When it comes to protecting the biodiversity of Planet Earth, there is no greater failure than extinction. Thankfully, only a few dozen species have been officially declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the half-century since the passage of the Endangered Species Act. But, hold on. Aren’t we in the middle of the sixth mass extinction? Shouldn’t the list of extinct species be… way longer? Well, yeah. Maybe.Producer Taylor Quimby sets out to understand why it’s so difficult to officially declare an animal extinct. Along the way, he compares rare animals to missing socks, finds a way to invoke Lizzo during an investigation of an endangered species of crabgrass, and learns about the disturbing concept of “dark extinctions.” Editor's Note: This episode was first published in October 2022. Since then, the US Fish and Wildlife Service officially delisted 21 of 23 proposed species due to extinction. The ivory-billed woodpecker was not one of them. Featuring Sharon Marino, Arne Mooers, Sean O’Brien, Bill Nichols, and Wes Knapp.

Shirtless influencers on TikTok and Instagram have acquired millions of followers promoting the carnivore diet. They say studies linking meat consumption and heart disease are flawed — and plant foods are making people sick. "Western medicine is lying to you," says content-creator Dr. Paul Saladino, who co-owns a company selling desiccated cattle organs.The online popularity of the carnivore diet is undeniable. Yet, no controlled studies have been published confirming its advertised benefits. Our friends at WBUR’s podcast Endless Thread look at how social media cooked up the anti-establishment wellness trend. SUPPORTOutside/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"Red Shift" (The New Yorker)"The 'You’re doing it wrong'-ification of TikTok" (Vox)"The Evolution of Diet" (National Geographic)"Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered" (New York Times)"Against Meatposting" (Heated)Endless Thread's unedited interview with Dr. Paul Saladino (WBUR) CREDITSOutside/In Host: Nate HegyiOutside/In Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand AudioThis episode of Endless Thread was written and produced by Dean Russell and Ben Brock Johnson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioEndless Thread is a production of WBUR in Boston. 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).

Hector “Freedom” Gerardo, an expert in hemp and CBD, discusses the history of hemp in America, the differences between hemp and weed, and the potential uses of hemp. The podcast explores the legal issues and regulations surrounding hemp, as well as the surge in popularity of CBD products after legalization. Learn about the ancient roots and utility of hemp fiber, the historical significance of hemp cultivation, and the perceptions of hemp in society.

It’s that special time again! Scientists everywhere hold their breath as the team opens the Outside/Inbox and answers listener questions about the natural world. In this episode, we consider Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl, an impulsive goat purchase, and a big night for salamanders. Plus, we’re graced with Nate’s rendition of a Tom Waits song. Questions:What would NYC look like in 50 years if humans disappeared?What if the earth had no moon?Could humans survive a worst-case climate scenario?Do birds have regional accents?How do we keep wildlife safe when crossing the road?Featuring Stephon Alexander, Luke Kemp, Chris Sturdy, and Sandi Houghton. SUPPORTOutside/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 Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSCheck out these gorgeous visualizations created by the Mannahatta Project, which has since been renamed the Welikia Project.Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl died after crashing into a building earlier this month. His autopsy revealed his body to be riddled with rodenticide and pigeon herpes, cementing his status as “a real New Yorker” for some observers. Still, building collisions, rat poison, and disease are all major risks for birds of prey in urban environments. CREDITSOutside/In host: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Felix Poon, Taylor Quimby, and Justine Paradis Mixed by Justine ParadisEdited by Taylor Quimby and Rebecca LavoieNHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca LavoieMusic by blacksona, Katori Walker, Bisou, Young Community, Diamond Ortiz, Brightarm Orchestra, Kevin MacLeod, Tellsonic, Walt Adams, and ProleteR. Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. 

To save for retirement, common knowledge says to “diversify your portfolio.” Give your cash to a company so they can invest it into hundreds of other companies on the stock market. But unless you’ve gone out of your way to change it, your portfolio probably has little to do with your values. For example, there are climate activists invested in fossil fuel companies. Staunch vegans putting some of their hard-earned income into Tyson Foods. On the flip side, there are climate deniers with money in Tesla!So is there a way to save for retirement that’s both good for your pocketbook… and good for the planet?Featuring: Timothy Yee, Clara Vondrich, Kelly Shue SUPPORTOutside/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. LINKSDivestment helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the coal industry, according to this white paper from the Harvard Business School. However, divestment can also backfire, according to this study from Yale. Got a lot of time to kill? You can watch the recent SEC commissioner meeting where they voted to pass a weakened version of the climate disclosure rule.  CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Nate HegyiMixed by Nate Hegyi and Taylor QuimbyEditing by Taylor QuimbyOur staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand AudioMusic by Blue Dot SessionsOur theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Explore the hidden stories of nuclear testing fallout in New Mexico, the impact on a rural community, and the ongoing fight for justice and medical compensation. Hear personal reflections on cancer, the struggles of affected families, and the quest for accountability over 75 years later.

If you grew up with family members who pushed (or dragged) you onto the trail, chances are you have strong memories associated with hiking. Epic vistas… swarms of black flies… and your dad’s terrible homemade gorp. Whether you grow up to see them as personal triumphs or family fiascos, those early adventures can shape your perception of the outdoors for life.Can parents shape kids into hardcore hikers? And what happens when your best-laid plans go off the map?Featuring Sarah Lamagna, Nick Capodice, Daisy Curtin, Niles Lashway, Sarah Raiche, Tiffany Raiche, and Phineas QuimbySUPPORTOutside/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. LINKSIf you liked Sarah Lamagna’s tips on how to hike with children, you’ll find more in her recently published guidebook.  CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported, produced, and mixed by Taylor QuimbyEdited by Rebecca LavoieOur staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon.Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand AudioMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, The New Fools, and SINY. Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit 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).

A century ago, coastal dunes threatened to overwhelm the city of Florence, Oregon. The sand swallowed roads, highways, and houses. When “Dune” author Frank Herbert visited the area in 1957, he was stunned by the awesome power of the sand. Eventually, it inspired his fictional desert planet, Arrakis.But now, the dunes that inspired “Dune” are disappearing. To solve the sand problem, the US Forest Service planted dunes with non-native beachgrass, hoping its strong roots would keep the dunes in place. The strategy worked… too well. The grass spread, out-competing native species and transforming the dunes. At one popular spot, roughly 60% of what was once open sand is now gone.Producer Justine Paradis traveled to the Oregon Coast to see the mountains of sand which inspired a sci-fi classic, and meet the people working to save them.Featuring Dina Pavlis, Patty Whereat Phillips, and Jesse Beers. SUPPORTOutside/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 Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSThese aerial photos demonstrate the dramatic changes in the Oregon dunes since 1941.Dina Pavlis’ Secrets of the Oregon Dunes Facebook pageThe Oregon dunes are the setting of an episode of “Lassie” (1964), in which a little girl gets lost in a sand storm. New hires at the Forest Service in Florence are shown this film during orientation.The Siuslaw Public Library in Florence is home to the eclectic Frank Herbert collection, as reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting. These are books donated by Herbert’s daughter which he was reading at the time he wrote ‘Dune,’ and are available to the public. Fans make the pilgrimage to browse the collection, which includes titles on the desert, politics in the Middle East, computation, Scottish folk singing, rug hooking, and much more.Frank Herbert originally visited Florence to research a proposed magazine article on the Forest Service’s dune, as reported on the Siuslaw News. His (unsuccessful) proposal, “They Stopped the Moving Sands,” can be read in “The Road to Dune.”An episode of Endless Thread about the time a six-year-old boy fell into a tree hole (he’s fine now) in Michigan City, Indiana. CREDITSOutside/In host: Nate HegyiReported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis Edited by Taylor Quimby and Katie ColaneriOur team also includes Felix Poon. NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca LavoieSpecial thanks to Meg Spencer, Kegen Benson, Armand Rebischke, and Kevin Mittge. Music by Sarah the Illstrumentalist, Elm Lake, Chris Zabriskie, and Blue Dot Sessions.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

In the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, dozens of strangers gathered together in the woods 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 trigger?In this episode we follow Felix out of his depth and into the woods, to find out if one weekend can convert a longtime city-dweller into a dedicated deer hunter.Featuring Dorothy Ren, Brandon Dale, and Brant MacDuff. SUPPORTOutside/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. LINKSLydia Parker, executive director of Hunters of Color, discusses how to make the outdoors more equitable. (The Nature Conservancy)Melissa Harris-Perry talks to Brandon Dale, the New York ambassador for the Hunters of Color organization, on WNYC’s The Takeaway.CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported, produced, and mixed by Felix PoonEdited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Rebecca Lavoie.Our staff also includes Justine ParadisTaylor Quimby is our Executive ProducerRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Hanna Lindgren, and Walt Adams.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit 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).

Editor's note: This episode was first published in July, 2022.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 made 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 and 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