Outside/In

To the American birder, spotting the Tamaulipas Crow is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime event. The crow's range is mostly in Mexico and extends ever so slightly into Texas, specifically in and around a dump called the Brownsville Landfill. Spotting the Tamaulipas — north of the border — means being able to check it off your American Bird Association Checklist. So just how far will die-hard birder...

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. It may also be the most hated. Tennis and basketball players are complaining about losing court space because of an “invasion” of pickleballers. Residents are losing sleep because of the incessant noise. Fights over pickleball have led to a slew of petitions, calls to the police, and even lawsuits. So why do pickleball players love this sport so...

A listener recently asked, “Has the entire surface of earth at some point or another been covered in poop?” Turns out, there are some questions that even we can’t answer.  In this installment of our regular mailbag segment, the Outside/Inbox, we do our best to take on your zany inquiries, or find experts who can. Here are this week’s questions: Why was there a sudden spike in “dangerous carbon mon...

Whales have Free Willy. Dolphins have Flipper. But what about the humble porpoise?  The porpoise doesn’t star in any Hollywood blockbusters. These shy, elusive “deer of the sea” are often overshadowed by their more charismatic cousins – but don’t let their social anxiety fool you. In fact, porpoises are speed-fiends with an insane metabolism and an outrageous sex drive. Host Nate Hegyi and produce...

We launched a Patreon! Become an Outside/Insider for just $5 per month, and you can get AD-FREE episodes of the podcast, plus access to behind-the-scenes blog posts and more. Sardines are in vogue. Literally. They are in Vogue magazine. They’re delicious (subjectively), good for you, and sustainable… right?  Recently, a listener called into the show asking about just that. “I've always had this se...

Put salt (aka sodium chloride) in your pasta water and you’ll end up with delicious spaghetti. Put pure sodium in it instead… and it will explode. It’s the latest edition of “The Element of Surprise,” our occasional series about the hidden stories behind the periodic table’s most unassuming atoms, isotopes, and molecules. This time we’re talking all about sodium. It’s the periodic table’s saltiest...

When 10-year-old Doug Crandell joined the 4-H program, he was supposed to learn about raising, feeding, and selling a cow. What he wound up learning was something else entirely. “I wanted to be a hog man, like my father,” he said. “But I knew pretty early on that you couldn’t have these animals forever.” From producer Shaina Shealy, this is the story of a boy and his cow, Speckles.  Featuring Doug...

Megan Eaves-Egenes grew up under the very starry skies of rural New Mexico. During those years, she developed a deep appreciation for astronomy.  The fascination is, of course, not hers alone. But, a starry sky requires one pretty important ingredient: darkness. One study recently reported that since 2011, the night sky has gotten brighter at about 10% per year. All that light pollution has brough...

President Trump recently signed an executive order to make certain psychedelic drugs more available to treat mental health conditions like depression and PTSD. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Joe Rogan were in the oval office, and President Trump even joked during the signing ceremony, “can I have some, please?”  Maybe this executive order wasn’t on your 2026 political bingo card… but interest in these...

Like a typecast actor who can’t escape the blockbuster franchise they’re known for, the element of silicon is inescapably associated with Silicon Valley. But that association undersells just how important, how foundational silicon is for human civilization. It’s another edition of “The Element of Surprise,” our occasional series about the hidden stories behind the periodic table’s most unassuming...

In the spring of 1936, the producer of King Kong hauled a film crew to the desert of Arizona to shoot a sweeping romantic epic. But the heat was so punishing that it melted film stock, caused the lead actress to pass out, and killed the production’s mascot – a baby camel.  It was the beginning of a heat wave that parked itself over America for months, quickly becoming one of the deadliest natural...

We’re cleaning out the proverbial fridge, but instead of old food, it’s fantastic and forgotten questions from the Outside/Inbox. Conversation topics include Taylor’s humiliatingly old headlamp, the olfactory experience of a dead whale and, of course, the answers to the following queries…  Why do dogs like to roll in dead stuff?  Do humans have a mating season?  Why do so many deer collisions happ...

Every December, 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...

With the ubiquity of plastic products, it’s maybe no surprise that a growing body of research shows tiny pieces of plastic are getting inside of us.  But what is all this plastic doing to our bodies? And once it’s there… is there any way to get it out?  Producer Haleema Shah looks at what the research says (and doesn’t say) about plastic and health, and explores a new trend in wellness: the microp...

Zeyneb Magavi is a bona fide climate nerd; she drives an electric car, has solar panels on her roof, and worries about natural gas leaks because they’re a major source of planet-warming emissions. Bill Akley is a lifelong natural gas guy; he grew up smelling heating oil in his kitchen, spent decades in the energy industry, and eventually became head of New England’s largest gas utility.  So what b...

In 2009, the state of Maine ordered farmer Dan Brown to stop selling his raw milk. It kicked off a five-year legal battle that stoked the flames of Maine’s dairy wars. But, after Farmer Brown lost his case and hung up his milking hat, things quieted down.  Twenty years later, raw milk has surged back into the zeitgeist. Influencers are saying it tastes like ice cream, RFK Jr. is taking shots of it...

In 2023, dozens of strangers gathered together in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York 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 trigg...

A fishing tycoon is arrested in an elaborate sting operation, but claims he’s the real hero fighting back against an overbearing state. So who is Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael really – a folk hero, a crook, a righteous rebel, or a selfish conman? This week we’re sharing the first episode from “Catching The Codfather,” the third season of GBH’s hit podcast The Big Dig.  It’s a series about fishing...

There’s few certainties in life. But the sun will always rise, the seasons will change, and the Outside/Inbox will forever remain answered.  From lighthouse paint hues to polar bear lovers, this week the team takes up your questions on all things red.  What makes cardinals red?  Why do albino animals have red eyes? ⁠ ⁠Why are so many lighthouses painted red? ⁠ Do our dogs love us?  ⁠Do some animal...

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...

A few weeks ago, Nate gathered a group of storytellers in front of a live audience in Portsmouth, N.H. to celebrate 10 years of Outside/In. From goats to ghosts and ill-fated coloring book pages, this motley crew of storytellers explored the theme of metamorphosis in a changing world.   If you’ve got a special moment or episode from Outside/In’s long history, we’d love to hear about it. Send us a...

Ravens get a bad rap in western culture. They’re an ominous symbol of death, considered “unclean” by the bible, and star in Edgar Allen Poe’s haunting gothic poem, “The Raven.” A group of ravens is called an “unkindness.” What a burn. But host Nate Hegyi is on a mission to show that we should give the raven a bit more credit. It’s one of the most intelligent creatures on earth — an animal that can...

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 th...

A New Hampshire town finds out its water has been contaminated by a chemical. The most basic question — whether the water is safe to drink — doesn’t have a clear answer. Nobody seems to know much about this so-called forever chemical, which is weird… because all of this has all happened before. From the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, Safe to Drink is a four-part series about a water...

Last week, we talked about the ethics and regulations around sending private citizens to space, but one thing we didn’t linger on much was the lasting impact of Christa McAuliffe; the teacher slated to become the first private citizen to space before she was killed in the Challenger disaster.  So today, we’ve got a series of stories and interviews that are all part of NHPR’s series “Remembering Ch...