Sauna Talk

Coming to you from the International Sauna Congress in Oslo, Norway, where more than 500 sauna enthusiasts, builders, operators, and professionals have gathered from around the world.

For this episode of Sauna Talk, we're going spontaneous.

I'm outside the convention hall, enjoying some fresh air and sunshine, surrounded by hundreds of interesting people with stories to tell. I feel like a sauna dog at a sauna dog park. All I need is a picnic table, a microphone, and a little serendipity.

And the sauna gods deliver.

First stop: Denmark.

I...

What happens when two lifelong sauna enthusiasts, longtime friends, and thermal soul brothers decide to write a book celebrating sauna culture?

In Sauna Talk Episode 142, Glenn Auerbach sits down with Tom Rolando at Sauna Days 2026, on the shores of Lake Superior at Larsmont Cottages, to introduce their new book, Sauna Life: From Heat Up to Cool Down.

This conversation is especially meaningful because Tom was the very first guest on Sauna Talk. Now, 142 episodes later, they're back together, sharing stories, laughs, and reflections on a friendship that helped inspire not only the book but Sauna...

Something special is happening in the world of sauna research.

In this episode of Sauna Talk, Glenn Auerbach takes us to The Well in Norway, where the Sauna Research Foundation has brought together 15 researchers from nine countries to advance the science of sauna bathing.

For years, researchers studying sauna and its potential health benefits have often worked independently, across different countries and scientific disciplines. Now, they're coming together to share ideas, challenge assumptions, establish common research standards, and build a foundation for future collaboration.

With his handheld recorder, Glenn captures spontaneous conversations in...

In this episode of Sauna Talk, Glenn Auerbach sits down with Risto Elomaa, outgoing president of the International Sauna Association, on the eve of the International Sauna Congress in Oslo.

After 16 years as ISA president—and two decades on its board—Risto reflects on a lifetime shaped by sauna, beginning with his first smoke sauna at just four weeks old. He shares stories from decades of sauna culture around the world, from Finland and Germany to Japan, South Korea, China, and beyond.

The conversation explores what defines a real sauna, the importance of good löyly...

What happens when we stop performing and start remembering who we actually are?

In this live conversation from Sauna Days 2026, Glenn Auerbach sits down with longtime friend Harvey Martin for a wide-ranging Sauna Talk about performance, identity, intuition, nervous-system regulation, and the role sauna can play in bringing us back to ourselves.

Harvey has spent years inside the world of high performance. After playing professional baseball, he worked in player development and spent four seasons doing human performance coaching with the San Francisco Giants. Today, he works privately with elite athletes, musicians, and other high-level...

In Sauna Talk Episode 138, Glenn sits down with longtime friend and fellow "thermal soul brother" Jeff Pyzyk—a Wisconsin sauna enthusiast with more than two decades of experience and an estimated 3,500+ sauna sessions under his belt.

Jeff shares how one lakeside sauna and a cold plunge in 1998 turned into a lifelong pursuit. From building his own saunas and experimenting with wood-fired heat to helping inspire the low-profile Kuma stove, Jeff has developed his perspective the old-fashioned way: through years of time on the bench.

The conversation moves from good heat, löyly, rock mass, bench hei...

What does it mean to be "3 Percent Finn" yet feel deeply connected to Finnish sauna culture?

For Sauna Talk Episode 137, Glenn sits down with Michael Nordskog, author of The Opposite of Cold: The Northwoods Finnish Sauna Tradition, recorded live at Sauna Days 2026.

Michael grew up in the heart of North American sauna country, and his work has helped document a sauna tradition that runs deep through northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the greater Lake Superior region.

In this conversation, Michael and Glenn get into Finnish ancestry, Northwoods sauna culture, the traditions that took...

In this episode of Sauna Talk, the roles are reversed as Mossy Ben interviews Glenn Auerbach about Sauna Days 2026 at Larsmont Cottages on the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Glenn shares the origin story of Sauna Days, from a small gathering of roughly 25 sauna enthusiasts to a sold-out celebration of sauna culture featuring mobile saunas, presentations, breathwork, cold plunges, artisans, builders, operators, and sauna people from around the world.

They discuss the beautiful weather, the importance of maintaining enough bench space, the soul of the original Larsmont sauna, and the delicate balance between commerce and "...

In Episode 135 of Sauna Talk, Glenn Auerbach welcomes psychotherapist Sierra Blake for a live conversation recorded at Sauna Days 2026 on the shores of Lake Superior.

Sierra brings a graduate background in mental health psychology from the University of Minnesota, along with clinical experience working in trauma and addiction medicine. Her work explores the relationship between mind and body, including the potential psychological effects of sauna and cold-water immersion.

This conversation moves beyond the usual discussion of what heat does to the body and asks a bigger question: What can shared sauna experiences do for our...

USA Sauna Celebration: Reflections on Good Heat, American Ingenuity, and the Spirit of Freedom

For this special July 4 edition of Sauna Talk, Glenn reflects from island cabin country near the Superior National Forest in northeast Minnesota, looking out across open water and thinking about sauna in America: where it came from, what it means today, and the people helping carry the flame forward.

As the United States celebrates 250 years since its founding, this episode gathers excerpts from several of Glenn's favorite Sauna Talk conversations with American sauna personalities and sauna-adjacent voices. Together, they form a...

Recorded live before a full audience at Sauna Days 2025, this special episode of Sauna Talk brings together four authors, educators, and lifelong students of human experience for a conversation that moves well beyond sauna itself.

Joining me are Garrett Conover, author of Sauna Magic; Jesse Coomer, author and educator in breathwork and cold exposure; Harvey Martin, author of Breathe, Focus, Excel and Without Words; and myself, Glenn Auerbach, author of Sauna Build from Start to Finish. Together, we explore the experiences, obsessions, and questions that led each of us to write books and dedicate years of our...

What happens when the exploding UK sauna movement meets the rapidly evolving North American sauna scene?

Recorded live at Sauna Days 2025 on Minnesota's North Shore, this episode of Sauna Talk features a wide-ranging conversation with Jake Newport of Finnmark Sauna in the UK. Together, Glenn Auerbach and Jake explore where global sauna culture is headed next — from grassroots mobile saunas and floating bathhouses to luxury urban wellness spaces, aufguss experiences, and the rise of social sauna culture.

Jake shares the remarkable story behind Finnmark Sauna and the transformation of sauna culture across the UK over th...

In this of Sauna Talk, Glenn Auerbach is joined bench-side by Josh Leddy of Get Sweaty with Leddy and sauna builder Leif Kjorness of Excelsior Saunas for a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation recorded after multiple sauna and cold plunge rounds on Lake Ann in Minnesota. 

What unfolds is more than a discussion about sauna. It's a conversation about craftsmanship, friendship, healing, community, and the ways sauna culture continues to evolve while still holding onto its roots.

Josh shares how his lifelong connection to sauna eventually inspired him to launch Get Sweaty with Leddy, a Y...

n this live panel from Sauna Days 2025, Glenn welcomes two of the most thoughtful voices in sauna research, Dr. Ashley Mason of UCSF and Earric Lee of the Montreal Heart Institute, for a candid conversation about the current state of sauna science, where the evidence is strong, where it is still emerging, and why integrity matters when talking about health benefits in the sauna world.

This episode goes far beyond the usual wellness headlines. Ashley and Earric dig into the real responsibility that comes with promoting sauna for health, especially in a moment when many businesses lean...

In this episode of Sauna Talk, Glenn sits down with Bill Gifford, author of Hotwired: How the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger, for a wide-ranging conversation on sauna, heat adaptation, and the connection between physical challenge and mental well-being.

Bill shares how his journey into heat began through personal stress, scientific curiosity, and his reporting on the powerful effects of sauna and thermal exposure. Together, Glenn and Bill explore the famous Finnish sauna research of Dr. Jari Laukkanen, the role of heat in cardiovascular and mental health, and the way sauna can act as both...

