac Seigel-Boettner. “With My Own Two Wheels” takes us on a ride through the developing world to see how these simple mechanical devices are changing peoples’ lives. Though here in the U.S. we take for granted the ease of going from place to place by car, the filmmakers demonstrate that bicycles offer for many living in poverty a way out. Co-director Jacob Seigel-Boettner said his project was an opportunity to connect with real people around the world with real stories about their bikes. “We were incredibly lucky to find all of these not only great characters,” he said “but people who were willing to let us follow them around with a camera wherever and however long we wanted to.” With a recent showing at the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride and now in private screening distribution, the 44-minute film depicts the stories of five individuals, each with a different spin on how bikes empower them. [vimeo]16567383[/vimeo] “We started with World Bicycle Relief,” said Jacob Seigel-Boettner . “With work I had done in the bike industry, I knew they were not only the largest but the most sustainable bike development organization in terms of distributing bikes, and training mechanics and making sure that it was done right.” So the directors built a story around five people for whom bicycles made a big difference. Fred is a caregiver from Zambia who rides from village to village visiting aids patients. Carlos is the inventor of pedal-powered device called the bicimaniquina that offers a small-scale industrial alternative to diesel-fueled machines. Sharkey in Santa Barbara California avoids life in gangs working in a neighborhood bike shop called Bici Centro. In India a young girl named Bharati gets an education thanks to a local program called Ashta No Kai that provides bicycles for her and her friends to ride to school. And Mirriam is a polio-stricken bike mechanic in Ghana. “I know that her life is changed by it. I know that she now sees herself in the world as an influential person,” said David Branigan of Bikes Not Bombs. “She sees herself as having skills that other people don’t have that are a value to her community and even to the world.” After a run on the festival circuit the filmmakers plan to provide young people with teaching materials to learn how bicycles can benefit society. “We believe the bicycle is something that kids cannot only learn from but they all get at that age,” said Seigel-Boettner . “And it’s not a really complicated development intervention that takes a lot of explaining. It’s something that’s very tangible and the film makes sense to them. So we feel through the film we really want kids when they’re getting car keys to really think about the bike in a different way and realize how it can impact their lives and impact their peers around the world.” For more information visit www.withmyowntwowheels.org. The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia

01 Lee Stetson 1 Yosemite Valley California, president day: I’m walking with my recorder along a wooded path with a long bearded man wearing period clothing circa 1890, a tweed coat, a wool vest with a red pocket square and wide brimmed hat. Ahead of us is Yosemite Falls, a massive flowage of water running white and fast, churning with melted snow from the high country upstream. The man describes a fanciful vision of what we see. "Can you imagine? Can you imagine if in the midst of its headlong descent with all this whirling fairy springtime spray and those rushing comet tails that the fall was suddenly frozen solid and then carried bodily out into the middle of the valley that we might go around it and see it from all sides in the sunshine,” he says. “Oh was a show it would make. This colossal white pillar half a mile tall adorned with airy flowing drapery as if chiseled out of white marble.” Who better with whom to tour one of America’s greatest National Parks than the man himself John Muir. As if transported back in time I had the rare opportunity to get his impressions on Yosemite today. “Look at these high granite walls lying about 5,000 feet above sea level. With all the plant people and fellow mortals this good planet provides in this particular place makes it a very sacred place indeed,” he says. “It’s a true temple, a temple I think people would need to thrive in. And those who visit it now-a-days will have an opportunity to because it’s been persevered for so long and so carefully by so many. It is a great pleasure indeed to have it remain for all of us for our own health and vigor.” Our National Parks began as idea. They are monuments to the notion that all people no matter their degree of wealth, social status, race or ethnicity have a fundamental right to commune with natural world and receive the life affirming benefits of wild and scenic places. Today we visit Yosemite and talk to historian and actor Lee Stetson who in voice of John Muir explains why our National Parks are indeed America’s best idea. Stetson appears as the voice and image of John Muir the PBS television documentary film series “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” by Ken Burns. To find out when the series will air in your community visit PBS.org/kenburns.   Music this week by the Conductive Alliance The Joy Trip Project is made possible thanks to support of our sponsor Patagonia.

