SoulGrown Alabama debuts new ‘AFIELD’ podcast, showcasing southern storytelling and outdoor living, presented by Gusto Hunting Preserve

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June 10, 2025

SoulGrown Alabama, part of the YHN Media Group, has unveiled AFIELD, presented by Gusto Hunting Preserve, a new podcast that ventures beyond the walls of a traditional studio and into the rich landscapes of Alabama’s outdoors.

Hosted by award-winning Southern writer Christiana Roussel, the show spotlights voices who live, create, and conserve across the region’s forests, fields, and farmlands.

“SoulGrown readers are passionate about seeing our lands taken care of”

“The concept for AFIELD came from a desire to serve our readers with more of the content they love,” Courtney Hancock, CEO of SoulGrown said. “Our written stories about Alabama’s outdoors, and even more specifically, conservation efforts in the state, are always the most engaged with.

“SoulGrown readers are passionate about seeing our lands taken care of, so launching a podcast is a way to go deeper into the topic with the best subject matter experts in the state.”

The debut episode, released this week, features acclaimed wildlife artist and Alabama native Vaughan Pursell Spanjer. From her sunlit studio on the 3,200-acre Pursell Farms property, Spanjer shares a deeply personal journey rooted in the land that raised her.

Listeners are taken from her barefoot childhood chasing crawdads and bird dogs to her days designing in New York’s fashion circles, and ultimately back home—where her artwork and faith now flourish side by side.

Future episodes of AFIELD will feature prominent names including James Beard Award finalist Chef Rob McDaniel of Helen and Bayonet in Birmingham, Pheasants Forever’s Marilyn Vetter, and Alabama Black Belt’s Pam Swanner.

Each conversation will continue the podcast’s mission: to explore how the natural world blends into who we are and how we live, create, and connect in the South in a fresh, new, visual, and audible way.

You can listen to the first episode and all future episodes on Spotify and Apple.

For more Christiana Roussel, visit her website and follow her on Instagram.

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