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

Sep 22, 2022 • 52min
The olive & the pine
Planting a tree often becomes almost a shorthand for doing a good deed. But such an act is not always neutral. In some places, certain trees can become windows into history, tools of erasure, or symbols of resistance.This episode originally aired in October of 2020. Featuring: Liat Berdugo, Irus Braverman, Jonathan Kuttab, Noga Kadman, Iyad Hadad, Raja Shehadeh, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Miri Maoz-Ovadia, and Nidal Waleed Rabie and his granddaughter Samera. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKS & BIBLIOGRAPHYBerdugo, Liat. “A Situation: A Tree in Palestine.”Places Journal. January 2020. Braverman, Irus. Planted Flags: Trees, Land, and Law in Israel Palestine. Cambridge University Press: 2009.Kadman, Noga. Erased from Space and Consciousness: Israel and the Depopulated Palestinian Villages of 1948. Indiana University Press: 2015.Long, Joanna. “(En)planting Israel: Jewish national fund forestry and the naturalisation of Zionism.” University of British Columbia: 2005.”Our History.” Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Jewish National Fund. Accessed 8 October 2020.Pappe, Ilan. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. One World Oxford: 2006.Shehadeh, Raja. Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape. Scribner: 2007.Tal, Alon. Pollution in a Promised Land: An Environmental History of Israel. University of California Press: 2002. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by: Justine ParadisMixer: Justine ParadisEditing by Taylor Quimby, Sam Evans-Brown, and Erika JanikRebecca Lavoie is our Executive ProducerMusic for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Special thanks to Yehoshua Shkedy, Amit Gilutz, Eliana Passentin, and Vered Ben Saadon. Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio
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Sep 15, 2022 • 28min
Why do we stare at fire and other existential questions
It’s that time again when we open our mailbag to answer your (oh-so-delightful) questions. This time, we deliberate over what seagulls are doing so far from the sea, the reason that staring at fire is so compelling, why dogs kick up dirt after they poo, and other timeless inquiries.Submit your own question (the weirder the better) on Instagram, via email at outsidein@nhpr.org, or by calling our Outside/Inbox hotline: 1-844-GO-OTTER. Question 1: Would ice age humans still think of ice as ‘cold?’Question 2: Why do we like to stare at fire?Question 3: Why do dogs scratch the ground after pooping?Question 4: Shouldn’t seagulls be at sea? Question 5: Do animals get seasonal allergies? SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by: Taylor Quimby & Felix PoonMixers: Taylor Quimby & Felix PoonEditing by Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, and Rebecca LavoieRebecca Lavoie is our Executive ProducerMusic for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Felix Johansson Carne, Stationary Sign, Jules Gaia, Yomoti, and Flouw. Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio
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Sep 8, 2022 • 22min
Your Wildest Wildlife Encounters
Ever have an unexpected animal encounter that leaves you filled with adrenaline? Or awed by the natural world? Or filled with fear? On this episode, we hand over the reins to the folks at Every Little Thing, a Spotify-exclusive podcast hosted by Flora Lichtman.They asked their listeners for stories about extreme animal run-ins, and boy did folks deliver…. From a tangled antlers conundrum, to a life-altering encounter with jellyfish, these are animal stories that will make you laugh, sweat, and want to stay on the boat. Thanks to Cory, Sara, Geoff and everyone who called in to Every Little Thing with a wild animal tale.Every Little Thing is made by Flora Lichtman, Annette Heist, Phoebe Flanigan, Hadley Robinson, Stephanie Werner and Carla Javier.Outside/In is produced by Nate Hegyi, Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, and Felix Poon AFRAID OF NATURE? SEND US YOUR STORIES!Halloween is coming up, and we want to know what natural thing scares the bejeezus out of you. Is there a particular animal, insect, or encounter that just absolutely creeps you out? Or maybe it’s just an idea: like you’re afraid of the dark, or the ocean, or thunderstorms? Submit your fear, and we may feature it on a future episode of the show - or call you up to talk about whatever it is that freaks you out. Here are some prompts:What scares you? How does that fear manifest in your life? Where do you think that fear stems from? Tell us a specific anecdote or story related to your fear.Submit your story by sending a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org. Or by calling our hotline: 1-844-GO-OTTER. MORE ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THINGWhy do news anchors all sound the same? Do wolves really howl at the moon? How did Elvis imitators take over Las Vegas wedding chapels? On ELT, you call with a question, they find you an answer. Their helpline is open 24-7. Call 833-RING-ELT or send an audio message to elt@gimletmedia.com. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook
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Aug 25, 2022 • 36min
Yardwork: A bitter melon grows in Boston
