What solitude does to you in the wilderness and in prison

By Jessica Severin de Martinez,

Published May 19, 2023 at 2:30 PM EDT

1 of 8 — Steve Fuller: One of the last winter caretakers at Yellowstone National Park, a job he’s done for 50 years.

Steve Fuller: One of the last winter caretakers at Yellowstone National Park, a job he’s done for 50 years.

Callie Russell of 'Alone' on the History Channel stands in a snowy field in the Northwest Territories of Canada, bundled in fur.

2 of 8 — Callie Russell of Alone

Callie Russell: Contestant on Season 7 (aired in 2020) of 'Alone' on the History Channel. She lasted 89 days in the Northwest Territories of Canada before being medically evacuated due to frostbite of the toes.

3 of 8 — Steve Fuller: One of the last winter caretakers at Yellowstone National Park, a job he’s done for 50 years.

Steve Fuller: One of the last winter caretakers at Yellowstone National Park, a job he’s done for 50 years.

4 of 8 — Image by Steve Fuller of Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Image by Steve Fuller of Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Steve Fuller

5 of 8 — Image by Steve Fuller of Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Image by Steve Fuller of Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Steve Fuller

6 of 8 — Image by Steve Fuller of Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Image by Steve Fuller of Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Steve Fuller

7 of 8 — Image by Steve Fuller of Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Image by Steve Fuller of Yellowstone National Park in the winter.

Steve Fuller

8 of 8 — Ray Boyd: After serving 29.5 years incarcerated for a murder he committed at the age of 17, he became a spokesperson for Stop Solitary CT, which successfully rallied for changes in Connecticut's solitary confinement protocol. He is the author of "Mind Over Matter: How I Became the Model Inmate".

Ray Boyd: After serving 29.5 years incarcerated for a murder he committed at the age of 17, he became a spokesperson for Stop Solitary CT, which successfully rallied for changes in Connecticut's solitary confinement protocol. He is the author of "Mind Over Matter: How I Became the Model Inmate".

Nietzsche once said, “It is what one takes into solitude that grows there, the beast within included.”

This episode features three people who experienced solitude: by choice and not.

There’s a winter caretaker at Yellowstone, a runner-up from the History Channel show, Alone, and you'll hear from a Connecticut man who spent almost 30 years in solitary confinement.

GUESTS:

Callie Russell: Contestant on Season 7 (aired in 2020) of Alone on the History Channel. She lasted 89 days in the Northwest Territories of Canada before being medically evacuated due to frostbite of the toes
Steve Fuller: One of the last winter caretakers at Yellowstone National Park, a job he’s done for 50 years
Ray Boyd: After serving 29.5 years incarcerated for a murder he committed at the age of 17, he became a spokesperson for Stop Solitary CT, which successfully rallied for changes in Connecticut's solitary confinement protocol. He is the author of Mind Over Matter: How I Became the Model Inmate

Jessica Severin de Martinez and Catie Talarski contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 22, 2022.

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