Now that spring is in the air it’s time to start thinking about that next great road trip. In the coming weeks I’ll pack up the Jetta and head out on a tour of the adventure media and film festivals. Looking for stories that celebrate the active lifestyle and environmental conservation I’ll be reporting from the 5Points Festival in Carbondale Colorado and then the Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride. But as I’m making my plans I can’t help but think about how much our nation has changed over the past half century. Last year at Mountain Film I met a man who helped me put the freedom of road travel into a different perspective. Earnest “Rip” Patton is from Nashville, Tennessee. He’s considered an historian and a civil rights activist of the last 50s and early 60s.  Fifty years ago Rip was among first wave of student activists who road on buses into the Southern United States in the spring of 1961. Called the Freedom Rides the plan was to organize demonstrations in protest of racial segregation. “We were at the time when the Freedom Rides were first started by CORE Congress of Racial Equality on May 4th 1961 we were trying to desegregate the movie theaters downtown,” Rip said. The protesters came south to challenge the laws that prevented blacks and whites from using common public facilities like lunch counters, swimming pools and yes movie theaters. That bus trip through the south was met with hostility and violence. Most of the Freedom Riders were put jail, many were badly beaten and several of them were killed. Ironically Rip is telling me his story at a festival where a film depicting events of his life called the Freedom Riders had just premiered. Fifty years earlier he and his friends struggled through the spring of 1961 simply for the right to even be in the audience. Last year at Mountain Film in Telluride I talked to Rip about his experience as a Freedom Rider. At this celebration of adventure culture it seemed all too appropriate to showcase a film based our recent history where travel played such an important role. I also connected with German-American artist Charlotta Janssen who had on display an amazing gallery show of paintings based on the mug shots of the arrested protesters. Despite great opposition Rip and the Freedom Riders held their ground. Through non-violent protests they successfully lead the charge to desegregate the south and inspire a new generation to demand their civil rights. It’s only because of the sacrifices they made that any of us can enjoy the freedom to travel that we do today.   Music this week  by blues guitarist Big Bill Broonzy The Joy Trip Project is made possible thanks to the support of our sponsor Patagonia

Millions of people around the world have read the bestselling book Three Cups of Tea. Written by David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortenson it’s the amazing true story of one man’s journey to turn a failed attempt to climb K2 into an international movement for peace. Working to build schools in the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan Greg Mortenson has inspired the production of a one-man play about his life starring Curtis Nielson. A Literature to Life production of The American Place Theater This stage adaptation of the popular book brings to life the spirit of exploration that delves to find the common threads of humanity that bind us all together. Three Cups of Tea is playing to captivated audiences across North America. This one-man show is a dramatic and heartwarming reenactment of the book. But Curtis Nielson’s portrayal of Greg Mortenson is a story in itself. In this interview recorded at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Alberta, Canada Curtis tells us how his journey as actor has led him to discover many wonderful gifts on the stage of life. Music this week by the Ahn Trio and Jake Shimabukuro The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia

There are plenty of people out there talking about climate change. But how many are actually doing something about it. Even those of us who spend a lot of time outdoors can be guilty of contributing to the destruction of the natural environment we love. We fly in jets from place to place for the sake of adventure. And many of us are still driving low gas mileage carbon emitting SUVs. Our active lifestyles can put a really hurting on the planet. So that’s why we can all  take a few lessons from professional skier and environmental advocate Alison Gannett. “I went to school for climate change and majored in education for environmental issues. And then I went to school for solar design for alternative home building,” she said. “At the same time I had a professional skiing career, doing crazy things like the X-Games and jumping off cliffs for a living.” But while she had two careers running parallel to one another Gannett suffered a devastating crash at the X-Game. Because she was badly injured and unable to compete several of her sponsors immediately dropped her. And that got Gannett to thinking. “I realized how shallow a lot of my ski industry sponsors were,” she said. “I decided wouldn’t it be cool to partner with companies that have more at stake and care more about than just selling clothing.” Though many of the competitors and colleagues though she was crazy for chasing the more lucrative sponsorship deals Gannett changed her professional priorities to work instead with companies who share her environmentally conscious values. “I want to chase ethics,” she said. “I want to work with companies that have the same beliefs that I do.” It turns out that there are plenty of sponsors out there willing to support Gannett’s mission to raise awareness for the ongoing crisis of climate change. Blending her interests in sustainable living and an active lifestyle, she’s proven to be a very effective spokesperson for both. “As an athlete getting older I’d have to say that I have better sponsor relationships now than I ever did,” she said. “And now working with the Save Our Snow Foundation and working with schools, working with Congress, working with the White House I’m saving our snow, saving our planet and making the world a better place.” Allison Gannett is the kind of adventure athlete that walks her talk. While still leading an exciting life as a professional skier she’s making a big difference in educating the general public on the realities of climate change. And Through her work at the Save Our Snow Foundation and on her own organic farm in Colorado she’s showing us what we each can to do to slow it down. Music this week by Jake Shimabukuro The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia Special thanks to The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market

