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Outside/In: Where curiosity and the natural world collide. Look around, and you’ll find everything is connected to the natural world. At Outside/In, we explore that idea with boundless curiosity. We report from disaster zones, pickleball courts, and dog sled kennels, and talk about policy, pop culture, science, and everything in between. From the backcountry to your backyard, we tell stories that expand the boundaries of environmental journalism.
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- 4 days ago31 min
Foiled! Napoleon's cutlery and the Aluminati
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. 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 installment of “The Element of Surprise” — a series all about the hidden histories behind the periodic table’s most unassuming atoms, isotopes, and molecules — we’re talking about aluminum. This episode was first published in 2024. Featuring Saleem Ali. Produced by Taylor Quimby. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org CONNECT WITH US Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast. To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, leave a voicemail on our listener hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER, or email outsidein@nhpr.org. We answer questions about nature, climate change, sustainability, humans and evolution, and more. No question is too serious or too silly. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, TikTok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago31 min
Did #savethebees get it wrong?
Noah Wilson-Rich has made it his mission to save the bees — from colony collapse disorder, loss of habitat, and disease. He’s doing this not just as a scientist, but also as an entrepreneur. But is that a good thing? And what happens when you think you know the answer to a solution, only to realize that you got it wrong? “The ‘save the bees’ movement is canceled,” he says. But what should we do in its place? Featuring Noah Wilson-Rich, and Lauren Ponisio. Produced by Felix Poon. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago31 min
Cosmic earthquake pizza
When an Outside/In listener asked the team to weigh in on a debate between him and his wife, perhaps we should have hesitated. But it was too good to resist. “We have eighteen-year old twin boys, and sometimes they leave pizza out on the counter. She's convinced it's bad for your health — and I don't think so! Is pizza left overnight on the counter bad for you?” Anthony asked. For some members of the team, the answer was vindicating. For others, it was unmooring. Beyond settling this marital debate, in this Outside/Inbox roundup, the team offers our insights on animal perception of earthquakes, the apple supply chain, and finally answers a personal question that a surprising number of you have posed. Featuring Don Schaffner, Martin Wikelski, and Thiago Campbell. Thanks to Anthony, Carolyn, Mande, and Charles for their questions. We want your questions on food safety! You might hear them on the show. Send them to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a voicemail at 1-844-GO-OTTER. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 3 weeks ago32 min
Scientists spoke up against a de-extinction company. Then the smears began.
When evolutionary biologist Vincent Lynch heard the news that a $10 billion biotech company had brought the once extinct dire wolf back to life, he called foul. He took to the media to argue that these overhyped headlines threatened public trust in science. And that's when things started to get weird. In a story that feels like it came right out of Jurassic Park, we look into the murky world of "dark PR" and discover what happens when the principle of scientific discourse challenges the power of corporate science. Featuring Howard Wolinsky, Vincent Lynch and Nic Rawlence Produced by Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, TikTok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS You can read Howard’s entire investigation over at EMBO Reports. Check out this example of one of the critical stories about Vincent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Aug 19, 202631 min
City Summer, Country Summer
Growing up, Kiese Laymon thought of himself as a city kid. But he spent his childhood with a foot in two worlds: his mom’s house in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi and his grandma’s house in a rural country town. It wasn’t until Kiese left Mississippi that he came to understand that this question of city versus country actually meant a lot more. It carries a lot of baggage: the tensions between north and south, tectonic historical forces, and the contradictions of life in Mississippi. In this episode, originally published in 2025, our producer Justine Paradis sits down with writer Kiese Laymon for a conversation on this question of country versus city, what that has to do with the history of Black life in this country, and the story of Kiese’s first children’s picture book, his latest in a lifelong exploration of a complicated love of Mississippi. Featuring Kiese Laymon. Produced by Justine Paradis. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, TikTok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS Kiese Laymon’s first children’s book, City Summer, Country Summer. If you’d like to read more by Kiese, we recommend “Da Art of Storytellin’ (A Prequel)”, his essay about Outkast, his grandmother, and stank. (Oxford American) Kiese adapted City Summer, Country Summer from this 2020 prose-poem essay. (New York Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Aug 12, 202632 min
If climate change were a choose-your-own-adventure story
Dean Russell had just wrapped several reporting projects on climate change, mental health, and COVID. “My world was just so serious,” he said. That’s when his boss approached Dean with an idea. What if they made a fiction podcast about climate change? At first Dean wasn’t sold, but a few years later he’s become a full believer, and is the co-creator of WBUR’s The Midnight Rebellion, a choose-your-own-adventure podcast set in a futuristic climate-ravaged Boston. This week we’re sharing the first episode of the series. But we also hear from Dean directly about what it was like to tackle such a different kind of storytelling and why he thinks embracing a format borrowed from a hit book-genre of the nineties is so apt for exploring climate action. Featuring Dean Russell, and the cast of The Midnight Rebellion. To hear the rest of the series, subscribe to The Midnight Rebellion wherever you get your podcasts. Interview portion produced by Taylor Quimby. The Midnight Rebellion is produced by Dean Russell. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Aug 5, 202632 min
The Willy Wonka factory of product testing
Producer Felix Poon goes on a field trip to the headquarters of Consumer Reports, where they test snow blowers on wet sawdust, drop bicycle helmets on anvils, and cover space heaters in towels to see how long it takes them to catch fire. How do they come up with this stuff? And, in a world of rampant consumerism, can Consumer Reports really be a force for good? Featuring Barrie Rosen, Paul Hope, Chris Regan, Scott Collum, Matt Schimmenti, Indu Sunkara, Paolo Fu, Sana Mujahid, Joan Muratore, and Phil Radford. Produced by Felix Poon. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, TikTok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS In Consumer Reports’ very first issue were investigations into the difference between Grade A versus Grade B milk (there was none) and the practice of “slack-fill,” when cereal companies put more air than cereal in their cereal boxes. Learn more about some of the topics referenced throughout the episode: Gas vs. Battery Lawn Mower: Which Is Better? Battery Platform Buying Guide Reducing the Risk of Arsenic in Rice Do you have the right to repair? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Jul 29, 202631 min
Fiasco al fresco
At the height of summer, when so many of us are grabbing picnic blankets, hitting the beach, and embracing an al fresco lifestyle, a tale of two outdoor events gone spectacularly wrong. Featuring Anika Krause, Samuel Edward-Cook, Eloise Barker, Simon Vargas, and Stephen Deng. Produced by Marina Henke. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, TikTok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS You can watch the 2014 production of Titus Andronicus on the Globe’s website. As discussed, it’s incredibly bloody. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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About Outside/In
Outside/In: Where curiosity and the natural world collide. Look around, and you’ll find everything is connected to the natural world. At Outside/In, we explore that idea with boundless curiosity. We report from disaster zones, pickleball courts, and dog sled kennels, and talk about policy, pop culture, science, and everything in between. From the backcountry to your backyard, we tell stories that expand the boundaries of environmental journalism.
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