

The MeatEater Podcast
MeatEater
Building on the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, host Steven Rinella brings an in-depth and relevant look at all outdoor topics including hunting, fishing, nature, conservation, and wild foods. Filled with humor, irreverence, and things that will surprise the hell out of you, each episode welcomes a diverse group of guests who add their own expertise to the vast world of the outdoors. Part of The MeatEater Podcast Network.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 3, 2021 • 2h 10min
Ep. 271: Woof
Steven Rinella talks with Ronnie Boehme, Clay Newcomb, Brody Henderson, Phil Taylor, Corinne Schneider, Hayden Sammak, and Janis Putelis.Topics discussed: Infanticide among house cats; Ronnie as Steve's most impactful employer; Clay Newcomb's new Bear Grease podcast; your pistol getting you in trouble with the TSA; Tiddlywinks and meat raffles; "Mingus" by Trampled by Turtles; Clay's big apology about fox hunting; blood tracking dogs and recovery statistics; coons and dogs duking it out in barrels; Ronnie's The Hunting Dog Podcast and his pick for the most versatile hunting dog; the choreography of the flushing dog and the pointing dog; the calming touch; when Ron's bracco Italiano embarrassed the hell out of him; The Upland Institute project; is Jani stingy with his likes on Instagram?; how to measure being hard on your kids; and more.Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 26, 2021 • 1h 30min
Ep. 270: Nature is Metal is Metal
Steven Rinella talks with meat scientist Dr. Chris Calkins, Rick "Nature is Metal," Spencer Neuharth, Seth Morris, Phil Taylor, Corinne Schneider, and Janis Putelis.Topics discussed: An alternate explication of "Arkansasing"; Steve's opinion that the 1980s is too recent a decade from which to pluck pop culture references; cleaning up in your shrimp pot; what happens, physiologically, when an animal freezes to death and can you eat it?; and what about by electrocution?; when lighting strikes cattle; how Jani narrowly escaped death from a mountain lion; potential lead poisoning from getting shot; a porcupine atop a huge pile of bones; Steve's first date with his wife at the La Brea Tar Pits in LA; when deer eat folks; can animals really do "bad" things?; the birth of Nature is Metal; a woodpecker hammering away at a baby dove; when Joe Rogan and Justin Bieber repost from Nature is Metal; something being too much vs. educational; Steve as the first person ever to have drunk kombucha; and more.Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 19, 2021 • 1h 55min
Ep. 269: The Mooch
Steven Rinella talks with Robert Abernethy, Rick Smith, Chris Gill, Seth Morris, and Chester Floyd.Topics discussed: How you need to watch Joe Cermele's B-Side Fishing; caught on trail cam: tractor driver hangs out of tractor to defecate; Steve's tooth improvement and a mountain goat hunting dentist; the impulse to make everything a competition; how Robert Abernethy has been shot twice; incident vs. accident; Chester's daily Bitcoin Liquid Index report; MeatEater's House of Oddities Auction; Metamucil, a regular buck; when you accidentally hit a rabbit while lawn mowing, then inhale the tularemia bacteria and get sick; "Seth" by MISS; a beautiful ending to a story in the Sierra Madres; the rewilding of the Savannah River nuclear site; two tiny fawns sitting in a fish bowl; longleaf pine and turpentine camps; making a place for quail; and more.Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 12, 2021 • 2h 12min
Ep. 268: Clovis Points and Man’s Best Friend
Steven Rinella talks with David J. Meltzer, Ryan Callaghan, Spencer Neuharth, Corinne Schneider, and Phil Taylor.Topics discussed: Making sure that your local humane society is not The Humane Society of the United States; Jim H. encouraging hunters to be true to the message of conservation and favor wolf recovery even if it costs them a few extra elk tags; Covid vaccines for mink and great apes; Spencer saves bird lives; spotting an arrowhead by the side of the road as a bus driver holding the door open for a kid; delving deeper into the Folsom Site; a beautiful theory killed by a horrible fact; what to make of 34,000 bone scraps smaller than the size of your fingernail; how it’d be cool if you bought a book that came with an attached Folsom point; tribal vs. human and culture vs. genetics; the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act; ancient peoples being successful at moving far distances; dogs as the first animal that humans ever domesticated; how there's dog DNA in wolves but no wolf DNA in dogs; anthropology classes as a resume builder; where you can find all of David's fascinating books; and more.Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 9, 2021 • 2h 7min
Ep. 267: Smolt to Adult
Steven Rinella talks with Congressman Mike Simpson, Eric Crawford, Ryan Callaghan, Chester Floyd, and Phil Taylor.Topics discussed: Phil's parfait and Cal's Covid shot; Buck Bowden's burl bowls; energy consumption and Bitcoin; would someone just give Chester a free boat already?; a reminder to get all the right permits and licenses and extra stuff when you hunt, fish, or trap; caught on (trail) cam; the prevalence of same sex behavior in the animal kingdom; icy hotspring monkeys as kind of gross creatures; Rep. Simpson's proposal to remove dams along the Columbia and Lower Snake Rivers; bear with salmon DNA in them; where the opposition lies and how Rep. Simpson would never screw agriculture; and more.Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 29, 2021 • 2h 11min
