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The Radiant Debate Episode 78 - Sam, Risto, and Eero tackle the radiant question. Is radiant heat bad in the sauna?LINKShttps://www.theupperbench.comhttps://www.instagram.com/upper.bench.podcast/https://www.facebook.com/theupperbench CONTENT 00:00 Intro & Sauna Updates 11:21 What Is the Radiant Heat Debate? 13:50 How We Debate Matters 26:16 Radiant Heat: Good, Bad, or Personal Preference? 40:52 Rocks, Steel & Heater Design 50:09 Sharp vs. Intense Radiant Heat

Episode 77 - Dan Sarya of Michigan Sauna joins the Upper Bench crew. Dan's passion is to share the "smile" of his Finnish cultural heritage with the rest of North America. We hear how he started his mobile sauna business in Traverse City, Michigan and what his sauna trips to Finland are like.LINKShttps://www.michigansaunas.comhttps://www.saunaexperience.fihttps://www.theupperbench.comhttps://www.instagram.com/upper.bench.podcast/https://www.facebook.com/theupperbenchEpisode photos from: https://visitjyvaskyla.fi/en/experiences/ and https://www.virtualtampere.com/rajaportin-saunaCONTENTS00:00 Intro02:16 Dan's Finnish heritage06:32 Traveling to Finland and the birth of Dan's sauna company09:55 A sauna FIRE!12:10 Sauna 2.0 and nuances that makes for a great sauna13:41 Trips to Finland37:25 Nature, the sauna boom, and sharing sauna culture42:25 Growing sauna culture slowly... the long game47:54 Sauna saves lives and a hyperthermic river accident51:58 Tradition and the seven generation rule53:36 Robust sauna and the importance of resting between rounds

Bill Gifford, author of Hotwired, and sauna fanatic joins us to discuss the science of sauna and how a trip to Finland totally transformed his perspective on health. LINKS https://www.instagram.com/billgifford/ https://lnk.to/Hotwired https://www.theupperbench.com https://www.instagram.com/upper.bench.podcast/ https://www.facebook.com/theupperbench CONTENTS 00:00 Catching-up and news 03:31 Introducing Bill Gifford & growth of sauna scene in Utah 08:57 Hotwired book 09:45 Why humans sweat and the orgins of sauna 14:42 How Bill started writing about sauna 15:24 "Never a heat person" - how Bill got into sauna 17:08 Why Eero sweats so quickly 18:45 Heart health and other studies 28:57 Sauna and Alzheimer's 36:16 Hydration and electrolytes 41:34 Rest and cooling down 44:26 Heat adaptation 54:45 The importance of Finnish culture

Risto revisits his presentation from the Upper Peninsula History Conference in Marquette, Michigan: “Adventures in Researching the History of Finnish Sauna in North America.”From rare books and university archives to remote smoke saunas and unusual online discoveries, he shares more than a decade of exploring Finnish-American sauna culture. Along the way, he highlights historic public saunas, notable researchers, 360-degree sauna photography, favorite sauna books, and practical ways anyone can begin researching sauna history.The journey takes us through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, and beyond—and proves that sauna research can happen in a library, out in the field, or even from your couch.LINKShttps://www.theupperbench.comhttps://www.instagram.com/upper.bench.podcast/https://www.facebook.com/theupperbench

Aaron Vainikka from Finnbilt joins the show to discuss his Finnish-American sauna heritage and share his thoughtful but unorthodox takes on the Finnish steam bath. LINKS https://www.theupperbench.com https://www.instagram.com/upper.bench.podcast/ https://www.facebook.com/theupperbench https://www.finnbilt.co https://www.instagram.com/finnbilt/ CONTENTS 00:00 Intro 07:09 Aaron's Sauna Days visit 20:31 Aaron's first sauna build and his construction philosophy 21:31 Starting his company: Finnbilt 22:09 Unique sauna builds (shipping container, etc) 24:06 Building a shop sauna in less than a week 33:33 Two-by-four sauna build 40:56 The beauty and benefits of log saunas 53:37 "You don't need permission to build a sauna on a budget"

Episode 73 - Sam is building a new sauna, so we take a look!

