Chris Keyes is the Executive Director of RE:PUBLIC and the former longtime Editor in Chief of Outside magazine. During his decades-long career in journalism, Chris helped guide Outside through some of its most iconic years—publishing award-winning stories, mentoring top writers, and keeping the magazine’s adventurous spirit alive in an era of massive change across the media landscape. Earlier this year, after leaving Outside, he launched RE:PUBLIC, a new nonprofit newsroom dedicated to one of his lifelong passions: America’s public lands.
RE:PUBLIC was created to fill a growing gap in environmental journalism. At a time when newsroom budgets are shrinking and coverage of conservation and land management issues has nearly disappeared, Chris saw an opportunity to build a publication focused entirely on public lands—how they’re managed, who uses them, and why they matter. Structured as a nonprofit, RE:PUBLIC will publish deeply reported, narrative-driven stories that reach across political lines and help readers better understand the forces shaping the landscapes we all share.
In this episode, we talk about what inspired Chris to start RE:PUBLIC, why public lands deserve more consistent and credible coverage, and how he’s building a business model that protects editorial independence. We also discuss his years at Outside, the changing nature of journalism, the challenges of freelance writing, and why great storytelling still has the power to cut through the noise and connect people to big ideas.
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Big thanks to Chris for the fun conversation, and thank you for listening.
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Photos courtesy of Chris Keyes
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RESOURCES:
Topics Discussed:
- 2:00 – Intro, two comments and a question
- 6:08 – From Outside to RE:PUBLIC
- 10:57 – Public lands in the mainstream
- 13:12 – Nonprofit model
- 18:41 – Preaching to the choir
- 24:11 – Managing conflict as a people pleaser
- 29:17 – Journalism institutions and its role today
- 33:20 – Where it’s all going
- 39:41 – The editing hierarchy
- 44:27 – How Chris discovered Outside
- 49:46 – Adding in some personal connection
- 51:52 – The plan at Duke
- 57:09 – Book recs
- 1:00:20 – Wrapping up
Information Referenced:
- LinkedIn post launching RE:PUBLIC
- RE:PUBLIC and the founder’s note
- Texas Tribune
- ProPublica’s coverage of Sen. Lee’s public lands sell-off bill.
- Floyd Landis
- Chris’s independent writers recs: Matthew Yglesias, Bill McKibben. (Producer’s recs: Kylie Mohr and John Stember.)
- Sign up for the RE:PUBLIC newsletter here.
- Texas Monthly
- Hampton Sides
- Nicholas Kristof on the creative process and his NYT columns.
- Book recs: The Snow Leopard and Killing Mister Watson by Peter Matthiessen
Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:
- Paul Hendricks – The Conservation Alliance and the Future of Public Lands
- Adam Cramer – Fighting for the Future of Public Lands
- Hal Herring Returns – Live at the Old Salt Festival
- Kristine Tompkins – Nothing to Lose
- Kate Williams – Leadership Lessons from the CEO of 1% for the Planet
- Rick Ridgeway – Purpose-Driven Adventurer
- Ivan McClellan Returns – From Behind the Lens to Center of the Arena
Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes
