Outside/In

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 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. 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. 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 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. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. 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 Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. 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 Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. 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...

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. 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. Subscribe to our newsletter for occasional updates and special announcements. 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. 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 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 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. 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 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. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. 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 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 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 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 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. SUPPORT Donate $10 per month and get our new “I axolotl questions” mug! Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. 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. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!). Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. 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. 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 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 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 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).