Episode 1 – The Accident
I wake up on the road in intense pain. I donāt know whatās happened. Who are these people? Where am I? Why is my right shoulder killing me? But itās only when I get home from the hospital that the extent of my injuries start to emerge. I canāt read, I can listen to music, I canāt be around my family. What is happening?
Episode 2 – The waiting room
The injury makes me reflect on what the load on my brain was like before the accident. Iām a journalist, my headās full of work. I manage our household, wrangle our kids. My partnerās frantic running his arts organisation. I still keep a busy social life. I love late nights out in hectic loud bars drinking with friends. But after the accident I canāt do any of this!
Episode 3 – If symptoms persist, accept
Finally, I get a diagnosis. The doctors tell me I have what theyāre calling āa mild traumatic brain injuryā. And thereās not much that they can do about it. They encourage me to just accept my situation. Then, some friends invite me on a bushwalk.
Episode 4 – Invisible injury
Iām racing towards the finish line. I’m almost better! I try to get back to my normal life, but somethingās still not quite right. And then, all of a sudden, things start to unravel. Surely this isnāt happening. Iām nearly better, remember? I find Cait Ward, who had similar experiences after being hit with a lacrosse ball.
Episode 5 – Thereās science to this
Iām depressed and anxious and the headaches are back. I have to dose myself up on nature again. I wouldnāt have considered heading into the bush alone before the accident. But now Iām known for turning up to school pick-ups in shorts and hiking boots. But why has no doctor told me to use nature? Or even encouraged me really?
Episode 6 – Back on the bike
The doctors are saying they want me to go back to workā¦gradually. But Iām not sure. Iāve lost my confidence. My rehab specialist says we wonāt know until we try. He means I wonāt actually recover properly until I go back to work. The neurons that fire together, wire together ā he keeps saying.
BONUS – Presenting HumaNature: A Positive Experience!
While you wait for season two, here’s an inspiring story from a father and daughter about their first backpacking adventure. As they hike into Utah’s Bryce Canyon in late November, things don’t go according to plan. But they both emerge positive about being pushed to the edge by nature’s unpredictability. This story comes from HumaNature, a Wyoming Public Media podcast that tells real stories about humans in the natural world. You can find them wherever you get your podcasts, or humanaturepodcast.org.

Special Announcement
A quick update about whatās been happening since we released season one. We’re planning for a second season but need your help. Itās about how getting off screens back outside and into the natural world can change the brains of young people.
Presenting Out There: Deer Hunter
Indie podcast Out There explores big questions through intimate stories outdoors. In this award-winning episode, producer Sam Anderson goes hunting for the first time and finds it confronting. And as a vegetarian, so did I. But Sam explores his questions around what it takes to pull the trigger. Are we all capable of it? And if we can take a life, what does that say about us? How does Killing an animal change us?
Trailer
Coming soon: A narrative documentary series about how going out into the natural world changed my brain. Music is Trail Runner by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Trailer 2
This narrative podcast series recreates the intensities of my experience, using rich sound design. Loud cafes, bars, social gatherings, my kids ā all were unbearable. But the sounds of nature had the opposite effect.