Hidden Compass: The Podcast

Join Hidden Compass co-founders and podcast co-hosts Sivani Babu and Sabine K. Bergmann as they bring you stories from their award-winning magazine, and go behind the scenes with each storyteller to see what inspired them to venture to the frontiers of courage and curiosity. Season 1’s theme is “What Have I Done?”

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Hidden Compass: The Podcast

A Constant Push for Perfection

December 22, 2021 • Hidden Compass • Season 2 • Episode 8

With the end of a year comes the end of a season. For the last episode of Hidden Compass: The Podcast, Season 2, co-hosts Sabine and Sivani present a story and a conversation all about finding hope and wonder despite — and maybe even because — of the moments that challenge us.

This episode’s guest is writer and environmental educator Brandon McWilliams, who was just 19 years old when he wrote his Hidden Compass piece. Brandon speaks with Sabine and Sivani about turning rejection into a working relationship, the slow build of a cumulative epiphany, and the joy of bear claws. But first, sit back and journey with us, as Brandon takes us to Washington State’s rugged North Cascades, where he confronts the hardships of wilderness and the mental health crisis of a generation.

Story
“A Constant Push for Perfection” first appeared in the winter 2019 issue of Hidden Compass: The Magazine in our Human and Nature department. See the award-winning story and its accompanying photographs here: https://hiddencompass.net/story/a-constant-push-for-perfection.

Storyteller
Brandon McWilliams first became a published writer with his Hidden Compass story in 2019, and in the short time since then has gone on to author more stories, graduate college, and become an environmental educator. Read his “grumpy” op-ed in the Seattle Times here: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/its-our-turn-to-fix-the-climate-future-weve-inherited/. Peruse his work at Lucky Jefferson Magazine here: https://luckyjefferson.com/author/brandon-mcwilliams/. And check out his Hidden Compass profile at https://hiddencompass.net/journalist/brandon-mcwilliams.

Hidden Compass

Hidden Compass is an award-winning, women-led media company that’s forging an Alliance to turn storytellers and explorers into heroes and champion a new age of discovery.

To learn more about us and support storytellers like Brandon, visit https://hiddencompass.net and contribute to our fundraising campaigns. We split campaign proceeds 50/50 with the writer of each story, and storytellers receive their cut on top of their article pay.

To support Hidden Compass, recommend us to someone who’s looking to stand up for journalism, science, history, and hope. You can also buy tickets to our virtual events at https://hiddencompass.net/events, and learn more about becoming an Ally at https://hiddencompass.net/alliance. Sign up for our newsletter at https://bit.ly/2Yc2HH1.

We won’t see you next week, as this is the last episode of season 2! But never fear: There are plenty of ways to continue exploring with us. We look forward to seeing you in any of the Hidden Compass realms, where you’ll find more stories and storytellers venturing to the frontiers of courage and curiosity.