Some people see something special happening at the Berkeley Community Garden in Boston’s South End: a multicultural garden community built from the rubble of a demolished city block; a green oasis of Chinese plants like bitter melon, cultivated here for over half a century.But others… well, all they see is a trash pile.In the final installment of Yardwork, the story of how a predominantly immigrant community garden is shaping the built environment, even as gentrification threatened its existence.Featuring: Arlene Ng, Kim Szeto, Chun Lee, Sue Fong Lee, Helen Ng, Fanny, Ada, Sarah Hutt, Jeremy Liu, Betsy Johnson, Ann McQueen, Valerie Burns SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKSOfficial Berkeley Community Garden WebsiteAdversity Can Help A Garden To Grow (NYTimes)Berkeley Community Gardeners Master Growing...Up (WBUR)The Trustees of Reservations now owns and manages the Berkeley Community Garden. But many organizations have supported the garden through the decades, including:Boston Natural Areas Network (Wikipedia)South End Lower Roxbury Open Space Land Trust (Wikipedia)Boston Urban GardenersMel King was instrumental in making community gardens in Boston possible. In 1974 he sponsored the MA Gardening and Farm Act, which passed into law and allowed people to farm and garden on vacant public land. He was honored in 2021 by then acting mayor of Boston, Kim Janey. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Felix PoonEditing by Taylor Quimby and Nate HegyiAdditional editing help from Jessica Hunt and Justine Paradis. Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive ProducerSpecial thanks to Michelle Slater, Julie Stone, Zach Nowak, Mark Gardner, Michelle de Lima, Vidya Tikku, Peter Bowne, Jessica Holden, Lauren Chooljian Nick Capodice, Jason Moon, Christina Phillips, and Eileen Poon.Music for this episode by Walt Adams, Blue Dot Sessions, and AiraeOur theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio
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Aug 18, 2022 • 24min
Yardwork: Gardening is heavy metal
Welcome to Yardwork, a summer yard and garden miniseries from Outside/In. We’re sharing three stories about our relationships with the land around us: the front yard, the backyard, and down the block. This is part two.Sometimes, when Maureen McMurray is digging in her backyard garden, she encounters something she didn’t expect: a lump of coal. She’s planted vegetables in the same soil for a few years now. But as she prepared for an upcoming growing season, she wondered: is her homegrown produce poisoning her family?The answer is nicer than you might think.Featuring Maureen McMurray, Nate Bernitz, and Ganga Hettiarachchi. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram + Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKSFind your state’s cooperative extension and soil testing service in this directory.Cornell Small Farms Program offers a guide to soil contamination, including ranges of safe levels, with the caveat that toxicity depends on factors like soil texture, pH, and organic matter. The EPA’s primer to lead in soil.More information on managing the health risks of lead in New Hampshire soils from the UNH Cooperative Extension. This open source paper goes even deeper on issues of urban gardening, soil contamination, and public awareness. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Justine ParadisEdited by Taylor QuimbyAdditional editing help from Nate Hegyi, Felix Poon, Rebecca Lavoie and Jessica Hunt. Executive producer: Rebecca LavoieTitle art and photo: Justine ParadisSpecial thanks to Tom Lemien, Anna Paltseva, and Jim Garvin.Music by Walt Adams, Nul Tiel Records, Alexandra Woodward, Martin Gauffin, Blue Dot Sessions, and Arthur Benson.Outside/In theme by Breakmaster CylinderOutside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio
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Aug 11, 2022 • 27min
Yardwork: Lawn and Order
Welcome to Yardwork, a summer yard and garden miniseries from Outside/In. We’re sharing three stories about our relationships with the land around us: the front yard, the backyard, and down the block. This is part one.Americans love a lawn. 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 part one of Yardwork, 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 SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKSCheck out Malin Curry’s essay on the history of Black Americans and yard work. To read more about how agriculture and outdoor watering is contributing to the disappearance of the Great Salt Lake, take a look at these two studies. ProPublica published an excellent investigation into why one of the West’s driest states often rejects aggressive water conservation efforts. For some great history on lawns, read Paul Robbins’ Lawn People and Virginia Scott Jenkins’ The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Nate HegyiEditing by Taylor QuimbyAdditional editing help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, Rebecca Lavoie and Jessica Hunt. Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive ProducerSpecial thanks to Sherry Lund, Zach Renstrom, Karry Rathje and Ken Fox. Music for this episode by Walt Adams, Sture Zetterberg, OTE, Headlund, Roy Edwin Williams, El Flaco Collective, Pulsed, Jimmy Wahlsteen, Both Are Infinite, Airae, and Alfie-Jay Winters.Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio
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Jul 28, 2022 • 31min
The most successful species on Earth?!
