America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston

I'm Baratunde Thurston, host of "America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston." Here are five things you should know about me. (upbeat music) I grew up in Washington, DC in the 1980s with my mother and my older sister and our home stood out. We had Afrocentric art, a desktop computer, healthy foods and a penchant for going hiking and biking and camping as well as using words like penchant. I've got a really deep connection to technology. My mother was a computer programmer back in the early eighties. I bought baratunde.com all the way back in 1999. And I've been using technology ever since as a way to connect with people and also to inspire my creativity. I also have a deep connection to comedy. I did stand up for about 10 years. I worked for "the Onion," the satirical news outlet, for five years. I was a producer for "The Daily Show" with Trevor Noah. I love the power of humor to connect people and also just keep me sane in really crazy times. I'm the creator and host of a podcast called "How To Citizen" where we take the word citizen and interpret it as a verb, reminding all of us of our power to collectively shape our communities. Look, we live in a system of people power. So we gotta remember to use that power for the people. I love making compost and making cocktails. I think turning grass clippings and organic waste into compost is magical. Compost is basically cocktails for plants, but I also love making cocktails for people, preferably with whiskey or mezcal. And I'm very, very good at it. That's not quite an invitation to my home, but if you play your cards right, I'll hook you up. Cheers. (upbeat music)