Outside/In

For over ten years, biologist Mark Higley has been stalking the forests of the Hoopa Valley Reservation with a shotgun. His mission? To save the northern spotted owl. The threat? The more aggressive barred owl, which has spread from eastern forests into the Pacific Northwest.

The federal government plans to scale up these efforts and kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls across multiple states. But can the plan really save the northern spotted owl? And is the barred owl really “invasive”… or just expanding its range? 

In this episode, Nate Hegyi dons a headlamp and heads into the forest with Mark Higley to catch a glimpse of these two rivals, and find out what it takes to kill these charismatic raptors, night after night, in the name of conservation.

Featuring Mark Higley, Tom Wheeler, and Wayne Pacelle. 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

The federal government’s barred owl management plan is very long but they have a helpful list of frequently asked questions.

Check out some beautiful photos of Mark Higley’s work in this Audubon magazine story from a few years ago. 

Curious about the timber wars? Oregon Public Broadcasting has an excellent podcast miniseries you should listen to. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Mixed by Nate Hegyi

Editing by Taylor Quimby

Our staff includes Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, Marina Henke, and Kate Dario

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

For the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring the issue of human remains collections for our miniseries, “What Remains.” Today, we want to share another excellent series that has covered some similar, but also, very different ground.

Introducing “Postmortem: The Stolen Bodies of Harvard,” the latest season of Last Seen from WBUR. 

In this first episode, the police find buckets of body parts in a basement in Pennsylvania. Throughout the series, WBUR reporter Ally Jarmanning tells us what happened at Harvard, and how an elite university became a stop on a nationwide network of human remains trading.

It’s an excellent series, and a perfect follow-up to What Remains. If you want to hear the rest of the episodes afterwards, listen and follow Last Seen wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode of Last Seen: Postmortem was hosted and reported by Ally Jarmanning. It was edited by Dave Shaw and Beth Healy, with additional editing from Katelyn Harrop and Frannie Monahan Mixing and sound design. Paul Vaitkus. Last Seen’s Managing Producer is Samati Joshi. Executive Producer is Ben Brock Johnson. 

Also, we have something new from NHPR’s award-winning Document team.  Listen to “Emilia’s Thing,” a story of survival and resilience in the wake of January 6th. To listen, click here. 

A scholar and an activist make an uncompromising ultimatum. A forgotten burial ground is discovered under the streets of New York City. In Philadelphia, two groups fight over the definition of “descendant community.” 

Featuring Michael Blakey, Lyra Monteiro, Chris Woods, aAliy Muhammad, Wendell Mapson, Sacharja Cunningham, Jazmin Benton, Amrah Salomon, and Aja Lans. 

MORE ABOUT “WHAT REMAINS”

Across the country, the remains of tens of thousands of human beings are held by museums and institutions. Scientists say they’ve helped lay the foundations of forensic science and unlocked the secrets of humanity’s shared past. 

But these bones were also collected before informed consent was the gold standard for ethical study. 19th and 20th-century physicians and anthropologists took unclaimed bodies from poorhouses and hospitals, robbed graves, and looted Indigenous bones from sacred sites.

Now, under pressure from activists and an evolving scientific community, these institutions are rethinking what to do with their unethically collected human remains. 

Outside/In producer Felix Poon has informally gained a reputation as the podcast’s “death beat” correspondent. He’s visited a human decomposition facility (aka, “body farm”), reported on the growing trend of “green burial,” and explored the use of psychedelic mushrooms to help terminal cancer patients confront death.

In this three-episode series from Outside/In, Felix takes us to Philadelphia, where the prestigious Penn Museum has promised to “respectfully repatriate” hundreds of skulls collected by 19th century physician Samuel George Morton, who used them to pursue pseudo-scientific theories of white supremacy. Those efforts have been met with support by some, and anger and distrust by others. 

Along the way, Felix explores the long legacy of scientific racism, lingering questions over the 1985 MOVE bombing, and evolving ethics in the field of biological anthropology.

Can the institutions that have long benefited from these remains be trusted to give them up? And if so, who decides what happens next? 

LINKS

• Archival tape of protests for the African Burial Ground came from the documentary The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery (1994).
• Learn more about the African Burial Ground National Monument.
• A recently published report, co-authored by bioarchaeologist Michael Blakey for the American Anthropological Association, recommends that research involving the handling of ancestral remains must include collaboration with descendant communities.
• Learn more about Finding Ceremony, the repatriation organization started by aAliy Muhammad and Lyra Monteiro.
• Read the Penn Museum’s statement about the Morton Cranial Collection and the 19 Black Philadelphians they interred at Eden Cemetery in early 2024.

You can find our full episode credits, listen to our back catalog, and support Outside/In at our website: outsideinradio.org. 

A classroom display of human skulls sparks a reckoning at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. A movement grows to “abolish the collection.” The Penn Museum relents to pressure. More skeletons in the closet.

This episode contains swears.

MORE ABOUT "WHAT REMAINS"

Across the country, the remains of tens of thousands of human beings are held by museums and institutions. Scientists say they’ve helped lay the foundations of forensic science and unlocked the secrets of humanity’s shared past. 

But these bones were also collected before informed consent was the gold standard for ethical study. Now, under pressure from activists and an evolving scientific community, these institutions are rethinking what to do with their unethically collected human remains. 

In this three-episode series from Outside/In, producer Felix Poon takes us to Philadelphia, where the prestigious Penn Museum has promised to “respectfully repatriate” hundreds of skulls collected by 19th century physician Samuel George Morton, who used them to pursue pseudo-scientific theories of white supremacy. Those efforts have been met with support by some, and anger and distrust by others. 

Along the way, Felix explores the long legacy of scientific racism, lingering questions over the 1985 MOVE bombing, and evolving ethics in the field of biological anthropology.

Can the institutions that have long benefited from these remains be trusted to give them up? And if so, who decides what happens next? 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

The Morton Cranial Collection

• The Penn & Slavery Project Symposium in 2019 included a presentation on the Morton Cranial Collection.
• aAliy Muhammad’s 2019 opinion piece: “As reparations debate continues, the University of Pennsylvania has a role to play” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Mar Portillo Alvarado’s 2020 opinion piece: “The Penn Museum must end abuse of the Morton collection” (The Daily Pennsylvanian)
• Paul Wolff Mitchell’s 2021 report: “Black Philadelphians in the Samuel George Morton Cranial Collection”
• The Penn Museum’s 2021 press release: “Museum Announces the Repatriation of the Morton Cranial Collection”

The MOVE bombing and MOVE remains controversy

• Archival tape of the MOVE bombing came from the documentary Let the Fire Burn, and Democracy Now!
• She Was Killed by the Police. Why Were Her Bones in a Museum? (NY Times)
• In 2021-2022 three independent investigations reported on the MOVE remains controversy: one commissioned by the Penn Museum, one by the City of Philadelphia, and one by Princeton University.
• Lyra Monteiro's piece on Medium, "What the photos from 2014 reveal about Penn Museum's possession of the remains of multiple victims of the 1985 MOVE bombing."

You can find our full episode credits, listen to our back catalog, and support Outside/In at our website: outsideinradio.org. 

A 1,500 year old skeleton is diagnosed with tuberculosis. A visit to a modern-day bone library. A fight over the future of ethical science. 

MORE ABOUT "WHAT REMAINS"

Across the country, the remains of tens of thousands of human beings are held by museums and institutions. Scientists say they’ve helped lay the foundations of forensic science and unlocked the secrets of humanity’s shared past. 

But these bones were also collected before informed consent was the gold standard for ethical study. 19th and 20th-century physicians and anthropologists took unclaimed bodies from poorhouses and hospitals, robbed graves, and looted Indigenous bones from sacred sites.

Now, under pressure from activists and an evolving scientific community, these institutions are rethinking what to do with their unethically collected human remains. 

Outside/In producer Felix Poon has informally gained a reputation as the podcast’s “death beat” correspondent. He’s visited a human decomposition facility (aka, “body farm”), reported on the growing trend of “green burial,” and explored the use of psychedelic mushrooms to help terminal cancer patients confront death.

In this three-episode series from Outside/In, Felix takes us to Philadelphia, where the prestigious Penn Museum has promised to “respectfully repatriate” hundreds of skulls collected by 19th century physician Samuel George Morton, who used them to pursue pseudo-scientific theories of white supremacy. Those efforts have been met with support by some, and anger and distrust by others. 

Along the way, Felix explores the long legacy of scientific racism, lingering questions over the 1985 MOVE bombing, and evolving ethics in the field of biological anthropology.

Can the institutions that have long benefited from these remains be trusted to give them up? And if so, who decides what happens next? 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

The Smithsonian’s ‘Bone Doctor’ scavenged thousands of body parts (Washington Post)

Medical, scientific racism revealed in century-old plaque from Black man’s teeth (Science)

America’s Biggest Museums Fail to Return Native American Human Remains (ProPublica)

Read about Maria Pearson, the “Rosa Parks of NAGPRA” and how she sparked a movement. (Library of Congress Blogs)

Read Olga Spekker’s paper on SPF15, “The first probable case with tuberculous meningitis from the Hun period of the Carpathian Basin.”

Listen to our episode about so-called body farms, “Life and Death at a Human Decomposition Facility.”

You can find our full episode credits, listen to our back catalogue, and support Outside/In at our website: outsideinradio.org. 

When KALW’s Marissa Ortega-Welch hit the Pacific Crest Trail, she used her preferred method of navigation: an old-fashioned trail map. But along the way, she met a couple who only used phones to guide them, a Search and Rescue team that welcomes the power of GPS, and a woman who has been told her adaptive wheelchair isn't allowed in official wilderness areas (not actually true).

So… does technology help people access wilderness? Or does it get in the way? 

This week’s episode comes to us from “How Wild” produced by our friends at KALW Public Media. In this seven-part series, host Marissa Ortega-Welch charts the complex meaning of “wilderness” in the United States and how it’s changing. Marissa criss-crosses the country to speak with hikers, land managers, scientists and Indigenous leaders – people who spend every day grappling with how ideas about wilderness play out in the hundreds of designated wilderness areas across the U.S. 

LINKS

Check out more episodes of “How Wild” here.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook

HOW WILD CREDITS

How Wild is created and executive produced by Marissa Ortega-Welch. 

Edited by Lisa Morehouse. Additional editing and sound design by Gabe Grabin. 

Life coaching by Shereen Adel. Fact-checking by Mark Armao. 

How Wild is produced in partnership with KALW Public Media, distributed by NPR and made possible with support from California Humanities, a partner of the NEH. This podcast is produced in Oakland, California…on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ohlone. Learn more about the Indigenous communities where you live at native-land.ca

OUTSIDE/IN CREDITS

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio is Rebecca Lavoie

Our staff includes Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, Kate Dario and Marina Henke. 

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Perhaps you’re familiar with our Outside/Inbox hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER. Anyone can leave us a voicemail sharing questions about the natural world, and we periodically answer them on the show. 

A few weeks ago, it came to our attention that we hadn't gotten a new voicemail in some time. Turns out our hotline has been bugging out for at least six months, and we have a lot of catching up to do.  

So, we present: Outside/Inbox, the lost voicemails edition. 

Featuring Stephanie Spera, with contributions from Ariel, Joe, Carolyn, Maverick, Jarrett, Eben, a rooster, and a closet (?) full of snakes.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. 

Subscribe to our newsletter for occasional emails about new show swag, call-outs for listener submissions, and other announcements.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

This is the study Marina mentioned with a comparative life cycle assessment of hand dryers vs. paper towel dispensers. 

If you want to learn more about chronic wasting disease, Nate recommends listening to Bent Out of Shape, a three-part series from KUNC. For a quick read, here’s a fact sheet from the CDC.

Listen to Outside/In’s behind-the-scenes journey into a human decomposition facility, aka “body farm,” reported by Felix Poon.

If you’ve been to Acadia National Park in Maine and taken photos of the fall foliage anytime since 1950, you can participate in research about how climate change is shifting the timing of peak foliage. Contribute your pictures of the autumn leaves to the Acadia National Park Fall Foliage Project here.

Many are predicting that fall 2024 will be a banner season for spectacular foliage, including our colleagues at NHPR’s Something Wild. Plus, here’s more on the dynamics of fall foliage, precipitation, and anthocyanin. 

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported by Justine Paradis, Nate Hegyi, and Marina Henke. 

Produced and mixed by Justine Paradis.

Edited by Taylor Quimby

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Our staff also includes Kate Dario.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Brigham Orchestra, Guustavv, Katori Walker, John B. Lund, and Bonkers Beat Club.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Editor's note: A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that Forest Park is the biggest public park in the United States. It is the biggest in St. Louis, Missouri and arguably bigger than Central Park. The audio and transcript have been updated.

In the early 1900s, people didn’t trust refrigerated food. Fruits and vegetables, cuts of meat… these things are supposed to decay, right? As Nicola Twilley writes, “What kind of unnatural technology could deliver a two-year old chicken carcass that still looked as though it was slaughtered yesterday?”

But just a few decades later, Americans have done a full one-eighty. Livestock can be slaughtered thousands of miles away, and taste just as good (or better) by the time it hits your plate.  Apples can be stored for over a year without any noticeable change. A network called the “cold-chain” criss-crosses the country, and at home our refrigerators are fooling us into thinking we waste less food than we actually do. 

Today, refrigeration has reshaped what we eat, how we cook it, and even warped our very definition of what is and isn’t “fresh.” 

Featuring Nicola Twilley.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

You can find Nicola’s new book “Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet and Ourselves,” at your local bookstore or online. 

CREDITS

Our host is Nate Hegyi.

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi and Taylor Quimby.

Mixed by Nate Hegyi

Editing by Taylor Quimby

Our staff includes Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, Kate Dario and Marina Henke.

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

For more than two hundred years Americans have tried to tame the Mississippi River. And, for that entire time, the river has fought back. 

Journalist and author Boyce Upholt has spent dozens of nights camping along the Lower Mississippi and knows the river for what it is: both a water-moving machine and a supremely wild place. His recent book, “The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi River” tells the story of how engineers have made the Mississippi into one of the most engineered waterways in the world, and in turn have transformed it into a bit of a cyborg — half mechanical, half natural. 

In this episode, host Nate Hegyi and Upholt take us from the flood ravaged town of Greenville, Mississippi, to the small office of a group of army engineers, in a tale of faulty science, big egos and a river that will ultimately do what it wants. 

Featuring Boyce Upholt.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

You can find Boyce’s new book The Great River, at your local bookstore or online. 

The 2018 study which attributed increased engineering of the Mississippi as a greater influence to worsening floods on the river than climate change. 

Check out Harold Fisk's 1944 now famous maps of a meandering and ever-changing Mississippi watershed.

The Mississippi Department of Archives & History has a remarkable collection of digitized photos from the 1927 flood.

To get a sense of the type of work being done on the Mississippi in modern day, a US Army Corps of Engineers video detailing concrete revetment on the Lower Mississippi. 

Curious about recent controversy on the Mississippi? Read up on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion – a $3 billion coastal restoration project that will divert portions of the Mississippi’s flow in hopes of rebuilding lost land via sediment deposition.
 

CREDITS

Our host is Nate Hegyi.

Written and mixed by Marina Henke.

Editing by Taylor Quimby and Nate Hegyi. 

Our staff also includes Felix Poon and Justine Paradis. Our executive producer is Taylor Quimby. Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.

Music in this episode from Blue Dot Sessions, Martin Landstrom, and Chris Zabriskie. Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Helium is full of contradictions. It’s the second most abundant element in the universe, but is relatively rare on Earth. It’s non-reactive, totally inert—yet the most valuable helium isotope is sourced from thermonuclear warheads. 

And even though we treat it as a disposable gas, often for making funny voices and single-use party balloons, our global supply of helium will eventually run out. That’s because, at a rate of about 50 grams per second, this non-renewable resource is escaping the atmosphere for good. 

In this edition of The Element of Surprise, our occasional series about the hidden histories behind the periodic table’s most unassuming atoms, we examine the incredible properties and baffling economics of our most notable noble gas. 

Featuring Anjali Tripathi and William Halperin.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter to get occasional emails about new show swag, call-outs for listener submissions, and other announcements. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Read John Paul Merkle’s petition arguing to change the name of helium to “helion.”

Despite being about a quarter century old, this passage from “The Impact of Selling the Federal Helium Reserve” has a pretty comprehensive list of the uses and properties of helium.

More on the recent sale of the Federal Helium Reserve (NBC News)

Physicist William Halperin said the idea of mining helium-3 on the moon was… unlikely… but that hasn’t stopped this startup company from trying it. (Wired)

Want to learn more about the weird history of American airships? Check out this film produced by the U.S. government in 1937, when they were still hoping to keep our airship program afloat. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Taylor Quimby

Editing by Rebecca Lavoie, with help from Marina Henke and Justine Paradis

Our staff includes  Felix Poon

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Ryan James Carr.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Jack Rodolico knows exactly what scares him. Sharks. 

But here’s what he doesn’t get: if he’s so freaked out, why can’t he stop incessantly watching online videos of bloody shark attacks? 

Why would he deliberately seek out the very thing that spooks him?

To figure it out, Jack enlists the help of other scaredy-cats: our listeners, who shared their fears about nature with us. Together, Jack and the gang consider the spectrum of fear, from phobia to terror, and what it might mean when we don’t look away.

Featuring Lauren Passell, Arash Javanbakht, Nile Carrethers, and Sushmitha Madaboosi.

This episode originally aired in October 2022.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our (free) newsletter for occasional merch drops and updates.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Lauren Passell’s Podcast the Newsletter.

Related: why people love horror movies.

The ubiquity of smartphones means plenty of hair-raising amateur videos of shark attacks to get you started on your doomscrolling (warning: a couple of these are bloody).

If this image of an octopus freaks you out, you might share Lauren’s “fear of holes,” or trypophobia.