Any photographer will tell you, seeing is believing. But when it comes to climate change, a long slow process that occurs over time, its difficult to capture a single image that demonstrates the sheer magnitude of this global crisis. Even though the most obvious and apparent result of our warming planet is the recession of glacial ice, in some of the most remote places in the world it’s hard to truly show how relatively quickly and dramatically that ice is melting. So photographer James Balog came up with a plan to record the progress of climate change by taking a series of pictures from specific locations near glaciers over the course of several months. "We have time-lapse cameras installed permanently at these various glaciers in Greenland, Iceland, Montana, Alaska and soon to be around Mount Everest," Balog said. "And these cameras shoot every half hour around the clock as long as it’s daylight and they’re looking down on these glaciers that are changing and we make this visual record of the landscape in flux." Called the Extreme Ice Survey these images around the world shot on tripods show the cascade of glacial ice as it forms and then melts. The passage of time is quickly sped up to show the pace of change and its apparent progress. "These cameras shoot all year long and we sometimes don’t get back for a year or more to download the images," Balog said. "But once we get the pictures we run them through video post production and turn them into a film clip showing the landscape as it changed over that previous period of time. In these film clips glacial ice melts at a rate consistent with the human perception of time. Weeks and then months literally pass in the blink of an eye. As Balog’s cameras watch around the clock his images are making an enduring record of melting glaciers that are amazing and a bit frightening to behold. The images that James Balog and his team continue to capture through the Extreme Ice Survey offer compelling proof of receding glaciers around world. This evidence on a global scale is clear to see and even the most skeptical deniers of climate change may come to believe. Music this week by Jake Shimabukuro The Joy Trip Project is made possible with the support of sponsor Patagonia Special thanks to The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market

  An interview with executive director Shannon Galpin In her travels through Afghanistan the locals call Shannon Galpin the blond, blue-eyed infidel. At 36 this mountain bike racer from Breckenridge, Colorado makes her way through active war zones waging peace. As the executive director of her own non-governmental organization called Mountain 2 Mountain Shannon works on behalf of vulnerable women and children caught in the crossfire. “Our focus is to look at women in Afghanistan as beyond the victims but as the solutions and as the agents of change, “ Shannon said “and that these women that we are trying to work with through education and training are truly the solutions for the country.” Afghanistan has been a place of violent conflict for more than 40 years and with U.S. Troops on the ground now for almost a decade ordinary people, with no special training like Shannon are getting involved trying to find a peaceful solution. “I started traveling over there two or three years ago. I have spent time living in the middle east,” Shannon said. “I lived in Lebanon and traveled throughout the Middle East for a couple of years and I have always connected with the regions that have the worst human rights, that have the worst gender equity rights.” A single mother with a daughter at home Shannon is like many American women frustrated with the plight of people here at home and half a world away who suffer largely because of their gender. “What I realized was that I was ranting a lot and I was upset about it, and it was old adage of be the change that you want to see in the world,” Shannon said, and instead of complaining I should just get off my ass and do it.” So Shannon took action. No kidding. She sold her house and started a non-profit that goes directly to serve women and children in Afghanistan. Mountain 2 Mountain provides education and pre-natal opportunities that empower women to take control of their lives. And with stable households where children, boys and girls, are encouraged to go to school how much more likely are the prospects of peace in the future? “I want to see ripple effects in Afghanistan that effect the ability of women to have control over their destiny,” Shannon said. You can’t help but be inspired by Shannon’s story. Hers is the kind of narrative that makes this program so much fun and really an honor to produce. But while I was piecing together the sound clips for today’s episode I came across a piece of information that we didn’t discuss in our interview. So I had to get Shannon on the phone and have her take me back to something that happened almost 20 years ago. “When I was 17 I had moved to Minneapolis right after high school graduation,” Shannon said. “And I decided that I was going to pursue a career as a dancer and was basically working and living in downtown Minneapolis.” She had left her home in North Dakota to begin a life dramatically different than the one she leads today. But something happened in Minneapolis that changed the course of her destiny. “I was working late one night and instead of taking the bus that I should have taken I took an earlier bus, which dropped me off on the far side of a park,” she said. “And through a series of, looking back now bad choices or bad decisions I walked through the park and I was attacked.” To put it bluntly Shannon was raped. A stranger wearing a ski mask caring a knife brutally assaulted her and left her for dead. Though she survived and reassembled the shattered piece of her, Shannon would come to realize that even though she put that chapter of her life in the past her journey through it was far from over. Music this week by new contributing artist

