Podcasts

Assessing Greatness: The Art & Craft of Tennis, Great Sports Writing, & Top 5 Lists (Ep.31)

Assessing Greatness: The Art & Craft of Tennis, Great Sports Writing, & Top 5 Lists (Ep.31)

by
Today’s conversation explores the broader question of how to assess greatness? To get there, Jonathan and Troy Russ discuss the art & craft of tennis (and whether it is the greatest of all sports?); the art & craft of great sports writing (and whether David Foster Wallace’s essay, Roger Federer as Religious Experience is the pinnacle of the form). Then we discuss Troy’s Top 5 all-time tennis players, which serves to help us assess greatness in any sport.
Ep.269 OpenSnow’s Joel Gratz on Smoke Forecasting, Wildfire Tracking, Common Mistakes, & Best Practices for Adventuring Outdoors

OpenSnow’s Joel Gratz on Smoke Forecasting, Wildfire Tracking, Common Mistakes, & Best Practices for Adventuring Outdoors (Ep.268)

by
Before you head out to bike, hike, run, camp, or climb, wildfire, lightning, and smoke exposure are factors that need to be well understood. OpenSnow founder and meteorologist, Joel Gratz explains the science of smoke forecasting and wildfire tracking, and shares some of the most common mistakes and best practices for adventuring outdoors.
Deviate Cycles on High-Pivot Bikes, Onshoring Production, & the Lowlander Prototype (Ep.177)

Deviate Cycles on High-Pivot Bikes, Onshoring Production, & the Lowlander Prototype (Ep.177)

by
High-pivot Trail bikes are becoming increasingly common, but Deviate Cycles was a pioneer of that trend, and we sat down with Deviate co-founder Ben Jones to talk about why they went that direction when few companies were; gearboxes & mass adoption of new ideas; onshoring production & their wild Lowlander 3D-printed titanium and carbon fiber prototype; & a whole lot more.
On our latest Blister Podcast, we ask the question: Why do we need centers of art in mountain towns and places of great natural beauty? It’s a question that any of us who live in or visit mountain towns ought to consider — and perhaps especially if you are someone who hasn’t typically sought out the art programming and events in the mountain towns you frequent. Last week, Jonathan was in Sun Valley, Idaho, to discuss this topic with Courtney Gilbert, the curator of the Sun Valley Museum of Art. They also discuss the history of the arts in Sun Valley; the current work of the SV Museum of Art; and the Sun Valley Wine Auction, which is a remarkable event put on by the Sun Valley Museum of Art to raise scholarship funds and to support a very broad range of arts in and around Sun Valley — and beyond.

Art & the Outdoors (Ep.267)

by
Why do we need centers of art in mountain towns and places of great natural beauty? It’s a question that any of us who live in or visit mountain towns ought to consider, and Jonathan discusses it with Courtney Gilbert, the curator of the Sun Valley Museum of Art.
When it comes to gear, how do you balance the specific needs of world-class athletes with those of average skiers and riders? In this conversation from Blister Summit 2023, McKenna Petersen (K2 athlete), Drew Peterson (Salomon athlete), Tyler Curle (Moment athlete & ski builder), and Jed Yeiser (K2 engineer) discuss exactly that, plus a whole lot more.

Athletes & Product Design (Ep.252)

by
When it comes to gear, how do you balance the specific needs of world-class athletes with those of average skiers and riders? In this conversation from Blister Summit 2023, McKenna Petersen (K2 athlete), Drew Peterson (Salomon athlete), Tyler Curle (Moment athlete & ski builder), and Jed Yeiser (K2 engineer) discuss exactly that, plus a whole lot more.
Odds are that just about every piece of clothing you own has been applied with some sort of surface treatment, and those (typically petroleum-based) treatments contribute to a significant portion of the apparel industry’s already massive carbon footprint. With their recent collaboration, Beyond Surface Technologies and WNDR Alpine are changing that. On GEAR:30, we get the whole story.

Rethinking Apparel: WNDR Alpine & Beyond Surface Technologies (Ep.251)

by
Odds are that just about every piece of clothing you own has been applied with some sort of surface treatment, and those (typically petroleum-based) treatments contribute to a significant portion of the apparel industry’s already massive carbon footprint. With their recent collaboration, Beyond Surface Technologies and WNDR Alpine are changing that.
Last week, Jonathan headed to The Crown in Oakland, California, which is the Coffee Lab and Tasting Room of Royal Coffee. He was there to sample experimental coffee drinks, meet with Royal Coffee CEO, Max Nicholas-Fulmer — who’s favorite ski is the Moment Blister Pro — and to discuss the world of specialty “green” (not-yet-roasted) coffee.

Green Beans, Pendulum Swings, & First Crack w/ Royal Coffee CEO, Max Nicholas-Fulmer (Ep.29)

by
Last week, Jonathan headed to The Crown in Oakland, California, which is the Coffee Lab and Tasting Room of Royal Coffee. He was there to sample experimental coffee drinks, meet with Royal Coffee CEO, Max Nicholas-Fulmer — who’s favorite ski is the Moment Blister Pro — and to discuss the world of specialty “green” (not-yet-roasted) coffee.
For decades, Kästle has been making high-end skis for everything from racing to Nordic and skimo. But what sparked their recent launch into the ski boot category? It’s far from a simple process, so on GEAR:30, we talked to Alessandro Speranzoni, Kästle’s global ski boot product engineer, and Alex Pritzlaff, their U.S. product manager, to get all the details on the backstory and latest collection of Kästle ski boots.

Kästle Ski Boots: Origins, Design, & 23/24 Lineup (Ep.250)

by
For decades, Kästle has been making high-end skis for everything from racing to Nordic and skimo. But what sparked their recent launch into the ski boot category? It’s far from a simple process, so we talked to Alessandro Speranzoni, Kästle’s global ski boot product engineer, and Alex Pritzlaff, their U.S. product manager, to get all the details on the backstory and latest collection of Kästle ski boots.
+ More