On the PBS show America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston, the second season of which is airing now, each episode showcases a gorgeous spot in the United States, and the ways in which a half dozen or so local residents enjoy the place. In an upcoming Oregon episode, Emmy-nominated host, producer, comedian, and writer Baratunde Thurston checks out a roller derby in Portland, cowboys on a sustainable ranch, forest bathers, an underwater kelp forest, a community garden recultivating native foods, and more. As spectacular as the settings are, it’s the people he’s met and their dedication to the planet that he finds endlessly remarkable.
“I’m always surprised by the resilience, creativity, resourcefulness, and increasingly, sustainability-mindedness as a really consistent element of people, regardless of what region of the country I’m in,” he says. “Everybody seems aligned on: We’ve got to keep this going. We’ve got to make sure that Earth remains joyfully habitable for all of us.” In a conversation with Condé Nast Traveler, Thurston joyfully described the highs and lows of filming the show, the ways he makes himself at home on the road, and why New Orleans is the greatest American city.
The show locations that astonished him the most:
Arkansas was far more beautiful than I expected. It’s not a reputation that I was aware of. There are some places, like Colorado, that have a great marketing department for their natural beauty. [Colorado is] like the default setting for snow-capped mountains in America. California is full of image-making people, so of course the image of California’s a very popular one. Arkansas doesn’t quite have that marketing department, so when I saw it for myself, I was very surprised at how stunning the place is. People need to talk about that! Or maybe they don’t want us to talk about it. That’s part of their game.
And I’ve lived in New England, but I was still surprised, impressed, and alarmed by how much the people of Maine truly do embrace the cold. I saw babies doing yoga in the snow! I’ll never be the same. I can’t unsee that.
The best (and worst) outdoor activities he filmed this season:
I don’t need to hold a snake again. In Florida, I got to hold a six-foot rat snake. I say it like it’s a privilege: I “got to” hold. See how they get to you?! The things I would do again are many. I would go truffle hunting again. You get to hang out with dogs and then bring that stuff back and cook a delicious meal. I’d go rock-climbing again. That was something I’d never done. We were out there on the side of a mountain [in Utah] taking the direct way, straight up this face, and I had an unexpectedly good time doing that. I was giggling and there was a satisfaction of figuring something out, and I felt very, very supported by the person who we were there to visit, [renowned rock-climber] Nikki Smith.
