The Joy Trip Project

James Edward Mills
  • 5.0 (12)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS

Reporting on the business art and culture of the sustainable active lifestyle

  1. The American Cowboy is Black: A Review of the Docu-series High Horse

    12/01/2025

    The American Cowboy is Black: A Review of the Docu-series High Horse

    The story of this iconic figure is portrayed with unapologetic accuracy and authenticity to reveal an unassailable truth. The American cowboy is Black.

    14 min
  2. For the Love of The Parks ~ A Discussion on Preservation

    11/03/2025

    For the Love of The Parks ~ A Discussion on Preservation

    At the Outside Festival James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project spoke with three National Park Service leaders, Sally Jewell, David Vela and Chuck Sams

    33 min
  3. From Wrangell With Love

    12/24/2024

    From Wrangell With Love

    In 2024 the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree was harvested and delivered from the Tongass National Forest of Wrangell Alaska. For the tenth year in a row, I had the rare privilege to be the official photographer of The People’s Tree. In cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and the Society of American Foresters we brought an 80-foot Sitka Spruce to the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building on a journey of more than 4,000 miles. Taking pictures along the way, we also gathered audio and video to tell this amazing story. In this special edition of the Joy Trip Project Podcast in three acts, we bring you the sounds and voices of our travels on the trail of a gift from the lands of Tlingit People.

    38 min
  4. Trump V.S. Harris on the Environment

    10/22/2024

    Trump V.S. Harris on the Environment

    After 16 years of production, the Joy Trip Project has worked hard not to endorse political candidates. With a single exception in the last Wisconsin Senate race, I’ve intentionally kept my opinions to myself. As a professional journalist, it is my obligation not to reveal my personal bias regarding any political party or partisan issue. Instead, it is my job to report on the events of our world in as objective a manner as possible. Even in this incredibly divisive and polarizing campaign season, I have recounted few details on the respective candidacies of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Although I’ll vote for one candidate, based on my personal beliefs publicly, I’ve been silent on these matters. That’s not going to change. As a news organization it is our duty to convey to our audience the facts of any story with neither bias nor prejudice so that one can draw their conclusions, and cast their vote based on the information we’ve gathered. Since we tend to focus on issues of environmental preservation, I believe that a summary of the two candidates’ history of protecting the natural world can best serve the interests of our readers and listeners. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have strikingly different records on the environment.

    7 min

  5. 02/05/2024

    The Unhidden Minute ~ Black History In 60 Seconds

    Hosted by James Edward Mills, this series delivers each day in the month of February a compelling audio story via podcast in about 60 seconds. Each narrative offers a brief glimpse into the life and times of Black men and women who have shaped our cultural identity. The series is called Unhidden Minute. I hope you’ll join us.

    1 min

  6. 12/04/2023

    The People's Tree Stands

    Immediately following my return from Washington D.C. - I mean on the flight home – I was inundated with kind words of support and condolences for the demise of my Christmas Tree. Due to excessively high winds early in last week of November 2023, it is indeed true that the beautifully decorated holiday tree provided to the White House by the National Park Service sadly fell over. News reports in photographs showed the tree lying on its side. But as I graciously replied to each of these thoughtful notes, I found great comfort in the knowledge that the 63-foot Norway Spruce I had followed from the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia to our nation’s capital, The People’s Tree, stood proudly on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building.Immediately following my return from Washington D.C. - I mean on the flight home – I was inundated with kind words of support and condolences for the demise of my Christmas Tree. Due to excessively high winds early in last week of November 2023, it is indeed true that the beautifully decorated holiday tree provided to the White House by the National Park Service sadly fell over. News reports in photographs showed the tree lying on its side. But as I graciously replied to each of these thoughtful notes, I found great comfort in the knowledge that the 63-foot Norway Spruce I had followed from the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia to our nation’s capital, The People’s Tree, stood proudly on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building.

    5 min

  7. 04/18/2023

    Eric Cedeño ~ The Bicycle Nomad

    At the time, more than 30 years after the end of the Civil War, there were stationed there an all-Black unit of enlisted men known collectively as the Buffalo Soldiers. These men who fought the Plains Wars of westward expansion and sadly participated in the displacement of Native people, were given the opportunity for a peacetime mission into the American heartland. Led by Lieutenant Moss, a white officer. Over the next two years, from 1896 to 1897, the Buffalo Soldier Bicycle Corps would make three expeditions across the West. In 2022, Eric Cedeño retraced the route that they traveled from Fort Missoula, Montana, to Saint Louis, Missouri. The distance of more than 1900 miles. In the retelling of their story through physical reenactment, the Bicycle Nomad takes us on a journey back in time. In his travels following the path of the Buffalo Soldiers, Cedeño not only celebrates the accomplishments of black Americans from our past, but also inspires further exploration of our history that is too often overlooked.

    29 min

  8. 12/19/2022

    National Park Service Director Charles Sams

    The protection of public land requires the broad ranging vision and leadership of federal service professionals at the highest levels. As the 19th Director of the National Park Service Charles F. Sams III is guiding the management of a complexed agency that oversees the protection of 63 National Parks and more than 420 individual monuments, battlefields, lakeshores and grasslands. A member of the Confederate Tribes of the Umatilla Indians, Sams is the first Native American to serve as the administrator of the memorial sites that preserve our natural history and enduring national heritage.

    29 min
See All (113)

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Reporting on the business art and culture of the sustainable active lifestyle

Information

  • Creator
    James Edward Mills
  • Years Active
    2011 - 2025
  • Episodes
    113
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    ©The Joy Trip Project 2024
  • Show Website
    The Joy Trip Project

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