Life’s Tough, Explorers Are TOUGHER!
“Exploring is an innate part of being human.” Richard Wiese, spends 30 minutes every week with some of the world’s most compelling adventurers, explorers, and socio-environmental advocates, listening to their distinct adventures, unique discoveries, projects & goals, while discovering their multitude of challenges, surprises, triumphs and set-backs they encounter along the way. Join Richard as he pulls back the curtain on what it’s like to travel around the world and beyond; explore some of the most exotic and often dangerous places; and uncover what makes people, places and our planet so special.
Episodes
22 episodes
Susan Baur & her Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage
In this episode of Life's Tough, Explorers are Tougher, host Richard Wiese dives into conversation with Susan Baur, founder of Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage. What began as a personal effort to clean Cape Cod ponds evolved ...
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23:40
Brendan Hall: Storytelling and the National Parks
In this episode of Life's Tough, Explorers are Tougher, host Richard Wiese welcomes filmmaker, photographer, and Explorers Club 50 honoree Brendan Hall. Brendan shares how his childhood passion for filming led him to a career as a documentary f...
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30:28
Way Out There: J.R. Harris's Solo Trekker Journey
In this episode of Life's Tough, Explorers are Tougher, host Richard Wiese talks with J.R. Harris, veteran solo trekker and author of Way Out There. J.R. shares how a kid from Queens, New York, became a lifelong wilder...
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19:35
Forager to Chef: Chrissy Tracey's Plant-Based Story
In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher!, host Richard Wiese welcomes Chrissy Tracey—vegan chef, forager, sustainability advocate, and author of Forage & Feast. Chrissy shares ...
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27:42
Life with Orangutans: Dr. Birute Galdikas
Dr. Birute Galdikas has dedicated over 50 years of her life to studying and protecting orangutans in the rainforests of Borneo. As one of the legendary “Trimates” chosen by Louis Leakey — alongside Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey — Birute helped p...
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23:01
Brad Lidge: From World Series to Ancient World Ruins
Brad Lidge is known for his dominance on the mound during the 2008 MLB postseason—but what most people don’t know is what came next. In this game-changing episode of Life's Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wi...
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28:39
Brandi DeCarli: The Revolutionary Farmer
In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, Brandi DeCarli, co-founder of Farm from a Box, shares her radical approach to fighting food production inefficiencies using clean, climate-smart technology and co...
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22:54
Sea Serpents to Science: Adrian Shine’s Loch Ness Journey
In this episode of Life’s Tough: Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wiese journeys across Scotland’s legendary Loch Ness with renowned naturalist and monster hunter turned scientist, Adrian Shine.Adrian’...
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21:54
Held Hostage in Iran: Morad Tahbaz's Journey
Wildlife biologist and conservationist Morad Tahbaz joins host Richard Wiese to share his harrowing story of being wrongfully imprisoned in Iran. Accused of espionage while on a conservation mission, Morad endured solitary confinement, torture,...
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25:14
Christian Rutz: From Tool-Making Crows to Conservation
In this enlightening episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wiese speaks with Christian Rutz, an animal-tracking pioneer who has spent decades studying the tool-using behavior of birds—especially the brilliant New Caledoni...
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24:21
The Wasp Whisperer
Entomologist and UCL professor Dr. Seirian Sumner joins host Richard Wiese to challenge everything you think you know about wasps. While most people see them as pests, Seirian makes the compelling case that wasps are unsung heroes of our ecosys...
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29:47
Yosemite Ranger Revives Legacy of Buffalo Soldiers
In this moving episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wiese sits down with Shelton Johnson, a longtime Yosemite park ranger and passionate storyteller who has spent decades inspiring visitors to reconnect w...
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24:52
How Studying Venus Might Help Save Earth
In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wiese sits down with planetary scientist Dr. Paul Byrne to explore one of the most misunderstood worlds in our solar system: Venus.Ofte...
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23:21
Wildlife DJ Highlights Nature’s Majestic Sounds
Exploration isn’t just about where you go—it’s about how you listen.In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, Ben Mirin, an explorer, wildlife DJ, artist, and naturalist, shares how he’s mer...
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28:16
Secretary of the Interior & the Badlands
In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wiese sits down with U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum—former Governor of North Dakota, entrepreneur, and advocate for resilience in explor...
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22:58
The Holistic Conservationist
Saving the planet isn’t just about science—it’s about storytelling, indigenous knowledge, and even art.In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, Dr. Natalie Schmitt shares why conservation n...
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36:04
Endangered Fashion
Exploration isn’t just about venturing into new landscapes—it’s also about uncovering the deeper stories behind cultures, traditions, and creativity. In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard...
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30:40
Mission to Mars with Nina Lanza
Exploration doesn’t stop at Earth’s borders—it reaches into the stars. In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, Dr. Nina Lanza, a planetary scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, takes us on a jour...
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20:54
My Big Amazonian Family
What happens when an explorer’s greatest discovery is himself?In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wiese speaks with David Good, an explorer, anthropologist, and founder of...
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39:26
Into the Wilderness with RFK Jr.
Exploration comes in many forms—sometimes it’s venturing into the unknown, and sometimes it’s unearthing the past to understand our future. In this episode of Life’s Tough, Explorers Are Tougher, host Richard Wiese sit...
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8:40