Humans have had an impressive run thus far; we’ve explored most of the planet (the parts that aren’t underwater anyway), landed on the moon, created art and music, and some pretty entertaining Tik Toks. But we’ve survived on the planet for just a fraction of the time horseshoe crabs and alligators have. And we’re vastly outnumbered by many species of bacteria and insects. So what is the most successful species on Earth? And how do you measure that, anyway? From longevity, to happiness, to sheer numbers, we put a handful of different organisms under the microscope in hopes of better understanding what exactly it means to succeed at life on a collective and individual scale. Featuring: Stephen Giovannoni, Rashidah Farid, and Steward PickettSUPPORTCheck out Stephen Giovannoni’s paper: “SAR11 Bacteria: The Most Abundant Plankton in the Oceans”An interesting treatise on adaptability: “Why crocodiles still look the same as they did 200 million years ago”From the NSF: “The most common organism in the oceans harbors a virus in its DNA”More food for thought: “The non-human living inside you" CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by: Taylor QuimbyEditing by: Nate Hegyi, Rebecca LavoieAdditional editing help from Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt. Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive ProducerSpecial thanks to everybody who answered our question at the top of the show: Josemar Ochoa, m Carey Grant, Butter Wilson, Tim Blagden, Robert Baker, Sheila Rydel, and Bob Beaulac.Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, and Jules GaiaOur theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio
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Jul 21, 2022 • 32min
The National Park Service
The National Park Service has changed immensely since its days of keeping poachers out of Yellowstone. So has its approach to telling the story of America. Kirsten Talken-Spaulding of the NPS and Will Shafroth of the National Parks Foundation help us understand how this colossal system actually works and what it's doing to tell the true story of the United States.This episode was reported and produced by our friends at the wonderful podcast Civics 101. LINKSFor more about the history of national parks and state-backed conservation, we’ve got episodes! We’ve also delved into the history of Yellowstone, with a focus on the original conservation strategy behind it and many other parks, a strategy pejoratively called “fortress conservation.”“Himalayan Land Grab” tells the story of what happened when park developers applied the same “fortress conservation” strategy in northern India.“Thin Green Line” is an exploration of the role of conservation law enforcement through the reality TV show North Woods Law.We’ve also featured “The Problem with America’s National Parks,” an episode of the podcast The Experiment (no longer being produced) which asked: why not simply give the national parks back to Native people? CREDITSHosted by Hannah McCarthy and Nick CapodiceProduced by Hannah McCarthy with help from Nick CapodiceSenior Producer: Christina PhillipsExecutive Producer: Rebecca LavoieCivics 101 staff includes Jacqui Fulton.Outside/In team: Nate Hegyi, Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt.Music (National Park Service): Nul Tiel Records, Evan Schaefer, Kesha, Walt Adams, Site of Wonders, Dusty Decks, HoliznaRAPS and Margareta.
