Steven Rinella
Steven Rinella is the outdoorsman, writer, and MeatEater founder whose shows, podcasts, and books connect hunting and fishing with wild food, history, and conservation.
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Latest
Steven’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
- MeatEater2012–present · Host
MeatEater - The MeatEater Podcast2015–present · Host
MeatEater - Hunting History with Steven Rinella2025 · Host and executive producer
History - American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon2008 · Author
Random House - Catch a Crayfish, Count the Stars2023 · Author
Random House - The MeatEater Outdoor Cookbook2024 · Author, with Krista Ruane
Random House
Overview
- From
- Twin Lake, Michigan
- Based in
- Bozeman, Montana
- Work
- Writer, television and podcast host, MeatEater founder
- Education
- MFA in creative nonfiction, University of Montana, 2000
- Breakout
- MeatEater, the hunting and wild food television series
Mini bio
How it started.
Raised in Twin Lake, Michigan, Steve learned to hunt and fish from his father and began fur trapping at ten. He hoped to make trapping his living, but low fur prices helped steer him toward outdoor writing. He earned an MFA in creative nonfiction at the University of Montana in 2000 and built a career writing about hunting, fishing, and wild food.
From the page to the screen.
Books came before the cameras. American Buffalo combined his own Alaska bison hunt with the animal’s place in American history. Television brought that curiosity to a wider audience: after The Wild Within on the Travel Channel, MeatEater became his signature series, starting in 2012 and moving to Netflix in 2018. The podcast added room for long conversations with scientists, writers, hunters, and anglers.
Food, family, and wild places.
The link between wildlife and dinner runs through his work, from field cooking on MeatEater to cookbooks and outdoor projects for children. His conservation work includes serving on the TRCP board and speaking up for public land access. In 2025 he added Hunting History, applying his outdoor experience to historical mysteries.
Creditschronological, newest first
Television and podcasts
- 2025Hunting History with Steven RinellaHost and executive producer
- 2015–presentThe MeatEater PodcastHost
- 2012–presentMeatEaterHost
Books and audio
- 2026MeatEater’s American History: The Alaskans (1896-1941)Author and narrator
- 2024The MeatEater Outdoor CookbookAuthor, with Krista Ruane
- 2023Catch a Crayfish, Count the StarsAuthor; illustrated by Max Temescu
- 2008American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost IconAuthor
Awards
- Honorary Doctorate of Forestry and ConservationUniversity of Montana, 2025.
- Conservation Achievement AwardTheodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, 2017, for raising awareness of habitat and access issues and encouraging action.
- Sigurd Olson Nature Writing AwardAmerican Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon.
Quotes
I believe that wild places are one of the key things that make America special.Steven Rinella, TRCP’s In the Arena
In a July 2026 interview, Rinella explained why protecting wild places matters to him.
Trivia
- He began fur trapping at ten, after learning hunting and fishing from his father.
- A 2005 Alaska bison permit became the starting point for American Buffalo.
- His family returns to an old fishing shack in southeast Alaska.
Find Steven
Follow Steve for field stories, wild food, and conversations about the outdoors.
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