Learn more about augmented reality technology and other projects at Arash Javanbakht’s clinic.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Jack Rodolico

Mixed by Taylor Quimby

Edited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, Nate Hegy, and Jessica Hunt.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie 

Music for this episode by Silver Maple, Matt Large, Luella Gren, John Abbot and Blue Dot Sessions.

Thanks to everyone who sent in voicemails and memos, even the ones we didn’t play: Erin Partridge, Lauren Passell, Nile Carrethers, Michelle MacKay, Alec from Nashville, and Hillary from Washington. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

From the perspective of Western science, plants have long been considered unaware, passive life forms; essentially, rocks that happen to grow. 

But there’s something in the air in the world of plant science. New research suggests that plants are aware of the world around them to a far greater extent than previously understood. Plants may be able to sense acoustics, communicate with each other, and make choices… all this without a brain.

These findings are fueling a debate, perhaps even a scientific revolution, which challenges our fundamental definitions of life, intelligence, and consciousness.

Featuring Zoë Schlanger.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. 

Subscribe to our newsletter for occasional emails about new show swag, call-outs for listener submissions, and other announcements.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Zoë Schlanger’s book is called The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth. 

“Everything Will Be Vine” is a great podcast episode from Future Ecologies featuring Zoë’s journey into the Chilean rainforest, where researchers are mystified by a once-overlooked vine. 

Jagadish Chandra Bose was an Indian scientist who challenged the Western view of plants in the early 20th century. He studied electrical signaling in plants and argued that plants use language. Read about his life and work in Orion.

This is the now famous study by David Rhoades. Rhoades was derided for his “talking trees” theory, and only was proved correct after his death. Here’s an audio story which goes deeper on Rhoades.

Lilach Hadany, the scientist who likened a field of flowers to a “field of ears,” also recently found that plants produce sounds when stressed.

The study which found that plants respond to the sound of caterpillars chewing, a collaboration between Rex Cocroft and Heidi Appel.

The organization of the octopus nervous system is fascinating.

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis.

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Felix Poon and Marina Henke.

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Special thanks to Rex Cocroft for sharing the recordings of leafhopper mating calls and chewing caterpillars.  

Music by Mochas, Hanna Lindgren, Alec Slayne, Sarah the Illstrumentalist, Brendan Moeller, Nul Tiel Records, Blue Dot Sessions, and Chris Zabriskie.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

GPS is essential these days. We use it for everything – from a hunter figuring out where the heck they are in the backcountry, to a delivery truck finding a grocery store, to keeping clocks in sync.

But our reliance on GPS may also be changing our brains. Old school navigation strengthens the hippocampus, and multiple studies suggest that our new reliance on satellite navigation may put us at higher risk for diseases like dementia. 

In this episode, we map out how GPS took over our world – from Sputnik’s doppler effect, to the airplane crash that led to its widespread adoption – and share everyday stories of getting lost and found again. 

Featuring: Dana Goward, M.R. O’Connor, Christina Phillips, Michelle Liu, Julia Furukawa, and Taylor Quimby

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

In 2023, Google Maps rerouted dozens of drivers in Los Angeles down a dirt road to the middle of nowhere to avoid a dust storm. 

Maura O’Connor traveled from rural Alaska to the Australian bush to better understand how people navigate without GPS – and sometimes even maps. 

Here’s the peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Nature, that found that young people who relied on GPS for daily driving had poorer spatial memories. 

Another study, out of Japan, found that people who use smartphone apps like Google Maps to get around had a tougher time retracing their steps or remembering how they got to a place compared to people who use paper maps or landmarks. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Katie Colaneri 

Our team includes Marina Henke, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Once again, it’s that wonderful time when scientists everywhere hold their breath as the team opens the Outside/Inbox to answer listener questions about the natural world. Today’s theme is smell: how it works in the nose, the mind, and how much is still unknown about the fifth sense.

Question 1: Does it gross you out to know that every time you smell something, a little bit of that thing… is in your nose? What happens to the molecules we smell?

Question 2: Why do smells have such a powerful connection to memory?

Question 3: How do pheromones work in humans? Do ‘ideal mates’ really ‘smell better’ to us?

Question 4: Why does the smell of florals sometimes precede a migraine?

Question 5: What’s anosmia?

Featuring Rachel Herz, Bob Datta, Katie Boetang, and Tristram Wyatt, with thanks to Stephanie Hunter.  

Outside/In seeks your questions for an upcoming Outside/Inbox.  

What questions should the Outside/In team explore about the U.S. presidential election? What do you want to know about what this election means for climate change or environmental regulation? Maybe you’ve got questions about Project 2025, or maybe you’re curious about presidential transitions more generally.

You can send your questions to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a voicemail on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. 

Subscribe to our newsletter for occasional emails about new show swag, call-outs for listener submissions, and other announcements.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Rachel Herz is the author of several books, including “Why You Eat What You Eat” and “The Scent of Desire.”

Tristram Wyatt is the author of “Pheromones and Animal Behavior.”

Katie Boetang hosts The Smell Podcast.

More on the connections between smell, memory, emotion, and health, featuring Bob Datta and Herz.

In the 1990s, one company claimed to have found human sex pheromones and tried to market them for use in perfumes.

Research on the connection between olfactory loss and depression, smell triggers for migraines, and an explanation of how COVID-19 causes loss of smell.

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis, Catherine Hurley, and Felix Poon, with help from Marina Henke.

Edited by Taylor Quimby

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Daniel Fridell, Caro Luna, Lofive, bomull, Jahzarr, Mindme, and John B. Lund. 

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Redwood National and State Parks are home to giants: coast redwoods that can grow as tall as a thirty-story building. These ancient California forests support hundreds of different species, and store more carbon than any other forest on the planet. But in the last century, 95% of them were felled by loggers. 

Now, scientists have discovered a surprising strategy to foster the next generation of old-growth redwoods… and it involves chopping some of the younger trees down.

This week’s episode comes to us from “THE WILD with Chris Morgan,” produced by our friends at KUOW. Chris has got an infectious enthusiasm for the natural world, and the podcast has an immersive sound that makes it feel like you’re standing right under the redwoods with him.

LINKS

Check out more episodes of THE WILD at https://www.kuow.org/podcasts/thewild

SUPPORT

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THE WILD CREDITS

THE WILD is a production of KUOW and Chris Morgan Wildlife, with support from Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek. It is edited by Jim Gates. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Theme music is by Michael Parker.

OUTSIDE/IN CREDITS

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio is Rebecca Lavoie

Our staff includes Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Marina Henke. Our intern is Catherine Hurley. 

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Will Simone Biles live up to her moniker as greatest gymnast of all time? Will Lebron James and Team USA continue to dominate men's  basketball? And will the Paris 2024 Games be the most sustainable in modern Olympic history?

While billions of viewers tune in for the drama of athletes competing on a global stage, climate scientists are tuning in to Paris's climate promises – from the locally sourced catering and carbon neutral Olympic cauldron, to head-scratching “solutions” like a sidewalk made of seashells, and not installing air conditioning in athletes’ housing.

Are these solutions making a difference? Or is it plain and simple greenwashing? We put these questions to the test in this episode on the XXXIII Olympiad. Let the games begin!

Featuring Martin Müller.

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LINKS

Read Martin Muller’s paper evaluating the sustainability of summer and winter Olympic games from the past 3 decades.

Listen to Civics 101’s episode on the politics of the Olympic Games.

Check out scenes from Olympic opening ceremonies from London 1908 to Rio 2016.

Watch a timelapse video of construction of the temporary beach volleyball venue in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Read up on fun Olympics trivia, like what the most common surname of athletes is, and about the time two athletes who tied for second place cut their silver and bronze medals and fused them together to make two “friendship medals.”

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Felix Poon

Editing by Taylor Quimby.

Our staff includes Justine Paradis and Marina Henke.

Our intern is Catherine Hurley.

Our Executive producer is Taylor Quimby.

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR's Director of On-Demand Audio.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Joe E. Lee, Jay Varton, Arthur Benson, Philip Ayers, Kikoru, Trabant 33, and Phoenix Tail.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

You might not think much about the sticky bottle of vanilla sitting in the back of your pantry. But that flavor – one of the most common in the world – has a fascinating history, involving a fickle orchid and a 12-year-old enslaved boy who made the discovery of a lifetime. 

That’s the sort of tale that attracts poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil. From peacock feathers to the sounds of garden insects, her work is known for magnifying the wonders of the natural world. Her latest book of essays, “Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees,” explores the unexpected connections between food, memory, and community.

So take a seat and pour yourself an aperitif, as Aimee Nezhukumatathil shares a few of these miniature morsels with Outside/In host Nate Hegyi: a three-course meal of grape jelly, sweet nostalgia, and just a hint of vanilla bean.  

Featuring Aimee Nezhukumatathil
 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Nate Hegyi

Editing by Taylor Quimby

Our staff includes Justine Paradis, Marina Henke, Felix Poon and Catherine Hurley

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Introducing the newest series from NHPR’s award-winning Document team: “The Youth Development Center.” New Hampshire has sent its most troubled kids to the same juvenile detention center for more than a century. It's a place that was supposed to nurture them, that instead hurt them – in some of the worst ways imaginable. It's now at the center of one of the biggest youth detention scandals in American history. How did this happen – and how did it finally come to light?

The rest of the series is available now: listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, iHeart Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This episode includes content that may not be suitable for young listeners. If you have suffered abuse and need someone to talk to, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. If you’re in a mental health crisis, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8. 

Maybe you’ve looked at the sky on a clear night and spotted the International Space Station, a tiny white dot gliding through the stars. Maybe it felt special, a rare glimpse of a human-made satellite in space. 

But what if you were to look up at the sky and see more visible satellites than stars? What if the Big Dipper and Orion were drowned out by  a satellite traffic jam, criss-crossing through space? 

A growing number of astronomers are sounding the alarm about such a possibility, even within the next decade. A new space race is already well underway. Commercial satellite traffic in low Earth orbit has skyrocketed in recent years, with more satellites launched into space than ever before. The majority of these satellites are owned and operated by a single company: Starlink. 

Featuring Samantha Lawler, Jonathan McDowell, Aaron Boley, and Roohi Dalal, with thanks to Edward Oughton.

 SUPPORT

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LINKS

Here’s a link to the most popular proceedings in the FCC docket, and a step-by-step guide for submitting your own comments (this guide was compiled for a previous filing by an advocacy group which includes Samantha Lawler).

COMPASSE, or the Committee for the Protection of Astronomy and the Space Environment, also stays up-to-date on FCC procedures.

In this episode, Nate and Justine looked at this 3D rendering of satellite constellations around the globe, including GPS and Starlink. 

Space Data Navigator has nice visualizations of the number of launches, satellites, and debris over time, which relies in part on Jonathan McDowell’s data. 

Aaron Boley’s article in Nature, “Satellite mega-constellations create risks in Low Earth Orbit, the atmosphere and on Earth.”

A talk by Samantha Lawler about Kuiper belt objects and the challenges to astronomy posed by sharp increase in satellites. 

An open-access paper which found that internet from satellite mega-constellations could be up to 12-14 times more emission-intensive than terrestrial broadband.

For more from Outside/In on the “earth-space environmental system,” check out our episode on property rights in airspace and space-space, this one on the element of aluminum, and an oldie-but-a-goodie on geoengineering.

A piece on the cutting room floor: the risk that you’ll get hit by satellite debris falling back to Earth is quite low… but the risk that someone will get hit is rising. 

Here’s a global map of light pollution, and a tool to find dark sky sites near you.

On the issue of orbital crowding, there have been a couple notable traffic jams in space. Last month, a decommissioned Russian satellite disintegrated in low Earth orbit, posing potential risks to astronauts on board the ISS. In 2019, an important weather-monitoring satellite had to dodge a Starlink satellite, a fuel-expensive maneuver. In 2021, Starlink and OneWeb debated what really happened when their satellites passed within 190 feet of each other in orbit. 

A note on space regulation

Our episode did not cover all the groups regulating space. At a global level, this includes the UN’s International Telecommunication Union and the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs. Within the United States, the Office of Space Commerce also plays a role, in addition to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis 

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Felix Poon. 

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Music in this episode came from Victor Lundberg, Lofive, Harbours & Oceans, Spiegelstadt, Curved Mirror, Silver Maple, Wave Saver, Cobby Costa, and From Now On.

The blue whale calls were recorded by NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Consider the potato. 

The typical potato is not all that pretty. They can be beige and lumpy, dusty and speckled, and on top of that, they even sprout alien-like tentacles. Further, no one really knows what to make of the potato. Is it a vegetable, or so starchy that we should really consider it a grain? 

It’s time for answers. The Outside/In team ventures into the potato patch and presents three stories on this “fifth most important crop worldwide.” 

Part 1: An artist vaults the humble potato to luxury status.

Part 2: A deliberation on the potato’s true place in the food pyramid – or, that is, on “MyPlate.”

Part 3: When his mom was diagnosed with cancer, producer Felix Poon’s dad found a way to help her: fresh-squeezed potato juice. 

Featuring Laila Gohar, Kristina Peterson, and Paul Poon.

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LINKS

Laila Gohar wrote about her potato party, and the Marie-Antoinette-era rebrand of the potato, in her column for the Financial Times. 

For more details on the French pharmacist who transformed the potato’s image, check out this Atlas Obscura piece.

For a vinegary and vegetable-forward potato salad, Justine recommends this recipe from the great Deb Perelman.

Taylor recommends these vegan Bombay potatoes and peas (this is the closest recipe he could find online to the book recipe he uses at home).

Felix recommends trying Sichuan stir-fried potatoes from an authentic Sichuan Chinese restaurant if you haven’t had it before, and then give this Woks of Life recipe a try.

If you find yourself near the U.S.-Mexico border, Nate recommends you try some carne asada fries. Here’s a good recipe if you want to try them at home. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon

Mixed by Nate Hegyi, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon.

Editing by Executive Producer Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Our intern is Catherine Hurley.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Patrick Patrikios.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio
Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Episode art courtesy of Laila Gohar.

Ed Yong’s writing about the pandemic in Atlantic Magazine was read by millions of Americans. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for his coverage. 

But behind the scenes, he was struggling with burnout, anxiety and depression. 

Host Nate Hegyi sits down with Ed for a conversation about how he decided to step back from pandemic reporting, the benefits (and possible drawbacks) of birdwatching for mental health, and the unexpected club that’s bringing two halves of his life together. 

Featuring Ed Yong.

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LINKS

Ed wrote an eerily predictive story about how America was not prepared for a pandemic in 2018. 

You can find a link to all of Ed’s reporting for Atlantic Magazine here. 

A description of “spoon theory” in Psychology Today.

For more information about the Spoonbill Club, check out Ed’s newsletter. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Mixed by Taylor Quimby, with help from our intern, Catherine Hurley

Editing by Taylor Quimby

Our staff includes Justine Paradise and Felix Poon

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

During their twelve seasons as winter rangers in Yosemite National Park, Rob and Laura Pilewski have learned a thing or two about what it means to love a place – and a person.

This episode comes to us from the wonderful folks at The Dirtbag Diaries, another podcast that features stories about conservation, epic adventures, and more. 

Featuring Rob and Laura Pilewski

SUPPORT

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CREDITS

Host of The Dirtbag Diaries: Fitz Cahall

This episode was reported, produced and edited by Lauren DeLaunay Miller

Mixing by Evan Phillips

The Dirtbag Diaries Executive Producer: Becca Cahall

Music from Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto, Brian Bombadil, Joya, Roma 49, Garland, and Brendan O’Connell

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Our staff includes Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon. Catherine Hurley is our intern. 

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

What do wolves, waste-water treatment plants, and the Gulf Stream have in common? This episode, that’s what! It’s that wonderful time when we comb through all your wonderful questions and call up some scientists to help us answer them. Some of the more unlikely things that get brought up include dinosaur pee, abandoned shopping carts, and wolves preying on cheese curds. 

Here’s what’s on the docket:

• Why is dog saliva slimier than human saliva? 
• Why do wolves get relocated in the middle of winter?
• What if the Gulf Stream “shut down?”
• How do wastewater treatment plants work?
   

Featuring Eric Odell, Alice Ren, and Sri Vedachalam.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon

Editing by Taylor Quimby.

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Baegul, Hatamitsunami, and King Sis.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Every December, during the Christmas Bird Count, tens of thousands of volunteers look to the skies for an international census of wild birds. 

But during migration season, a much smaller squad of New York City volunteers take on a more sobering experience: counting dead birds that have collided with glass buildings and fallen back to Earth. 

In this episode, we find out what kind of people volunteer for this grisly job, visit the New York City rehab center that takes in injured pigeons, and find out how to stop glass from killing an estimated one billion birds nationwide every year. 

Featuring Melissa Breyer, Linda LaBella, Gitanjali Bhattacharjee, Katherine Chen, and Tristan Higginbotham

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Want to see the migration forecast? Check out Birdcast. 

Want to be a citizen scientist and report dead birds? Check out dBird. 

Want to see volunteer Melissa Breyer’s photos of dead birds? Check out Sad Birding.

More about Project Safe Flight.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Taylor Quimby

Editing by Rebecca Lavoie and Nate Hegyi.

Our staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon 

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

The Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC is sometimes called “the people’s zoo.” That’s because it’s the only zoo in the country to be created by an act of US Congress, and admission is free.

But why did our federal government create a national zoo in the first place?

Producer Felix Poon has the scoop – from its surprising origins in the near-extinction of bison, to a look at its modern-day mission of conservation, we’re going on a field trip to learn all about the National Zoo.

Featuring Kara Ingraham, Daniel Frank, and Ellie Tahmaseb.

SUPPORT

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LINKS

William Hornaday founded the National Zoo, but his legacy is complicated, to say the least. Environmental journalist Michelle Nijhuis contemplates whether he’s a “villainous hero or heroic villain” (PBS).

