IN THE BUSH Podcast

IN THE BUSH is where wilderness survival, hunting and ancestral knowledge meet something deeper. Hosts Cole and Joel go beyond the how-to of bushcraft and nature connection, diving into the psychological, spiritual, philosophical, and energetic threads that run through it all. Each episode is a real conversation — unhurried, curious, and willing to get deep — with guests ranging from accomplished experts in their fields to some of the most interesting people you've never heard of. Host: Cole Wilks Cohost: Joel van der Loon

IN THE BUSH Podcast is a sports podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 68 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts IN THE BUSH Podcast, a sports show with 68 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #66

  Finding Your Life’s Purpose

  Sep 27, 202627 min

  Send us Fan Mail Joel Van der Loon shares a solo episode on purpose, vulnerability, and the process of uncovering what he believes the soul is here to learn in this lifetime. He explores how childhood conditioning, fear, and unconscious beliefs can block clarity, and why inner honesty, meditation, and time in nature matter for anyone trying to live more authentically. In this episode, Joel reflects on the tension many men feel around vulnerability, the role of intuition in decision-making, and the difference between chasing external expectations versus listening to inner guidance. Timestamps (00:00) Opening the episode and why vulnerability matters (00:40) Why men struggle to share cringeworthy or sensitive feelings (01:53) The listener question that inspired the episode (03:20) Intuition as the way to recognize truth (04:44) Early signs of passion and life force (05:26) Family influence, vocation, and choosing passion before money (06:25) Independence, selfhood, and not being shaped by fear of failure (07:06) Passion as energy and the soul’s compass (08:01) Childhood conditioning and how beliefs get programmed early (08:58) Why self-doubt must be questioned and challenged (09:27) Thoughts, reality, and the first step toward purpose (10:08) What he means by life’s purpose and the soul’s lessons (10:39) Inner peace versus performative spirituality (11:39) How purpose affects relationships, work, and emotional state (12:08) Restlessness, authenticity, and midlife purpose-seeking (13:36) Finding yourself by doing the hard work honestly (14:45) The Boyd Vardy idea of knowing the destination without knowing the route (15:15) Surrender, trust, and resisting the need for control (16:10) Why inner guidance creates more peace than ego control (17:06) Easy path versus right path (17:34) The fog analogy, stepping stones, and moving without full certainty (18:32) Signs, synchronicities, and bodily affirmation (19:06) Deprogramming the mind through consistent work (19:36) Why mindset alone is not enough and the body stores emotion (20:35) Somatic work, energy healing, and releasing stored emotion (21:05) Buddha, suffering, and the chatter of the subconscious mind (22:02) Meditation and the idea of higher wisdom or the superconscious (22:43) Simplicity over overcomplicating spirituality (23:11) Why 2027 is framed as a major turning point (24:25) How to meet confusion, agitation, and misalignment (25:10) Stepping into fear and acknowledging it instead of avoiding it (25:39) Taking stock in solitude and deciding what needs to change (26:08) Closing thoughts, feedback, and the future direction of the podcast (27:06) Nature, meditation, and inner tranquility as recurring themes (27:37) Outro and call to subscribe and share Notable quotes “Passion to me is just an energy flow through your body.” “Your life's purpose is your soul's purpose.” “The most important thing that you can do right now in your life is to step into fear and let go of anything that does not serve.” Support the show Huge thank you to everyone who supports In the Bush podcast — if you've been enjoying the show, please consider making a donation to help us keep producing the content you love. Every bit of support helps us keep the mics on and the episodes coming. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time! www.primalskillsacademy.com

