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Outside/In

Panoply

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. Outside/In is a production of NHPR. Learn more at outsideinradio.org

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NH

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Panoply

Description:

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. Outside/In is a production of NHPR. Learn more at outsideinradio.org

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@nhpr

Language:

English


Episodes
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A 2,200 Mile Podcast

7/2/2025
Today on Outside/In, we’re sharing an episode from our friends and partners at Common Land. Common Land explores the creation stories behind protected land. Each season takes a deep dive into the history, science and politics behind the creation of one particular patch of protected, common land. Season two of Common Land, produced in partnership with New Hampshire Public Radio, follows documentarian Matthew Podolsky as he attempts to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail with his 65-year-old mom, Candy. Matt and his mom face extreme weather, illness, and injury as they trek 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. Along the way, Matt shares stories of remarkable people, surprising history, and the modern challenges facing the Appalachian Trail — all as the iconic footpath marks its 100th anniversary. You can listen to episode two of the new season right now, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to listen. 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. WIN A NEW CAR OR 25K IN CASH DURING NHPR'S SUMMER RAFFLE! GET YOUR TICKETS HERE.

Duration:00:29:58

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What Jurassic Park got wrong (and right) about dinosaurs

6/26/2025
When the smash-success Jurassic Park first hit theaters in 1993, it inspired a generation of dinophiliacs and helped to usher in a new “golden age of paleontology.” But it also froze the public’s perception of dinosaurs in time, and popularized inaccuracies that people still believe are true today. So what happens when the biggest source of information on a scientific field comes from a fictional monster movie? In this episode, three Jurassic Park super-fans (one paleontologist and two podcasters) try to sort it all out. Featuring Gabriel-Philip Santos. This episode was originally published in 2022. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, BlueSky, Tiktok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS Want to learn more about dinosaurs? Check the publish date before you check it out from the library! And here are some good options: Smithsonian’s The Dinosaur Book (pretty much all of the Smithsonian books are good for younger readers) Want to get a more global perspective of where dinosaurs have been discovered? Check out a dinosaur atlas book. For older readers, or anybody who loves a good coffee table book, check out this entry featuring a number of excellent paleoartists: Dinosaur Art II (Taylor has the first one and loves to show it off). Also: A truly disheartening read about people who think feathered dinosaurs are an attack on masculinity.

Duration:00:38:56

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Phallic windchimes and ASMR: the magic of sound

6/19/2025
In this episode, we’re taking your questions on the subject of sound. We talk about tinnitus, “the mind’s ear,” and the celebrity voices we have strong feelings about, from Bob Ross, to The New York Times’ Michael Barbaro, to President Barack Obama. So strap your earbuds in, we’re going for a ride! What exactly is ASMR, and what makes it feel good?Why do frogs sing together around the same tiny pond?Does the environment influence the evolution of a language?What’s tinnitus?Featuring Ilija Dankovic, Craig Richard, Alejandro Vélez, Seán Roberts, Sarah Theodoroff, and Tara Zaugg. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. 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 Check out these 3D models of a tintinnabulum held by the British Museum. The ASMR clips used in this episode are from @CelainesASMR, Coromo Sara. ASMR, @ASMRCrinkle, and @marlenaasmr481. If you want to listen to Craig Richard’s ASMR podcasts, they are Sleep Whispers, and Calm History. Learn more about the effect drier climates might have on language, especially tonal ones, and about the overlap between biodiversity and language diversity. For more information about tinnitus from the VA, check out the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research.

Duration:00:32:11

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Lawn and Order

6/12/2025
Green grass grows everywhere: on baseball fields, in backyards, in front of strip malls. Collectively, we spend billions of dollars every year keeping them fertilized and watered. But lawns cost more than money in Western states like Utah. Despite a severe drought, residents of Utah’s towns and cities use more water per capita than any other place in the nation, and a majority of that water goes right into lawns. That’s helping fuel an environmental disaster that could wipe out one of America’s largest inland seas. In this episode, first produced in 2022, we trace the 600-year history of lawns, explore how they became a symbol of power, wealth, and Whiteness in America, and share tips on how to make a yard more environmentally responsible. Featuring: Malin Curry, Ira Curry, Kelly Kopp, Zach Frankel, Karen Stenehjel Produced by Nate Hegyi. For a full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org.