“A Chinese cigarette tin launched D.C.’s 50-year love affair with pandas” tells the origin story of pandas at the National Zoo (The Washington Post).

The story of Ota Benga, the man who was caged by William Hornaday in the Bronx Zoo (The Guardian).

Environmental writer Emma Marris imagines a world without zoos in her opinion essay, “Modern Zoos Are Not Worth the Moral Cost” (NYTimes).

We looked at the court case of Happy the elephant in our 2022 Outside/In episode, “Et Tu, Brute? The Case for Human Rights for Animals.”

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Felix Poon

Editing by Taylor Quimby.

Our staff includes Justine Paradis

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Thanks to Nick Capodice for performing William Hornaday voiceovers.

Music by Bluedot Sessions and Jules Gaia

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

While digging a well in 1750, a group of workers accidentally discovered an ancient Roman villa containing over a thousand papyrus scrolls. This was a stunning discovery: the only library from antiquity ever found in situ. But the scrolls were blackened and fragile, turned almost to ash by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Over the centuries, scholars’ many attempts to unroll the fragile scrolls have mostly been catastrophic. But now, scientists are trying again, this time with the help of Silicon Valley and some of the most advanced technology we’ve got: particle accelerators, CT scanners, and AI.

After two thousand years, will we finally be able to read the scrolls?

Featuring Federica Nicolardi, Brent Seales, Youssef Nader, Arefeh Sherafati, and Julian Schilliger. 

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LINKS

The Vesuvius Challenge is not over. Find out more here. 

Check out more pictures of the scrolls and the process of “virtual unwrapping” at the Digital Restoration Initiative website, or watch Brent Seales lecture about his technique.

A 60 Minutes story (2018) focusing on the conflict between Seales and scholars Vito Mocella and Graziano Ranocchia.

A replica of the marble floor discovered by Italian farmworkers in 1750. 

A video illustrating the process of “virtual unwrapping” with a jelly roll.

Contestant Casey Handmer’s blog post detailing his identification of the “crackle signal” to the ink.
 

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis 

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Felix Poon. 

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Music in this episode came from Silver Maple, Xavy Rusan, bomull, Young Community, Bio Unit, Konrad OldMoney, Chris Zabriski, and Blue Dot Sessions.

Volcano recordings came from daveincamas on Freesound.org, License Attribution 4.0 and  felix.blume on freesound.org, Creative Commons 0.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

The Colorado River – and the people that rely on it – are in a state of crisis. Climate change and overuse are taking a significant toll. Seven states must compromise and reach a solution to prevent the river from collapsing.

In late 2023, tensions were running high between the major players in the water world as they convened at the annual Colorado River conference in Las Vegas. LAist Correspondent Emily Guerin was there, seeking to learn as much as she can about the people with the most power on the river, including a sharply-dressed 28-year-old from California. 

This episode comes to us from the podcast Imperfect Paradise, which is releasing a whole series on the Colorado River water crisis. 

SUPPORT

Donate $10 per month and get our new “I axolotl questions” mug!

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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LINKS

Agriculture uses a lot of the Colorado River - what if we replaced that farmland with solar panels? 

Speaking of farms, most of the crops raised with Colorado River water don’t go to people. They go to cows.

CREDITS

This episode was written and reported by Emily Guerin

Imperfect Paradise host: Antonia Cereijido

Fact-checking by Gabriel Dunatov. 

Mixing and Imperfect Paradise theme music by E. Scott Kelly with additional music by Andrew Eapen.

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Outside/In Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Our staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

You might associate it with the foil that wraps leftover pizza and the shiny craft beer cans sold in breweries, but aluminum is literally everywhere. Scoop up a handful of soil or gravel anywhere on Earth, and you’ll find atoms of bonded aluminum hidden inside. Over the past 150 years, that abundance has led production of the silvery metal to skyrocket (pun intended) and created an industry responsible for 2-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

But even before it was used in everything from airplanes to deodorant, the trade of aluminum minerals helped color the world, finance the Vatican, and led to the mass collection of human urine.

In this episode, we’re piloting a new segment called “The Element of Surprise.” It’s all about the hidden histories behind the periodic table’s most unassuming atoms, isotopes, and molecules. And we’re kicking things off with aluminum.

Editor's note: A previous version of this episode misstated the number of  Allied casualties during a 1943 bombing campaign against a German cryolite factory, claiming all but one of 180 bombers were destroyed. In actuality, all but one of 180 bombers returned home safely.  The episode has been corrected. 

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LINKS

The World Economic Forum has published a number of studies and articles on the need to decarbonize the aluminum industry and the promising technologies that might help us get there. 

A few years ago, Alcoa announced plans to build a new aluminum smelting plant in Maniitsoq, Greenland. PBS’s POV released a documentary about how people there reckoned with the island’s colonial past as the project progressed, stalled, and eventually collapsed. 

The National Park Service has a fun little read about the Washington Monument’s aluminum tip. 

Sean Adams, at the University of Florida, wrote an excellent recap of the U.S. government’s antitrust case against aluminum giant Alcoa. 

Here’s another one from Foreign Policy about how industrial cartels and monopolies helped Hitler gain power. 

Check out Charlie Halloran’s “The Alcoa Sessions,” to imagine what kind of music might have been played during Alcoa’s cruise voyages between New Orleans and Jamaica between 1949 and 1959. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, mixed, and produced by Taylor Quimby

Mixed by Taylor Quimby

Editing by Rebecca Lavoie, with help from Nate Hegyi and Felix Poon

Our staff includes Justine Paradis 

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Ryan James Carr, and L.M. Styles

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

When officials commissioned a set of updated hazard maps for Juneau, Alaska, they thought the information would help save lives and spur new development. Instead, the new maps drew public outcry from people who woke up to discover their homes were at risk of being wiped out by landslides.

What’s followed has been a multiyear project – not to address the challenges posed by climate-fueled landslides – but to alter, ignore, or otherwise shelve the maps that outline the threat in the first place.

Host Nate Hegyi visits Juneau to see one example of why, across the country, even the most progressive Americans are rejecting tough truths about climate change when it comes knocking at their own back door.

Featuring: Tom Mattice, Christine Woll, Eve Soutiere, and Lloyd Dixon. 

SUPPORT

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LINKS

You can check out Juneau’s new hazard maps, along with many of its neighborhood meetings, on their website. 

Dive into why the insurance industry stopped providing landslide coverage to Southeast Alaska.

KTOO had a wonderful story on how a 1936 landslide that killed 15 people in Juneau became a faded memory.

Zach Provant, a researcher at the University of Oregon, spent months investigating the rollout of Juneau’s hazard maps. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Katie Colaneri

Editing help from Felix Poon and Justine Paradis

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

When it comes to protecting the biodiversity of Planet Earth, there is no greater failure than extinction. Thankfully, only a few dozen species have been officially declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the half-century since the passage of the Endangered Species Act. 

But, hold on. Aren’t we in the middle of the sixth mass extinction? Shouldn’t the list of extinct species be… way longer? Well, yeah. Maybe.

Producer Taylor Quimby sets out to understand why it’s so difficult to officially declare an animal extinct. Along the way, he compares rare animals to missing socks, finds a way to invoke Lizzo during an investigation of an endangered species of crabgrass, and learns about the disturbing concept of “dark extinctions.” 

Editor's Note: This episode was first published in October 2022. Since then, the US Fish and Wildlife Service officially delisted 21 of 23 proposed species due to extinction. The ivory-billed woodpecker was not one of them. 

Featuring Sharon Marino, Arne Mooers, Sean O’Brien, Bill Nichols, and Wes Knapp.

Shirtless influencers on TikTok and Instagram have acquired millions of followers promoting the carnivore diet. They say studies linking meat consumption and heart disease are flawed — and plant foods are making people sick. "Western medicine is lying to you," says content-creator Dr. Paul Saladino, who co-owns a company selling desiccated cattle organs.

The online popularity of the carnivore diet is undeniable. Yet, no controlled studies have been published confirming its advertised benefits. 

Our friends at WBUR’s podcast Endless Thread look at how social media cooked up the anti-establishment wellness trend.

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LINKS

• "Red Shift" (The New Yorker)
• "The 'You’re doing it wrong'-ification of TikTok" (Vox)
• "The Evolution of Diet" (National Geographic)
• "Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered" (New York Times)
• "Against Meatposting" (Heated)
• Endless Thread's unedited interview with Dr. Paul Saladino (WBUR)
•  

CREDITS

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Outside/In Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

This episode of Endless Thread was written and produced by Dean Russell and Ben Brock Johnson. 

Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Endless Thread is a production of WBUR in Boston. 

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Hemp used to be a staple of life in America. King James I demanded that colonists produce it. Hemp rope and fabric were ubiquitous throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The USDA even produced a WWII newsreel called “Hemp for Victory.”

But other materials came to replace hemp – wood pulp for paper, and cotton and synthetics for fabric. Why?

For that matter, what is hemp? Is it different from weed? And does it actually have 25,000 uses as its proponents claim?

Featuring Hector “Freedom” Gerardo, David Suchoff, John Fike, and Danny Desjarlais.

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Learn more about how the Lower Sioux Indian Reservation has worked with hempcrete, and how they hope it’ll transform their economy (Grist).

The 2018 Farm Bill inadvertently led to a multibillion-dollar market of hemp-derived THC products. Twenty-two AGs are now calling on congress to fix the legal loophole that has “[forced] cannabis-equivalent products into our economies regardless of states’ intentions to legalize cannabis use.” (The Hill)

Cannabis sativa in the US only came to be called “marijuana” in the early 1900s, when the anti-cannabis movement wanted to link it to its “Mexican-ness.” But, as The Mysterious History Of 'Marijuana' (NPR Code Switch) explains, the etymological origins of “marijuana” are still debated: does it come from the Chinese word ma ren hua? Or the Bantu word for cannabis: ma-kaña? Or something else?

Hemp for Victory! (YouTube)

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, mixed, and produced by Felix Poon.

Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Rebecca Lavoie

Our staff includes Justine Paradis.

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.

Special thanks to Fitsum Tariku, Director of the Building Science Centre of Excellence.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Mike Franklyn, Jules Gaia, Dusty Decks, and Rocket Jr.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

It’s that special time again! Scientists everywhere hold their breath as the team opens the Outside/Inbox and answers listener questions about the natural world. In this episode, we consider Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl, an impulsive goat purchase, and a big night for salamanders. Plus, we’re graced with Nate’s rendition of a Tom Waits song. 

Questions:

1. What would NYC look like in 50 years if humans disappeared?
2. What if the earth had no moon?
3. Could humans survive a worst-case climate scenario?
4. Do birds have regional accents?
5. How do we keep wildlife safe when crossing the road?

Featuring Stephon Alexander, Luke Kemp, Chris Sturdy, and Sandi Houghton.

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Check out these gorgeous visualizations created by the Mannahatta Project, which has since been renamed the Welikia Project.

Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl died after crashing into a building earlier this month. His autopsy revealed his body to be riddled with rodenticide and pigeon herpes, cementing his status as “a real New Yorker” for some observers. Still, building collisions, rat poison, and disease are all major risks for birds of prey in urban environments.

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Felix Poon, Taylor Quimby, and Justine Paradis 

Mixed by Justine Paradis

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Rebecca Lavoie

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Music by blacksona, Katori Walker, Bisou, Young Community, Diamond Ortiz, Brightarm Orchestra, Kevin MacLeod, Tellsonic, Walt Adams, and ProleteR. 

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

To save for retirement, common knowledge says to “diversify your portfolio.” Give your cash to a company so they can invest it into hundreds of other companies on the stock market. But unless you’ve gone out of your way to change it, your portfolio probably has little to do with your values. 

For example, there are climate activists invested in fossil fuel companies. Staunch vegans putting some of their hard-earned income into Tyson Foods. On the flip side, there are climate deniers with money in Tesla!

So is there a way to save for retirement that’s both good for your pocketbook… and good for the planet?

Featuring: Timothy Yee, Clara Vondrich, Kelly Shue

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Divestment helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the coal industry, according to this white paper from the Harvard Business School. However, divestment can also backfire, according to this study from Yale. 

Got a lot of time to kill? You can watch the recent SEC commissioner meeting where they voted to pass a weakened version of the climate disclosure rule. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Mixed by Nate Hegyi and Taylor Quimby

Editing by Taylor Quimby

Our staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon 

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Editor's Note: This episode first aired in July, 2023

With 'Oppenheimer,' director Christopher Nolan turned the Manhattan Project into an Academy-Award-winning blockbuster. The film is set in Los Alamos, where the first atomic bomb was tested. But few people know the history of Carrizozo, a rural farming area downwind of the test.

Radioactive fallout from the bomb settled on everything: the soil, gardens, and drinking water. Cow’s milk became radioactive. Later, hundreds of people developed radiogenic cancers. 

The people of Carrizozo were among the first people in the world exposed to a nuclear blast. More than 75 years later, their families are still fighting for medical compensation from the federal government.

Host Nate Hegyi traveled to New Mexico to visit the Trinity Site, and to hear the stories of so-called ‘downwinders.'

Featuring: Paul Pino, Tina Cordova, Ben Ray Lujan

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

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Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Read more about RECA (the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act) which passed in the U.S. Senate this March.  (Idaho Capital Sun)

The federal government has produced a few studies on the fallout from Trinity. This one from Los Alamos found that there was still contamination in the area in 1985. 

Another, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, produced one of the most in-depth histories of the fallout from Trinity and the government’s reaction.

The National Cancer Institute found that hundreds of people likely developed cancer because of the fallout. 

The history of Trinity is full of strange little details, like the desert toads that were croaking all night. 

You can find affidavits and first-hand accounts of the fallout from Trinity at the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium website. 

This review by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists explains why it’s so hard to determine a definitive death toll for the USI bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Editing help from Rebecca Lavoie, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jeongyoon Han

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

If you grew up with family members who pushed (or dragged) you onto the trail, chances are you have strong memories associated with hiking. Epic vistas… swarms of black flies… and your dad’s terrible homemade gorp. 

Whether you grow up to see them as personal triumphs or family fiascos, those early adventures can shape your perception of the outdoors for life.
Can parents shape kids into hardcore hikers? And what happens when your best-laid plans go off the map?

Featuring Sarah Lamagna, Nick Capodice, Daisy Curtin, Niles Lashway, Sarah Raiche, Tiffany Raiche, and Phineas Quimby

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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LINKS

If you liked Sarah Lamagna’s tips on how to hike with children, you’ll find more in her recently published guidebook. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Taylor Quimby

Edited by Rebecca Lavoie

Our staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon.

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, The New Fools, and SINY. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

A century ago, coastal dunes threatened to overwhelm the city of Florence, Oregon. The sand swallowed roads, highways, and houses. When “Dune” author Frank Herbert visited the area in 1957, he was stunned by the awesome power of the sand. Eventually, it inspired his fictional desert planet, Arrakis.

But now, the dunes that inspired “Dune” are disappearing. 

To solve the sand problem, the US Forest Service planted dunes with non-native beachgrass, hoping its strong roots would keep the dunes in place. The strategy worked… too well. The grass spread, out-competing native species and transforming the dunes. At one popular spot, roughly 60% of what was once open sand is now gone.

Producer Justine Paradis traveled to the Oregon Coast to see the mountains of sand which inspired a sci-fi classic, and meet the people working to save them.

Featuring Dina Pavlis, Patty Whereat Phillips, and Jesse Beers.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. 

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LINKS

These aerial photos demonstrate the dramatic changes in the Oregon dunes since 1941.

Dina Pavlis’ Secrets of the Oregon Dunes Facebook page

The Oregon dunes are the setting of an episode of “Lassie” (1964), in which a little girl gets lost in a sand storm. New hires at the Forest Service in Florence are shown this film during orientation.

The Siuslaw Public Library in Florence is home to the eclectic Frank Herbert collection, as reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting. These are books donated by Herbert’s daughter which he was reading at the time he wrote ‘Dune,’ and are available to the public. Fans make the pilgrimage to browse the collection, which includes titles on the desert, politics in the Middle East, computation, Scottish folk singing, rug hooking, and much more.

Frank Herbert originally visited Florence to research a proposed magazine article on the Forest Service’s dune, as reported on the Siuslaw News. His (unsuccessful) proposal, “They Stopped the Moving Sands,” can be read in “The Road to Dune.”

An episode of Endless Thread about the time a six-year-old boy fell into a tree hole (he’s fine now) in Michigan City, Indiana.

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis 

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Katie Colaneri

Our team also includes Felix Poon. 

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Special thanks to Meg Spencer, Kegen Benson, Armand Rebischke, and Kevin Mittge. 

Music by Sarah the Illstrumentalist, Elm Lake, Chris Zabriskie, and Blue Dot Sessions.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

In the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, dozens of strangers gathered together in the woods for three straight days. Their mission? Teach people of color how to kill, gut, and butcher a deer for the first time.

Producer Felix Poon was there as a first-time hunter. He wanted to know: what does it feel like to take an animal's life to sustain your own? Given the opportunity… would he pull the trigger?

In this episode we follow Felix out of his depth and into the woods, to find out if one weekend can convert a longtime city-dweller into a dedicated deer hunter.

Featuring Dorothy Ren, Brandon Dale, and Brant MacDuff.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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LINKS

Lydia Parker, executive director of Hunters of Color, discusses how to make the outdoors more equitable. (The Nature Conservancy)

Melissa Harris-Perry talks to Brandon Dale, the New York ambassador for the Hunters of Color organization, on WNYC’s The Takeaway.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Rebecca Lavoie.

Our staff also includes Justine Paradis

Taylor Quimby is our Executive Producer

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Hanna Lindgren, and Walt Adams.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Editor's note: This episode was first published in July, 2022.

Humans have had an impressive run thus far; we’ve explored most of the planet (the parts that aren’t underwater anyway), landed on the moon, created art and music, and made some pretty entertaining Tik Toks. 