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4 snips
Jul 14, 2022 • 42min
The first national park
The land had been cultivated and lived on for millennia when geologist Ferdinand Hayden came upon the astounding Yellowstone "wilderness." It wasn't long before the federal government declared it a national park, to be preserved in perpetuity for the enjoyment of all. Ostensibly. How did Yellowstone go from being an important home, hunting ground, thoroughfare and meeting place to being a park? This episode was reported and produced by our friends at the wonderful podcast Civics 101. Featuring: Megan Kate Nelson, author of Saving Yellowstone, Mark David Spence, author of Dispossessing the Wilderness and Alexandra E. Stern, historian of Native peoples and Reconstruction are our guides to this rocky start. LINKSFor more about the history of national parks and state-backed conservation, we’ve got episodes! We’ve also delved into the history of Yellowstone, with a focus on the original conservation strategy behind it and many other parks, a strategy pejoratively called “fortress conservation.”“Himalayan Land Grab” tells the story of what happened when park developers applied the same “fortress conservation” strategy in northern India.“Thin Green Line” is an exploration of the role of conservation law enforcement through the reality TV show North Woods Law.We’ve also featured “The Problem with America’s National Parks,” an episode of the podcast The Experiment (no longer being produced) which asked: why not simply give the national parks back to Native Americans? CREDITSHosted by Hannah McCarthy and Nick CapodiceProduced by Hannah McCarthy with help from Nick CapodiceSenior Producer: Christina PhillipsExecutive Producer: Rebecca LavoieCivics 101 staff includes Jacqui Fulton.Outside/In team: Nate Hegyi, Taylor Quimby, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt.Music: Walt Adams, Silver Maple, Arthur Benson, Alexandra Woodward and Rocky Marciano.
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Jun 30, 2022 • 44min
Is climate journalism experiencing a Great Resignation?
Last summer, former Outside/In host Sam Evans-Brown quit journalism to become a lobbyist for clean energy.He’s not alone. Millions of people left their jobs or changed careers in the past couple years. But is the field of climate journalism going through its own “Great Resignation?” In a moment when the stakes are so high, are the people who cover the climate crisis leaving journalism to try to help solve it?Producer Justine Paradis talks with two reporters who recently found themselves re-evaluating their personal and professional priorities: one who left journalism, and another who stayed.Featuring Sophie Gilbert, Sam Evans-Brown, Stephen Lacey, Julia Pyper, Meaghan Parker, and Kendra Pierre-Louis. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSThe podcast episode of Warm Regards that Justine mentions is “Apocalyptic Narratives, Climate Data, and Hope, with Zeke Hausfather and Diego Arguedas Ortiz”The history of objectivity is arguably one of the “great confusions of journalism.” In the early 20th century, reporter Walter Lippman and editor Charles Merz contended that objectivity is a practice akin to the scientific method. “The method is objective, not the journalist.”More recently, plenty of folks have commented on problems with “bias” in journalism, including Lewis Raven Wallace, Wesley Lowery, and Sam Sanders, who wrote, “The avoidance of the ‘perception’ of ‘bias’ ultimately means the only reporters to be trusted are those whose lives haven’t been directly touched by the issues and struggles they’re covering. And you [know] what that means.”Julia Pyper’s podcast Political ClimatePost Script Media, Stephen Lacey’s podcast companyHow cable TV covered climate change in 2021.Nate Johnson, a former journalist who left Grist to become an electrician, featured on How to Save a Planet.Kendra Pierre-Louis spoke in greater depth about her career and what it’s like to be a Black woman in journalism with Mary Annaïse Heglar and Amy Westervelt on Hot Take.The Yale Climate Opinion Maps find that 72% of Americans believe in global warming, although just 33% report hearing about climate in the media at least once a week. You can explore the data and see how climate attitudes vary by state and county.For Sarah Miller, all the right words on climate have already been said. “I could end this story by saying ‘We kept swimming and it was beautiful even if it will all be gone someday,’ or some shit, but I already ended another climate story that way. I have, several times, really nailed that ending… Writing is stupid. I just want to be alive.” CREDITSSpecial thanks to Nate Johnson and Peter HoweHost: Nate HegyiReported, produced, and mixed by Justine ParadisEditing and additional mixing by Taylor QuimbyAdditional editing: Rebecca Lavoie, Nate Hegyi, Felix Poon, and Jessica HuntExecutive Producer: Rebecca LavoieMusic: Sarah the Illstrumentalist, Daniel Fridell, baegel, FLYIN, Smartface, Silver Maple, By Lotus, 91nova, Moon Craters, Pandaraps, and Blue Dot SessionsTheme Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
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