Recorded live at Sauna Days 2025, this episode of Sauna Talk brings together a thoughtful panel of doctors who sauna for a grounded conversation on heat, health, and the real role of sauna in modern life.

Glenn is joined by Dr. Jeremiah Eisenchenk, Dr. Brandon Dotson, Dr. Brittany Kimball, and Dr. Ashley Mason for a lively discussion on what we know, what we don't know, and why sauna continues to matter for both personal well-being and community connection.

This conversation explores:

In this special episode of Sauna Talk, I'm joined inside one of the Culture of Bathing Sauna Village saunas in New York City by three fellow authors whose work explores heat bathing culture from very different perspectives. This conversation was recorded on the sauna bench during the 2026 Culture of Bathing Festival in New York City.

Recorded during Culture of Bathing 2.0 gathering on the East River, this conversation brings together authors Yuval Zohar (Towards a Nude Architecture), Emma O'Kelly (Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat and Wild Sauna), Bill Gifford (Hotwired: How Heat Makes Us Stronger), and yours trul...

In this special episode of Sauna Talk, the tables are turned as Adam Pambatanaka, COO of Therme Group U.S., steps into the interviewer's role and puts Glenn on the bench.

Recorded live at Sauna Village in New York City in February 2026, this conversation dives into Glenn's own sauna origin story, from getting hooked in the Baltic archipelago to helping champion mobile saunas, sauna building, and public sauna culture across North America.

Adam guides the discussion through the big themes that have shaped Glenn's work with SaunaTimes: the rise of sauna in the public domain...

Today on the bench, we sit withValtteri Rantala, A Finn living in Vancouver BC since 2016. Val started a Sauna company in Vancouver in 2019. And in the shadows of Western Red Cedars, we'll hear the origin stories of the budding West Coast Sauna Summit at Loon Lake Lodge and Retreat center, one of the pins on Val's Vancouver Sauna Circuit.

We just returned from the second West Coast Sauna Summit here in 2026. And I was able to attend last year's inaugural Summit in 2025. The Vibes at the West Coast Sauna Summit are quite familiar to me, as founder and...

Welcome to this episode of Sauna Talk recorded on multiple sauna benches at the Culture of Bathing Sauna Village in New York City. I'll keep this introduction brief as we turn the microphone over to four pillars behind the second annual Culture of Bathing gathering. This year, the gathering was layered adjacent to the opening of New York Cities first sauna village. A village of 15 architecturally-distinct saunas set along the Williamsburg waterfront.

Featuring:

Mikkel Aaland: The Godfather of Sweat

Cosmin-Nicolae Cîrîc: King of the Sauna Experience

Robert Hammond: President and...

Today's episode comes to you from the recent West Coast Sauna Summit, outside Vancouver BC Canada, where I had the honour of interviewing Mikkel Aaland, the Godfather of Sweat, live in front of a packed room of thermal enthusiasts.

It's no secret that Mikkel has been a mentor to me, in sweat, in sauna, and in life. What I've always admired is his refusal to stay inside the box. Instead, he works the edges of it, where things are more interesting, more impactful, and where real change actually happens.

In this conversation, we dig into...

Today on the bench, we sit together with Keegan Kittock, co-founder of Deep Wave Sauna. With the rising tide of sauna also comes marketing talk, pedantic chatter, and graphs and charts about how air supposedly moves in the hot room.

So it's extra special and refreshing to visit with someone like Keegan.

In this episode, we start at the beginning—picturing Keegan after elementary school, dragging a magnet around a building site, earning bubble-gum money working for his father's contracting company.

And like many of us, catching the sauna bug at a young, im...

Today on the virtual bench we visit with longtime thermal enthusiast, friend, and SaunaTimes contributor Kev who takes us through the public bathhouses in and around Chicago for this Sauna Circuit.

As you'll hear in this episode, Kev is no stranger to the saunas, banyas, and bathhouses in his hometown. What's cool about Chicago is that the banya culture is well developed.. and also quite historic thanks to aptly entitled Chicago Bathhouse, a traditional bathhouse at 1914 W. Division Street in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, which has operated since 1906. Formerly Red Square, this Russian-style bathhouse...