But we’ve survived on the planet for just a fraction of the time horseshoe crabs and alligators have. And we’re vastly outnumbered by many species of bacteria and insects. 

So what is the most successful species on Earth? And how do you measure that, anyway? 

From longevity and happiness, to sheer numbers, we put a handful of different organisms under the microscope in hopes of better understanding what exactly it means to succeed at life on a collective and individual scale.   

Featuring: Stephen Giovannoni, Rashidah Farid, and Steward Pickett

SUPPORT

Check out Stephen Giovannoni’s paper: “SAR11 Bacteria: The Most Abundant Plankton in the Oceans”

An interesting treatise on adaptability: “Why crocodiles still look the same as they did 200 million years ago”

From the NSF: “The most common organism in the oceans harbors a virus in its DNA”

More food for thought: “The non-human living inside you"

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by: Taylor Quimby

Editing by: Nate Hegyi, Rebecca Lavoie

Additional editing help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt. 

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Special thanks to everybody who answered our question at the top of the show: Josemar Ochoa, m Carey Grant, Butter Wilson, Tim Blagden, Robert Baker, Sheila Rydel, and Bob Beaulac.

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, and Jules Gaia

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is massive, bigger than the state of Florida. If it collapses, it could reshape every coast on this planet during this century. That’s why it’s sometimes known as “the Doomsday Glacier.”

And yet, until recently, we knew very little about it. Because Thwaites is extremely remote, reachable only by crossing the wildest ocean on the planet, scientists had never observed its calving edge firsthand. 

In 2019, a ground-breaking international mission set out to change that, and writer Elizabeth Rush was on board to document the voyage.  We caught up with her to learn about life on an Antarctic icebreaker, how she grappled with classic Antarctic narratives about exploration (and domination), and how she summons hope even after coming face-to-face with Thwaites.     

Featuring Elizabeth Rush.

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Our 2022 episode featuring Elizabeth Rush about community responses to sea level rise in Staten Island and Louisiana. If you’re interested in reading more about the journey to Thwaites, check out Elizabeth’s book, “The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth”.

A paper published in Nature with some of the findings from this voyage, showing that Thwaites has historically retreated two to three times faster than we’ve ever observed. Here’s the one detailing findings about Thwaites’ past extent, extrapolated from their study of ancient penguin bones, and another sharing observations about water currents beneath its ice shelf.

We also recommend “Encounters at the End of the World,” Werner Herzog’s (2007) documentary about science and community in Antarctica.

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis 

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Felix Poon. 

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Nctrnm, Sometimes Why, FLYIN, Silver Maple, Chris Zabriskie, Ooyy, and the Weddell seals of Antarctica.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

A lot of discussion about sustainability revolves around the trash and waste we leave behind.  But at some point, every human being will die and leave behind a body. 

So what should we do with it? Casket? Cremation? Compost? And does our choice actually have a meaningful impact on the soils and skies around us?

Today, we’ve got another edition of our segment, “This, That, or the Other Thing”, where Outside/In’s unofficial decomposition correspondent Felix Poon investigates how we can more sustainably rest in peace. Featuring Regina Harrison, Katrina Spade, and Matt Scott

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Find how you can help with climate solutions by drawing your Climate Action Venn Diagram.

Learn more about Project Drawdown’s Drawdown Solutions Library.

Tag along on a visit to the Recompose human composting facility (Youtube).

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team includes Justine Paradis.

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Once in a blue moon the Outside/In team opens up the mailbag and answers your questions about the natural world. This time, they all share a preoccupation with a particular hue: blue. 

Come along as we learn about the differences between European and Aztec conceptions of the color blue, how construction workers build offshore turbine foundations under the deep blue sea, and why the most exciting picture astronauts took during Apollo 8 wasn’t of the lunar surface. 

Questions:

1. I’ve heard the color blue is rare in nature. Is that true? 
2. Are blue eyes disappearing?
3. How do we build things underwater? 
4. Why is the sky blue?
5. What is the etymology of the color blue? 

Featuring Kai Kupferschmidt and Justin Alves.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Check out science journalist Kai Kupferscmidt’s book, “Blue: In Search of Nature’s Rarest Color”

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Taylor Quimby, Felix Poon, and Nate Hegyi

Mixed by Taylor Quimby and Felix Poon

Our team also includes Justine Paradis

Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Rebecca Lavoie

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of NHPR

Support Outside/In before February 5th, and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar! Donate $8 per month, and we’ll send you a pair of NH-made Merino wool socks from Minus33. 

For many, wild horses are a symbol of freedom, strength, and the American West. But to some they’re a symbol of colonialism and an ecological nuisance. 

Host Nate Hegyi visits a rancher on the Blackfeet Reservation, where free-ranging horses have become more plentiful than deer. They’re outcompeting cattle for forage and putting livelihoods at risk. One potential solution? Slaughter.

In this episode, we dive deep into the history of eating horses – or not eating horses – and find out why this symbol of the American West is more divisive than you probably realized. 

Featuring: Craig Iron Pipe, Tolani Francisco, Susanna Forrest

LINKS

Susanna Forrest has written all about the relationship between humans and horses – from riding them to eating them. 

The Virginia Range wild horse herd has seen a substantial drop in population because of a fertility control campaign financed by a wild horse advocacy group. 

There’s some great research from the University of New Mexico that shows how the domesticated horse made its way north from tribe to tribe in the 1500s. 

You can learn all about how folks can adopt wild horses from the federal government here. 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby

The Outside/In team includes Felix Poon and Justine Paradise. 

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Support Outside/In during our Jan/Feb fundraiser and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar! Plus, if you donate $10 per month we’ll send you a pair of NH-made Merino wool socks from Minus33. 

Did you know that the humble pigeon is related to the dodo, makes milk (pigeon cheese, anyone?) and even played a role in the French Revolution? Surely this often-dismissed bird deserves some recognition. 

Well, on this episode we’re diving deep into the biology and history of Nate’s favorite overlooked animal, as explored by the brilliantly titled (and produced) podcast, What The Duck?! This absolute gem is from the Australian Broadcast Company and hosted by Ann Jones. It is so chock-full of wild animal facts that it’s a miracle they can all be contained in less than 30 minutes. 

So sit back and prepare to be wowed by a bird that haters love to hate, and a podcast so fun it could make you fall in love with a speck of dust. 

Featuring Rosemary Mosco, Nathan Finger, Dr Robin Leppitt, April Broadbent, and pigeon fanciers Aaron and Aria. 

SUPPORT

Listen to other episodes of What the Duck?! on Apple podcasts

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

Outside/In is hosted by Nate Hegyi. Our team includes Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon. 

What the Duck?! Is produced and presented by Ann Jones, with Petria Ladgrove and additional mastering by Hamish Camilleri. 

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

In 1994, the world’s first oat milk company was born in Sweden. Three decades later, Oatly is on a high-stakes mission to defeat the dairy industry by becoming the biggest plant-based brand the world has ever seen. 

So…can a start-up from Malmö save us all through capitalism? And how much damage is our affection for dairy doing to the planet? This week, we’re featuring the first of a three-part series from the wonderful folks over at The Europeans podcast. 

SUPPORT

Listen to the rest of The Europeans series on Oatly here. 

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

This episode was reported, written and produced by Katz Laszlo. 

It was edited by Katy Lee and Justine Paradis, with editorial support from Margot Gibbs, Dominic Kraemer and Wojciech Oleksiak.

Mastering, scoring and sound design by Wojciech. 

Artwork by RTiiiKA.

Outside/In’s staff includes Nate Hegyi, Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon.

Even though you can explore its entirety from the comfort of a living room beanbag, the world of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (commonly just referred to as 'Skyrim') is vast. The video game contains cities, villages, high waterfalls that cascade into deep pools, and packs of wolves that roam the edges of misty alpine forests. Skyrim is celebrated for the intricacy of its environment and is one of the top-selling video games of all time.

But if you spend enough time in a fantasy, it might change how you relate to the real world.

In this favorite Outside/In episode, first released at the start of the pandemic, producer Justine Paradis speaks with the environmental artist tasked with creating one of the video game world’s most iconic landscapes, the limits of environmental design, and how Skyrim shaped his view of the actual outdoors. 

Featuring Megan Sawyer, Ana Diaz, and Noah Berry.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis

Editing help from Taylor Quimby, Erika Janik, Sam Evans-Brown, and Felix Poon

NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio is Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

It’s Outside/In’s annual winter “Surthrival” show, in which a panel of podcast and radio journalists serve up their personal tips for staying warm, cozy, and active all winter long. From ice-fishing to spicy novels, we’ve got suggestions that’ll get you outside when the adventurous spirit takes hold, and others for days when it’s too darn cold out. 

This year, we’re joined by Berly McCoy, producer of NPR’s Shortwave podcast, Olivia Richardson, reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio, and Nick Capodice, co-host of Civics 101. 

You can read our full list of suggestions on our website. We’d also love to hear from you! Send your suggestions, ideally as a voice recording, to outsidein@nhpr.org, or call our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER. We might even play them on the podcast or share your tips in our (free) newsletter. 

Featuring Francis Tarasiewicz, Weather Observer at Mount Washington Observatory.

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LINKS

Learn more about the science and history behind wind chill.

Go to our website to read our full list of 12 tips for embracing winter.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Produced and mixed by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Justine Paradis.

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer.

Music for this episode by Fasion, Jules Gaia, Thea Tyler, Real Heroes, Mike Franklyn, Josef Bel Habib, Jharee, Jay Varton, DJ Denz The Rooster, Frigga, Ballpoint, Dusty Decks, and Arthur Benson.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

It’s tough to see your hometown portrayed in television and movies. New Englanders roll their eyes at overly quaint shots of church steeples and fall foliage. Minnesotans balk at the over-the-top accents in ‘Fargo.’ And now Montanans are struggling with the way the state is portrayed in the hit television series ‘Yellowstone.’

The show stars Kevin Costner as the gravelly-voiced patriarch of the Dutton ranching family. They own a sprawling cattle operation on the edge of Yellowstone National Park and they will do whatever it takes – including a whole lot of murder – to protect their way of life from wealthy outsiders. 

But in the real world, Montanans are accusing the show of attracting wealthy outsiders to move to the state and change their way of life. Since the show first aired in 2018, home prices have nearly doubled, and – anecdotally – real estate agents are leaning on Yellowstone’s appeal to sell property. 

Host Nate Hegyi and Rebecca Lavoie, television critic and head of podcasts at NHPR, dive deep into how a fake show is changing a very real place and what ‘Yellowstone’ gets right – and wrong – about Native Americans, women, and the West. 

Featuring: Taylar Stagner, Maggie Slepian

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

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Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

As of December 2023, Certain Women is currently streaming for free on Tubi. 

You can find Taylar Stagner’s criticism on books, television and more at High Country News. 

Maggie Slepian wrote an essay about the impact of ‘Yellowstone’ on her hometown of Bozeman for Outside magazine. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby

The Outside/In team includes Felix Poon and Justine Paradise. 
Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Northside and Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Some people think artificial intelligence is the best thing since sliced bread. Others say it’s the beginning of a science-fiction apocalypse. At COP28 – the U.N. Climate Change Conference – tech companies are saying AI is key to unlocking a more efficient future. 

But what if the truth is less sensational than all that? 

In this episode, how AI tools are helping and hurting efforts to curb climate change. From satellite-based flood maps to the growing energy cost of programs like ChatGPT, we’ll survey the use of artificial intelligence as a tool for climate action… and for climate distraction. 

Featuring David Rolnick and Karen Hao

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In.

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

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Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

David Rolnick is one of the lead authors of this paper, called “Climate Change and AI: Recommendations for government action.”

Check out ChatNetZero, an AI climate chatbot that gives you references when it answers your questions. 

A University of Washington researcher estimates the energy usage of ChatGPT (UW News)

After a Greenpeace report outlined how tech giants have worked with the fossil fuel industry, Google said it would no longer make AI tools to “facilitate upstream extraction” for oil and gas firms. (CNBC)

The Climate Summit Embraces A.I., With Reservations (New York Times)

COP28 president says there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phase-out of fossil fuels (The Guardian)

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced and mixed by Taylor Quimby

Edited by Rebecca Lavoie, NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio. 

Special thanks to Angel Hsu, and Sajjad Moazeni.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Most Americans can look down at their phone and see a prediction of the future. How is that even possible?

Well, this episode from Civics 101 is all about the weather – from early predictive methods and almanacs to the National Weather Service's modern-day practices of collecting, analyzing, and sharing a staggering amount of data.

Featuring Kris Harper and Felicia Bowser

SUPPORT

Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In.

Check out more episodes from Civics 101.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram and X, or discuss episodes in our private listener group on Facebook.

CREDITS

This episode of Civics 101 was produced by Hannah McCarthy with Nick Capodice and Christina Phillips.

Outside/In is hosted by Nate Hegyi. The team also includes Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon. 

The executive producer of Civics 101 and Outside/In is Rebecca Lavoie.

Civics 101 and Outside/In are productions of New Hampshire Public Radio.

If you’ve got a question for the Outside/Inbox hotline, give us a call! We’re always looking for rabbit holes to dive down into. Leave us a voicemail at: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837). Don’t forget to leave a number so we can call you back.

For humans, roads epitomize freedom. For wildlife, it’s a different story: a million animals are killed by cars every day in the US alone.

How did our infrastructure turn so deadly? And what are people trying to do about it?

In this episode, we look at how two very different species are impacted by roads. Along the way, we visit a turtle rescue clinic, hear about a celebrity cougar that was trapped in the Hollywood Hills, and find out what it took to fund what will soon be the world’s largest wildlife bridge.

Featuring Ben Goldfarb, Alexxia Bell, Natasha Nowick, and Michaela Conder.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or discuss the show in our private listener group on Facebook. 

LINKS

From bears to badgers, and crocodiles in Florida to salamanders in Vermont – check out these videos of wildlife crossings in action across the country. (NYTimes)

Check out Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, by Ben Goldfarb.

Read more about The Turtle Rescue League in Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell, by Sy Montgomery.

Engross yourself in the stories of the National Park Service’s Puma Profiles of the Santa Monica Mountains.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Felix Poon.

Edited by Taylor Quimby.

Our team also includes Justine Paradis.

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer.

Music for this episode by Jay Varton, Rand Aldo, and Blue Dot Sessions.

Theme music by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

It’s time again for our listener mail roundup, and this week, the theme is bugs, bugs, and more bugs. We discover what’s happening inside the chrysalis of a monarch butterfly, find out why fruit flies seem to spontaneously generate from over-ripe fruit, and ask if meat-eaters really are sweeter to mosquitoes. Plus, a cautionary tale about leaving the window screens open. 

1. What happens inside a chrysalis during metamorphosis?
2. How does bioluminescence work?
3. Are mosquitoes good for anything?

Featuring Karen Oberhauser, Deidre Gibson, and Lyric Bartholomay.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

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LINKS

Learn more about our mosquito expert, Lyric Bartholomay, in this video about her and her work.

This National Geographic article has a good overview of bioluminescence, plus some great photos.

Consumer Reports details how it tests bug spray and lists some high-performing products.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Forget about beer, or even water; it was hard apple cider that was THE drink of choice in colonial America. Even kids drank it! And since it’s made from apples – the “all-American” fruit – what could be more American than cider?

But apples aren’t native to America. They’re originally from Kazakhstan.

In this episode we look at the immigration story of Malus domestica, the domesticated apple, from its roots in the wild forests of Central Asia, to its current status as an American icon. And we look at how apples and cider were used in some of America’s biggest migrations – from Indigenous tribes who first brought apples west across the continent, to the new immigrants who are using hard cider to bridge cultures and find belonging.  

Featuring Soham Bhatt and Susan Sleeper Smith.

Special thanks to everyone Felix spoke to at the Cider Days Festival, including Judith Maloney, Carol Hillman, Ben Clark, Ben Watson, Charlie Olchowski, William Grote, and Bob Sabolefski.

Editor’s Note: This episode first aired in February of 2022.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram, or discuss episodes in our private listener group on Facebook. 
 

LINKS

How to Make Hard Cider

George and Ursula Granger: The Erasure of Enslaved Black Cidermakers, by Darlene Hayes.

An Apple Commons, reflections by Melissa Maddens on what it means to forage from wild apple orchards – relics of this country’s history of dispossessing Indigenous people of their lands.

Open Spaces Cider – Melissa Maddens’ cidery focuses on reparations and reconciliation for living off a land that was taken from Indigenous peoples.

CREDITS

Reported, produced and mixed by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, and Rebecca Lavoie.

Host: Nate Hegyi

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music for this episode by Jharee, Kevin MacLeod and Blue Dot Sessions.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

If you’ve got a question for the Outside/Inbox hotline, give us a call! We’re always looking for rabbit holes to dive down into. Leave us a voicemail at: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837). Don’t forget to leave a number so we can call you back.

According to our unscientific office poll, the annual changing of the clocks has all the popularity of a root canal. With few exceptions, people described the shift to and from Daylight Saving Time as disorienting, arbitrary, and unwelcome.

On a more existential level, winding the clocks back and forth reminds us that no matter how concrete minutes and hours may feel, the way we perceive time is fluid. Time flies when you’re having fun. A watched pot never boils. 

So to celebrate (or perhaps protest) another year setting back the clocks, the Outside/In team has uncovered four mini-stories that will poke at, stretch, or even obliterate your perception of time. From “time expansion experiences,” to time-space synesthesia, to the slow-motion life of a fly, prepare for a totally different type of time warp.

Featuring Steve Taylor, Rhitu Chatterjee, Kevin Healy, Katherine Akey, and Patricia Lynne Duffy.

Depending on who you ask bats are either a favorite mascot of spooky season, a dangerous nuisance and vector for rabies, or a charismatic group of nocturnal mammals in need of protection. 

