From New York to the top of the world in just three days, twenty-three hours, and seven minutes. That’s not a myth. That’s Andrew Ushakov. An American who quietly, stealthily went about his goal to climb Everest in a matter of days and has shocked the world with his historic ascent.

Mountaineering news was focused on a team of four special forces elite from England - the Mission:Everest team - who’d made news with their splashy PR effort, a line of clothing for men and women, and their controversial use of xenon gas to boost their epo. They accomplished their goal of leaving London, summiting Everest and returning back to London in seven days.

And then: Andrew Ushakov slips in there with a faster ascent, without the use of xenon.

Will mountaineering forever be changed by his climb?

I had the opportunity to interview Andrew from his hotel room just two days after his climb. Yes, he did the unthinkable—launching from sea level in New York to standing on the summit of Everest in under four days.

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In this awesome episode, we speak with musician and radio host Jonathan Sarty, the creative force behind the Cold River Radio Show — a live variety show bringing music, literature, and storytelling to life in a remote mountain tourist town where culture can feel hard to come by.

We talk about the need for artistic connection in small places, and our new collaborative segment: Within the Zone.

Whether you’re a longtime listener or hearing about Cold River for the first time, this episode is a reminder that creativity thrives wherever we make space for it.

🎶 New season of Cold River Radio opens May 18, 2025
🌲 Learn more/tickets for in-person or virtual live:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/may-18th-season-premier-of-the-cold-river-radio-show-tickets-1200252630929?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwY2xjawKQae1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFKVWJXcHNheXI5MUVqRGJIAR5VrkLj_L2LCYV2FFM1BBil74tH_PgLMyG1We8gNsfZqcgPsf4Jxy74-apCAg_aem_lYvub0w_eUXPXWFI_tjbfg

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In this episode: Prof. Sam Vaknin explains narcissism as a disruption in early childhood self-formation, leading to a lack of boundaries, empathy, and a false self. He describes narcissists as having an "empty schizoid core" that feeds on others to maintain a fantasy of grandiosity. Vaknin highlights the narcissist's ability to manipulate others through shared fantasies, exploiting their vulnerabilities. He contrasts narcissism with other mental illnesses, noting its unique blend of emotional dysregulation and controlled behavior. Vaknin also critiques social media's role in fostering negative emotions and isolating individuals, contributing to a broader societal disconnection from reality.

Attend the free 3-day seminar on healing and recovery from narcissistic abuse. Contact Prof. Sam Vaknin at samvaknin@gmail.com

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Thom Dharma Pollard

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A vast number of those under the age of 35 spend between six and eight hours a day using computer simulated games, essentially in a world far from reality. And, what's worse, the vast and expanding realm of social media are designed to bring out and leverage the worst in their users, all negative affects such as anger and malicious envy. It is a toxic environment. The core philosophy of social media is asocial. They want you divorced or with no friends. They want your eyeballs on the screen at all times....more eyeballs, more advertising, more money for them.

There is malice in social media platforms, they leverage elements of narcissism and violence, that is why there is so much trolling and hatred.

Today I have with us Professor Sam Vaknin, professor of psychology and author of over a dozen books on narcissism including Malignant Self Love: Narcissism Revisited, The Narcissist on Instagram: Epigrams and Observations, and Toxic Relationships: Abuse and Its Aftermath.

Prof. Vaknin's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@samvaknin

How I "Became" a Narcissist by Sam Vaknin: https://samvak.tripod.com/narcissisticroots.html

Put everything down, especially that tiny screen in your hand, and listen.

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Thom Dharma Pollard

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She woke in the dead of night, unsure if she’d succeed, fail… or die. Because the last person to attempt what she was doing did die. Melissa Arnot would be walking right past one of Everest’s most infamous bodies—Sleeping Beauty on her sixth, but most perilous climb, of Mount Everest. She was climbing without bottled oxygen, a feat only a handful of women have ever accomplished.

In this inspiring interview with Melissa Arnot Reid, she discusses her beautiful memoir - Enough: Climbing Toward a True Self on Mount Everest - a journey into the soul of one of the world’s great climbers, from the rarified heights of Chomolungma to the dark depths of her personal demons. It's a story familiar to anyone who has struggled to find compassion for themselves.