James and Dan join us to share their stories of growing up Finnish-American in Maine, saunaing as kids, and building their own saunas. The Sauna: A Gift from the Finns bookhttp://www.finnheritage.org/FHH/styled-5/FHH/book_ordertwo.html CONTENT 00:00 Introductions 03:00 Finns in Maine 11:38 Sharing sauna with others... one person at a time 14:03 The sauna they grew up with 19:09 Water heaters, buckets, washing in the sauna 25:33 Dan's sauna build 29:30 Changing rooms 31:41 James' sauna build 35:45 What to do about HOT benches 38:37 Propane outdoor shower 39:38 Cold plunges and Sam's big fan 41:59 Drainage 44:46 The beauty of DIY saunas 47:04 Ventilation 51:31 Dan's trip to the U.P. 54:59 James and Dan's normal sauna proceedure

Sam and Glenn chat about sauna construction during Finlandia Foundation's Sauna Week 2026. Finlandia's Sauna Week playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgbPg6jjsQ3R2NrV6j00TpqWyq1BVYzlX&si=IRzTXHpZ60A-9OyJ

Lassi answers audience questions and discusses with Risto and Minea during Finlandia Foundation's Sauna Week 2026. Full talk: https://youtu.be/LwFL7pdK-T0 https://saunologia.fi CONTENT00:00 Ventilation 04:59 How does sauna process affect our design? 11:37 Are rocks essential for sauna? 14:35 Breaking the Law of Löyly 16:28 How to light a sauna?

Charts and graphs!Risto, Eero, and Sam are joined by Walker, Minea, and Ruut for Finlandia's Sauna Week 2026. We discuss Sauna Culture, Infrared, McSauna, and Ugly Saunas. And, of course, there are tons of graphs!Check out other Sauna Week talks on Finlandia's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgbPg6jjsQ3R2NrV6j00TpqWyq1BVYzlX

Sam, Eero, and Risto catch up after National Sauna Week and swap notes on public saunas, especially the big question of whether you can throw water on the rocks and how good the rest/cool-down setup is. Sam tells a cautionary story about fainting at a Russian banya in Dallas and breaking his jaw, stressing hydration, food, electrolytes, and listening to your body instead of a timer. They finish by discussing pricing and time limits at new bathhouses and answering build questions (wood choice, stoves, ventilation, pass-through heaters) while teasing future episodes. PODCAST LINKS https://www.theupperbench.com https://www.instagram.com/upper.bench.podcast/ https://www.facebook.com/theupperbench CONTENTS00:00 Intro & National Sauna Week recap 02:01 Risto's Wisconsin mobile sauna story (bucket control / “no splashing”) 06:51 “Sauna Village” / Brooklyn notes 09:18 Sam’s fainting & broken jaw 18:39 Risk management + rest between rounds (business vs real sauna needs) 23:22 Pricing discussion: day passes, memberships, and time limits 33:15 Brian Johnson “Longevity hacking” critique (timers/stopwatches vs listening to body) 42:56 Q&A + gear/build talk (woods, stoves, pass-through, DIY)

Selection from Eero's final speech as Finlandia Foundation National's lecturer of the year. Given January 20th at Scandinavia House in NYC. See their website and youtube channel for the full presentation. https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/ https://finlandiafoundation.org

Risto shows Sam and Eero even more Yooper saunas! National Sauna Week Schedule https://www.nationalsaunaweek.com/sessions-and-registration CHAPTERS 00:00 Our news 07:54 Sauna 1 17:17 Sauna 2 22:56 Sauna 3 26:52 Sauna 4 30:55 Sauna 5 34:46 Sauna 6 41:41 Sauna 7 46:00 Sauna 8

We first met Todd Shearer at our 2024 Toronto meet-up. His enthusiasm for sauna was apparent from the start. We had a great time exploring the Canadian banya scene with him. But that isn't the end of his story. He went home to Alaska and built an epic sauna. He is also part of a growing sauna community that is rooted in culture. CONTENT 00:00 Intro and catching up 03:01 Sam's Dallas banya review 12:10 Reviewing Chipotle's sauna marketing 15:13 Todd's background with sauna 19:10 Toronto 2024 21:04 Todd's sauna build 1:20:06 Sauna practice with friends and family

Episode 64 - David Kosins and Joshua Womack join the Upper Bench to talk schvitzing in general and the Cleveland Schvitz in specific. We learn how they discovered sauna and what their current practices are like today. And we also compare the Schvitz to Banya and Sauna. PODCAST LINKS https://www.theupperbench.com https://www.instagram.com/upper.bench.podcast/ GUEST LINKS https://joshuawomack.com CONTENTS 00:00 Intro and catching up 04:23 David's sauna story (Detroit schvitzs, LA schvitz, trip to Finland, Banya5 in Seattle, etc.) 22:01 Josh sauna story and book (Cleveland Schvitz and Soul Space) 29:09 Eero: NYC bathhouse, growing up with public sauna 30:48 David's sauna build 38:04 Josh's regular sauna location (Soul Space) 42:39 Schvitz vs Sauna vs Banya: Differences and Similarities