So when Outside/In host Nate Hegyi moved to the countryside of Montana and discovered a colony of bats living in the siding of his new house, he was forced to make a decision. Evict the bats that pest control people suggest could be endangering his family? Or try and embrace his inner Bruce Wayne? 

Featuring: Susan Tsang, Steph Holt, Mike Hegyi, Penny Hegyi, Christine Bellis

SUPPORT

Outside/In is listener-supported. Become a sustaining member today for $5 a month, and we'll send you an Outside/In baseball cap.  

Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.

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CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Felix Poon and Justine Paradis
Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

During disasters, people flock to social media to share warnings, coordinate in real time, and share images of the destruction. But others use the chaos of breaking news events to spread false information. 

On today’s episode, we’re exploring the rise of fake news in the environmental space, from #HawaiiNotUkraine, to a news site spreading climate disinformation in Wyoming. Plus, we speak to the people fighting back, including a community fact-checker correcting earthquake disinformation on X.

 SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

This article, written before Elon Musk took over X, profiled Celeste Labedz and some other folks fighting diisonfmration on social media (Poynter)

Check out Caroline Orr Bueno’s substack newsletter, Weaponized, and her piece about the #HawaiiNotUkraine hashtag. 

Jem Bartholomew’s story about the sudden growth of a Wyoming news site that’s rife with climate disinformation (CJR) 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Jeongyoon Han

Mixed by Taylor Quimby

Edited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Nate Hegyi and Felix Poon. 

Our staff also includes Justine Paradis.

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Become a sustaining member today. For $5 a month, we'll send you an Outside/In baseball cap. The first 250 people to donate during our fall fund drive will also receive a "ginkgo love" sticker.  Support Outside/In today!

Flying is a mess. Underserved airports, a global pilot shortage, and incessant extra fees… not to mention, of course, the emissions. 

But, in 2022, an aviation start-up debuted “the world’s first all-electric passenger plane.” They say that electric flight can help address not only emissions, but also entrenched problems in the entire aviation system. Can it? 

Featuring Noah Karberg, Lynnette Dray, Dan Wolf, and Greg Davis, with appearances by Jim Goddard, Scott Genthner, Joe Urbanski, and Bill Guinee.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. 

Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.

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LINKS

Why do airlines try to sell you credit cards? Because “airlines are just banks now.” (The Atlantic)

Experts told us the aviation system is, by and large, quite safe… but it might be more complicated. (New York Times) 

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis 

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Felix Poon. 

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Music by bomull, Bill Vortex, Guustavv, Xavy Rusan, Bonkers Beat Club, Nul Tiel Records, Adelyn Paik, Shiruky, Uncle Bibby, Scott Gratton, and Blue Dot Sessions.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Become a sustaining member today. For $5 a month, we'll send you an Outside/In baseball cap. The first 250 people to donate during our fall fund drive will also receive a "ginkgo love" sticker.  Support Outside/In today!

As of late, Endless Thread co-host Ben Brock Johnson has been obsessed with a rock in Wyoming, a lot like the protagonist of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. 

But you won't find Ben in the kitchen, making a replica of the rock out of mud and chicken wire. Instead, you'll find him and co-host Amory Sivertson in this episode, traversing Reddit and TikTok, YouTube, and the actual state of Wyoming to find out why hundreds of thousands of people have been drawn to a monolith that has so many names and meanings.

This episode is part of Endless Thread’s latest 4-part series called Parks!

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

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Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

Outside/In is hosted by Nate Hegyi. Our team includes Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon. Our Executive Producer is Rebecca Lavoie.

This episode of Endless Thread was produced by Ben Brock Johnson, co-hosted by Amory Sivertson, and produced by Samata Joshi, Grace Tatter, and Quincy Walters

It was mixed and sound-designed by Paul Vaitkus.

Endless Thread is a production of WBUR. 

Outside/In is a production of NHPR. 

Become a sustaining member today. For $5 a month, we'll send you an Outside/In baseball cap. The first 250 people to donate during our fall fund drive will also receive a "ginkgo love" sticker.  Support Outside/In today!

Earlier this year, our host Nate Hegyi picked a fight with Ryan Zinke. 

Zinke is the former Interior Secretary under Trump – the guy who rode into office on horseback.  In the midst of an awful few days in June, when Canadian wildfire smoke blanketed the entire east coast, Zinke took to Twitter and argued that the solution was “active forest management.” 

Nate assumed that was a political code word for more logging, something Republicans have been pushing for years. But instead of firing back, he decided to fact-check his assumptions and study up. Why are Canadian wildfires getting so intense? Is it possible to stop the smoke by logging the boreal forest? And what would Teddy Roosevelt have to say about this?!

Featuring Phil Higuera, John Vaillant, Ryan Zinke, and Courtney Shultz.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support.   Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Check out our episode about prescribed burns (10X10: Pine Barrens).

The NPS has a good overview of how indigenous fire practices shaped North America.

“As Canada reels from wildfire, First Nations hope for larger role” (Al Jazeera)

CREDITS

Hosted, reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Rebecca Lavoie

Our team also includes Justine Paradis, Jeongyoon Han, and Felix Poon. 

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Help us celebrate our 250th episode by becoming a sustaining member today. For $5 a month, we'll send you an Outside/In baseball cap. The first 250 people to donate during our fall fund drive will also receive a "ginkgo love" sticker. 

Support Outside/In today!

From Dante’s Peak and Twister, to the twin apocalypse movies Armageddon and Deep Impact, Outside/In senior producer Taylor Quimby was raised on disaster movies.  

But with real climate-related catastrophes popping up more and more, one has to wonder:... what is it about disaster stories that were so appealing in the first place? Do they have anything redeeming to teach us about ourselves or our planet? 

Taylor attempts to answer that question (and weirdly enough, to celebrate Outside/In’s 250th episode) by looking back at one of the planet’s all-time worst disasters: The Permian-Triassic Extinction Event, or as it’s sometimes called “The Great Dying.” 

Featuring Michael Benton.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support.   Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Taylor Quimby

Mixed by Taylor Quimby

Editing by Rebecca Lavoie and Nate Hegyi.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

In the midst of a battle with cancer, Kathy Kral found herself facing another diagnosis: major depression.

So, Kathy signed up for a clinical study to see if psilocybin – the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms” – could help her confront her fears about cancer and death, as well as her deepest inner demons.

Featuring Kathleen Kral, Manish Agrawal, and Norma Stevens.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or discuss the show in our private listener group on Facebook. 

Submit a question to our Outside/Inbox. We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Can Psychedelic Therapy Offer a Sense of Peace for the Dying?

The Sunstone Psilocybin Playlist patients listen to during their psychedelic trips

Citations

• In the psilocybin study Kathy Kral participated in, 80% of participants experienced a significant reduction in depression, and half were no longer depressed at all. These results were persistent even a year and a half after their psilocybin sessions.
• Psychedelics cause hallucinations because they compromise the part of the brain that processes what you see, and promote communication between different parts of your brain that usually don’t talk to each other.
• Risks associated with psilocybin range from nausea and increased heart rate, to Hallucination Persisting Perception Disorder where people continue having hallucinations for months or years after the trip has ended. But magic mushrooms had the lowest rates of associated emergency room visits out of any drug surveyed by the Global Drug Survey in 2019, 2020, and 2021. And researchers have found that psychedelics are not addictive in lab animals, and the lethal dose of psilocybin is so high that overdoses are impractical and rare. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi
Reported, produced, and mixed by Felix Poon
Edited by Taylor Quimby with help from Rebecca Lavoie, Nate Hegyi, Justine Paradis, and Jeongyoon Han.
Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer
Special thanks to Evan Craig, Heather Honstein, Kathryn Tucker, and Erinn Baldeshwiler.
Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Pawan Krishna, the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, and Paul De Bra.
Theme music by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

It’s time again for our listener mail round-up, and this week, the theme is borders and boundaries. We learn what it means to define the “end of an era,” explore how close is too close to a black hole, and discuss the power of animal urine. Plus, we hear the story about the time the U.S. and Great Britain almost fought a border war… because of a pig. 

1. How do different animals mark their territory?
2. How does surveying work?
3. How close do you have to be to get pulled in by a black hole?
4. How do historians decide how to categorize chunks of time?

Featuring Eric Salovich, Naoufal Souitat, Dagomar Degroot, and Christine Wilkinson.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or discuss the show in our private listener group on Facebook. 

Submit a question to our Outside/Inbox. We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi, Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon and Jeongyoon Han. 

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Executive Producer: Rebecca Lavoie 

Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

On a bluebird day, in April of 2019, Snow Ranger Frank Carus set out to investigate a reported avalanche in the backcountry of Mt. Washington. He found a lone skier, buried several feet under the snow. He was severely hypothermic but alive.

Wilderness EMTs can work for decades and never encounter this particular situation. And what happened next was an attempted rescue that people in Northern New England are still learning from. 

What happens when a rescue goes wrong? And how do first responders cope when an opportunity to save someone’s life slips through their fingers?

Editor’s Note: This episode first aired in May of 2022, and was later honored with a National Edward R. Murrow Award for News Documentary. 

Featuring: Denise Butler, Frank Carus, Jeff Fongemie, Nicholas Weinberg

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram and Twitter, or discuss episodes in our private listener group on Facebook. 

Submit a question to our Outside/Inbox. We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Learn more about avalanche safety here.

Read the Wilderness Medical Society Journal article about this incident here.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by: Jessica Hunt

Mixer: Taylor Quimby

Editing by Taylor Quimby and Nate Hegyi, with help and feedback from Rebecca Lavoie, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, Erika Janik, Sam Evans-Brown, Jimmy Gutierrez, and Christina Philips.

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Special Thanks to: Matt Dustin, Ty Gagne, Frank Hubbell, and Andrew Parrella. 

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

Outside/In  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

At any given time, millions of lab mice are being used in research facilities nationwide. And yet nearly all of them can be connected back to a single source: The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, where the modern lab mouse was invented.

What started as a research project aimed at understanding heredity is now a global business. Research on lab mice has led to more than two dozen Nobel prizes, helped save countless human lives, and has pushed science and medicine to new heights. But behind it all is a cost that’s rarely discussed outside of the ethics boards that determine how lab mice are used.   

In this episode, we hear the story of how a leading eugenicist turned the humble mouse from a household pest into science’s number one guinea pig. Plus, we get a rare peek inside the Jackson Laboratory - where over 10,000 strains of lab mice DNA are kept cryogenically frozen. 

Featuring Bethany Brookshire, Kristin Blanchette, Lon Cardon, Rachael Pelletier, Karen Rader, Nadia Rosenthal and Mark Wanner.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Karen Rader’s book, Making Mice: Standardizing Animals for American Biomedical Research, 1900-1955, is a definitive source on the birth of the lab mouse…

Curious to learn more about pests? Take a look at Bethany Brookshire’s book, Pests: How Humans Create Villains.

This piece from the New Yorker questions the assumptions and ethical choices scientists have made by using lab mice in sterilized lab environments.

In this New York Times essay, Brandon Keim explores how some ethicists want to reduce harm to animals used for research through a new model: repaying them. 

CREDITS

Produced by Jeongyoon Han

Mixed by Taylor Quimby

Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Nate Hegyi, Rebecca Lavoie, Justine Paradis, and Felix Poon

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Spring Gang, and El Flaco Collective. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

In case you hadn’t heard, El Niño is back in the news, and this time it’s pushing global temperatures to the 1.5-degree climate threshold, giving us a sneak preview of a world scorched by global warming. But when it comes to El Niño, the first question on people’s minds is usually…wait…what the heck is El Niño again?

Well, today on Outside/In we’ve got answers. Plus, we ask how to tell if extreme weather events are caused by climate change or by El Niño, and consider what this El Niño can tell us about our climate future.

Featuring Kim Cobb, Emily Becker, and Ángel Muñoz.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or discuss the show in our private listener group on Facebook. 

Submit a question to our Outside/Inbox. We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Read Kim Cobb’s 2016 article, A bittersweet victory for an El Niño chaser – Cobb explains how her research on corals gives us a surprisingly accurate history of El Niño events going back as far as 7,000 years ago.

The National Weather Service for the UK has a great video explainer of El Nino, as well as over a hundred other short videos on their YouTube channel explaining various weather and climate phenomena like jet streams, global circulation, and the Coriolis effect.

For more science-talk on El Nino, check out the ENSO Blog, where climate scientist Emily Becker is a lead writer.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi
Reported and produced by Felix Poon
Edited by Taylor Quimby with help from Justine Paradis and Nate Hegyi.
Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer
Special thanks to Jeongyoon Han for playing the violin, and Michael Prentky for the timpani recording.
Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Walt Adams, and Brightarm Orchestra.
Outside/In  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

At Outside/In, we often talk about the challenge of covering climate in a way that doesn’t leave us feeling hopeless or overwhelmed. For us, that’s often meant staying curious and keeping a sense of humor. 

But a few years ago, investigative journalist Amy Westervelt had another idea. Why not use one of podcasting’s most popular genres—true crime—to tell the story of climate change? 

From greenwashing to climate denialism and corporate propaganda, Drilled makes accountability journalism a thrill to listen to, while consistently being one of the most informative sources for in-depth climate news.

So today, we’re featuring the first episode of their latest three-part series: “Herb.” This is the story of Herb Schmertz, the political strategist-turned-oil-man who popularized corporate personhood, and how it's become one of the biggest problems facing climate action today. 

Featuring Robert Kerr and Robert Bruhl

Read the episode transcript.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

This episode of Drilled was written and reported by Amy Westervelt. 

It was produced and sound designed by Martin Zaltz Ostwick. 

Sound engineer: Peter Doff 

Additional reporting by Julia Manepela

Fact checking: Wudan Yan

Outside/In is hosted by Nate Hegyi. The team also includes Tayor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jeongyoon Han. 

Outside/In’s executive producer is Rebecca Lavoie

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

It’s our listener mail round up, and this week it’s all about communication in the natural world, like: how do migratory animals teach their young how to migrate and where to go? Do sharks smell underwater? And, are plants talking to each other?

Plus, a mini-story about a lost baby squirrel and a Bluetooth speaker.

Take a listen!

1. How do young animals know how to migrate?
2. Can plants talk to each other?
3. What makes an animal a pest?
4. How do shark noses work underwater?

Featuring: Patrik Byholm, Richard Karban, Bethany Brookshire, and Stephen Kajiura.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or discuss the show in our private listener group on Facebook. 

Submit a question to our Outside/Inbox. We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Visit outsideinradio.org for video of a Bluetooth speaker-assisted baby squirrel rescue.

On animal migration:

• A magnetic compass aids monarch butterfly migration
• Paternal transmission of migration knowledge in a long-distance bird migrant

On plants talking:

• Rumor Has It…: Relay Communication of Stress Cues in Plants
• Towards understanding plant bioacoustics

On what makes an animal a pest:

• The long history of speed at Reuters about carrier pigeons and The Tastiest Bird You Can Legally Eat about the tastiness of pigeon meat, also known as squab
• Burmese Pythons: The Giant Invasive Snake at Risk in Its Native Land

On sharks:

• Check out the Shark Lab at Florida Atlantic University.
• Scientists believe sharks came into existence about 400 million years ago.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Felix Poon, Jeongyoon Han, Taylor Quimby, and Jessica Hunt

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Special thanks to Lani Asuncion and Angus Murphy

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Wine is considered to be an expression of a place and climate, a reflection of centuries-old traditions. But these days, a lot of wine is a product of an industrialized agricultural system, and just as processed as the bulk of products in the grocery store. 

Today on Outside/In, we take a look at what really goes into your wine, and at a growing movement exploring just how “natural” wine can be. 

Featuring Julia Furukawa, Helen Johannesen, and Lee Campbell, with appearances by Lucy Leske, Steve Paradis, Jenny Paradis, Elsie Turner Matthews, and Samuel Golding.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. 

Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.

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LINKS

Lee Campbell is a partner in a Virginia winery called Common Wealth Crush. 

Helen Johannesen is a partner in Jon & Vinny’s and Helen’s Wines, a wine shop and delivery club in Los Angeles. She’s also the host of Wineface podcast, with episodes covering the basics of natural wine, a deeper dive on the specific grapes (like pinot noir), and an introduction to certain styles, like orange wine. 

Julia Furukawa is the host of All Things Considered at New Hampshire Public Radio. Check out her investigative reporting on a lack of evidence for some claims of Abenaki ancestry in New England. 

5 tips for navigating the world of natural wine

1. As Helen Johannesen likes to say, “wine is for enjoying and wine is for everyone,” but it’s also a luxury. Still, you can get natural  wines for $20 a bottle or less. The hard part is finding them.

2. If you’re trying to figure out whether a wine is natural or not, turn the bottle around and look at the importer on the back. There are certain importers who seek out small producers who are aligned with the natural wine movement. A couple of importers with such a reputation are Zev Rovine and Jenny & Francois.

3. If possible, find a local brick-and-mortar wine shop. They’re more likely to help you find a natural wine. Plus, wine shops often offer free or low-cost tastings, which can help you figure out what you like without spending a ton of money. There are online wine subscription services that have natural wines as well.

4. If you’re just dipping your toe into the natural wine world, start with what you like. If you love Sauvignon Blanc, try a natural bottle of the same variety.

5. Last, have a good time! Don’t get intimidated or think that you have to be completely pure about it. Again, in the end, wine is supposed to be fun.

-Justine P.
 

CREDITS

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Hosted, reported, written, and produced by Justine Paradis 

Mixed and edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Felix Poon and Jeongyoon Han. 

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Matt Large and Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

With 'Oppenheimer,' director Christopher Nolan has turned the Manhattan Project into a summer blockbuster. The film is set in Los Alamos, one of the primary places where the first atomic bomb was developed. But fewer people know the history of Carrizozo, a rural farming area downwind of the Trinity test — and a community still dealing with the fallout to this day.

Radioactive fallout from the bomb settled on everything: the soil, gardens, and drinking water. Cow’s milk became radioactive. Later, hundreds of people developed radiogenic cancers. 

