MP Blaine Calkins is the Conservative representative for Red Deer and Lacombe in the House of Commons of Canada. He’s also what’s known as the ‘shadow minister’ for hunting, fishing and conservation for the Conservative Party - meaning he is the official opposition party’s choice for that role. We connected with his Chief of Staff, and reached out to have a conversation about the Canadian gun issues we’ve been watching through the past year. It’s pretty humbling when an MP in Canada knows about Blood Origins and is a big fan of what we do, and says absolutely to a podcast.  

Robbie watched a 2021 Wildlife Society Conference presentation about the attitudes and potential common ground of college students on hunting and conservation and knew he wanted to have this conversation. Rich and Tori join Robbie and the Blood Origins podcast to discuss their paper and their findings tied to this incredible survey. After interviewing 17,000 students across the country, Rich and Tori find amazing links between altruism, egoism and the approval of hunting among the youth of today.

With Robbie away at SHOT Show you’re stuck with Cody and Cody again for this week’s roundup. The boys tackle the ‘Kenai Rule’ controversy in Cody’s home state of Alaska, the just-announced lawsuit against Governor Inslee of Washington for stacking the Commission with anti-hunters, the Cody’s started reservations about fly fishing culture, and more!

Dr. Kate Pate is a neurophysiologist that is doing important work in the military mental health space. If you’re asking yourself why we invited a neurophysiologist to a podcast about hunting - Kate is a new member of this tribe of ours! Having recently become a hunter and after posting her first hunt, she naturally got caught up in the social media sphere when discussing and showing you are a hunter. She lost some followers, but also realized how amazing our community can be! This podcast isn’t just about Kate becoming a hunter but also hearing  about the neural pathways tied to being in the outdoors and mental health.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have heard of incoming UFC prospect Bo Nickal. Bo is also a hunter, and posts regularly about his outdoor adventures and lifestyle. He joins Robbie to talk about his commitment to hunting, even as someone who is about to enter the public eye in a very real way, and the ‘why’ of his hunting lifestyle.

Mark Hall, host of the Hunter Conservationist Podcast, joins Robbie and Cody for this week’s Blood Origins Roundup. The boys discuss an update from our friend Dave Gittelson on Colorado wolves, the burgeoning fight over bear hunting in Alaska, some good news on reduced hunting accidents, France’s refusal to ban Sunday Hunting and MORE!

Jess Caldwell, founder of the Wildkind Academy, sits down with Robbie to talk about the radical idea of blending being wild with the idea of being kind - to yourself, to your body, to your spirit, and to your mind. She shares her journey into hunting and wildness and the outdoors because she had zero experience in it.

Arizona Game and Fish Wildlife Science Coordinator Jim Heffelfinger joins Robbie on the Blood Origins podcast to talk about the Mexican wolf recovery project that he has been deeply involved with since its inception. A strong, scientific advocate for hunting, Jim shares with us the history of the project, it’s inception, where we are with the recovery effort, and how Colorado’s northern wolf introduction impacts the amount of work, effort, time and money that has gone into this important project just south of the Centennial State.

In this edition of our Go Hunt - Argentina series Argentina Hunting Outfitter Dan Harrison joins Robbie to give us the lay of the land and logistics of big game hunting in Argentina. Explore the magnificent hunting opportunities this planet has to offer. What are you waiting for?

You may know Carl Jocumsen as the first Australian on the Bassmaster Elite Tour. Raised in a small town in Queensland, he was raised as a fisherman and hunter. When he first came to the US, and the increased following he gained through fishing, he was afraid to post about hunting. Now, 90,000 followers strong - Carl joins Robbie to discuss that mindset shift and where he gained such comfort endorsing hunting as a famous person, and how that journey came to be.

Robbie and Cody are joined by (almost) the whole staff of Blood Origins on the Roundup this week to ring in the New Year - including Grayson Wooton and Erin ‘The Robbie Wrangler’ Merrill. After a quick recap of Cody’s involuntary stay in Buena Vista, CO, and a run through of our text line (hats off to Shay and Todd!) the team trades Africa stories, Robbie makes up a word about deer feed, the team discusses burgeoning anti-trapping proposals, and we dive into what’s to come in 2023. Our biggest year yet is coming!

Ben Heath is the CEO of Deer Box in the UK, a commodity product made from wild harvested venison in the UK, which produces a subscription box of venison for consumers in the UK. Ben joins Robbie to talk deer management and hunting perspectives in the UK and how his work contributes to local venison harvested meals for the needy. A short, sharp conversation about something you’ve never heard of, from someone you’ve never heard of - it’s exactly our style.

Daniel Torresan is a blue collar hunter and bow hunting fanatic out of South Australia who has taken it on himself to become a champion AGAINST the South Australia bowhunting ban being leveled by Deputy Premier Susan Close, working closely with CHASA (The Conservation Alliance Of South Australia) to push back on the lies around the bow hunting ban.

The boys get together for yet another roundup. After reminiscing about kids (of the adult and child variety) from traveling in the snow to seeing it for the first time, they talk about Cody’s curmudgeonly view on receiving gifts before diving into our special Christmas Q and A session with the Blood Origins family. So listen in for everything you ever wanted to know from the Boys and the BO team. Thanks for listening and Merry Christmas from the Blood Origins family to yours.

Michael Hunter is the co-owner of the Toronto restaurant, Antler. Michael and the Antler restaurant have been in the past the target of vegan activism - and responded in an unconventional manner of deboning a deer haunch in his front window. Remember that? Well Michael joins the Blood Origins podcast today to not talk about veganism, but about the Canadian gun fight happening now and what gun ownership looks like in Canada. This is an extremely important podcast as it shines an introspective look, from a legal gun owner who values wild game, into the situation in Canada. 

Father Stephen Gadberry is a Catholic Priest out of Little Rock, AR who recently found himself in an Instagram post with Brent Reeves, cohost of the popular Bear Geese podcast (and former Blood Origins guest!) about coon hunting with hounds. You read that right. A Catholic Priest the loves to hunt? Robbie had to talk to him. A fascinating conversation develops ranging from religion, to hound hunting for coons, to the image of hunters. Everything you would expect from a Blood Origins Podcast.

The Roundup is BACK ladies and gentlemen, and none too soon as Robbie and ‘The Cody’ have a fully packed show this week. The boys get into what we’ve been up to, Cody’s mule deer hunt, red and Mexican wolf recoveries, Robbie’s Africa trip, deer being shot in the face with bows, and more!

Dee Dee Lantzy is the COO of Field Craft Survival. She won the recent Supporter’s Program drive for the cow elk in Colorado, and as such Robbie got to witness her first kill. The two connect after the hunt to talk through the emotions, her lifestyle, what hunting means, and why she decided to make the jump into hunting.

Tanner Fogler reached out to us on the tail of our Go Hunt series about Argentina and New Zealand to share his personal experiences hunting in Argentina, along with costs, environment and more. Tanner breaks down how he got to Argentina, how much it cost, and hopefully by the end makes you want to do what he did - which was to go hunt in Argentina!

Michael Arnette, also known as Tall Tines Archery on Instagram, reached out to the Blood Origins team asking to respond to the ‘high fence issue’ and share his perspective on his fence hunting and why he disagrees with the practice. The product is a thoughtful discussion on the ‘other side’ of the high fence argument.

Pieter Nel is a ‘regenerative conservationist’ who works for the South African Wildlife Institute. Pieter’s job is to train people how to regenerate habitat. In this special, in depth episode, Robbie and Pieter discuss integrating people and cattle into wildlife habitat regeneration - a controversial subject that turns the ‘protectionism’ model completely on its head.

Ian Berry - veteran, former game keeper and current forester for the United Food Trust out of the UK - joins Robbie from a stroll on the beautiful English countryside. Together, the boys dive deep into some rabbit holes around this lifestyle we love so much and the UK venison scene.

This is why we do this. David John commented on one of our posts - spoiler alert, he commented from the perspective of a curious vegan - and he got jumped on. But after some education and understanding, Robbie made the offer to him to be a regular guest on the podcast so we can explore these differences in value sets together. You’re not going to want to miss a single minute of this hour of iron sharpening iron conversation.

Wyatt Fettner, owner of Safari Specialty Importers, joins the Blood Origins podcast to give us the inside scoop on the regulatory environment around trophy management and how the import of trophies into the US, specifically Tanzanian lions, is affected by legislation - both existing and what’s PROPOSED - in the States.

Strength and conditioning coach (and avid hunter) Todd Bumgardner catches up with Robbie on the tail of an unsuccessful hunt in Alaska. The two have a short and shape conversation on the idea of ‘failure’ and of the pressure we put on ourselves as hunters.