Kickoff Panel: Hot Takes from the Upper Bench with Walker Angell
- Feb 14
- 1 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
Welcome to National Sauna Week’s kickoff panel, featuring the Upper Bench Podcast team in a lively, no-holds-barred conversation with Walker Angell, author of Trumpkin’s Sauna Notes.
In this hot-takes–style discussion, the panel dives into why sauna has struggled to take hold in North America compared to other parts of the world. Topics include what truly defines sauna, how language and cultural misunderstandings have shaped North American perceptions, and the rise of “McSauna”—examining how over-commercialization impacts both sauna design and lived practice. The conversation will also explore the virtue of “ugly” saunas, the role of nudity, and—yes—why infrared does not qualify as sauna. Provocative, candid, and deeply informed, this session sets the tone for a week dedicated to questioning, reclaiming, and strengthening sauna culture.
Speakers: Walker Angell, Eero Kilpi, Risto Rice, and Sam Wacha