Today, on Sauna Talk, and almost on the sauna bench, I'm pleased to bring you the folks behind the three major American sauna stove makers. American manufacturing at work!

We talk through what their company looks like, their community, and what their opinions are on the North American sauna industry.

Small town manufacturing. Direct to consumer, factory direct.

Products

Made with quality with longevity in mind.

A couple of terms:

Cos...

Today on the bench, we bring you to Larsmont Cottages, Two Harbors. Minnesota for a special roundtable discussion with four sauna builders from four different countries as part of Sauna Days 2025.

The weather was wonderful, the heat was resonating, and our conversation went deep.

Today on Sauna Talk, we are joined by the dynamic duo of researcher from Emery University, Deanna Kaplan and Roman Palitsky.

Deanna Kaplan, PhD is a clinical psychologist with expertise in digital health technologies. She has more than a decade of experience using wearable and smartphone-based technologies to study the dynamics of health processes and clinical change during daily life. Her research is grounded in a whole-person (bio-psycho-social-spiritual) model of health, and much of her work focuses on investigating the dynamics of change of integrative interventions, such as psychedelic-assisted therapies and contemplative practices.

...

I've had the pleasure of sitting on the sauna bench with well over a hundred guests for Sauna Talk. Whether you're listening in your car, out for a walk, or sweating it out on your own bench, my goal as host is to help keep the conversation flowing. Like good löyly, Sauna Talk rises, rolls, and wraps around us—natural, unforced, and alive.

That same spirit was there last night with Chris Heck.

Chris grew up in Northern Minnesota, made his way into engineering school, and deep into his electrical engineering career. He spent a coup...

Welcome to this episode of Sauna Talk, where we head back to Farris Bad, resort spa and wellness retreat South of Oslo, Norway. We get to sit with Jerome, who is a long standing steam master at the resort. Here he leads aufguss ceremony and assists two time Sauna Talk guest Lasse Eriksen.

10,000 hours

One thing I wish I had asked Jerome in this interview is to venture a guess at how many guests he's "entertained" (if that's the right word) over his 10-plus years leading aufguss sessions at this world-renowned facility. Some quick farmer's ma...

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome a very special guest: Dr. Hans Hägglund.

Hans Hägglund, MD, PhD, is a physician, professor at Uppsala University in northern Sweden, and senior consultant at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. With a deep background in clinical research and leadership in cancer care, his work bridges modern medicine with the enduring traditions of sauna and health.

In this conversation, we connect with Hans in Stockholm and explore the growing global interest in sauna bathing and cold exposure. We talk about the challenges of researching their health benefits, and wh...

Today on the sauna bench, we head to Oslo, Norway, and visit with the folks at Oslo Badstuforening, (Oslo Sauna Association).

This is my second trip to Norway in as many years. They say that you never step into the same river twice, and I'll contend that we never sit on the same sauna bench twice. For last year, I took many saunas in the Oslo Harbour, as well as published a Sauna Talk with the Oslo Sauna Association team – and you can listen to that episode which is #99. And this year, I get right back into th...

This episode of Sauna Talk is a special joint conversation with Linda and Otto of The Spirit of Sauna podcast, coming to you from Sipoonjoki Heritage Sauna just outside Helsinki, Finland.

Linda and Otto are partners in both business and passion—dedicated to preserving the cultural roots of Finnish smoke sauna while creating a place for education, rituals, and retreat in nature.

I'd call Sipoonjoki a true smoke sauna haven.

Their flagship smoke sauna is built in traditional fashion—set into a hillside with stone walls—and offers a deeply grounding experience. Beyond the he...

This episode of Sauna Talk comes to you from London, England—on the morning after the British Sauna Summit.

I meet up with Stig Arild Pettersen, Secretary General of the Norwegian Sauna Association, at Hackney Baths. It's the perfect setting for a conversation about what's happening in sauna culture right now—not just in Norway, but across borders.

Stig is also the host of Badstuprat, Norway's version of Sauna Talk, and together we compare notes on what many are calling the "Badstu Boom."