Duration:00:27:11

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Cruise-o-nomics

6/5/2025
This summer, more than 100 cruise ships will visit the small city of Portland, Maine, dropping thousands of passengers onto the city’s commercial waterfront for lobster rolls, local souvenirs and a quintessential New England experience. But as Portland has rapidly become a landmark destination for cruise lines, a group of activists are calling into question the long held narrative that cruise ships provide a dependable economic boom. Producer Marina Henke spent the months leading up to the 2025 cruise season charting these muddy waters. For small coastal cities like Portland, are cruise ships really the economic generator that the industry claims them to be? Featuring JoAnn Loctov, Jack Humeniuk, Joe Redman, Jacques de Villier, Zach Rand, Brian Fournier, Kevin Rodriquez, Martha Honey and Dan Kraus. Produced by Marina Henke. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. 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 Martha Honey is the co-founder of the Center for Responsible Travel. She’s the editor of the book “Cruise Tourism in the Caribbean: Selling Sunshine” which includes much of her own research on the economics of cruise ships. You can find Portland Cruise Control on Bluesky or at their website portlandcruisecontrolmaine.org. In 2019, Colin Woodward published “Pier Pressure”, a three-part series out of The Portland Press Herald documenting the rise of the cruise ship industry across Maine. Are you a Portland local? You can see a schedule of all cruise ship arrivals at maine.portcall.com Portland is not the only city to face rapid cruise growth. Check out Cruise Boom, a PBS documentary focused on the cruise industry's footprint in Sitka, Alaska.

Duration:00:28:55

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Where the Wild Things Grow

5/29/2025
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, 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 To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, BlueSky, Tiktok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS 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)

Duration:00:29:16

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A Righteous Gemstone

5/22/2025
One of our listeners is in a pickle. He’s looking to buy an engagement ring but wants to make sure the diamond comes from an ethical and sustainable source. So he sent us an email asking for help. This is our latest addition of “This, That, or the Other Thing.” It's a series about the choices we make in our lives to try and build a more sustainable world, whether they have any effect, and what we can do instead if they don't. Today… Host Nate Hegyi looks into the most sustainable ways to source that big, sparkly rock. Should it be a diamond from the ground? A diamond grown in a lab? Or maybe a different gemstone altogether? Featuring Saleem Ali, Rachelle Bergstein and Anna Provost. Produced by Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. 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 Visit our website to see Justine's sapphire engagement ring. You can find a copy of Rachelle Bergstein’s book here. The Kimberley Process helped reduce the number of conflict diamonds in the world – here’s a list of countries that are participants. Anna Provost features a lot of her really cool Montana-mined sapphires on Instagram. A recent study in the journal Nature found that mining diamonds produces millions times more greenhouse gas emissions than growing them in a lab.

Duration:00:32:27

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Foraging made her famous

5/15/2025
Alexis Nikole Nelson, better known to her millions of fans as @blackforager, was raised by a mother who is an avid gardener and a father who loves to cook. Foraging allowed Alexis to fuse her love for wild plants and food from a very young age. But before Alexis became the @blackforager many know today, there was a period in her life where Alexis lost that love and connection to foraging, and where food became very much the enemy. This episode comes to us from our friends at Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, a podcast about the human drama behind saving animals. From a paleoanthropologist who hunts fossils in conflict zones, to someone who helped save an endangered species while in prison, show host and wildlife biologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant takes us inside the work of the extraordinary people who are protecting wildlife. Featuring Alexis Nikole Nelson. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. 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 Alexis Nikole Nelson’s videos on Tik Tok and Instagram. Also, be sure to check out Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant.

Duration:00:42:54

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The future was hydrogen

5/8/2025
Mike Strizki drives the only hydrogen-powered car on the East Coast. That’s because he’s the only person with access to fuel… which he makes, by himself, in his backyard in New Jersey. And it’s not just his car. Mike’s house, his lawnmower, even his bicycle are all powered by hydrogen. He’s convinced that this element could be the single most important solution to the climate crisis, if only people and governments would just get on board. But he’s been screaming this from the rooftop of his hydrogen house for two decades. And today, fewer than 0.2% of cars in the US run on hydrogen. What’s it like to be the earliest early adopter of a technology that never catches on? And does Mike still have a chance to be proven right? Featuring Mike Strizki. Produced by Felix Poon. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. 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 the race to decarbonize cars, battery electric vehicles have proven more popular than hydrogen. But debate still rages on which is the better zero-emission technology. Some say hydrogen cars cannot catch up to battery-electric vehicles, whereas others claim EVs aren’t the future, hydrogen is. Mike Strizki and his hydrogen-powered house have been featured on The Wall Street Journal, ABC World News, and a number of New York Times articles including “The Zero-Energy Solution,” and “The Gospel of Hydrogen Power.”