An interview with the founder of the D.C. Central Kitchen In the spirit of charitable giving Robert Egger is leading the charge in America to show that philanthropy and looking out for the best interest of others can be business as usual. Dedicated to feeding the homeless and providing job training for the formerly incarcerated Egger’s work at the D.C. Central Kitchen serves the poor in our nation’s capital. In cooperation with restaurants and catering business, the D.C. Kitchen collects more than 3,000 pounds of surplus food each day. The non-profit makes 4,500 meals that are distributed to over 100 shelters, transitional housing facilities and rehabilitation centers throughout the Washington D.C. area. And Robert Egger travels the country giving talks on the value of philanthropic giving as an engine for social change. At the D.C. Central Kitchen Egger is using food to build stronger communities, combating hunger while creating opportunities. The Joy Trip Project is made possible through the generous support of our sponsor Patagonia. Check out their latest new media projects and conservation initiatives at their blog the cleanest line.com.

After a long career as a professional skier and BASE jumper Karina Hollekim was living her dream. In 2006 at the paragliding world cup in Switzerland she and a group of friends were invited to do an exhibition jump. It was just going to be a routine flight in wing suits sailing away from an airplane to entertain a crowd of thousands below. Flying high overhead Karina couldn’t have been more happy. "I was there with friends I was having fun and everything was just perfect," she said. Karina made the jump from a small plane and carved  turns through the sky in her wing suit. As she flew  she filmed the others with a camera mounted on her helmet. "I could see the smile on the face of my friend and everything was great. I was suppose to open the parachute and land on the grassy field in front of the spectators. I could hear the clapping and roaring from the thousands of spectators underneath," she said. "And then a split second later I realized that something had gone wrong. And 15 seconds later my life was changed forever." When Karina pulled the ripcord her parachute deployed, but there was a malfunction. "I had what we call a line-over and when you have this it’s impossible to control the canopy and it starts spinning," she said. "I spun uncontrollably toward the ground at more than 100 kilometers an hour." With no way to break her fall she hit the ground, her body sprawled across a huge boulder. "And normally I think big rocks are something you don’t want to hit. But I think actually this particular rock saved my life. Because by hitting this rock it crushed everything that I had from my hips on down. I had four fractures in my left leg, left femur. I had broken knees. I had 21 open fractures in my right thigh. But it saved by back and it saved my head and therefore I was still alive. Despite these devastating injuries Karina Hollekim survived. And in the years that followed she forged an incredible journey to not only recover physically, but reclaim much of the life she loved while going on to inspire others. Music this week by new contributing artist Cheryl B. Englehardt The Joy Trip Project is made possible through the generous support of our sponsor Patagonia. Check out their latest new media projects and conservation initiatives at their blog the cleanest line.com.

