The Paul Kirtley Podcast

In this episode of my podcast, I speak with Jon McArthur, a Canadian bushcraft instructor and search and rescue practitioner with over two decades of experience in both military and civilian contexts. John shares his journey into bushcraft, including his time learning directly from Mors Kochanski and the influence of Tom Roycraft’s teachings. We discuss key lessons from search and rescue, including lost person behaviour, as well as cold weather survival, pack frame design, and the role of storytelling and First Nations perspectives in teaching and understanding skills of the northern forest.

How do you turn a passion for nature and outdoor skills into a meaningful livelihood? In this episode of The Paul Kirtley Podcast, I’m joined by UK-based bushcraft instructors Jamie Dakota and Adam Logan for a wide-ranging conversation about career paths in bushcraft, building experience, working with others, and the evolving landscape of outdoor education. Whether you’re an aspiring instructor or simply curious about how people make bushcraft a way of life, you’ll find plenty of insight and inspiration here.

Known to millions around the world as Survivorman, Les is a pioneer of survival television and an icon in the outdoor and survival communities. With his groundbreaking series Survivorman, Les redefined the genre by filming and surviving entirely on his own in remote locations and harsh environments. In 2014 Les began recording a 10-part series on Bigfoot. He says it took him places he did not expect to go and gave him perspectives he did not expect to have. And now he's coming back for more. It's an area of backwoods lore and legend he can't leave alone. He joins me on this podcast to talk about why this is such an area of fascination for him and what questions he hopes to answer in his latest film project...

Craig Caudill is Director and Lead Instructor of Nature Reliance School, based in Kentucky, USA. Craig has taught backcountry skills for many years. He's also a seasoned writer, to date being the author of eight books on backcountry skills and knowledge. It was great to finally record an episode of my podcast with Craig as guest, to learn more about his background and teachings. Craig and I actually share some similar philosophies and it was great to riff on these a bit in this episode too...

Dave Holder is a wilderness living skills instructor and wilderness guide based in Canada. He is also a TV survival consultant, being the lead survival and safety consultant on the Alone show on The History Channel. In this podcast episode we get into a wide-ranging conversation which should provide you with insights into long-term survival situations, psychological factors for success, skillsets required, equipment, nutrition and more.

John Boe is a British military veteran with PTSD. In this podcast episode we have a candid discussion about John’s condition, how it manifested itself and how he came to realise he found solace in time spent in nature, especially in the woods. This ultimately led to a second career as a bushcraft instructor, delivering courses through Wildway Bushcraft, based in the South West of the UK. Having John join me on this podcast was also a good opportunity to discuss aspects of John’s experience in establishing himself as a bushcraft instructor and starting his own bushcraft school, and to draw out some broader lessons for those looking for a pathway in bushcraft instruction.

Les Hiddins became well known through his ABC TV series “The Bush Tucker Man”. In 1980 Les had received a Defence Fellowship to research survival in northern Australia and looked heavily into traditional bush foods, with the help and cooperation of Indigenous communities. His work was compiled and used by the Australian military in various forms, including the clever idea of “snack maps”. He was also the principal author of the Australian Army’s military survival manual, published in 1987. Les retired from the Australian Regular Army in 1989 with the rank of Major. In addition to his TV work and writing, he continued to work with the Australian Army Reserve until 2001, working with Indigenous Australian communities in northern Australia. He is still actively researching and sharing his information and we get into this and a whole lot more in this podcast episode….

Bruce Zawalsky is a professional wilderness survival instructor and author, with over 25 years of experience as an outdoor educator. He teaches survival courses, wildlife and bear awareness courses as well as wilderness navigation. Here in Podcast 48, Bruce talks with me about all these subjects and more, which have much wider application than just in his native Canada....

Canadian outdoor educator and author Kevin Callan joins me to talk about nature connection, preserving wilderness, healing yourself with time outdoors as well as undertaking the Meanest Link…

John Hudson, Chief Instructor at the UK military’s Defence SERE Training Organisation, joins me in conversation on the Paul Kirtley Podcast. Originally an RAF helicopter pilot and now the survival instructor responsible for training all the survival instructors in the UK military, John is the real deal when it comes to survival training and advice. In the civilian world John’s expertise has been called on for Discovery Channel TV show Dude You’re Screwed as well as other projects. He has laid down some key principles we can all apply to our lives in his book How To Survive: Lessons For Everyday Life From The Extreme World. In this podcast we talk about all this and more, including which survival myths need killing once and for all...

Mors Kochanski joins me for a conversation about wilderness living skills, bushcraft and survival. Mors explains his background in these subjects, going right back to his school days, along with learning from his mentor Tom Roycraft, through Mors's own unique contributions and inventions , including the super-shelter. Along the way we cover a lot of fascinating ground....click to find out more and listen to this podcast...

Miles Irving, is one of the foremost professional foragers in the UK, author of The Forager Handbook, founder and director of Forager Ltd and host of the WorldWild podcast. Miles’s interest in foraging goes back to his childhood but a chance conversation led to him turning this growing passion into a career. Miles was able to start supplying restaurants with foraged plants and this quickly expanded, ultimately leading to him to supplying well-known chefs and restaurants such as Jamie Oliver, Mark Hix, Heston Blumenthal and The Ivy. His company Forager Ltd has expanded to source nearly 500 wild ingredients and Miles has grown to be one of the most respected professional foragers. Miles continues to push the boundaries of wild food and advocates the reintroduction of foraged foods into regular diets. Miles joins me for a wide-ranging and in-depth conversation on wild foods, foraging, health and connecting with nature...

In the Spring of 2017 Justin and his dog Saku set off on a a traverse of Newfoundland. Starting on snowshoes and hauling a sled, Justin switched to backpacking and pakrafting once the conditions allowed. 68 days and 700km later, Justin and Saku had crossed the island of Newfoundland from West to East, beginning on the Gulf of St Lawrence and ending up in Cape Broyle on the Atlantic Ocean. Justin joins me on Paul Kirtley Podcast episode 38 to talk about this and other adventures he's had in his native Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...