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Alex Heard

Alex Heard

Alex Heard is the editorial director of Outside and the author of The Eyes of Willie McGee and Apocalypse Pretty Soon: Travels in End-Time America.

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East Cemetery Hill, Gettysburg National Military Park

We Need to Talk About Confederate Statues on U.S. Public Lands

Southern Civil War symbols have been a flash point in towns and cities for years, but at places like the Gettysburg battlefield and Arlington National Cemetery—which are run by the Park Service and the Pentagon—there's a new, escalating conflict over monuments that honor the Lost Cause

Alex Heard
Sep 28, 2020
Allis Markham, putting the finishing touches on a burrowing owl

If Taxidermy Is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Right

Two documentaries, 'Big Fur' and 'Stuffed,' set out to show that this sticky-fingered branch of natural history is full of beauty and wonder. Do they succeed? Our reviewer, who knows a lot more about the subject than he ought to, says yes.

Alex Heard
Aug 11, 2020
Steven Lopez (right) celebrates with his brother and coach Jean after a bronze medal match at the Beijing Olympics.

Is the USOC Running a Sex Trafficking Ring?

A wide-ranging civil lawsuit alleges that the institution knew about serial abuse by Jean and Steven Lopez, implicating it in a system that allowed the sexual trafficking of four female athletes

Rachel Sturtz and Alex Heard
May 4, 2018
Sami’s disappearance cast a black cloud over Heardville. Every day, I slogged around in despair, and Susan was waking up in the middle of the night, crying.

Where in the Hell Is Our Cat?

A wintertime search-and-rescue drama that began with a predawn disappearance and a single terrifying clue: blood. No big deal, though. All we needed was a miracle.

Alex Heard
Mar 16, 2018
The Accidental Adventures of Terry McDonell

The Accidental Adventures of Terry McDonell

In a terrific new memoir about his career in journalism, McDonell talks about working with writers who became modern legends (including Jim Harrison, Edward Abbey, George Plimpton, and Hunter S. Thompson), the early days of 'Outside,' and the bright future he sees for a magazine industry that’s undergoing a historic transition.

Alex Heard
Aug 8, 2016
outside online unprotected USA swimming

Should USA Swimming Go Down?

A conversation with Irvin Muchnick and Tim Joyce, journalists who have spent years documenting the horrible story of sexually abusive swim coaches—and dogging a national governing body that they think is beyond repair

Alex Heard
Nov 25, 2014
McCandless in Alaska.

The Secret History of Chris McCandless

An explosive memoir by Carine McCandless provides new details about a toxic family environment that drove her brother to embark on the famous and fatal quest immortalized by Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild

Alex Heard
Nov 9, 2014
A Sunshine Day with the Secretary of Energy

A Sunshine Day with the Secretary of Energy

Ernest Moniz talks to Outside about radioactive waste, SuperTrucks, dazzling solar arrays, southwestern breakfasts, and a trout stream that has to remain top secret.

Alex Heard
Aug 13, 2014
Horrific deaths on Everest this past weekend have some considering safety measures and others considering boycotts.

Everest Season Caught in Limbo

The climbing season may not be closed for business just yet this season, but it may be tough to convince the mountain's most important climbers to carry on.

Alex Heard
Apr 21, 2014