Advertise on podcast: Longfire

Captain Will Benson is a Florida Keys fly-fishing guide, filmmaker, conservationist, and founder of World Angling. Raised on Sugarloaf Key, he started cleaning boats at the local marina before building a life guiding anglers for tarpon, permit, and bonefish. He also works with the Lower Keys Guides Association and Bonefish & Tarpon Trust to protect the waters that made that life possible. We get into the mentors who shaped him, the philosophy degree he still puts to work, and how fishing films pulled him into conservation. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show links Watch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest links Fish with Will: World AnglingFollow Will on InstagramWatch World Angling’s filmsWatch Silver LiningLower Keys Guides AssociationBonefish & Tarpon TrustCaptains for Clean WaterChapters 00:00 Before the Fishing Starts07:50 A Kid on the Docks in the Florida Keys11:21 How His Family Found the Keys15:04 What Philosophy Taught Him About Fishing19:25 Choosing the Water Over Law School21:25 A Camcorder, a Surprise Trophy, and World Angling26:09 When the Guides Got Organized30:57 Conservation Wins and the Cruise-Ship Fight35:35 The Next Fights for a Healthy Fishery42:27 Why Fishermen Belong in Conservation46:08 Why Will Is Hopeful About What Comes Next

Cristina Zenato is a professional diver, shark behaviorist, cave explorer, and founder of People of the Water, a nonprofit focused on exploration, education, and conservation. Raised in the Congo, she has spent more than three decades in the Bahamas. Her work brings together shark encounters, diving education, and the exploration and protection of underwater caves. In our conversation, we talk about the childhood that shaped her relationship with wildlife, her mentor Ben Rose, and what you notice when you stop swimming past everything. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksVisit Cristina Zenato’s websiteFollow Cristina on InstagramWatch Cristina on YouTubeExplore dive trips with CristinaDiving courses with CristinaPeople of the WaterShop People of the WaterChapters00:00 Five Languages, Insects, and Favorite Books05:33 Growing Up Alongside Nature in the Congo09:27 The Half-Price Trip That Changed Her Life11:35 Ben Rose and the Value of Paying Attention17:12 The Life Hidden in the Sand20:17 Diving That Supports Local Communities25:52 Different Sharks, Different Personalities29:31 Tiger Sharks and Why Context Matters32:01 Bull Sharks and the Environment36:21 An Unexpected Tiger Shark at Cocos38:15 Predators, Perception, and the Stories We See45:58 People of the Water and Protecting What She Loves

John Langmore is an Austin-based photographer, author, and documentary filmmaker who has also worked as a cowboy and corporate lawyer. His books include Open Range and Fault Lines, and he co-directed Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait with Bud Force. We talk about going to work on Benny Binion’s Montana ranch at twelve, entering law, and finding his way back to the cowboy world through photography and film. John also shares the story behind his documentary in progress about Angola prison’s working cowboys. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksJohn Langmore’s photographyOpen Range: America’s Big-Outfit CowboyFault Lines: Portraits of East AustinWatch Cowboys: A Documentary PortraitJohn Langmore on InstagramJohn Langmore on FacebookChapters00:00 Westerns and a Motorcycle Ride to Alaska03:35 Photography Books and Earning Trust in East Austin07:26 Dinner Guests and Taking on Liam Neeson09:47 Becoming a Cowboy at Twelve14:26 Benny Binion, Tough Horses, and a Lasting Friendship21:18 A Great-Grandfather in Roosevelt’s Rough Riders24:25 From Cowboy Wages to Corporate Life30:36 Finding Photography and Stories Close to Home35:29 A Documentary About Angola’s Working Cowboys38:10 Finding the Range Crew and Getting Access47:41 A Visit Without Cameras and How the Film Took Shape53:39 Film Plans, Books, and Where to Follow John