An interview with the author Greg Mortenson It’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for 197 weeks. The book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin continues to engage and inspire millions of people around world. This story of one man’s journey to build schools for children in the most remote regions Pakistan and Afghanistan has helped to forge a better understanding of how to encourage peace and cooperation where there has been only war and armed conflict for decades. But when I met with Mortenson at the MountainFilm Festival in Telluride Colorado he shared with me his latest project. “The second book I wrote, Stones Into Schools, is more about Afghanistan," he said in an interview. "It’s also about the lessons I learned in Three Cups of Tea about empowering the people, listening to the elders, about really letting the people themselves do the work. So I tried in the to really show that people themselves can be empowered.” Stones Into Schools isn’t just a sequel to a popular piece of non-fiction. It’s a testament to the impact one person can make in the lives of others. By providing the people of Afghanistan with the tools they need to help themselves, Mortenson is doing more than building schools. He’s paving a long road toward a world that lives in peace. A short documentary called Stones Into Schools based on the new book is currently part of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. Stones into Schools - Watch more Videos at Vodpod. Music this week by Chad Farran The Joy Trip Project is made possible through the generous support of our sponsor Patagonia. Check out their latest new media projects and conservation initiatives at their blog the cleanest line.com.

An interview with Sender Films producers Nick Rosen and Peter Mortimer I just got back from the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Held every year in November at the Banff Center in Alberta, Canada this celebration of alpine culture marks the end of one adventure season and the beginning of the next. After putting in time at the MountainFilm Festival Telluride and few other events throughout the year I’ve had the chance to see a lot of movies about athletes and explorers pushing the boundaries of the human experience. But one film in particular hits really close home. Called Point of No Return this movie for television produced by Sender Films depicts of lives of guys I once knew who died tragically in the pursuit of a dream. Climbers Jonny Copp and Micah Dash with cameraman Wade Johnson were killed in the making of this film. While making their retreat from a failed attempt to climb Mount Edgar in western China, a devastating avalanche swept through the region to claim their lives.  With footage recovered with their bodies the movie Point of No Return is a tribute to three men who paid the ultimate price to follow their passion for adventure. I had the opportunity to talk to producers Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen to discuss both the risks and the consequences of a lifestyle that is often fraught with danger. Is it worth it living life on the edge? Point of No Return - First Ascent from Mountainfilm in Telluride on Vimeo. The film Point of No Return is part of the First Ascent Series produced by Sender Films in Cooperation with National Geographic. You get The Six Episode DVD Box Set on line at www.Senderfilms.com Music this week by Jake Shimabukuro The Joy Trip Project is made possible thanks the generous support of sponsor Patagonia. Check out their latest new media  projects and conservation initiatives at their blog www.thecleanestline.com.

An all inclusive adventure for the disabled only I’m packing my bags and taking this show on the road. And you’re wondering, so what’s new? James you travel all the time. That’s right. I do. The Joy Trip Project is all about venturing out into the wide world and finding those stories about people who are doing what they can to make a difference, to make the world a better place. But this time, it’s just a bit different. This time, I’m going to Africa. You’ll find out why exactly I’m going intercontinental in an upcoming edition. So stay tuned. But yesterday, and I mean while I’m sorting my socks and underwear I get a text message from my friend adventure filmmaker and a true Joy Tripper Dominic Gill. You’ve met him on the show before. Dom’s from the United Kingdom, the UK. He’s riding his bike across the country from LA to New York on a trip he calls The Dom & Ernie Project. And on my iPhone it says: James we just crossed into Wisconsin. We’ll be in Madison tonight. Believe it or not, I dropped everything. Cleared my schedule and made plans, because Dom and I just had to visit. And for you my loyal listeners I just had to bring you his story. Because Dom’s not just riding across the country, that’s been done to death. Just like before in the last story he’s riding a tandem bicycle and all along the way he’s picking up people, random strangers to come along on the ride. Before when he road 20,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina he’d pick up just about anyone. But this time he’s only bringing along people with a disability. "We had Ryan with traumatic brain injury. Then we had Carlos who is visually impaired. The after that we had two brothers, Warren and Chad Woodbury who had muscular dystrophy," Dominic said. "And then 59-year-old Kelly Lane who has Parkinson’s disease, he jumped on. And then he switched out with Rachel who has Cerebral Palsy and she’s just cycled 250-miles from Minneapolis where she lives to here." These are people with profound disabilities, people who under normal circumstances would never have the opportunity to take part in such an amazing adventure. And yet thanks to the Dom & Ernie Project Dominic and his crew Alonzo and Nadia, these disabled cyclists are getting out and experiencing the world. They’re traveling hundreds of miles in a way they may have never dreamed of before. Listen to the first Dominic Gill interview on the Joy Trip Project: Take A Seat Music by Chad Farran and The Ahn Trio The Joy Trip Project is bought to you thanks to  sponsors  Patagonia, Osprey, Clik Elite and Mountain Hardwear. Their generous support makes this latest series of stories possible. Support us by supporting them