The people of Carrizozo were among the first people in the world exposed to a nuclear blast. More than 75 years later, their families are still fighting for medical compensation from the federal government.

Host Nate Hegyi traveled to New Mexico to visit the Trinity Site, and to hear the stories of so-called ‘downwinders.'

Featuring: Paul Pino, Tina Cordova, Ben Ray Lujan

Editor's note: A previous version of this description incorrectly described Los Alamos as the site of the first atomic bomb test. The actual test took place in the White Sands Missle Range.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

The federal government has produced a few studies on the fallout from Trinity. This one from Los Alamos found that there was still contamination in the area in 1985. 

Another, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, produced one of the most in-depth histories of the fallout from Trinity and the government’s reaction.

The National Cancer Institute found that hundreds of people likely developed cancer because of the fallout. 

The history of Trinity is full of strange little details, like the desert toads that were croaking all night. 

You can find affidavits and first-hand accounts of the fallout from Trinity at the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium website. 

This review by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists explains why it’s so hard to determine a definitive death toll for the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Editing help from Rebecca Lavoie, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jeongyoon Han

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Humans are noisy. The National Park Service estimates that all of our whirring, grinding, and revving machines are doubling or even tripling global noise pollution every 30 years. 

A lot of that noise is negatively affecting wildlife and human health. Maybe that’s why we’re so consumed with managing our sonic environments, with noise-cancelling headphones and white noise machines — and sometimes, we get into spats with our neighbors, as one of our guests did…

So for this episode, producer Jeongyoon Han takes us on an exploration of three sonic landscapes: noise, silence, and something in between. 

Featuring Rachel Buxton, Jim Connell, Stan Ellis, Mercede Erfanian, Nora Ma, and Rob Steadman.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Behavioral ecologist Miya Warrington and her colleagues found that Savannah sparrows changed the tune of their love songs as a result of noisy oil fields in Alberta, Canada (The New York Times)

Bats have changed their day-to-day habits because of traffic noise, according to research conducted in the U.K.

Natural sounds are proven to improve health, lower stress, and have positive effects on humans. Rachel Buxton and her colleagues wrote about that in their study from 2021.

Erica Walker’s organization, the Community Noise Lab, monitors noise levels in Boston, Providence, and Jackson, Mississippi. You can read more about her work in this article from Harvard Magazine.

Are you interested in going to a Quiet Parks International-designated quiet park? The organization has a list of spaces across the world that they’ve certified. 

Here’s a radio story from NPR that serves as an homage to John Cage’s 4’33”. 

If you were ever curious about why bird songs are good for you… This article from the Washington Post should be on the top of your reading list!

This New Yorker piece from 2019 outlines how noise pollution might be the next public health crisis. Since that article, there’s been even more research showing that noise can take years off of our lives. 

So, you’ve heard lots of sounds in this episode. But do you want to see what sounds look like? Click here — and this is not clickbait!

Ethan Kross, who is a psychologist and neuroscientist, wrote a whole book about noise — the noise in your head, to be precise. It’s called Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.

Mercede Erfanian’s research into misophonia and soundscapes is fascinating. You can hear her speak on the subject of different kinds of sounds in a show aired from 1A, or watch her presentation on the effects that soundscapes have on humans. 
 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Jeongyoon Han

Mixed by Jeongyoon Han and Taylor Quimby

Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Nate Hegyi, Jessica Hunt, and Felix Poon

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music from Blue Dot Sessions, Edvard Greeg, and Mike Franklyn.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

We love shrimp in the United States. As a country, we eat over 2 billion pounds a year, making it the most consumed seafood in the country. So times should be really good for shrimpers, right? In this episode, our friends at the Sea Change podcast from WWNO and WRKF head to the docks and out in the bayous with shrimpers fighting for a livelihood and a culture that has been here for centuries. 

This narrative episode goes on a journey from the fishing docks to shrimping in the bayous exploring land loss, climate change, and other issues endangering the future of the Gulf shrimp industry. We also uncover the threats imported shrimp pose to a way of life and human health.

Featuring Justin Kennedy, Thomas Gonzales, Acy Cooper, Gary Mayfield, Eddy Hayes, Donald Dardar, and Steve Morris.

Most dog owners know they’re supposed to scoop the poop. 

But when a pup does the deed off the trail, a lot of otherwise responsible citizens find themselves wondering… Is it really better to pick it up in a plastic bag and throw it in the garbage? Isn’t dog poop… natural?

Listen to the latest edition of This, That, or The Other Thing: our series about the little decisions we make in life to try and build a more sustainable world – whether they have any effect and what we can do instead if they don’t. 

This time, we’re wrestling with a major ick factor:  should I leave my dog’s poop in the woods, or put it in a plastic bag and entomb it forever in a landfill? And why do otherwise environmentally-minded folks look the other way when it comes to the impact of our furry friends?

Featuring Stephanie Chow, Anthony Drouin, Ben Goldfarb, Rebecca Perlstein, Forrest Schwartz, Jennifer Williams

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or discuss episodes in our private listener group on Facebook. 

Submit a question to our Outside/Inbox. We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

The Leave No Trace organization studied how to get more people to pick up after their dogs in Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks.

Dog waste is a major source of water pollution.

“Dogs are a beach’s worst nightmare” according to Ben Goldfarb in Hakkai Magazine.

Stephanie Chow of Pet Poo Skiddoo breaks down which dog waste bags are truly compostable here.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Jessica Hunt.

Mixed by Taylor Quimby.

Edited by Nate Hegyi and Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis and Rebecca Lavoie.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Spring Gang, El Flaco Collective, and Daniel Fridell.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

[Editor's Note: This episode first aired in April 2022]

Last year our host, Nate Hegyi, was on the edge of a very high cliff in Utah’s Zion National Park when he heard a little voice inside his head whisper… “jump.”  

He didn’t heed the call, thankfully, and when he got down safely he discovered that more than a third of all people might feel this urge, ominously known as “the call of the void.” 

Most of us can wave off these impulses. But what if you couldn’t? What if the call of the void was so intense that you almost acted? Is there a cure? 

This episode contains a contextual reference to suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, anxiety, or just needs someone to talk to, reach out to the folks at the Crisis Text Line, a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7, and confidential.

Featuring: Jennifer Hames, Stephen Hunt

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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LINKS

This 2020 study, in BMC Psychiatry, looks at the prevalence of high place phenomenon and whether it’s connected to suicidal ideation. 

Read Jennifer Hames’ paper in The Journal of Affective Disorders on the “call of the void”: “An urge to jump affirms the urge to live: an empirical examination of the high place phenomenon.”

The Imp of the Perverse, by Edgar Allen Poe

Marconi Union, “Weightless”

Listen to our previous episode “Even Hikers Get The Blues” 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by: Nate Hegyi.

Mixer: Nate Hegyi and Taylor Quimby

Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, Felix Poon and Rebecca Lavoie.

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Marconi Union, Sour Mash, Dew of Light, Gavin Luke, and Christopher Moe Ditlevsen.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

When it comes to the environment, are natural fabrics better than synthetics? The answer might surprise you.

It’s the latest installment of This, That, Or The Other Thing, a series about the decisions we make to build a more sustainable world, and to make a difference in our communities.

In this episode we compare the carbon footprints of polyester versus cotton, we ask the experts whether our waterproof clothes are killing us, and for those of us who find this all too overwhelming, we talk about the number one thing you can do to make more sustainable clothing choices.

Featuring: Lucy Allosso, Jessian Choy, Joel Svedlund, and Akiera Charles.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook

If you’ve got a question for the Outside/Inbox hotline, give us a call! We’re always looking for rabbit holes to dive down into. Leave us a voicemail at: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837), or email us at outsidein@nhpr.org.

LINKS

Lucky Sweater is an app for trading clothes, and they’ve also got an “approved brand” list of companies that make more high-quality garments and provide livable wages across the supply chain.

There’s lots of other buy/sell/trade sites online like noihsafbazaar.com and Sell Trade Slow Fashion on Instagram. You can also use gem.app to search many resale sites at once, but you’re also likely to find local groups near you by simply searching for clothes swaps, Buy Nothing, or buy/sell/trade on Facebook and Google.

If you’re looking for slow fashion brands, some companies take preorders and only manufacture the amount ordered, reducing waste from unsold clothing. Elizabeth Suzann and Gustin are examples of this model.

Here are other actions you can take for a safer and more sustainable wardrobe:

• Look for third-party certifications, like GOTS 7.0, OEKO-TEX (specifically Made in Green, Standard 100, or Leather Standard), Bluesign, ZDHC, and Cradle to Cradle Certified.
• Consider brands that source from countries with cleaner energy grids. According to the Amplifying Misinformation report, the average factory in Bangladesh, Turkey, Vietnam, and Cambodia will have a Greenhouse Gas impact about 20% lower than brands sourcing from India, Indonesia, and China. And brands sourcing from the average factory in Pakistan, Italy, and Portugal will have an impact that’s 50-60% lower.
• Learn more about The Fashion Act and, if you’re a resident of New York, contact your assembly members and senators about it.
• Check out the best devices (according to recent research) for filtering microplastics from your laundry before they get into the oceans – including the Guppyfriend washing bag, and the XFiltra filter that manufacturers can add to machines.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Produced and mixed by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer.

Special thanks to Natascha van der Velden, and Gustav Sandin Albertsson.

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

After the gathering at Standing Rock, legislators across the United States passed laws in the name of “protecting critical infrastructure,” especially pipelines. 

At the same time, attacks on the electrical grid have increased almost 300%. But that threat isn’t coming from environmental activists. 

It’s coming from neo-Nazis. 

This is the second episode in our series examining the landscape of environmental protest in the United States, from Standing Rock to Cop City and beyond. Listen to the first episode here.

As the space for protest in the United States shrinks, this year marked a major escalation: the first police killing of an environmental protestor in the United States, plus the arrests of dozens of people at protests under the charge of domestic terrorism. 

Featuring Naomi Dix, Lauren Mathers, Jon Wellinghoff, Will Potter, Hannah Gais, Alex Amend, Aurielle Marie, and Madeline Thigpen.

Special thanks to Micah Herskind, Mike German, Yessenia Funes, Clark White. 

SUPPORT

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Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of the show. 

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or discuss the show in our private listener group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the Outside/Inbox. We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

Further reading on the ideology of far-right accelerationism by Alex Amend 

Hannah Gais’ reporting on Atomwaffen and the planned Baltimore grid attack 

Check out this excellent explainer on Cop City in Scalawag Magazine, written by Micah Herskind.

Read “The Forest for the Trees” in The Bitter Southerner, a profile of life in the “forest defender” camp in the Weelaunee Forest. It includes a conversation with the late Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, better known at Tortuguita.

More than 60 human rights and environmental organizations signed this letter condemning the domestic terrorism charges in Atlanta, Georgia.

Unicorn Riot’s livestream of the police action at the concert.

Two activists face felony charges for distributing flyers which identified a police officer linked to Tortuguita’s killing.

Plus, leaders of a bail fund were arrested on charges of charity fraud for their support of the people recently charged with domestic terrorism – as the Atlanta Press Collective reports, the history of bail funds in the United States goes back to the Civil Rights movement.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Justine Paradis 

Mixed by Justine Paradis and Taylor Quimby

Edited by Taylor Quimby with help from Jack Rodolico, Rebecca Lavoie, Felix Poon, Jessica Hunt, Jeongyoon Han, and Nate Hegyi

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music came from Blue Dot Sessions, Autohacker, Blacksona, The Big Let Down, and Hatamitsunami. 

Audio of the events after the concert in the South River Forest was recorded in a livestream by Unicorn Riot and shared under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

When members of the Oceti Sakowin gathered near the Standing Rock Reservation to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, they decided on a strategy of nonviolent direct action. No violence… against people.

But sabotage of property – well, that’s another question entirely. 

Since the gathering at Standing Rock, anti-protest legislation backed by the fossil fuel industry has swept across the country.

What happened? When is environmental protest considered acceptable… and when is it seen as a threat? 

This is the first of two episodes exploring the changing landscape of environmental protest in the United States, from Standing Rock to Cop City and beyond.

Part II will be released on June 8. 

Featuring Chase Iron Eyes, Tokata Iron Eyes, Lesley Wood, Elly Page, and Connor Gibson.

Special thanks to Phyllis Young and everyone at the Lakota People’s Law Project, especially Daniel Nelson and Jesse Phelps. Thanks also to Soundings Mindful Media.

SUPPORT

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LINKS

We highly recommend the podcast Burn Wild, investigative reporter Leah Sottile’s excellent series on the Earth Liberation Front. It centers on the question, “How far is too far to stop the planet burning?”

Use the ICNL’s US Protest Law Tracker to look up anti-protest and critical infrastructure bills by state or by issue.

“Exploring the sound of the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz”, produced by the Berkeley Voices program, and footage of the occupation, compiled by the Bay Area TV Archive. 

For even more context on AIM, we recommend listening to Buffy, a podcast series on Buffy Sainte Marie, a Piapot Cree Nation singer-songwriter whose record “Now That the Buffalo’s Gone” was an anthem during the occupation of Alcatraz. 

The Intercept’s reported extensively on Standing Rock and TigerSwan. They’ve also made the leaked documents available for anyone to read, and recently published this investigation on TigerSwan’s strategy of misinformation, in collaboration with Grist.

This critique of How to Blow Up a Pipeline calls the book “reckless,” arguing that Andreas Malm “has a tendency of rehashing many well-established anarchist ideas.”

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, written, and produced by Justine Paradis 

Mixed by Justine Paradis and Taylor Quimby

Edited by Taylor Quimby with help from Nate Hegyi, Felix Poon, Rebecca Lavoie, and Jessica Hunt

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Podington Bear, Skylines, Cory Gray, Cooper Cannell, and Blue Dot Sessions.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

As a candidate, Joe Biden called himself a climate change pioneer. He promised a green energy revolution. More renewables, way less fossil fuels, and a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. So two years in, how’s he doing?

Outside/In host Nate Hegyi speaks with a political scientist and an environmental activist to figure out where Biden has pushed his climate agenda, where he hasn’t, and whether he’s an octopus or a bighorn sheep. 

Featuring: Aseem Prakash, Jean Su

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Mixed by Nate Hegyi and Taylor Quimby

Edited by Taylor Quimby

The Outside/In team also includes Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Outside/In  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

There are few physical challenges more uncomfortable than holding your breath underwater as long as you can. 

But if your duty is to pull downed military personnel from waters all over the world, you need to prove your ability to perform in the most hostile and unforgiving conditions. That’s why the Air Force has long made breath holds part of its training programs for parajumpers, or parachute rescue specialists. 

This week, we’re featuring an episode from our friends at the Outside Podcast (not to be confused with Outside/In) about a parajumper candidate who finds himself facing elimination from training for the most surprising reason: he can hold his breath way too long.

Featuring Travis Morgan and Alex Hutchinson

Listen to more from the Outside Podcast here. 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. 

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CREDITS

This episode of the Outside Podcast was produced and hosted by Peter Frick-Wright. Editing and music by Robbie Carver. 

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Outside/In Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

While the taps are running dry and reservoirs are disappearing in Arizona, a corporate farm from Saudi Arabia is pumping massive amounts of groundwater to grow alfalfa  for cows back in the Middle East. Now, after years of inaction, Arizonans are pointing the finger at what they see  as a foreign invader slurping up the last gulps of a diminishing water supply.

But the truth is more complicated. 

In this episode, we dig deep into the history of Arizona’s water crisis and uncover a tale of dates, camels and dairy cows, and try to find out who’s really to blame for the West’s water crisis.

Featuring: Natalie Koch.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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If you’ve got a question for the Outside/Inbox hotline, give us a call! We’re always looking for rabbit holes to dive down into. Leave us a voicemail at: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837), or email us at outsidein@nhpr.org.

LINKS

Read Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia, by Natalie Koch.

Listen to the six-part podcast series Thirst Gap: Learning to live with less on the Colorado River, by KUNC.

Listen to Parched, a podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West, and have ideas to save it, by Colorado Public Radio.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Produced by Felix Poon and Nate Hegyi

Mixed by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

The team peers into the Outside/Inbox to answer listener questions on the theme of “green,” a prompt which sends us exploring the hanging gardens of Babylon, xeriscaping, and the evolution of the human eye.

1: What’s the benefit of being evergreen?

2: How water-friendly is my lawn?

3: How many city buildings have green roofs?

4: Why did we evolve to see so many different shades of green?

Featuring Georgia Silvera Seamans, Rubab Saher, Kate England, Abraham Wu, and Adriana Briscoe.

Special thanks to Steven Peck. 

How to submit a question to the Outside/Inbox

Call our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER, and leave a voicemail. Send a voice recording to outsidein@nhpr.org. We also post regular call-outs for questions in our stories on Instagram.

We’re seeking questions on a new theme for an upcoming episode: “the deeps.” Think caves, life underground, geothermal energy, and deep existential questions about our life on earth. 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Check out the Washington Square Park Eco Projects, which includes a map of city trees, a seasonal change monitoring project, and bird surveys.

Project Drawdown on green roofs as a key climate solution

Abraham Wu’s research on mapping green roofs

Exploring the relationship between turfgrass and city heat

Our own reporting on the American love of lawns, and the impact on the desert

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Justine Paradis, Jeongyoon Han, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt.

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Justine Paradis.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music by spring gang, Molife, Apollo, Autohacker, Diamond Ortiz, and Chris Zabriskie. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

In the late 1950s, engineer Herb Ueda Sr. traveled to a remote Arctic military base. His mission? To drill through nearly a mile of ice, and extract the world’s first complete ice core.

To finish the job, he and his team would endure sub-zero weather, toxic chemicals, and life inside a military base… which was slowly being crushed by the glacier from which it was carved. 

Producer Daniel Ackerman takes us inside Camp Century, and explains how a foundational moment in climate science is inextricably linked with the story of the United States military. 