Duration:00:27:26

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Black Sheep Metal

5/1/2025
Lead is a study in contradictions. It’s dense enough to stop an X-ray, but soft enough to scratch with your fingernail. It’s heavier than steel and iron, but also more flexible. And, despite evidence of its toxicity, humans have been using it for all sorts of things for thousands of years. In this edition of our series “The Element of Surprise,” we hone in on this notorious heavy metal. What chemical properties make lead so harmful? How did something so dangerous become so ubiquitous? And if medical authorities acknowledge no amount of lead exposure is safe – especially for children – why do so many of us have lead in our water and our homes? Featuring Justin Richardson, Bruce Lanphear, and Chakena Perry. This episode was produced by Kate Dario. For the full credits and transcript, go to outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. 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 Radiolab dedicated an episode to the scientist that was trying to estimate the earth’s age, and unintentionally helped get rid of leaded gasoline in the process. It’s wild and worth a listen. A comprehensive history of leaded gasoline and an in-depth investigation of how the lead industry lobbied cities to use lead pipes. Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner have published numerous books covering the American lead industry and lead’s lasting public health impacts. The EPA has robust resources about how to deal with lead exposure and how to minimize your risk.

Duration:00:32:39

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The Cold War Ice Core of Greenland

4/24/2025
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. In this episode (first released in 2023) Daniel Ackerman takes us inside Camp Century, and explains how a foundational moment in climate science was inextricably linked with the United State's military interest in Greenland. Featuring Curt La Bombard, Julie Brigham-Grette, Herb Ueda Jr., Don Garfield, and Aleqa Hammond. Produced by Daniel Ackerman. For a full list of credits and transcript, go to outsidinradio.org.

Duration:00:32:43

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Dark Magic Rabbit

4/17/2025
A magician spins a black top hat to show their audience it’s empty. Then, with the wave of a wand and a few magic words, PRESTO: a snow white rabbit pokes its ears over the brim. Compared to sawing a person in half, pulling a rabbit out of a hat is a joyful bit of magic that entertainers have been doing for more than 200 years. But after the applause dies down, one is left wondering: where did the rabbit come from? And where did it go? Today, in honor of the Easter Bunny (who doesn’t actually appear in this episode), we’re pulling a handful of rabbit stories out of our proverbial hat. But be warned: these are dark tales of disappearing pets, occult eugenicists, and animal sacrifice. The secrets behind some magic tricks are more shocking than others. Featuring Nicole Cardoza, Gwyne Henke, Suzanne Loui, Sally Master, Ana DiMaria, Tanya Singer, and Meg Crane. Produced by Nate Hegyi, Marina Henke, Kate Dario, and Justine Paradis. For full credits, photos, and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. 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 Join us for NHPR’s 3rd Annual Climate Summit! The theme is “Healthy Connections,” and we’ve got a great lineup of speakers and breakout sessions PLUS a trivia night. And the best part? It’s all FREE. Learn more and register here. Check out this video of magician and storyteller Nicole Cardoza performing for a group in Chicago in 2024. You can check out Gwyne Henke’s childhood rabbit poetry on our website. Tanya Singer reported on the history of Project Angora for Tablet. You can also learn more about Helena Weinrauch and her blue sweater here. Read more about the history of pregnancy testing in this paper on Egyptian grain method, rabbit tests, and more, and in A Woman’s Right to Know by Jesse Olszynko-Gryn, available as a free ebook from MIT Press. The story of Meg Crane’s Predictor test can also be found in the excellent Designing Motherhood, a book and exhibit on human reproduction through the lens of design. Pagan Kennedy’s New York Times article, which prompted Meg Crane to start sharing her story—and Pagan’s follow-up, which does include Meg.