Ep. 266: Crying Wolf
Steven Rinella talks with Jon Mooallem, Gaspar Perricone, Brody Henderson, Ryan Callaghan, Phil Taylor, Corinne Schneider, and Janis Putelis.Topics discussed: Papa Jani's wish to have guests introduced at the beginning of the show; how Ronny B. got Steve in trouble, and a correction about raccoons duking it out with dogs inside barrels; moss balls and zebra mussels; Tonka trucks and tularemia; "Wild Ones," "This Is Chance!" and the great Alaska earthquake of 1964; Richter as a nudist; the sociology of disaster; Cal's look alikes; wolves traveling very far distances; The Great Chill, or The 2020 Die Off; wolves coming to Colorado, like it or not; how many elk will they really kill?; social legislation and wildlife as a vehicle for vendetta; where to watch "Cal In The Field"; and more. Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 22, 2021 • 2h 5min
Ep. 265: The Rambo Rabbit
Steven Rinella talks with Mike Ruhl, Jeremy Romero, Kevin Murphy, Seth Morris, and Chester Floyd.Topics discussed: Has the Bitcoin boat sailed?; a hot tip on using tampons dipped in vaseline as a fire starter; proof of the albino porcupine; one hairy-assed deer eyeball; feeding grizzly bears (ahem, moose!) in your backyard; cloning black footed ferrets; the death of the last passenger pigeon; that time when a squirrel hefted up his dead buddy into a tree; how ibex hunting came to be a thing; the problems that the border wall creates for wildlife; people's inability to openly debate issues; living on vertical cliff faces and basically eating gravel; being a proud member of the 98% club; opinions about non-native species; the saga of Kevin Murphy's beagles; gauging a good hunting day based on whether the scent sticks around; the great history of eating rabbit turds; Kevin Murphy, an American treasure; and more. Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 15, 2021 • 2h 3min
Ep. 264: The Champ of Champs
Steven Rinella talks with Preston Pittman, Ryan Callaghan, Phil Taylor, Corinne Schneider, Samantha Bates, and Janis Putelis.Topics discussed: The caviar of the south; the story of Cal's forearm scar; is there such as thing as a Covid tweaker?; the champ has been shot twice, but doesn't call the cops; the beautiful Grim Reaper choking noises that Steve makes when trying to gobble; Jani's talent; David Letterman; breaking down tag team competitive calling scenarios; how life's too damn short not to enjoy it; no shame in being dyslexic; Preston's perspective on trail cams and the new young farts; the difference between hey, heyyy!, and heeeeeeey; running a diaphragm with a big dip in your lip; studying Ma Nature; and more. Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 8, 2021 • 1h 59min
Ep. 263: Free Casting in Coon Country
Steven Rinella talks with Clay Newcomb, Seth Morris, Chester Floyd, Rick Smith, and Janis Putelis.Topics discussed: The story of a deer called Moose; sturgeon spearing in Wisconsin on the Fur Hat Ice Tour; bartering services for caviar, then serving the caviar in a restaurant; NY's squirrel hunting tournament going strong; an ear-tagged squirrel traveling 62 miles; the dachshund (weiner dog) and Steve's pronunciation attempts; what it means when you hang a painting on the ceiling; the abundant raccoon; breaking down coon hunting; the nuance inside of the bark; Clay's right ear deafness; how Clay wants to train his mule to key in on turkey gobbles; staying on the snuggle; Jani's eagle eye spotting a squirrel eye; Mingus as a talented tree puppy; Where The Red Fern Grows; and more. Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 1, 2021 • 2h 6min
Ep. 262: The Jake Brake
Steven Rinella talks with Jason Phelps, Dirk Dirham, Seth Morris, Phil Taylor, Corinne Schneider, and Janis Putelis.Topics discussed: Chester The Investor makes a solid plan on a walleye boat; how skepticism is the chastity of the intellect; reconsidering the use of a sous vide wand to warm up your bathtub; Steve's FOMO were he to die while other humans got to keep living; Texas' record low temperatures wiping out piles of exotic big game; yet another nipple ripping tale; taxidermying an albino porcupine and getting a $70,000 offer for it; how The MeatEater Podcast solves tombstone mysteries; when turkeys are bad turkey callers; how turkey testosterone levels change daily, like Steve's; the reason God made naps; the incredible way turkeys hear and how they're basically GPS devices; how you get Jason Phelp's personal phone when you call Phelps' Game Calls customer service number; breaking down turkey calls; the otherwordly odor of a turkey buzzard; tuning game calls; MeateaterXPhelps calls: the Jake Brake, the Latvian Eagle, and the Easy Clucker; Dirk, the saxophone player; a single production of a black walnut tree; pink vs. red; and more. Connect with Steve and MeatEaterSteve on Instagram and TwitterMeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeShop MeatEater Merch Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.