Jake Hounshell is the founder of Shells Vintage Hat Co., a Charlotte-based business selling vintage sports hats and original, ’90s-inspired designs. A Raleigh native and University of South Carolina graduate, Jake started buying hats to resell with $750 of graduation money in 2019. He later created his own State Snaps and city designs, leaving his sales job in 2021 to run the business full-time. I’ve followed Jake’s work since college, so it was fun to finally hear how it all came together. We talk about developing an eye for vintage, learning to manufacture his own designs, and getting hats into the hands of professional athletes. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksUse code SHOUTOUTSHELLS21 for 15% off your first order at Shells Vintage. Shop Shells Vintage Hat Co.Follow Shells Vintage on InstagramFollow Shells Vintage on FacebookChapters00:00 A Hundred Hats and One He’ll Never Sell07:16 Starting Shells Vintage with $75011:07 State Snaps and the Leap to Full-Time16:08 Learning Design and Manufacturing from Scratch18:19 Expensive Mistakes with Ads and Inventory20:05 Warehousing, a First Hire, and a Cash Crunch22:35 What Makes a Vintage Hat Worth Buying25:22 A Day Running Shells Vintage27:37 Getting His Hats onto Professional Athletes30:26 New Designs and What Comes Next34:25 The Mystery of Oxford, Ohio36:26 Where to Find Shells Vintage

Sarah Calhoun is the founder of Red Ants Pants, a women’s workwear company based in White Sulphur Springs, Montana. A former outdoor instructor and trail-crew leader, she launched the business in 2006 after years of working in pants that didn’t fit. She also founded the Red Ants Pants Music Festival and leads the Red Ants Pants Foundation, which supports women’s leadership and rural communities. In this conversation, Sarah traces the path from sewing backpacks to touring the country with an Airstream for pants parties and launching a music festival in a cow pasture. We talk about choosing small-town Montana, learning the business as she went, and why handing over the company’s day-to-day leadership felt like a relief. She also explains the less glamorous side of festival production: buying up toilet paper across three counties. I also learned that a lonely male llama may start pooping in a perfect circle. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Chapters: 00:00 Rapid Fire: Books, Music, and Liam Neeson02:53 A Farm Childhood and a Few Facts About Llamas06:03 From Trail Crews to Women’s Workwear08:20 Learning to Build a Business From Scratch12:01 An Old Saddle Shop in White Sulphur Springs15:27 Loans, Manufacturing, and Mentors19:48 Tour de Pants: Taking the Business on the Road22:13 A Music Festival in a Cow Pasture27:14 Making It Better, Not Bigger28:20 Hiring a CEO and Bringing In Investors32:57 Work Skills, Girls’ Leadership, and the Foundation35:35 Life Behind the Shop Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksRed Ants PantsRed Ants Pants Music FestivalRed Ants Pants FoundationRed Ants Pants on InstagramThe Alchemist by Paulo CoelhoThis House of Sky by Ivan Doig

Ron Schara is an outdoor writer, television producer, and the creator of Minnesota Bound. A former Minneapolis Tribune and Star Tribune outdoors columnist, he launched the show in 1995 with his black Lab, Raven, and later hosted ESPN’s Backroads with Ron and Raven. Before any of that, he was a music student who wanted to be the next Andy Williams. In this conversation, Ron shares how a writing professor changed his direction, why he left a newspaper career for television, and how a red bandana helped turn Raven into the star. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Chapters: 00:00 Minnesota Favorites and Rapid Fire02:55 Duck Hunting with Bud Grant07:26 Growing Up Outdoors in Iowa09:31 Music School, Journalism, and Andy Williams15:47 Why Minnesota Bound Started With People20:40 Raven’s Red Bandana and the Leap to Television26:08 Leaving the Newspaper and Reaching ESPN29:09 Peacock Bass, Tarpon, and Piranhas34:01 Africa, Hunting, and Habitat36:44 Monarchs and Purple Martins40:47 Finding the Next Story42:54 The Fishing Story He Never Forgot Show links Watch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest links Minnesota BoundRon Schara ProductionsRon’s BooksMinnesota Bound on InstagramMinnesota Bound on YouTube