Duration:00:46:02

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The Bee’s Sneeze: Why allergies are getting worse

4/10/2025
Allergies have been documented in historical records dating as far back as 2,400 years ago, when Hippocrates wrote about “hostile humors” in some people who suffered badly after eating cheese. But why do we experience them to begin with? What even is an allergy? Are allergies on the rise? And why are some mere nuisances, while others are deadly? This episode is a roundup of allergy stories—from the mundane to the frightful—and a round up of allergy questions we’re asking Dr. Theresa MacPhail, author of Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World, to answer for us. Featuring Beni Osei Duker, Theresa MacPhail, Dwayne Smith, and Lily Ko. Produced by Felix Poon. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. 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 Check out Theresa MacPhail’s book, Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World. Read up on the different hypotheses on why we get allergies in the first place: The parasite hypothesisThe toxin hypothesisThe hygiene hypothesisThe old friends hypothesisLearn about the history of the EpiPen.

Duration:00:26:12

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Venom and the cure

4/3/2025
Venom is full of dualities. According to the UN’s World Health Organization, snakebite envenoming causes somewhere between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths per year, and even that is likely an undercount. Yet research into venom has yielded treatments for diabetes, cancer, erectile dysfunction, and even the celebrity favorite diabetes slash diet drug, Ozempic. In this episode, we explore the world of venom, where fear and fascination go hand-in-hand, and the potential for healing comes with deadly stakes. This is part II of our “Things That Can Kill You” miniseries, which also explores poison and allergies. Featuring Sakthi Vaiyapuri. Thanks to Iva Tatić for her question. Produced by Justine Paradis. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, BlueSky, Tiktok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS Here’s more on Sakthi Vaiyapuri’s community awareness programs in India and his team’s research on the socioeconomic impacts on rural populations in Tamil Nadu The UN’s World Health Organization’s fact sheet on snake envenoming as a high-priority neglected tropical disease A great breakdown on why snakebite deaths are undercounted and the problem of missing data, written by global health researcher Saloni Dattani on Substack A Nature article on potential advances in antivenom Check out this Science Friday film on the cool research on cone snails and the non-opoiod painkillers derived from their venom. More on Ozempic and lots of other innovations with roots in venom research (New York Times)

Duration:00:26:53

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Tasting the forbidden fruit

3/27/2025
A few months ago we got an email from a listener who tried a bit of a very poisonous apple and lived to tell the tale. Ultimately, he was fine, but the incident left him full of questions. We figured, why not run with that curiosity? We put a call out for all of your poison related queries and you delivered: How much should you worry about those green potatoes in your pantry? Could our car tires be poisoning the environment? It’s another Outside/Inbox roundup on the show this week. Buckle up. This is the first part of a “Things That Can Kill You” mini-series. Up next we tackle venom and allergies. Featuring Hussein Elgridly, Deborah Blum, Andy Robinson, Angela Mech, Kyle Lombard and Heejung Jung. Are invasive browntail moths expanding their range?How much toxic airborne pollution is contributed by vehicle tires?For our next Outside/Inbox roundup, we’re looking for questions about sound! Dream big here: we’re talking animal sounds, traffic noise, the sounds of space… Send us your questions by recording yourself on a voice memo, and emailing that to us at outsidein@nhpr.org. Or you can call our hotline: 844-GO-OTTER. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.

Duration:00:30:50

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The Final Days of Sgt. Tibbs

3/20/2025
Sgt. Tibbs, a fluffy, 19-year-old Maine Coon with tiger stripes, soft eyes, and a chipped tooth, is missing on the streets of Manchester, New Hampshire. His owner, Rose, fears the worst. But when she finds out her cat was never missing at all – the truth turns out to be worse than she feared. From our friends over at the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, this is the first in a four-part series about what we owe our pets – and what we owe our neighbors. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. 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.