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  Episode #65

  Jamie Bowles of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

  Sep 24, 20261h 28m

  Send us Fan Mail This episode breaks down how Oregon wildlife management actually works, from agency structure and habitat biology to wolf conflict, roadkill, and mule deer decline. Jamie Bowles from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife also shares how traditional bowhunting shaped herunderstanding of animals, predators, and the discipline required to hunt ethically. In this episode, Joel and Jamie discuss the realities of managing wildlife as a public resource, why habitat fragmentation matters so much, and why “ballot box biology” frustrates working biologists. Jamie also explains how traditional archery changed the way she hunts and how that experience made her a better biologist. Timestamps 00:00 - Jamie’s role as regional habitat biologist 02:19 - How Oregon’s wildlife agency is structured 03:18 - District wildlife biologists, assistants, and technicians 06:03 - Habitat division and Pittman-Robertson funding 07:01 - What a regional habitat biologist actually does 08:29 - Access and Habitat plus wildlife habitat tax incentives 10:15 - Wolf biologists and non-game wildlife work 11:12 - Game animals versus non-game animals 13:25 - Why wildlife cannot simply be left alone 14:48 - Wildlife management is really people management 17:04 - Why humans and wildlife inevitably conflict 18:29 - Bear conflicts, low berry production, and human food attractants 20:54 - Why wildlife is a public resource 21:23 - Ballot box biology and bear hunting methods 25:35 - Habitat loss, fragmentation, and migration barriers 27:29 - Roads, fences, and why fawns and calves struggle 29:48 - Wildlife corridors and winter range protection 32:10 - Mule deer numbers and historical decline 34:32 - Predators are not the only cause of decline 37:48 - Reporting roadkill with iNaturalist 38:47 - Wildlife crossings and future conservation priorities 41:41 - Funding challenges and the need for new conservation models 43:48 - A hunter’s perspective on nuance and stewardship 49:01 - Wolves, boundaries, and the reality of dispersal 51:33 - Jamie’s path into hunting and traditional archery 55:11 - Learning archery after years in wildlife work 60:40 - Why traditional bowhunting forces closeness and patience 62:08 - Building an arrow setup and tuning for traditional archery 65:18 - Spot-and-stalk, tracking, and the challenge of archery hunting 70:53 - The first grouse Jamie harvested with a recurve 73:34 - Redefining success in traditional bowhunting 76:28 - Adrenaline, shot control, and knowing when to move 82:11 - Why the full hunt matters more than just the harvest 86:29 - A first wolf encounter while hunting 87:57 - Calling elk, hunting with a friend, and a near opportunity 91:43 - How traditional bowhunting improves her biology work 97:22 - Trusting intuition, slowing down, and listening in the field 98:45 - Jamie’s social presence and artwork 100:05 - Final call for public involvement in wildlife management Support the show Huge thank you to everyone who supports In the Bush podcast — if you've been enjoying the show, please consider making a donation to help us keep producing the content you love. Every bit of support helps us keep the mics on and the episodes coming. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time! www.primalskillsacademy.com