Mike Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist, speaker, musician, volunteer firefighter, and first responder from rural Wisconsin. Raised on a dairy farm, he worked summers as a Wyoming ranch hand, became a registered nurse, and eventually built a writing career rooted in rural people, places, and work. He has written more than 25 books, including Population: 485, and performs with his band, The Long Beds. In our conversation, he explains how a farm kid who once thought authors were mysterious capital-A people learned to make a living with words while staying five minutes from his deer stand. We also learn that if he ever fights Liam Neeson, the plan begins and probably ends at the kneecaps. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksVisit SneezingCow.comBrowse Mike’s books, recordings, and merchandiseSubscribe to Michael Perry’s Voice MailFollow Mike on InstagramChapters00:00 Rapid Fire: Books, Deer Stands, and Liam Neeson09:20 The Story Behind Population: 48512:14 Returning Home and Joining the Fire Department16:37 Population: 485 and a Possible Broadway Musical20:22 His Dad, Wyoming, and an Unexpected Opportunity24:46 Becoming “Terminally Unemployable”26:59 How Publishing Changed and Why Mike Keeps Adapting31:02 Writing by Triage and the Blue Volkswagen Effect36:39 Literary Solitaire, Revision, and Fancy Words42:05 Building a Business Around the Writing46:32 Where to Find Mike Thumbnail photo: Lee Butterworth Photography.

Ed Roberson is the creator and host of Mountain & Prairie, a podcast and platform about the people shaping the future of the American West through its land, communities, and culture. In this conversation, we trace the path that took him from a small town in eastern North Carolina and a conventional career in real estate to conservation work and a creative side project that eventually became his full-time work. Ed explains how a health scare and the financial crisis forced him to reconsider his direction, why conservation work moves at the speed of trust, and how years of relationship-building helped Mountain & Prairie become such a distinct platform. We also talk about building before anyone is listening, the book project he is developing, Theodore Roosevelt and the strenuous life, and why character matters more than achievement. Most importantly, we determine that Ed might have a chance against Liam Neeson, provided he survives the first punch. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksMountain & PrairieListen to the Mountain & Prairie PodcastSubscribe to Good News from the American WestMountain & Prairie on InstagramChapters00:00 Rapid Fire: North Carolina, Jimmy Buffett, and Favorite Books07:37 A 100-Mile Loophole, Five-Day Fasts, and Liam Neeson12:55 Tarboro, North Carolina, and the Community That Raised Ed16:29 Boarding School, Honor, and Learning to Work18:55 Coasting in College and Following the Conventional Path21:00 A Health Scare, the Financial Crisis, and a Career Reset24:28 Starting Mountain & Prairie as a Side Project26:01 Why Conservation Moves at the Speed of Trust28:13 How the Podcast Opened Unexpected Doors29:42 Playing the Long Game31:05 Building Before Anyone Is Listening33:44 The Book Project and What Comes Next35:37 Theodore Roosevelt and the Strenuous Life38:39 Advice to His 23-Year-Old Self43:04 Where to Find Mountain & Prairie

Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman and the owner of White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, where his family has farmed since 1866. After spending more than 20 years running a conventional monoculture cattle operation, Will began dismantling the industrial model and rebuilding the farm around animal welfare, healthy soil, natural cycles, and a radically traditional approach to agriculture. In this conversation, Will explains the truckload of calves that forced him to reconsider how he farmed, the hidden cost of chemical fertilizer, and what happened when he stopped looking for things to kill and started protecting everything that belonged in the ecosystem. We also discuss restoring Bluffton, growing from a handful of employees to 170, bringing his daughters into the business, refusing to expand merely for the sake of growth, and measuring decisions in generations instead of quarters. We also learn how a Baptist preacher’s wife saved Will from spelling “Tenac” for the rest of his life. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyLongfire websiteFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksWhite Oak PasturesShop White Oak PasturesVisit and stay at the farmA Bold Return to Giving a DamnWhite Oak Pastures on InstagramChapters:00:00 Highway 27 and White Oak’s Place in Rural Georgia02:01 Six Generations on the Same Land Since 186604:21 When a Local Food System Became an Industrial Cattle Farm07:49 The Truckload of Calves That Changed Everything10:49 Cheap Fertilizer and the Cost It Hid16:35 How Water From the Farm Reaches Apalachicola Bay19:41 From Looking for Something to Kill to Keeping Things Alive25:32 How White Oak Pastures Helped Rebuild Bluffton29:00 Bringing His Daughters Into the Family Business34:08 The Spur-of-the-Moment Decision to Rename the Farm37:25 Why Bigger Is Not the Goal42:18 Final Wisdom: Decide What Matters and Serve It

