Off the Trails

I really like the subject and stories shared. I think the storytelling and quality are great for a small-scale podcast. My one critique is that the hosts come across as victim blaming at times, especially in the survival tales. I feel like they are quick to cast blame onto mistakes and this really detracts from my enjoyment in listening. Especially since these are true stories, I wish they were more compassionate and less critical. For example, they could use it as an opportunity to educate listeners on survival tips rather than blame the survivors for their choices.

The podcast’s sound quality has improved and the stories are interesting. But the conversation between the hosts tends to be off topic and excessive. Danielle repeatedly made fun of a boy’s name (“Hub”) in an episode about a missing child. Just unnecessary.

Every episode is saturated with victim blaming with the hosts hyper focusing and over criticizing on a single mistake, some mistakes are those nearly all experiences outdoors people make. The hosts also put in a good amount of time talking about how they absolutely under any circumstances never make a mistake in he wilderness. They also don’t take the time to even look up basic info they should know for doing this type of podcast. For example, in one episode they can’t fathom how a hunter gets a carcass through wilderness and another they can’t understand how someone can die of heat stroke in dry heat. These are so easy to look up a quick ai response would have been correct and easily accessible. In short, this podcast needs someone with basic research skills at least.

I really enjoy the podcast. The only drawback is the baby talk (impor “ant”), that I suppose may disappear as the trend changes. Definitely more tolerable than the vocal fry.