From Britain's emerging bathing renaissance to Norway's deeply rooted sauna trad...

This episode of Sauna Talk comes to you from the British Sauna Summit, held May 20, 2025, at the Hilton London Canary Wharf.

What a difference a year makes.

At the first Summit in 2024, about 120 of us gathered on a rooftop in Hackney—part conference, part family gathering. This year, attendance swelled to well over 300, and the setting shifted to a proper hotel ballroom. A clear sign of something growing.

This is the evolution of sauna in Britain.

What began as a passionate, grassroots movement has quickly developed into a structured and expanding co...

Welcome to this special episode of Sauna Talk, recorded at the Culture of Bathing gathering in New York City, January 2025.

This is a bit of a two-part conversation.

We begin with a behind-the-scenes discussion featuring Adam of Thermë USA, who moderates a panel of public sauna operators from across North America. Together, they reflect on the gathering itself and the growing interest in sauna as a shared, public experience.

From there, we move into the live panel discussion, recorded in front of an audience of nearly 100 attendees.

Joining the conversation are:

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome back Mika Meskanen and Wendy Liu.

Mika, originally from Finland, and Wendy, with roots in China, now call London home. We recorded this conversation together on the sauna bench in my backyard sauna in Minneapolis—just the way Sauna Talk is meant to happen.

This is our second conversation, following Episode #54, and as always, something special happens when we settle into the heat and let the discussion unfold naturally.

Mika and Wendy are a dynamic duo in the sauna world.

They lead sauna travel experiences to...

Today on Sauna Talk, we welcome back Jon Sabes.

Jon first joined us on Episode #61, and in this conversation, we reconnect on the same sauna bench in Minneapolis. He's in town from Los Angeles for a winter weekend, and we meet after a cross-country ski on Lake Minnetonka—just as the sauna is coming up to temperature.

There's something about talking with authors on the bench. The conversation tends to flow easily—like good steam in the hot room.

Jon's new book, Healthy Wealthy Longevity, is at the center of our discussion. It's a th...

Thinking about building your own sauna? This episode of Sauna Talk brings you inside a live panel discussion on sauna design, construction, and best practices—recorded at the West Coast Sauna Summit near Vancouver, BC.

On the bench with Glenn are two experienced Canadian sauna builders—Andrew (Saunabuilder) and Josh (Theraluxe)—sharing real-world insights on everything from bench heights and wall cladding to wood stoves vs electric heaters, mobile saunas vs backyard builds, and what truly makes a great sauna.

This conversation is part of a hands-on sauna building seminar, where we dig into the practi...

This episode of Sauna Talk comes from a fireside gathering at the West Coast Sauna Summit, held at Loon Lake in the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest.

It was late in the evening on the second night.

Some were still cycling through the saunas. Others had turned in. But about 25–30 of us gathered in a circle—some in sandals, some barefoot, some wrapped in towels or robes—for an impromptu Sauna Talk.

No stage. No agenda. No script.

Just a group of sauna people, settling in after a full day, ready to sha...

This episode of Sauna Talk comes to you from New York City, recorded during the Culture of Bathing gathering in January 2025.

Rather than a single conversation, this is a walk-through—capturing voices, perspectives, and moments from across the event.

With nearly 100 attendees from around the world—many of them bathhouse owners, operators, and builders—this gathering offered a unique snapshot of where sauna and bathing culture stands today, particularly in North America.

Armed with a handheld recorder, I made my way through Manhattan and Brooklyn, connecting with a handful of people shaping this evolvi...

Today on Sauna Talk, we celebrate the spirit of backyard sauna culture with highlights from Parade of Saunas 2024 in Minneapolis.

This community event brought visitors through 10 home saunas across the city, offering a chance to step into the creativity, craftsmanship, and hospitality of backyard sauna owners. Along the way, the event also raised $1,500 for charity.

What stood out most was the generosity of the hosts and the enthusiasm of the visitors. From seasoned sauna folks to those just beginning to dream about their own backyard build, the day was filled with curiosity, good conversation, and...