April Vokey has spent 25 years building a life around fishing. She decided to pursue professional fishing at 18, started her first business at 21, guided for steelhead in British Columbia, created the television series Shorelines, launched Anchored with April Vokey, and built Anchored Outdoors into an education platform and community for anglers. In this conversation, April takes us from landing a 300-pound arapaima in Guyana and having 32 spines pulled from her foot to the winter steelhead obsession that became her career. She also explains how a 2008 head-on collision forced her to rethink life and business, why motherhood changed her relationship with risk, and how discarded television interviews led to Anchored. We also resolve two important questions: whether wet jeans are secretly flattering and how many introductions stand between me and Liam Neeson. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show linksWatch Longfire on YouTubeListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyLongfire websiteFollow Longfire on InstagramGuest linksAnchored OutdoorsTry Anchored Premium InsidersThe World Through Your EyesAnchored with April VokeyApril Vokey on InstagramChapters00:00 Rapid Fire: Wet Jeans, Campfire Dinner, and Liam Neeson02:37 A 300-Pound Arapaima and 32 Spines in Guyana06:07 Turning a Life in Fishing Into a Business10:40 The Salmon That Started Everything13:36 Why Winter Steelhead Became an Obsession18:31 Learning to Guide Before Google Earth20:46 Surviving a Head-On Collision22:38 The Injury That Forced a Business Pivot25:01 Saving the Stories Television Had to Cut27:31 Canada, Australia, Motherhood, and Risk32:19 The Dean River Run She Should Never Have Attempted36:10 Starting Over and Facing an Uncertain Next Chapter37:45 Anchored Outdoors and The World Through Your Eyes

Tyler Sharp is a documentary photographer, writer, filmmaker, and the founder, CEO, and editor in chief of Modern Huntsman, an independent publication focused on hunting, conservation, food, culture, and wild places. In this conversation, we trace the path that took him from USC film school to the Tanzanian bush, years of traveling and working around the world, and eventually building Modern Huntsman. Tyler shares the story of a lion with a mohawk mane returning to his tent across multiple full moons and another encounter when a leopard charged him from twenty yards away. He explains what Africa taught him about living inside the natural order, why many of the wild places he knew are disappearing, and how misunderstandings about hunting inspired him to build a publication that could reach non-hunters without preaching to the choir. We also talk about balancing creative work with running a business, his connection with the Hemingway family, and what is coming next for Modern Huntsman. Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show LinksModern HuntsmanSubscribe to Modern HuntsmanFollow Tyler Sharp on InstagramRead “Hemingwrite to the Rescue”WATCH ON YOUTUBEListen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyLongfire websiteFollow Longfire on InstagramChapters: 00:00 Star Wars, Aragorn, and Fighting Liam Neeson 04:48 The Lion With a Mohawk Mane Outside Tyler’s Tent 12:44 Charged by a Leopard in Zambia 15:41 From USC Film School to Six Months in Tanzania 20:35 Larry Knowlton and the World’s Biggest Joke 22:12 The Wild Places That No Longer Exist 27:39 Why Tyler Built Modern Huntsman 32:17 Translating Hunting and Conservation for Outsiders 34:08 Creativity, Leadership, and Administrative Shit Shoveling 38:14 Hemingway, Writing, and a Life of Adventure 41:51 Why Independent Publishing Needs Subscribers 45:02 Mark Maggiori and the Next Modern Huntsman Volume

After every guest conversation on Longfire, I save one piece of advice that stayed with me. For episode 40, I went back through all 26 interviews and grouped those ideas into five themes: expect the work to be hard, choose direction over activity, build the work around a life you actually want, remember that people are the point, and stay teachable. This is my slightly late 2026 midyear check-in on what the show has taught me so far. I get into volume and luck, strategy as subtraction, work that gives energy back, the outdoors as a reset, the cost of chasing achievement at the expense of relationships, and why collecting advice is not the same as living it. If one lesson stays with you, send me a note and tell me which one. Subscribe to Longfire for more thoughtful conversations with builders, athletes, outdoorsmen, entrepreneurs, and original people whose stories are worth gathering around. 00:00 26 Conversations, Five Lessons 01:45 Why Episode 40 Was the Time to Look Back 02:18 The Work Is Supposed to Be Hard 08:34 Direction Matters More Than Activity 13:50 Build the Work Around a Life You Actually Want 19:18 People Are the Point 23:51 Stay Teachable and Optimistic 26:44 Summary and Conclusion

Steve Smith has spent nearly 30 years at the intersection of technology, strategy, and operations, with a career spanning startups, IBM, TSIA, 8x8, and now Intelligence by Intent, where he helps law firms put AI to work. In this conversation, we trace his path from teaching adults to program when he was 13 to leaving corporate America and building a business he says he wishes he had started 20 years earlier. Steve explains why AI should handle individual tasks while people protect relationships and judgment, how firms can move from chatbots to agents, and how his agent system, Project Ollie, manages email, calendars, research, projects, and client knowledge. We also talk about becoming more present with family, protecting close friendships, skiing with his kids, and the standing rule that work stops whenever his 165-pound Saint Bernard brings him a toy. Chapters: 00:00 Rapid Fire: Ping Pong, Star Wars, and Steak With Magnus 03:54 Thirty Years in Tech, Startups, IBM, and RevOps 06:46 The Career Move He Wishes He Made 20 Years Earlier 08:54 The AI Advice Steve Gives His Kids 12:40 Building Intelligence by Intent for Law Firms 16:48 Choosing the Right AI Tool and Moving Beyond Chatbots 22:55 Teaching Adults to Code at 13 and Learning How to Learn 26:26 Magnus: Life With a 165-Pound Saint Bernard 33:53 Building More Time for Family, Friends, and Presence 38:21 Writing, Teaching, and Sharing What He Learns 46:24 Project Ollie: The Agent System Running His Business 52:46 Claude Code, ChatGBT, and Agentic Travel Planning 56:12 Final Wisdom: Find What Makes You Tick Subscribe to Longfire for more stories worth gathering around. Show LinksWatch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@longfirecoListen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pieces-of-impact/id1851467002 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2IGYfTSYNvsD96UjUqqCJt?si=f5abdaf2294c4a35 Longfire website: https://longfire.co/ Intelligence by Intent: https://intelligencebyintent.com/ Read Steve Smith’s Substack: https://www.smithstephen.com/ Connect with Steve Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithstephen

Rick Wittenbraker has built a career by following curiosity into rooms he was not necessarily planning to enter. His path has included private equity in Latin America, commodities trading, a medical device startup, YETI’s early growth, angel investing, and more than a decade helping grow Howler Brothers. He joined YETI when eight employees shared one Gmail account, then later joined his friends at Howler Brothers as the company grew from a small team into a distinctive outdoor brand. In this conversation, Rick explains why the best brands know what they are not, why creativity and originality have to be protected as a company grows, and how curiosity can create opportunities that no career plan could predict. We also discuss building work around things you genuinely care about, investing as an extension of learning, creating companies that can outlast their founders, his belief that every business is ultimately a people business, and why he can beat Liam Neeson in a fight (All Credit to Seth MacFarlane for the bit). Subscribe for more stories like Rick's. Chapters: 00:00 Rapid Fire: Liam Neeson, Favorite Brands, and Lonesome Dove 06:16 Rick’s Path From Private Equity to YETI 10:53 From YETI to Howler Brothers Through Friendship 12:49 What Made Early YETI Special 17:49 How YETI Turned Coolers Into a Tribe 19:39 Building a Complete Brand World at Howler Brothers 24:48 Protecting Creativity as the Company Grows 27:58 Why Every Brand Needs a “Not List” 30:49 Finding Work That Overlaps With What You Love 36:08 Investing as an Exercise in Curiosity 46:19 Building a Company That Outlasts Its Founders 51:04 Every Business Is a People Business Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@longfireco Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pieces-of-impact/id1851467002 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2IGYfTSYNvsD96UjUqqCJt?si=f5abdaf2294c4a35 Howler Brothers: https://howlerbros.com/ Howler Brothers on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howlerbros Rick on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wittrick/?hl=en

This short solo episode explains why Pieces of Impact is becoming Longfire and what the new name represents. Longfire will continue sharing conversations with builders, athletes, outdoorsmen, entrepreneurs, creators, and original people with worlds worth stepping into, but with a clearer mission: to tell stories worth gathering around. The goal is to help busy, ambitious people slow down, reconnect, and remember the people, places, and experiences that make the work worthwhile.