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  Episode #64

  Ryan Levinson on purpose, surrender, and rebuilding identity through adversity

  Sep 12, 20261h 31m

  Send us Fan Mail Joel van der Loon sits down with Ryan Levinson for a wide-ranging conversation about diagnosis, risk, purpose, masculinity, and what it means to keep moving when your body changes. Ryan shares the arc from his mid twenties diagnosis with FSH muscular dystrophy to the decade he spent sailing in French Polynesia, and how those experiences reshaped his sense of self. This episode matters because it goes beyond a success story and gets into the harder question of how to stay oriented when the old sources of identity no longer fit. In this episode, Ryan Levinson shares how his diagnosis in his mid twenties with FSH muscular dystrophy changed the trajectory of his life. Joel and Ryan trace Ryan’s early identity through surfing, skateboarding, and a rebellious streak that pushed against school, family expectations, and conventional career paths. Ryan explains the suicidal moment in college through a mistaken philosophy about living close to death, and how a friend interrupting that night changed everything. The two discuss how surfing, the ocean, and later sailing became spiritual anchors through movement, challenge, and clarity of purpose. Ryan describes how the diagnosis unexpectedly opened doors, shifting how others saw him from lazy or unrealistic to inspirational and capable. They talk through the decision to buy a sailboat and live aboard in French Polynesia for a decade, including the fear, surrender, and transformation that came with leaving the dock. Ryan shares how disease progression has changed his body, his daily capabilities, and his relationship to purpose, protection, and being a partner to Nicole. Joel introduces a spiritual lens around knowing oneself, shadow work, and authenticity as the path to meaning. Ryan reflects on how much of his life has been driven by perseverance, and how he now has to reassess his limits much more frequently. The conversation closes with mutual gratitude, vulnerability, and Ryan sharing where people can find him online. Timestamps 00:00 - Brotherly reunion and the energy of deep trust 03:24 - Surfing, rebellion, and the identity Ryan built before diagnosis 06:14 - The college suicide call and the friend who broke through the moment 09:44 - Why it was not about depression, but about anticipation and future fear 11:45 - Feeling trapped by a future with no obvious vocation 13:05 - Surfing as meditation and a spiritual connection to something larger 15:10 - The diagnosis and the first move toward a new path 16:24 - Pressure from family versus a dream of ecotourism and ocean work 17:23 - A doctor’s blunt advice to choose something practical 20:18 - How the diagnosis changed public perception and opened doors 21:17 - Leveraging disability, media, and adaptive sports opportunities 23:54 - Why Ryan and Nicole bought a sailboat and crossed to French Polynesia 25:52 - Surrender, trust, and leaving the dock without knowing the outcome 28:29 - What long passage sailing changes in a person 31:44 - Simplicity, clarity of purpose, and why risk feels meaningful 35:53 - Ryan’s current conflict around purpose as physical ability declines 38:25 - Losing the ability to protect in the way he once could 40:34 - Why Nicole’s capability changes the burden conversation 44:19 - The emotional and psychological work of surrendering masculinity 48:24 - Joel’s view of spiritual awakening as remembering the soul 52:08 - Why the compass shifted before leaving the boat life 55:36 - The physical toll of years at sea and disease progression 60:23 - Metrics, recovery, and adapting daily to what the body can do 63:01 - Constant reassessment before surfing, diving, or physically demanding work 65:32 - What Ryan is most proud of now: perseverance 68:02 - Joel’s challenge that logic can become a trap 69:35 - Why the relationship with Nicole is central to Ryan’s fear 71:14 - Joel’s teaching on knowing God through knowing self and others 75:21 - Untangling the story of self and doing shadow work 77:20 - Hadza, wilderness time, and the progression of spiritual learning 81:10 - Joel’s divorce, grief, and the liberation of brutal self-honesty 84:19 - Ryan on people inventing new stories instead of accepting change 85:46 - Life as floating with the current instead of fighting it 87:21 - Accepting that decline, loss, and change are guaranteed 90:09 - Final gratitude and where to find Ryan online Support the show Huge thank you to everyone who supports In the Bush podcast — if you've been enjoying the show, please consider making a donation to help us keep producing the content you love. Every bit of support helps us keep the mics on and the episodes coming. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time! www.primalskillsacademy.com

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  Episode #63

  Upcoming training courses with Joel

  Nov 10, 202526 minS0

  <p>Joel gives an update about the podcast and also talks about the upcoming courses through his school. </p><p>The holistic fair chase hunting course and the Hadza full immersion adventure are available for booking. spots are limited. please check out www.bushsurvivaltraining.com </p><p>https://bushsurvivaltraining.com/<br/><br/></p> <p>Visit Folsompointnutrition.com and use code INTHEBUSH on checkout to receive a 20% discount on 100% grass fed Bison supplements. Please support them to support us. </p>

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  Episode #62

  Rite of passage and Vision quests with Darren Silver

  Jul 30, 20251h 12mS0

  <p>Darren Silver, MA, is a rite of passage guide, Nature-Connected Coach, ceremonialist, and innovative educator. He has nearly two decades of experience working with ritual, wilderness living skills, and guiding transformational experiences residentially and internationally. A gifted storyteller and apprentice to the old myths, Darren weaves the power of the natural world, vision, and community in devotion to the remembrance of regenerative culture. </p><p>https://bushsurvivaltraining.com/<br/><br/></p> <p>Visit Folsompointnutrition.com and use code INTHEBUSH on checkout to receive a 20% discount on 100% grass fed Bison supplements. Please support them to support us. </p>

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