About Enough
A searching, uplifting memoir by the celebrated, groundbreaking climber: a journey of overcoming where the mountain’s highest peaks can only be reached by traversing the dark crevasses of the soul

At twenty-seven, when Melissa Arnot Reid accepted a tank of oxygen just short of the summit of Mount Everest, she felt ravaged by defeat. Driven by a relentless, lifelong quest to prove to herself, her family, and the world that she was enough, she had set herself an incredible goal—to become the first American woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. The failure battered her spirit and left her struggling to keep her tenuous grip on hope.

In the candid and adventurous spirit of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, Enough is a story of a life in which the most dangerous mountain faces became a refuge—until suddenly they, too, no longer seemed safe. From a childhood marked by conflict, betrayal, and predation, Reid propelled herself to the top of the mountain climbing world, summiting and guiding on the world’s most challenging peaks and establishing herself as a woman unafraid to throw elbows in a milieu dominated by men. And yet for every summit she reached, her valleys of inner turmoil—over her estrangement with the family she believed she’d destroyed as a child; over relationships that cycled through deception and infidelity—grew deeper and more self-destructive. Eventually, she could not keep these worlds from colliding, especially after a series of tragedies at dangerous elevations took the lives of her mentors and friends. Forced at last to face herself, Reid made her most perilous climb yet—toward the uncertain promise of forgiveness and self-acceptance.

A beautiful, aching memoir of a journey with life-and-death stakes on the mountain and off, Enough bares the soul of one of the world’s greatest climbers, from the rarified heights visible only at thin-air altitudes to the dark depths home to demons familiar to anyone who has struggled to find compassion for themselves.

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Thom Dharma Pollard

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What a world it would be if we encouraged just one human being once each day, what a world it would be, if we followed the core spirit of our being.

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Nothing says life on the road and all that comes along with than the life of a touring musician. It’s not Leer jets and posh hotels, sold out auditoriums. The music you hear pouring out of small bars and music houses, cafes come from people like you and me, passionate, driven, inspired…..they drive 8 hours from gig to gig, sleep in modest hotels - or behind the bar after it closes. They set up their own kits and amplifiers, collect their hard-earned cash after the gigs, get up the next morning and do it all over again.

Here's a bonafide troubadour. Seth Walker, touring since the mid 90’s. Seth is an American blues, guitarist singer songwriter….author, poet, painter…..has followed the song of his soul. He wrote his own book during covid called YOUR VAN IS ON FIRE...poetry, art, anecdotes from life - he grew up on a commune - and on the road, like playing with Alain Toussaint, Willie Nelson...he’s chased the vibe his whole life, lived in New Orleans, Austin, Nashville...he wanted to eat, sleep, drink and breathe every single note he could possibly hear until it flowed through him, like osmosis.

You know that kind of musician when you hear one.

I caught up with Seth from his hotel room in Chicago*. By now he’s probably half way to Minnesota where his next gig is.

Seth is more than the sum of his parts. His music is soulful, bright…., sometimes dense, ’’that’s his word...like his song Inside, written during a trip to Cuba right after Fidel Castro died.

*EPISODE originally released Oct. 29, 2021 ©ThomPollard

All music used with permission of Seth Walker.

----

LINKS

For more on Seth and to find his book and music, visit:

https://sethwalker.com/

Seth's Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/sethwalker

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Thom Dharma Pollard

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Alone on Everest*. No Oxygen. No Support. No Limits....IN WINTER!

Jost Kobusch is redefining the boundaries of human endurance. In the dead of winter, with temperatures plunging to -40°F and winds howling through Everest’s infamous West Ridge, he set out on a nearly impossible mission: to climb Everest solo, without supplemental oxygen, on one of the most dangerous routes in history.

Doubted by the world’s top climbers—some giving him just a 0.1% chance of success—Jost pushed higher than any solo winter climber before him, reaching 7,537 meters (24,727 feet). In this exclusive interview, he reveals the mental and physical battle of facing Everest alone, his obsession with testing his limits, and what it truly takes to survive where few dare to go.

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Thom Dharma Pollard

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