Duration:00:17:21

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The Emerald Forest: Why Irish farmers aren’t happy about some American trees

3/13/2025
After the Irish fought for and won their independence from the British in 1921, they had a problem. Centuries of exploitation had left the island one of the least forested nations in Europe, with less than 2% tree cover. So, they started planting a non-native American tree: fast-growing Sitka spruce capable of rebuilding their timber resources in record time. And it worked. Today, about 17% of the island is forested. But in the rural areas where iconic rolling hills have been replaced by rows and rows of conifers, farmers are not happy. Outside/In host Nate Hegyi takes us to County Leitrim, an area of Ireland hit hard by the Troubles and the Great Famine, to meet the townspeople who are fighting what they say is a new wave of colonialism: Sitka spruce plantations. Produced by Nate Hegyi. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. Featuring: Justin Warnock, Brian Smyth, Donal Magner, Liam Byrne and Jodie Asselin SUPPORT To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKS Donal Magner wrote a book covering the history of Ireland’s forests and timber industry. Sitka spruce plantations are controversial in other parts of Ireland as well, including Cork. There are also efforts to rewild parts of Ireland with entirely native trees and to protect and restore carbon-sequestering bogs. It can be really tough to figure out exactly what was growing in Ireland thousands of years ago – but these scientists used ancient pollen counts to figure it out. Researchers at University College Dublin produced a detailed socio-economic impact report on sitka spruce plantations and County Leitrim in 2019.

Duration:00:28:48

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Why we sing

3/6/2025
Recently, our producer Justine Paradis noticed something. Humans really like to sing together in groups: birthday parties, sports games, church hymns, protest chants, singing along to Taylor Swift at the Eras concert… the list could get very long. But… why? Did singing play a part in human evolution? Why does singing together make us feel so good? Featuring Hannah Mayree, Ani Patel, Dor Shilton, and Arla Good. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKS Bobby McFerrin in 2009 at the World Science Festival, demonstrating the intuitive power of the pentatonic scale, and in 2010, improvising in a stadium in Germany with 60,000 singers. A short documentary about Sing For Your Life! and OneVoice Circle Singers. Check out Hannah Mayree’s music and work. Dor Shilton and Ani Patel collaborated on a paper (currently preprint) examining four societies where collective music-making is rare. Dor Shilton’s paper on the evolution of music as an “interactive technology” and open-access analysis of patterns in group singing. This journal presented the hypothesis of music as a mechanism for social bonding as part of an ongoing conversation. SingWell’s forthcoming research on group singing, aging, and Parkinson’s disease.

Duration:00:32:14

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Why do animals play?

2/27/2025
We’re used to seeing dogs and cats play with toys or get the zoomies… but do animals like rats and bumblebees play too? What is animal play for? How do scientists even decide what counts as play? Today, we’re taking a serious look at goofy behavior. We’ll discover the five-part checklist that many scientists use to recognize play in nature, and find out why taking turns is so important for healthy brain development. This episode is a collaboration between Outside/In and Tumble, the science podcast for kids. Featuring Junyi Chu and Jackson Ham Produced by Lindsay Patterson, Marshall Escamilla, and Taylor Quimby. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. 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 Love this episode? Looking for family-friendly podcasts to listen to? There are over 150 episodes of Tumble to check out, including a few of our favorites: Do Trees Fart? The Swift Quake Why Are Sloths Slow Are Cats Evil? The five-part play checklist mentioned in the episode was developed by play researcher Gordon M. Burghardt. His paper, “Play in fishes, frogs and reptiles,” answers some other really interesting questions about animal play.

Duration:00:24:32

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What is a forest for?

2/20/2025
In New Hampshire, the most beloved swath of public land is the White Mountain National Forest. People interact with it as they would a national park – hiking, swimming, camping, and more. But a national forest is NOT a national park. The difference comes down to a fundamental concept: the “multiple-use” land mandate. In the WMNF, you’ll find parts of the forest preserved for wildlife conservation, recreation, climate resilience, and, most controversially, logging. This episode looks at one patch of forest from three different perspectives: a conservationist who would like to see cutting halted in the WMNF, loggers who would like to see it ramped up, and the US Forest Service that has to somehow appease them both. Featuring Zack Porter, Jeremy Turner, Charlie Niebling, Jasen Stock, Jim Innes, and Luke Sawyer. SUPPORT To share questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. 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 Zack Porter references this study that shows the potential carbon storage in Eastern forests by 2100. Conservation groups and logging advocates filed an amicus brief together against Standing Tree’s lawsuits. In 2024, the Southern Environmental Law Center sued the Forest Service over its timber targets. NHPR has been covering the legal fight in the White Mountain National Forest over the past year. You can read some of our previous coverage here and here. CREDITS Produced by Kate Dario. Full credits and transcript available on outsideinradio.org.

Duration:00:28:50