An interview with author Jennifer Jordan In 1939 Dudley Wolfe was on one of the earliest expeditions to reach the summit of K2. An adventurer and one of the wealthiest men in the world he was left for dead with a rescue team of Sherpa after a devastating avalanche. Some say he was the victim of his own foolishness, others say he was abandoned by the members of his climbing party as they fled the mountain to save their own lives. And even though his body has been found there remains a great deal of controversy around Wolfe’s death that continues to this day. In her book “The Last Man on the Mountain” Jennifer Jordan gives us a close look into life of an American adventurer and the first to die on K2. This interview with the Jennifer Jordan was recorded on location at the Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado. The book Last Man on the Mountain is now out in hardcover. You can find more information online, visit jenniferjordan.net. Music this week by the Dave Mathews Band. This podcast is brought to you thank to generous support of our sponsor Patagonia. We don’t take money from just anyone. Sponsors of the Joy Trip Project support our mission of an active lifestyle through outdoor recreation and community involvement. Support us by supporting them. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this podcast help spread the word by posting a link to it on your Facebook page. Or send it as a tweet to your followers on Twitter. Social media is vibrant exchange of ideas join the conversation by becoming engage. Post your comments the Joy Trip Project blog or send us an email to info@Joy Trip Project.com. Share your stories. share your passion for outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, acts of charitable giving, and practices of sustainable living. You just might inspire our next Joy Trip together. But most of all don’t forget to tell your friends. Until next time take care.

I know. It’s been a long time since the last audio edition of The Joy Trip Project. But if you’ve been following the blog and the Facebook page you’ll know that I’ve been traveling on an extend Joy Trip. I just got back. Over the past several weeks of summer I’ve been conducting interviews and collecting stories about people and institutions hard at work making the world a better place. I know that sounds like hyperbole or so vague that it sounds almost meaningless. But there’s really no other way for me to describe the athletes, artist and activists who find their way on this show. Yeah I know we talk a lot about climbing mountains or making movies about people who climb mountains or base jumping or kayaking or whatever, the point is these people work at protecting the planet and improving the lives of others by being actively engaged in the world in which they live. Through their stories about their adventures they stand as an example of how each of us can make a difference in the course our own lives and perhaps do some good. A few weeks ago I was at the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride. And if you’ve ever been you’ll know this annual celebration of adventure culture through cinema is about a lot more than high altitude thrill rides and adrenaline induced mayhem. The collected speakers, authors, and filmmakers give us a look from their perspective into the many complex questions of life. One of the presenters and judge in the film competition was the actress Anna Deavere Smith. And while she’s not a climber or a skier or any type of outdoor professional through the power of storytelling she has the ability show us a glimpse into the lives others who ponder these same questions. As part of her research to develop characters for Let Me Down Easy Ms. Smith interviewed a 340 people at the Yale School of Medicine facing their own mortality as they navigate their way through the American healthcare system. This isn’t the kind of story I usually do on the Project. But I felt this presentation is important because those of us who lead healthy, down right vigorous active lives probably never think about how people in our community, probably people you know deal with chronic illness. And I’m sure few enough of us realize how much courage it takes to stare death in the face when retreat is not an option. This edition of the Joy Trip Project is dedicated to the memory of Public Radio Producer Carolyn Jensen Chadwick who passed away as this piece was in production. She and her husband Alex Chadwick, the producers of National Geographic Radio Expeditions on NPR, inspired the creation of this program. And for that we will always be grateful. Music this week by Chad Farran and Chris Isaak. The Joy Trip Project is brought to thanks to the generous support of our sponsor Patagonia makers fine outdoor clothing. I’m thrilled to report that they’ve signed on for another year. So again Thank you! Find them online at Patagonia.com. -- This podcast is brought to you thank to generous support of our sponsor Patagonia. We don’t take money from just anyone. Sponsors of the Joy Trip Project support our mission of an active lifestyle through outdoor recreation and community involvement. Support us by supporting them. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this podcast help spread the word by posting a link to it on your Facebook page.