The Walking Podcast

The Walking Podcast is a podcast by Jon Mooallem.

In January 2019, Mooallem announced on Twitter that he would be starting the podcast.[1] Each episode is a one hour long recording of Mooallem hiking in the Pacific Northwest.[2] The show's listenership increased during the COVID-19 Pandemic and has released three seasons.[3]

The show is largely ambient noise from Mooallem hiking, but does occasionally voices from his kids or friends who join him on the hike[4] The show has similarities to forest bathing.[5] The show has also been compared to ASMR.[6] Mooallem does ad reads during the walk.[7] On March 24, 2020 Mooallem was supposed to be doing a book tour, but COVID-19 changed his plans so he promoted the book on The Walking Podcast instead.[8]

George Fenwick wrote in Stuff that listening to the show is "pure pleasure" and that the show helps release stress.[9] Kevin Cortez wrote in The A.V. Club that the show was "pure meditative bliss".[10]

Reference

1. Divola, Barry (January 17, 2020). "Sound of wandering resonates as podcast takes slow content to new level". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
2. Quah, Nicholas (February 21, 2019). "The WALKING Podcast Is a Weird, Lovely Ode to Nature". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
3. Goodwin, Connor (June 1, 2020). "This Bainbridge Island-based podcast on wordless nature walks was already popular for its atmospheric ambiance. Coronavirus made the show even more relevant". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
4. "Odd Pod: Trek the Pacific Northwest with Jon Mooallem on 'The Walking Podcast'". Podsauce. Audacy, Inc. October 20, 2021. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
5. Gilson, Nathania (October 2, 2019). "Call of the wild: the podcasts taking people back to nature". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
6. Kwun, Aileen (January 25, 2020). "Jon Mooallem's Walking Podcast: Like Receiving a Butt-Dial From a Nature-Loving Friend". Slowdown Media. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
7. Pilling, Nathan (March 11, 2019). "Talk a stroll with Bainbridge Island's Jon Mooallem and his walking podcast". Kitsap Sun. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
8. Davis, Brangien (March 26, 2020). "Editor's Notebook: What the Great Alaska Earthquake teaches us about coronavirus". crosscut.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
9. Fenwick, George (March 6, 2021). "Blocked & Reported: The podcast explaining the internet – a controversy at a time". Stuff. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
10. Cortez, Kevin (June 17, 2019). "The best podcasts of 2019 so far". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2024.