Featuring Curt La Bombard, Julie Brigham-Grette, Herb Ueda Jr., Don Garfield, and Aleqa Hammond.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of the show.

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

If you want to see footage from inside Camp Century, check out this Department of Defense archival film, “Research and Development Progress Report No. 6.”

For a little Cold War context, watch this 1951 Civil Defense Film called “Duck and Cover”, featuring Bert the Turtle. 

Here's a book about the history of Camp Century, which includes a chapter on the ice core drilling project.

To see some amazing photos, and read about how scientists are still learning new things from the Camp Century core after rediscovering sediment samples in 2017, check out this blog post from the European Geosciences Union.

Learn more about the NSF Ice Core Facility in Colorado, where sections of the Camp Century ice core are currently stored. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Daniel Ackerman

Mixed and edited by Taylor Quimby

Editing help from Justine Paradis and Felix Poon

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Special thanks today to Carrie Harris, Holly Ueda, Chester Langway, Nancy Langway, Laura Kissel, and the Polar Archives at The Ohio State University Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center

Music by Amaranth Cove and Blue Dot Sessions

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Right now, we’re investing billions of dollars into charging infrastructure in order to speed up the transition to electric cars and decarbonize transportation. 

But there are all sorts of problems that EVs won’t solve: bumper-to-bumper traffic, extractive metal mining, and car collisions that kill tens of thousands of drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians every year in the US. 

That’s why transit activists say we need to rethink the way we get around. Because learning to drive less isn’t just about safer streets and better quality of life – it’s also key to winning the race to net zero. 

Featuring: Effie Kong, Jascha Franklin-Hodge, LaShea Johnson, Alex Hudson, Edwin Lindo, Thea Riofrancos.

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Read more about Boston’s 3-year plan to expand the city’s biking infrastructure, make crosswalks safer for pedestrians, and offer biking classes to women and gender-diverse adults.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is in the middle of getting feedback on the Seattle Transportation Plan on how to build a safer and more efficient transportation system.

Read about Cul De Sac Tempe, a new car-free community in Arizona, where residents are contractually forbidden from parking within a quarter-mile radius of the site. (Bloomberg)

According to studies in Cambridge, MA and Toronto, Canada, bike lanes have a neutral or even positive impact on local businesses, even if some parking spaces are taken away.

A paper in the journal Energy Research & Social Science describes the EV transition  as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and argues that private vehicle electrification is neither effective, nor equitable.

This LA Times Op-ed argues that switching  to electric cars isn’t enough to solve climate change.

Studies say pedestrians and bikers are more likely to be hit by EVs and cause more damage because they’re quieter and heavier than gas cars.

Archival audio in this episode come from the 1953 film The American Road funded by Ford Motor Company, and Futurama at the 1939 NY World’s Fair.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Felix Poon

Mixed by Felix Poon and Taylor Quimby

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Editing help from Rebecca lavoie, Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, and Mara Haplamazian

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, and Roy Edwin Williams

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Transitioning to electric vehicles is essential to meeting our climate goals. But there are so many barriers to overcome – from expanding EV charging infrastructure, to updating the power grid, to mining the metals that make batteries go.

In the first of a two-part series on decarbonizing transportation, we try to answer the critical question: is it all happening fast enough to avoid the worst climate impacts?

Featuring: Craig Bentley, Nora Naughton, Sara Baldwin, Thea Riofrancos

If you’ve got a question for the Outside/Inbox hotline, give us a call! We’re always looking for rabbit holes to dive down into. Leave us a voicemail at: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837), or email us at outsidein@nhpr.org.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.

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LINKS

EV transition predictive models

• The 2035 report (Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley)
• The long road to electric cars (Reuters)

Consumer education and survey findings

• EV charging levels explained (US DOT)
• GM EV Live
• In a Consumer Report's survey and a Reuters/Ipsos survey, more than a third of Americans say they'd consider buying an EV for their next car.

Charging infrastructure

• The Electric Vehicle Road Test (Wall Street Journal)
• Federal money is now headed to states for building up fast EV chargers on highways (NPR)

The grid

• Why Electric Vehicles Won’t Break the Grid (Scientific American
• An explosion in proposed clean energy ventures has overwhelmed the system for connecting new power sources to homes and businesses (NY Times)

Metal extraction

• Listen to our episode The lithium gold rush, an in-depth look at where lithium comes from, and who’s being affected by mining it.
• Read the Achieving Zero Emissions with More Mobility and Less Mining report by Thea Riofrancos.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Felix Poon

Mixed by Felix Poon and Taylor Quimby

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Editing help from Rebecca lavoie, Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, and Mara Haplamazian

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, and Roy Edwin Williams

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

The Underdogs Ep3: You sell your soul

What caused the Peranos to abandon their dogs and screw so many people over? Nate enlists the help of a New Zealand journalist to find out. 

More about Outside/In presents The Underdogs: 

A few months ago, Outside/In host Nate Hegyi got a tip from the highest levels of the dog sledding community. It was about the first team from New Zealand to complete the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race across some of Alaska’s harshest terrain. Over the past decade, Curt and Fleur Perano have transformed their success on the trail into a flourishing mushing tourism business in their home country’s south island. Some of their dogs have even appeared in a Marvel movie and a Taylor Swift music video. 

But behind the scenes, in the usually-guarded world of competitive dog sledding, the Peranos have burned bridges, destroyed friendships, and left a trail of debt totaling tens of thousands of dollars. 

In this special Outside/In mini-series, Nate investigates a story one musher describes as “one dead body away from Tiger King,” and exposes the singular culture within the world of elite mushing.

Featuring: Amanda Hasenauer, Jodi Bailey, Jenn Fisher, Jeff Fisher, Tony Turner, Gemma Nave, Tim Brown

SUPPORT

Outside/In presents The Underdogs is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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LINKS

Check out the history of working dogs here. 

More than a dozen tourists have written bad reviews about Underdog sled dog tours on Tripadvisor and Google. 

That bicycle ride Nate mentioned? It was part of an award-winning reporting project about the 2020 election. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited and mixed by Taylor Quimby

Editing help from Rebecca Lavoie, Jack Rodolico, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Dylan Sitts, Joseph Beg, Hanna Lindgren, and Amaranth Cove. 

Outside/In presents The Underdogs  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

The Underdogs Ep2: It has to be earned

Nate flies to Minnesota to follow a new lead about the New Zealand racing team.

Advisory: This episode contains brief descriptions of injured animals and animal abuse that may be disturbing to some listeners. 

More about Outside/In presents The Underdogs: 

A few months ago, Outside/In host Nate Hegyi got a tip from the highest levels of the dog sledding community. It was about the first team from New Zealand to complete the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race across some of Alaska’s harshest terrain. Over the past decade, Curt and Fleur Perano have transformed their success on the trail into a flourishing mushing tourism business in their home country’s south island. Some of their dogs have even appeared in a Marvel movie and a Taylor Swift music video. 

But behind the scenes, in the usually-guarded world of competitive dog sledding, the Peranos have burned bridges, destroyed friendships, and left a trail of debt totaling tens of thousands of dollars. 

In this special Outside/In mini-series, Nate investigates a story one musher describes as “one dead body away from Tiger King,” and exposes the singular culture within the world of elite mushing.

Featuring: Jamie Nelson, Jodi Bailey, Mike Williams Sr., and Amanda Hasenauer

SUPPORT

Outside/In presents The Underdogs is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook

LINKS

Humane Mushing (an advocacy group whose motto is “dog first, sport second”) used to compile an annual list of Iditarod sled dog deaths and injuries. Their information is taken from official race reports and Iditarod media advisories. (Humane Mushing)

Check it out: Alaska Natives took the top three spots in the 2023 Iditarod. (NPR)

An in-depth profile of Dallas Seavey, a five-time Iditarod winner who was publicly accused – and then publicly cleared – of doping his dogs. (GQ)

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited and mixed by Taylor Quimby

Editing help from Rebecca Lavoie, Jack Rodolico, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Graphics by Sara Plourde

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Dylan Sitts, Joseph Beg, Hanna Lindgren, and Amaranth Cove. 

Outside/In presents The Underdogs  is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

The Underdogs Ep1: Honey and vinegar

Outside/In host Nate Hegyi gets a surprising tip that leads him into the frozen and tight-knit world of competitive sled dog racing in Alaska.

More about Outside/In presents The Underdogs: 

A few months ago, Outside/In host Nate Hegyi got a tip from the highest levels of the dog sledding community. It was about the first team from New Zealand to complete the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race across some of Alaska’s harshest terrain. Over the past decade, Curt and Fleur Perano have transformed their success on the trail into a flourishing mushing tourism business in their home country’s south island. Some of their dogs have even appeared in a Marvel movie and a Taylor Swift music video. 

But behind the scenes, in the usually-guarded world of competitive dog sledding, the Peranos have burned bridges, destroyed friendships, and left a trail of debt totaling tens of thousands of dollars. 

In this special Outside/In mini-series, Nate investigates a story one musher describes as “one dead body away from Tiger King,” and exposes the singular culture within the world of elite mushing.

Featuring: Jodi Bailey, Austin Sorem, Dan Kaduce, Jamie Nelson, and Marine Kuhn.
 

SUPPORT

Outside/In presents The Underdogs is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook

LINKS

Check out the results from the 2023 Iditarod

Read the actual Iditarod rule (Rule 34) that states wild game animals killed in self-defense must be gutted and reported to a race official at the next checkpoint. 

To learn more about the physiology of Alaskan huskies, check out this TEDx talk from Michael Davis: “Canines in Combat and Competition”

Read a review of Blair Braverman’s memoir, “Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube”. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi

Edited and mixed by Taylor Quimby

Editing help from Rebecca Lavoie, Jack Rodolico, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Dylan Sitts, Rand Aldo, and Amaranth Cove. 

Outside/In presents The Underdogs is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

A few months ago, Outside/In host Nate Hegyi got a tip from the highest levels of the dog sledding community. It was about the first team from New Zealand to complete the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race across some of Alaska’s harshest terrain; a pair of mushers that have transformed their success on the trail into a flourishing tourism business in their home country’s south island. 

But behind the scenes, in the usually-guarded world of competitive dog sledding, they've burned bridges, destroyed friendships, and left a trail of debt totaling tens of thousands of dollars. 

In this trailer, get a first look at our upcoming three-part series: Outside/In presents The Underdogs. Look for the first episode in your feeds next week, March 16th.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our newsletter. 

Once upon a time, potpourri was a popular way to freshen up a space. Now, for some, it feels a bit like the lava lamp of fragrance: an outdated fad from a bygone decade.

So, why was potpourri so popular in the 1980’s, and what happened to it? Did the trend dry up… or just evolve?

We explore the transformation of potpourri, from the fermented mush of the Victorian era to the perfumed and colorful bag of pine cones of the eighties, and talk to a few of the people still making potpourri today.

This episode was originally published in September 2021.

Featuring Yvette Weaver, Carly Still, Laure Moutet, Autumn Anderson, Paulus, and Ednita Tingle.

SUPPORT

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LINKS

An 1895 recipe from Sweet from Sweet Scented Flowers and Fragrant Leaves for 50-year moist potpourri (the recipe begins on page 42).

From Death Scents: more fascinating info on the history of medieval trends that predate potpourri and the rise of “rotten pot” potpourri.

Fragrant Potpourri Preserves the Floral Scents of Summer: A 1975 NYT article that bridges the gap between moist and dried potpourri recipes.

A 1988 Glade Potpourri Spray commercial

CREDITS

Hosted by Justine Paradis

Reported and produced by Taylor Quimby

Edited by Justine Paradis

Executive Producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Mixed by Taylor Quimby

Additional editing by Felix Poon and Jessica Hunt

Special thanks to Rosalyn LaPier, Mark Nesbit, and to NHPR’s voices from the ‘80s: Nick Capodice, Josh Rogers, Emily Quirk, Patricia McLaughlin, Rick Ganley, and Rebecca Lavoie.

Theme music by Breakmaster Cylinder

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Ben Nestor

If you own land in the United States, do you also own the airspace above it? In other words, who owns the sky?

The answer begins with a medieval Roman principle of property rights, which made it all the way to American courts: “Whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to Heaven and down to Hell." 

We asked our friends Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy, cohosts of Civics 101, to join us to explore the uniquely American philosophy of property, to the moon and back.

Featuring Colin Jerolmack, Michael Heller, George Anthony Long, and Deondre Smiles, with special guests Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy.

SUPPORT

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Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!) for extras from the cutting room floor and behind-the-scenes dispatches from our reporters.

Talk to us! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or discuss the show in our private listener group on Facebook. 

Submit a question to our Outside/Inbox – we answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

This article by Laura Donohue poses the same question we ask – “who owns the skies?” – in the context of property rights, state rights, and drones.

Deondre Smiles’ essay on how manifest destiny is showing up as we explore beyond this planet, “The Settler Logics of (Outer) Space”

The Civics 101 episodes mentioned were “Is Santa a Criminal?” and “What’s Up With the US Space Force?” Also relevant: their two-part series on “The Government and Housing.”

A great podcast episode on diamonds and De Beers via Articles of Interest + 99% Invisible

More on United States v. Causby (1946)

By the way, the 2015 U.S. law about commercialization of space only refers to abiotic resources like minerals. If someone discovers alien life (even microbial), this law doesn’t cover it. Japan, Luxembourg, and the UAE have passed similar laws. 

To learn about the fascinating question of who owns the space beyond your airplane seat, check out Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives by Michael Heller and coauthor James Salzman

Read more about the uniquely American interpretation of “ad coelum” in the introduction to Colin Jerolmack’s book, Up to Heaven and Down to Hell: Fracking, Freedom, and Community in an American Town.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis 

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Rebecca Lavoie with help from Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music by Lobo Loco, ProleteR, Triple Bacon, Larry Poppinz, Gabriel Lewis, Ben Elson, Bonkers Beat Club, bomull, Anthony Earls, David Szesztay, and Chris Zabriskie.

Outside/In and Civics 101  are productions of New Hampshire Public Radio.

When Nora Saks learned that a "toxic, self-cloning worm that poops out of its mouth was invading Maine", she started sounding the alarm about the impending eco-doom. Until, that is, state experts clued her into the "real threat"; a different creepy crawly wriggling towards The Pine Tree State's gardens and precious forests, and fast.

In an attempt to find out more about this real threat, Ben Brock Johnson and Nora tunnel down a wormhole, encountering a long history of xenophobic rhetoric about so-called invasive species, and some hard truths about the field of invasion biology itself. 

This week we’re featuring a story from our friend at WBUR’s Endless Thread, a podcast that digs into the internet's vast and curious ecosystem of online communities to find untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other jaw-dropping stories online and IRL.

Featuring: Banu Subramaniam, Dov Sax, Bob McNally,  Gary Fish, and Regina Smith

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Endless Thread (WBUR)

"A toxic, self-cloning worm that poops out of its mouth is invading Maine" (Bangor Daily News)

Reddit post on r/oddlyterrifying about hammerhead worms

lindsaynikole's viral TikTok video on hammerhead worms

"The Aliens Have Landed! Reflections on the Rhetoric of Biological Invasions",  Banu Subramaniam

The Sax Research Lab at Brown University

Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry fact sheet on jumping worms

"Identify and Report Jumping Worms in Maine", UMaine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit informational video

Cornell University fact sheet on Asian Jumping Worms

UMass Extension Invasive Jumping Worm FAQ

"Cancel Earthworms" (The Atlantic)

"Invasive 'Jumping Worms' Threaten Trees in Maine and Elsewhere"  (NECN)

"Scientists Sound The Alarm About Invasive 'Crazy Worms' Found in Maine" (Maine Public)

"Maine Gardener: Invasion of the jumping worms" (Portland Press Herald)

CREDITS

This episode was produced by Nora Saks and Dean Russell of WBUR’s Endless Thread

Co-hosts: Nora Saks and Ben Brock Johnson. 

Mix and sound design: Matt Reed

Endless Thread’s team includes Amory Sivertson, Dean Russell, Quincy Walters, Grace Tatter, 

Amy Gorel, Paul Vaitkus, and Emily Jankowski

Outside/In is hosted by Nate Hegyi, and produced by Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt. 

Despite being the only rodent with a holiday to its name, groundhogs are often considered pests.

However, these natural-born diggers have unearthed rare artifacts, play a pivotal role in shaping ecosystems, and are tied to important breakthroughs in hepatitis B treatments. Plus they’re pretty cute. 

So in this episode, a special Groundhog Day edition of our Holy Scat series, we’re digging up as many amazing factoids about these creatures as we possibly can. 

Featuring: David Scofield, Amanda Gillen, Eric D’Aleo, Joe Bruchac, and Sandra Sexton

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Youtube video of a whistling groundhog

NBC News video of Groundhog Day 2022 prediction

Read more about the Meadowcroft Rockshelter – the oldest known site of human habitation in North America, discovered by a groundhog.

Read this 1996 article about hepatitis B research using the woodchuck animal model at Cornell University.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

What’s the slowest heartbeat on the planet? What’s it like to live with zero sunlight? 

If you’ve ever picked up a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records, you know that people are drawn to extremes, be they geographical, philosophical, or biological. 

So this week, we’re cracking open the Outside/Inbox to answer your questions about the outer limits of life on Earth. We’ll learn about how landslides are way more common than you might think, why frogs are practically undead, and how researchers stay motivated through an Antarctic winter. 

Submit your own question (the weirder the better) on Instagram, via email at outsidein@nhpr.org, or by calling our Outside/Inbox hotline: 1-844-GO-OTTER. 

Question 1: How low can an animal’s heartbeat go? 

Question 2: What happens to your body if you get ZERO sunlight?

Question 3: Is climate change making landslides happen more often? 

Question 4: What is a “wet-bulb” temperature? 

Featuring: Carmen Possnig, Kira Mauseth, Corina Cerovski-Darriau, Daniel Vecellio, and Avikal Somvanshi.

