Ah summertime. That point in the year when obscure mountain passes open themselves and invite you to come dip your feet in their valley’s river. It’s the time of year when there are fireflies, and evening beers on front porches, cut off denim, and mountain biking until dusk. Summertime tells us to slow down and enjoy the good things in life like road trips, trails runs, and gardening. And nothing goes better with these activities than a good podcast. The kind of podcast where you take another lap around on the block on your bike ride home from work because you have to know how it all wraps up. Lucky for us, our summertime bliss has coincided with the release of Safety Third, a new podcast bridging the outdoor space with the world of ideas.

Produced by Duct Tape Then Beer and made by the same folks who have brought you The Dirtbag Diaries for the last eleven years, and co-hosted by Elizabeth Nakano (also known as “Rage Kitty”) and Warren Miller Entertainment contributing writer, Paddy O’Connell.

The breadth of what this podcast covers feels vast, yet each episode pivots off adventure and exploration, both in the outdoors and in life. And, with a fun repour between Rage Kitty and O’Connell, laughter is common.

Safety Third rolled out seven episodes upon its release a month and a half ago and presents itself as the traversing “the ideas and the beliefs that define us as an outdoor community.” Covering topics like BASE jumping, the word “diversity” in the outdoors, politics in the outdoor industry, the environment, losing a loved one to free-soloing, lifelong marriage and more.

“The cool thing about our show is that we use humor to talk about really hard shit,” says co-host and writer Paddy O’Connell. “The show is about how people navigate life. It’s about ideas and how people come to them. I hope people laugh and I hope people think and I hope they find out better ways to take on life. Ultimately, the reason anyone makes art is to cause a difference.”  

L to R — Elizabeth Nakano (writer and producer), Paddy O’Connell (host and writer), Hannah Maia (S3 show guest, filmmaker, “My Big White Thighs & Me” — Maia Media).

O’Connell says the ideation and creation of the podcast was the perfect storm when the founder of The Dirtbag Diaries Fitz Cahall approached O’Connell at 5Point Film Festival which O’Connell was emceeing and confronted him about making the podcast.

“At that say time, Chaco had been talking to Duct Tape Then Beer,” explains O’Connell. And from there, they had a sponsor and the help of other producers and creators who had been working on The Dirtbag Diaries.

Season 1 will have 10 episodes, and with Season 2 already in production, which will drop at the end of the summer and into the fall, just in time for early autumn air and the endless possibilities of winter’s approach.

 Listen and subscribe to Safety Third podcast here.