'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
America Outdoors host Baratunde Thurston is a “writer, activist and sometime comedian” who is all set to launch the titular show on July 5, 2022, at 9/8c on PBS.
In the show, Baratunde Thurston will explore the various areas of the country and examine how the landscapes influence how Americans live, work, and engage with the outdoors.
Thurston is also an Emmy-nominated host who has worked for The Onion, advised the Obama White House, and is the author of the New York Times bestseller book, How To Be Black. He has also received the Social Impact Award at the 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards for being the creator and host of How To Citizen with Baratunde in 2020.
All about America Outdoors host Baratunde Thurston
Baratunde Rafiq Thurston was born in Washington; he lost his father when he was a little child, and his mother supported the family by working at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He has an older sister as well.
He graduated from Harvard University in 1999 with a degree in philosophy after completing his schooling at Sidwell Friends School.
Prior to working as a Contract Producer and Advisor for Unravel Media for four months, he started his career in 1999 as an Associate in The Management Network Group, where he worked for four years.
He even co-founded Jack and Jill Politics, a black political blog whose coverage of the Democratic National Convention in 2008 was archived by the Library of Congress.
He even served as director of the digital for The Onion before launching the comedy/technology startup Cultivated Wit. Thurston also serves on the boards of BUILD.org and the Brooklyn Public Library, as per his profile.
In 2019, the Brooklyn native's words were hailed as “one of the greatest TED talks of all time,” as per MSNBC’s Brian Williams. Other than this, Thurston was also honored “for changing the political and social landscape one laugh at a time,” by the ACLU of Michigan.
His other accolades include a Bill Hicks Award nomination for Thought Provoking Comedy, being named in the list of the 100 most influential African Americans by The Root, along with being listed as one of the 100 Most Creative People In Business by Fast Company.
His unique ability to assimilate issues of culture, race, politics, and technology to explain the nation's present and future is constantly admired. Due to the nature of Thurstone's perspective and profound work, former US President deemed the latter to be someone he "need to know."
About Baratunde Thurston’s America Outdoors
The 6-episode new series, America Outdoors, is produced by Part2 Pictures for Twin Cities PBS (TPT). According to PBS, on America Outdoors, viewers will:
“Follow Baratunde Thurston, bestselling author, and podcaster, as he explores the country’s diverse landscapes to see how they shape the way we work, play, and interact with the outdoors. From coal miners turned beekeepers in Appalachia to Black surfers catching waves in L.A., uncover a deeper understanding of our passionate and complex relationship with the natural world.”
Tune in on July 5 to watch Episode 1 of America Outdoors, titled Death Valley: Life Blooms, and explore the hottest place on Earth, see an ultra-marathoner running in the summer heat, and find many more interesting details about the place on the show.