Donate to support the show, and get your hands on a limited edition Outside/In opossum camp mug! Here's the link: https://bit.ly/3PvIzWy

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, and Felix Poon

Editing by Taylor Quimby with help from Justine Paradis

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

In each essay in their debut collection, How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures, science writer Sabrina Imbler shares the story of an undersea organism and a story of their own journey as someone who, as they put it, came out twice in adulthood. 

In one essay, they reflect on how a shape-shifting cephalopod helped them navigate their own questions about gender. In another, they celebrate queer dance clubs through the lens of the Yeti crab, a creature who “dances to live” in the crushing conditions around deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

“I really wanted to sort of take these creatures very seriously… to think about both of us as organisms,” said Sabrina. 

“The creature’s existence in the world, and also the ways in which I am just, at the end of the day, another organism moving through the world, trying to eat and mate and survive.”

Outside/In host Nate Hegyi and producer Justine Paradis sat down with Sabrina Imbler to talk about their blend of science and personal writing, and about what we might be able to learn by looking closely at the lives—perhaps very different, very strange-to-us lives—of creatures in the sea.

Donate to support the show, and to get your hands on a limited edition Outside/In opossum camp mug! Here's the link: https://bit.ly/3PvIzWy

MORE OUTSIDE/IN

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LINKS

Find How Far the Light Reaches at your local bookstore

Sabrina Imbler’s articles on Defector Media

Read “We Swarm” on The Rumpus

“It’s always ourselves we find in the sea” is a line from this poem by E.E. Cummings.

CREDITS

Hosted by Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis 

Edited by Taylor Quimby with help from Felix Poon

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music in this episode by Loving Caliber, Autohacker, Valante, Silver Maple, Moon Crater, and So Vea.

Theme music: Breakmaster Cylinder

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Some folks promote local food. Others swear by veganism. But what is the most environmentally-friendly diet? And does it really matter what we eat? Or are there bigger fish to fry when it comes to climate activism?

Outside/In is trying out a new segment called This, That, Or The Other Thing. It’s all about the little decisions we make to try and build a more sustainable world—whether they have any effect, and what we can do instead if they don’t. 

For our inaugural edition, we’re focusing on food. From Brazilian beef and tofu tacos to food waste and composting, host Nate Hegyi talks with experts to understand how our choices impact the planet… and how we can make a difference in our communities. 

Featuring Umair Irfan, Tamar Haspel, and Ben Halpern.

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LINKS

Give a listen to Tamar Haspel’s podcast, Climavores.

Vox reporter Umair Irfan wrote about how individual action actually does matter in the fight against climate change. 

Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara put together a big study on the cumulative environmental pressures of different foods. 

Want to tackle food waste? The Environmental Protection Agency has a great, down-to-earth guide on what you can do. 

CREDITS

Hosted, reported, produced, and mixed by Nate Hegyi

Edited by Taylor Quimby with help from Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, and Felix Poon.

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Sven Lindvall, El Flaco Collective, Future Joust, Spring Gang, Eight Bits, and Awlee.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

On the first day of January, people all over the world dive into the water as a way to start the new year fresh. It’s often referred to as a “polar plunge”. 

But cold water dipping is different.

It’s not a breathless in-and-out plunge, but a slow submersion: lingering in the cold water for 5 or 10 minutes. No wetsuit. 

This fall, Outside/In producer Justine Paradis got to know a community of dippers along the coast of Maine. Many of them described something happening once they’re in their water.. Something which they say changes their relationship to the cold, the ocean, and themselves. 

In this episode, we’re ringing in the new year by sharing a little more from those conversations.

Featuring Kelsy Hartley, Caitlin Hopkins, Puranjot Kaur, Betsy Dawkins, and Judy Greene-Janse. 

Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions for winter surthrival. We featured ideas from James in Bend, Oregon; Kyra in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; and Annie in Portland, Maine. 

Thanks also to Gin Majka, Guenola Lefeuvre, and Annie Ropeik.

A word on the risks of cold water immersion

People engage in cold water dipping and swimming around the world. Many claim health benefits, like a boosted immune system and reduced inflammation. But it’s not a risk-free activity. 

"I'm not sitting here as the fun police stopping people doing what they want to do. It's just we would encourage them to do it safely,” said Mike Tipton, a professor of Human and Applied Physiology at the Extreme Environments Laboratory at the University of Portsmouth. He shared a couple risks to consider before jumping in.

• Cold shock response, which occurs as you enter cold water and lasts a couple minutes. This prompts an involuntary gasp and hyperventilation – bad news if you’re underwater or in choppy water.
• Cardiac triggers. Cold water shock sends a signal to your heart telling it to beat faster, but face immersion tells your heart to slow down. These competing signals to your heart can potentially cause cardiac arrhythmia, especially when plunging and breath holding. On top of that, the cold water constricts your blood vessels, pushes up blood pressure, and makes your heart work harder.
• Swim failure, the result of direct cooling of the superficial nerves and muscles (especially in the limbs). This can occur before other effects of hypothermia. “This is where we see people swimming out to sea offshore, turning around and finding they can't get back because they become physically incapacitated… one of the obvious bits of safety advice is don't swim out of your depth and swim parallel to the shore, not away from it,” Mike said.

A few basic safety tips: 

1. Don’t go alone.
2. As one cold water swimmer put it, “Keep your feet on the ground.”
3. Get yourself checked for any pre-existing conditions that might be triggered by a sudden change in blood pressure.

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LINKS

Caitlin Hopkins and Kelsy Hartley are also known as Ebb and Flow, the founders of Two Maine Mermaids. 

Puranjot Kaur is a member of Cold Tits, Warm Hearts on Mount Desert Island. There’s also another group in midcoast Maine called Wicked Nippy Dippahs.

In addition to dipping, many of the women featured are open water swimmers. Puranjot Kaur wrote this account of her second attempt to swim around Mount Desert Island, fueled by congee and community.

Check out these gorgeous photos by Greta Rybus of a community dip in an ice-hole in York, Maine, and these photos of some of the dippers in our episode.

A good interview with a “wild swimming” scientist on both the risks and benefits of immersion

CREDITS

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis 

Edited by Taylor Quimby

The Outside/In team also includes our host Nate Hegyi, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Quesa, and Autohacker

Theme music: Breakmaster Cylinder

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

There’s an unfortunate paradox for environmental podcasts; data shows a lot of people skip segments about the climate. But also… it’s the CLIMATE! We can’t NOT talk about it, right? 

So how do we break through the malaise and make climate news feel less overwhelming? More surprising? Less depressing? In this episode, we round-up a handful of stories that we hope break the mold and make climate a more approachable topic for everyday discussion. 

We’ll look at a third-rail of environmental activism, hear about an unlikely, middle-of-the-night climate deal at COP27, and learn about one place where producing less renewable energy might just be the best thing for the environment.

Featuring Cara Buckley, Naveena Sadasivam, and Gillian Flaccus

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Earth Now Has 8 Billion Humans. This Man Wishes There Were None. By Cara Buckley for The New York Times.
(For more on population, you can read Are 8 billion people too many — or too few? and Should you not have kids because of climate change? It’s complicated. And you should also listen to our two-parter on this very subject: So Over Population [Part 1] and So Over Population [Part 2])

Inside the COP27 fight to get wealthy nations to pay climate reparations, by Naveena Sadasivam for Grist

‘Momentous:’ US advances largest dam demolition in history, by Gillian Flaccus for the Associated Press

News Roundup:

• U.S. reaches a fusion power milestone. Will it be enough to save the planet? (NPR)
• The surprising player in the rail strike fight: Fossil fuel companies (Grist)
• Why knowing your neighbors could save you in the next climate disaster (The Guardian)

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Felix Poon

Edited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Nate Hegyi, Justine Paradis, and Jessica Hunt. 

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Jharee, and Blackout Memories. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

At the beginning of the pandemic, we published an episode about “how to be a backyard birder.”  Everybody was understandably freaking out, and we wanted to put something sweet, calming, and hopeful into the world.

In that episode, we heard from ornithologist Dr. J. Drew Lanham, who shared some great tips for beginners, like what to watch and listen for, and how to make binoculars from toilet paper tubes. 

But what we didn’t get into was Dr. Lanham’s own remarkable story, including the moment when the humble chicken pulled him away from a life in the military and onto the path to ornithological stardom. 

This episode comes from our friends at Going Wild, with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, a podcast from PBS that’s more about the people that study wild animals than it is about the animals themselves.  

Their latest season also includes the story of a shark researcher struggling with the whiteness of academia, a herpetologist who pushed to change the language of the field, and Dr. Rae-Wynn’s own journey as a field researcher slash newly single mom.

Featuring Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant and Dr. J. Drew Lanham.

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LINKS

Read “9 Rules for the Black Birdwatcher”, Dr. J. Drew Lanham’s breakthrough piece for Orion Magazine. 

Listen to a South Carolina Public Radio interview with Dr. J. Drew Lanham after he won a MacArthur Fellowship. 

CREDITS 

Outside/In is hosted by Nate Hegyi and produced by Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt. 

Going Wild is hosted by Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Production by Caroline Hadilaksono, Danielle Broza, Nathan Tobey, and Great Feeling Studios. Editing by Rachel Aronoff and Jakob Lewis. Sound design by Cariad Harmon.

It’s Outside/In’s annual winter show, in which the team gathers around the proverbial fire to share our best ideas towards becoming better friends with winter. The dream is to not just survive, but thrive – dare we say, to “surthrive” – and embrace the season, both the cold and the cozy.

This year, we’re joined by the wonderful Mara Hoplamazian, climate and environment reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio. 

You can read our list here. We’d also love to hear your recommendations! We might even play them on the podcast or share your tips in our (free) newsletter. 

Send your suggestions, ideally as a voice recording, to outsidein@nhpr.org or call our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER.

Featuring a few of the cold-water dippers of Maine, including Betsy Lou Dawkins, Cholla Foot, Juliet Cox, Anne Buckwalter, and the crowd at a Two Maine Mermaids full moon dip.

A word on cold water immersion

People engage in cold water dipping or swimming around the world. Many claim health benefits, like a boosted immune system and reduced inflammation. But it’s obviously not a risk-free activity. 

Physiologist Michael Tipton told us a couple things to be aware of: 1) cold water shock, which prompts an involuntary gasp – bad news if you’re underwater 2) cold water exposure can send competing signals to your heart, potentially causing cardiac arrhythmia.  But he also said,  "I'm not sitting here as the fun police stopping people doing what they want to do. It's just we would encourage them to do it safely."

Here’s another overview of benefits and risks of cold-water swimming. 

Support the show

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Credits

Host: Nate Hegyi

Produced and mixed by Justine Paradis

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie 

Music for this episode by Autohacker, Nul Tiel Records, John Runefelt, Blue Dot Sessions, Smartface, Xavy Rasan, Iso Indie, and Vaain.

Special thanks to Michael Tipton, Kelsy Hartley, Caitlin Hopkins, and Judith Greene-Janse.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

It’s high time to shine a light on an under-appreciated nocturnal visitor to America’s backyards and garbage cans: the opossum.

The opossum is the only marsupial in North America, and they’ve been snuffling around since before the dinosaurs died. It faints at the slightest threat, yet can be struck by a venomous snake and, unfazed, turn right around and eat it. 

Also, they have two vaginas, and an extra pseudo-vagina. What more do you need? The opossum’s superpower is its reproductive system, and the thing that’s really going to make you say “holy scat!” is what’s going on in that pouch. 

So…what’s it going to take to get some respect for the opossum?

Featuring: Jessica Anderson, Joseph Bruchac, Danielle Draback, and Frannie Greenberg 

The premise of History’s reality TV show Alone is about as straightforward as it gets. Ten people are dropped into the remote wilderness with nothing but a handful of tools, a supply of GoPro cameras, and instructions to document their entire experience. 

As contestants put their wilderness skills to the test, they face some of reality television’s most intense physical and emotional stakes; struggling with isolation, cold, wild animals, and even starvation. The last person standing wins the grand prize: half a million dollars. 

But while the contestants must leave the comforts of home behind, the show still carries societal baggage. 

In this episode, two critics explore the subtext of History’s Alone, and the messages it might be sending about class, gender, entertainment, and human relationships with the natural world. 

Featuring Eric Martin and Tracy Clark-Flory.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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LINKS

Check our Eric Martin’s article: ALONE — What is this reality tv show really about?

And Tracy Clark-Flory’s piece for Jezebel: A Woman Alone: On History’s Survival Show, There’s No Escaping Gender, Not Even In The Woods. 

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Taylor Quimby and Nate Hegyi

Mixed by Taylor Quimby

Edited by Rebecca Lavoie and Nate Hegyi, with help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt. 

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, The New Fools, Guy Trevino and Friends, Ambientalism, 91 nova, and Sarah the Illstrumentalist. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

It’s time to open our mailbag and answer your questions about fall – and not just the season. We’ve interpreted the theme to include everything from dreams about falling to fallout shelters and, um, tornadoes. 

Plus, we reveal the long-anticipated winner of our poll on best alternatives for replacing the term “leaf-peeping.”

Question 1: Why do so many have recurring dreams about falling?

Question 2: How do tornadoes figure in myths around the world? 

Question 3: How deep does a fallout shelter need to be? 

Question 4: Are berries ripening earlier because of climate change?

Do you have a question about the natural world? Submit it to the Outside/Inbox! Send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or call our hotline: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837). Don’t forget to leave a number so we can call you back.

Featuring: Abhinav Singh, Nani Pybus, David Monteyne, Shaheen Dewji, Richard Primack, Nicole Herman-Mercer, Katie Spellman.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

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LINKS

On dreams

• German chemist August Kekulé claimed to have pictured the ring structure of benzene, after dreaming of a snake eating its own tail
• A study on the threat simulation theory of dreaming

On Fallout Shelters

• Fallout Shelter: Designing for Civil Defense in the Cold War by David Monteyne
• A calculator to estimate your personal annual radiation dose
• Fallout Five Zero, a photographic chronicle of the Boston area’s now defunct shelters

On Berries

• Walden Warming: Climate Change Comes to Thoreau’s Woods by Richard Primack
• A study on Indigenous knowledge on climate-related changes to berry production in Alaska

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced and mixed by Felix Poon, Justine Paradis, Taylor Quimby, and Jessica Hunt

Edited by Taylor Quimby and Justine Paradis.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie 

Music for this episode by Jharee, Thea Tyler, and Blue Dot Sessions.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Jack Rodolico knows exactly what scares him. Sharks. 

But here’s what he doesn’t get: if he’s so freaked out, why can’t he stop incessantly watching online videos of bloody shark attacks? 

Why would he deliberately seek out the very thing that spooks him?

To figure it out, Jack enlists the help of other scaredy-cats: our listeners, who shared their fears about nature with us. Together, Jack and the gang consider the spectrum of fear, from phobia to terror, and what it might mean when we don’t look away.

Featuring Lauren Passell, Arash Javanbakht, Nile Carrethers, and Sushmitha Madaboosi.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Lauren Passell’s Podcast the Newsletter.

Related: why people love horror movies.

The ubiquity of smartphones means plenty of hair-raising amateur videos of shark attacks to get you started on your doomscrolling (warning: a couple of these are bloody).

If this image of an octopus freaks you out, you might share Lauren’s “fear of holes,” or trypophobia.

Learn more about augmented reality technology and other projects at Arash Javanbakht’s clinic.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Jack Rodolico

Mixed by Taylor Quimby

Edited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, Nate Hegy, and Jessica Hunt.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie 

Music for this episode by Silver Maple, Matt Large, Luella Gren, John Abbot and Blue Dot Sessions.

Thanks to everyone who sent in voicemails and memos, even the ones we didn’t play: Erin Partridge, Lauren Passell, Nile Carrethers, Michelle MacKay, Alec from Nashville, and Hillary from Washington. 

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

When it comes to protecting the biodiversity of Planet Earth, there is no greater failure than extinction. 

Thankfully, only a few dozen species have been officially declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the half century since the passage of the Endangered Species Act. 

But, hold on. Aren’t we in the middle of the sixth mass extinction? Shouldn’t the list of extinct species be… way longer? 

Well, yeah. Maybe.

Producer Taylor Quimby sets out to understand why it’s so difficult to officially declare an animal extinct. Along the way, he compares rare animals to missing socks, finds a way to invoke Lizzo during an investigation of an endangered species of crabgrass, and learns about the disturbing concept of “dark extinctions.” 

Featuring Sharon Marino, Arne Mooers, Sean O’Brien, Bill Nichols, and Wes Knapp.

SUPPORT

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LINKS

Check out this 2005 feature from the CBS Sunday Morning archives: In search of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker… 

…and this one from 60 minutes, also from 2005, pulled from the archive and rebroadcast after the proposed delisting.

Nate’s favorite ivory-billed story came from NPR, and featured songwriter Sufjan Stevens.

Watch the US Fish and Wildlife Service virtual public meeting about the proposed delisting of the ivory-billed woodpecker on January 26, 2022.

Read this 2016 paper that outlines, among other things, the consequences of being wait-listed under the ESA: “Taxa, petitioning agency, and lawsuits affect time spent awaiting listing under the US Endangered Species Act.”

From Simon Fraser University, “Lost or extinct? Study finds the existence of 562 animal species remains uncertain.”

More on the unknown status of Cambodia’s national mammal, the kouprey.

Wes Knapps’ paper on “Dark Extinctions” among vascular plants in the continental United States and Canada.

Read about the extinction of smooth slender crabgrass, the first documented extinction in New Hampshire.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by: Taylor Quimby

Mixer: Taylor Quimby

Editing by Rebecca Lavoie and Nate Hegyi, with help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt.

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Special thanks to Noah Greenwald, Jonathan Reichard, Tom Martin, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Music for this episode by Silver Maple and Blue Dot Sessions.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio