Outside/In
122 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 752 ratingsOur connection to the outdoors runs deep in our DNA, but our relationship to the natural world can be complicated. From the unintended human costs of clean energy, to the murky ethics of high-risk rescue missions, to our seemingly eternal conflict with invasive species, we dive head first into those complexities with stories, in-depth reporting, and a touch of nerdiness. You don’t have to be a conservation biologist, a whitewater kayaker, or an obsessive composter to love Outside/In. It’s a show for anyone who has ever been outdoors. In short, it’s a show for *almost* everyone. Hosted by Sam Evans-Brown, Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.
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Episodes
Life on the Edge of the Olympics
March 15, 2018 16:46 - 21 minutes - 29 MBWhen you watch the Olympics, you think you’re watching the best in the world competing at the pinnacle of their fitness. And while that is often true when it comes to America’s very best, when you start to get farther down the list, choosing which athletes deserve a ticket to the Olympics gets much more difficult… much more subjective. And it’s often those margin calls, those athletes on the bubble, who have some of the most inspiring stories to tell. Today, the story of Jennie Be...
Magical Drinking
March 01, 2018 05:00 - 28 minutes - 39.9 MBFor thousands of years, natural spring waters have been associated with health. But recently something called the “raw water movement” has scientists and health officials reminding the public that drinking from untested springs can make you sick. Today, we try to sort it all out: are springs a healing tonic, a source of unadulterated H20, or a passing fad and a dangerous throwback?
Updates For Your Brain
February 15, 2018 20:48 - 35 minutes - 48.9 MBThere have been a couple of important developments on the subject of Canadian hydropower since we released our 4-part series, Powerline. Today, we bring in NHPR's environmental reporter, Annie Ropeik, and our executive producer, Erika Janik, to talk about Northern Pass and the future of energy projects in New England. Plus, we look back at a handful of older episodes to see what has changed since we first put them out. Beaver deceivers? Kiwi-berries? Crazy trail crew stories? Prepa...
An American Lobster in Stockholm
February 01, 2018 21:14 - 26 minutes - 36.3 MBIn 2010 a researcher found a clutch of hybrid American-European lobster eggs in a Norwegian fjord. This kicked off a decade of research attempting to determine if Scandinavia was in the midst of a foreign lobster invasion. This question is hard to answer, especially when the fate of a business worth $150 million dollars a year hangs in the balance.
Ask Sam: Caterpillar Legs, Living Fossils, & Sam Ruins Edison Bulbs
January 18, 2018 16:42 - 28 minutes - 38.5 MBYou've left us lots of great questions on the Ask Sam hotline (1-844-GO-OTTER) so Sam and the team crammed into a studio to try and answer a few. In this episode we'll tackle metamorphosis, animal sexuality, how to ride a bicycle when it's -18 degrees, and we'll introduce a new segment in which Sam is asked to ruin some of our favorite things.
Stoner Panels
January 04, 2018 18:42 - 23 minutes - 32.4 MBThere’s a legend among energy nerds. According to this legend, California pot-growers — with their illicit capital and counter-cultural ideas — were instrumental in getting the solar industry off the ground, and without them, the industry as we know it would have withered on the vine.So we decided to find out: is it true?
What's the Deal with Coydogs?
December 21, 2017 17:59 - 17 minutes - 24.3 MBThis canine can be found all the way from Panama to Alaska, and shows no sign of going away anytime soon. But what are they? In this episode from Brave Little State, a podcast made next door in Vermont, we get some answers.
Powerline, Part IV: Down the Line
November 30, 2017 19:56 - 27 minutes - 38.1 MBDecades of legal and public relations battles with First Nations have changed the way that Hydro-Quebec approaches new projects. Today, the company hires specialists who consult with impacted communities, and modify the designs of their projects to take what they have heard into consideration. But is that enough?
Powerline, Part III: The Peace of the Braves
November 23, 2017 17:00 - 27 minutes - 37.7 MBThe Crees of Quebec signed a landmark agreement with their province and country. The Pessamit Innus now look to that playbook for help in their present-day fight against the provincial utility, but is it too late? On episode two of Powerline, we bring you the story of how one indigenous community got a seat at the table... and how another still struggles to be heard.
Powerline, Part II: The Project of the Century
November 16, 2017 18:14 - 28 minutes - 39.1 MBHydro-Quebec is the provincially-owned utility that helped French-Canadians stake a claim in Quebec politics and economy. As it forged ahead with two massive hydro projects, the company flooded land that had been used by indigenous people for thousands of years. On episode two of Powerline, we bring you the stories of two groups of First Nations people who grappled with Hydro-Quebec... two stories that end in very different ways.
Powerline, Part I: Masters In Our Own Home
November 09, 2017 17:00 - 31 minutes - 43.4 MBThis is part one of our series about how a company, with all of the force of a colonial culture behind it, tried to use its power to push original occupants—its indigenous people—to one side. It’s also the story of how that effort led to something that has become its own kind of revolution in Canada: native people pushing to regain power over their own lives and culture. And it’s a story about the environmental benefits and human costs of clean energy.
Introducing: Powerline
October 27, 2017 19:48 - 2 minutes - 2.49 MBHydro-Québec, the world’s fourth largest hydropower producer, pumps out low carbon electricity at the cheapest rates in North America. For some, it is the key to a greener, more prosperous, future, but that “clean energy” comes freighted with a complicated history and an uncertain future. This is the story of how a massive, state-owned utility company came to be a symbol of the French-Canadian people. It’s also the story of how a company, with all of the force of a colonial culture ...
Introducing: Powerline
October 27, 2017 19:48 - 2 minutesHydro-Québec, the world’s fourth largest hydropower producer, pumps out low carbon electricity at the cheapest rates in North America. For some, it is the key to a greener, more prosperous, future, but that “clean energy” comes freighted with a complicated history and an uncertain future. This is the story of how a massive, state-owned utility company came to be a symbol of the French-Canadian people. It’s also the story of how a company, with all of the force of a colonial culture behind it,...
Vultures Inherit the Earth
October 26, 2017 18:49 - 28 minutes - 38.7 MBThe Bicknell's Thrush is a bird that can only live in a few very very restricted places. It spends its summers in dense alpine forests in the Northeast of the US. In the winter, perhaps as many as 90 percent of the birds fly to the Dominican Republic. It's a bird without many options, and that makes it a poster child for what's to come.
Ask Sam | Eating Grass, Killing Trees, Bottling and Logging
October 12, 2017 20:21 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MBThe Ask Sam hotline has been blowing up lately! Not like the Galaxy 7, no. In a good way! So Sam, along with a couple of producers from the Outside/In team, took a moment to answer your questions about tree killing, grass eating and the sound in the woods that scared the colonists away. And that's just to name a few. Somebody even gets a trail name out of this one.
In Too Deep
September 28, 2017 20:18 - 43 minutes - 59.5 MBThe story of Michael Proudfoot is everywhere, and the details are always more or less the same: a SCUBA diver exploring a shipwreck breaks his regulator, and surfaces in an air pocket deep in the belly of the ship. He finds a tea-kettle full of fresh water, and eats sea urchins to survive. But as producers of the Outside Podcast, Robbie Carver and Peter Frick-Wright, dig deeper and deeper into the tale, it becomes harder and harder to tell what's real and what isn't.
Pick Your Poison
September 14, 2017 19:57 - 28 minutes - 38.8 MBIn our long, evolutionary history, modernity is just a blip. The wiring of our brains took place over hundreds of thousands of years of hunting and gathering food out in the wilderness, and nothing proves that more vividly than the practice of mushroom hunting. It’s incredibly addictive, even to those who know all too well the associated dangers.
Lime and Tabasco
August 31, 2017 18:33 - 33 minutes - 45.8 MBTwo young, starry-eyed conservation biologists take a college road trip through Mexico that transforms their outlook on the world. In so doing, they created the foundation for a strategy that would lead them to succeed where heavy-handed government policies had failed. But along the way, they had to get their hands dirty.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to WWOOFing
August 17, 2017 13:36 - 22 minutes - 31.1 MBLooking for a relatively cheap way to spend a few weeks abroad? You might want to consider World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or WWOOF. Have an aversion to mud, farm animals, and learning on the job? Maybe reconsider that first suggestion. But for those of you who are looking for an adventure, on a budget, Sam and Molly have composed a “guide” for would-be WWOOFers to think about before taking off–from how to make sure your visa is in order, to embracing the awkwardness of c...
Bright Lights, Big Salad
August 03, 2017 18:31 - 22 minutes - 31.2 MBLēf Farms built a $10 million dollar, state of the art, automated greenhouse, hoping to sell baby greens branded as fresh and local to area grocery stores and restaurants. But even local foods can meet with local opposition when the neighbors see a farm that doesn’t match their expectations for what agriculture should look like.
Healing Hands of Nature
July 20, 2017 19:15 - 30 minutes - 43.5 MBWilderness Therapy is a form of treatment that uses the natural world to address behavioral and mental health issues in teens. But with a tattered history of institutional abuse, patchwork oversight, and absent legislation, is this treatment option too wild to be trusted?
After The Flood
July 06, 2017 16:50 - 23 minutes - 32.4 MBIn 1982, Times Beach was wiped off the map by an environmental disaster. But once the houses and streets were gone, the town was erased again, this time in a way that may make it difficult to learn from the mistakes of the past.
Eat the Invaders & Ask Sam
June 22, 2017 10:00 - 26 minutes - 36.4 MBThis week we attempt to not only eat the invaders, but drink them as well. And this time, most of us were on board. Also, the Ask Sam hotline gets some attention as Sam answers questions about bird feeders, black flies, storm clouds, and dew.
S.O.S.
June 08, 2017 18:49 - 32 minutes - 44 MBGlobal Rescue is a business that, should you get yourself into trouble, will drop everything to come and save you, anywhere in the world. They employ former Navy Seals, helicopters, airplanes, and even yaks to get the job done. But this service comes at a price, and when disaster strikes, is it fair that a service that won’t save everyone can rush in pull out those who can afford it?
10x10 - Midden
May 25, 2017 19:34 - 29 minutes - 40.7 MBUp along the banks of the Damariscotta River in Maine there used to be two stadium-sized piles of oyster shells. Where did they come from? Why are they there? What can they tell us about the people that created them? There are mysteries abound in the middens!
Daisy Supply Chain
May 11, 2017 15:53 - 26 minutes - 35.9 MBEver wonder where those flowers in the grocery come from and why, no matter what time of year, there are always roses available? Just in time for Mother's Day—the second busiest floral day behind Valentine's Day—we look inside the billion dollar flower industry and trace the well oiled supply chain that makes sure saying it with flowers is always an option.
Ask Sam Round-up
April 27, 2017 17:35 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBSince we launched the toll free version of our Ask Sam hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837), we've seen a real healthy uptick in queries. This time around we decided to ask Chris Martin of the New Hampshire Audubon, and Dave Anderson from the Forest Society to join Sam in our quest to answer your questions about the outdoor world. We've got everything from the geometry of wombat feces to planting trees by the light of the moon. #AskSam
Leave it to Beavers
April 13, 2017 20:43 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBBeaver (Castor canadensis), have been kicking around in North America for 2 million years. Ecologically they do all sorts of great things: their ponds ease flooding downstream, and support large numbers of bird species, fish, amphibians, and otters. They're what's called a keystone species, as in the keystone to an entire eco-system. But they're also the world's second largest rodent and a nightmare for property owners. Humans and beavers have a long history together because they li...
Full Disclosure
March 30, 2017 16:46 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBNature documentaries and wildlife films transport us to places in the world that still feel wild, but what if the wilderness they present is staged? What if, in order to capture nature’s unvarnished beauty and conflict, filmmakers have to engage in a bit of fakery? In this episode we examine how deception is used to enhance the drama of nature documentaries, from Disney’s Oscar-winning film White Wilderness, to the incredible footage featured in the BBC’s Planet Earth II. Plus, we o...
The Company Man
March 16, 2017 20:13 - 18 minutes - 25.9 MBWhen he was just 38 years old, Mackie Branham Jr., a coal miner, was diagnosed with progressive massive fibrosis, a debilitating and terminal form of black lung, a disease that was thought to be a relic of the past; a problem when coal mining was at its peak. In this episode we hear from Branham and his family, in a collaboration with Producer Benny Becker who reported on the resurgence of black lung in coal country. We'll look into why, despite the severity of the illness and the l...
Bonus Episode: 3 1/2 Feet Under
March 09, 2017 11:00 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MBThis is a follow-up to Episode 30: The Death Machine.
Gnar Pow
March 02, 2017 23:11 - 30 minutes - 48.1 MBIs skiing a sport reserved for rich people? Producers Maureen and Jimmy think so, and Sam wants to prove them wrong. In this episode, Sam takes his skeptical colleagues skiing for the very first time to show that it doesn’t have to be a fancy endeavor. Will he succeed? Will it be wicked expensive? Will they enjoy it? Listen to find out. www.outsideinradio.org Theme music by Breakmaster Cylinder
Fantastic Mr. Phillips
February 16, 2017 11:00 - 35 minutes - 48.8 MBIn the late sixties, a soap factory in suburban Illinois discovered one of its outflow pipes had been intentionally clogged by an industrial saboteur. Does environmental damage ever demand radical action? And when does environmental protest cross the line and become eco-terrorism?
Fantastic Mr. Phillips
February 16, 2017 11:00 - 35 minutes - 48.8 MBIn the late sixties, a soap factory in suburban Illinois discovered one of its outflow pipes had been intentionally clogged by an industrial saboteur. Does environmental damage ever demand radical action? And when does environmental protest cross the line and become eco-terrorism?
Ask Sam | Snow Fleas, Wind, Mount Mitchell
February 02, 2017 11:01 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBEvery so often, we take some time out from telling stories to answer questions from you, our friends and listeners. These questions have been piling up, and so we thought we’d dig through them and bring you some of the more interesting ones. This week, we're digging into snow fleas, the lies we tell others about mountains, and whether there's more wind than there used to be. If you want us to answer your question, you should give us a call! The number is 603-223-2448. If you’re tech...
The Death Machine
January 19, 2017 11:00 - 31 minutes - 29.4 MBWhen Ryan and Sinehan Lessard first started dating, they discovered they have something strange in common: after they die, they both want to “become a tree”. This is the story about a growing number of people who want to forgo standard funeral practices like embalming, caskets and big granite monuments in favor of a more natural burial - and why that’s easier said than done.
A House Built on Sand
January 12, 2017 14:52 - 23 minutes - 32.2 MBCoastal communities of every partisan stripe are wrestling with the reality of rising seas. But when you’ve built a life centered around your dream home by the shore, the decision to pull up stakes and leave is a wrenching one.
The Accidental History of Solar Power
January 05, 2017 21:30 - 39 minutes - 54.6 MBIf you’re even the least bit interested in solar power, you’ve probably come across an obscure, hard-to-parse, seemingly conflict-free term: net metering. It’s a system that has come to be the bedrock of the American rooftop solar industry, and the root of one of today’s biggest energy battles. It was also started by a dude named Steven Strong, kind of by accident. Buckle up folks, we're going full energy nerd.
Millionaires' Hunt Club
December 29, 2016 11:01 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBSam is going to take us all hunting this week. Not hunting for animals, but instead, hunting for the secret of what’s behind that 26-mile fence cutting through the woods of New Hampshire, and why some people want it to stay a secret.
HumaNature - Hoofprints on the Heart
December 22, 2016 11:00 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBThis week on the show we’re bringing you something a little different, a story from someone else. Caroline Ballard and Micah Schweizer started HumaNature, which is based in Wyoming, and they’re part of the team responsible for bringing us the story of a man, his walk through an unfamiliar culture and an unexpected friendship, in a couple of different ways.
The 2nd Greatest Show on Earth
December 15, 2016 11:00 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBMount Washington is famously home of "The World's Worst Weather", but it also hosts a huge amount of tourist infrastructure. Senior producer Taylor Quimby brings us this tale of how the mountain was conquered, and how that process became the template for mountain tourism nation-wide.
Don't Cheer For Me Argentina
December 08, 2016 11:00 - 19 minutes - 27.2 MBSam won’t tell you this, but he’s a really great athlete. He has another secret, too. There’s this photo of him leading a ski race, and it’s plastered on the side of a city bus in Argentina. So, how did Sam wind up on the side of a bus? This story explains.
10x10 - Traffic Circle
November 22, 2016 20:27 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBIn our series, 10X10, we take you on a journey to a 10X10 plot and uncover the secrets in spaces you’d never think to look. This time, we look for signs of extraordinary life, at the center of a traffic circle.
Always. Wear. Earth. Tones.
November 10, 2016 11:00 - 23 minutes - 21.4 MBTony Bosco hid in plain sight for more than two decades in the most densely populated state in the nation. How did he do it? And what makes someone exchange all of the comforts of their home for the simplicity of a shed in the woods?
Nature is a Haunted House
October 27, 2016 10:00 - 21 minutes - 21.5 MBLittle Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Friday the Thirteenth, Blair Witch. It seems the woods make a great backdrop for scary stories, but why? Are we hardwired to fear the forest? Or, let’s throw it out there, do ghosts just like hanging out in the thickets? Sam goes on the trail with paranormal experts and talks with Lore’s Aaron Mahnke to find out what makes the woods so terrifying, and tests his own beliefs along the way.
Eat the Invaders - Lionfish
October 20, 2016 10:00 - 16 minutes - 14.8 MBThis is Eat The Invaders - our occasional segment where we take a bite out of invasive species populations. On the menu today, one of the scariest, most voracious and intractable invaders out there: the lionfish.
Look Toward the Dawn
October 06, 2016 10:00 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBToday, we take a step back to imagine a world without a web of GPS satellites telling your smartphone where you are every second of the day. While this might sound scary, come along and maybe you’ll discover you have a secret sixth sense...one that’s been inside you all along, if you just knew how to turn it on.
Look Toward the Dawn
October 06, 2016 10:00 - 24 minutesToday, we take a step back to imagine a world without a web of GPS satellites telling your smartphone where you are every second of the day. While this might sound scary, come along and maybe you’ll discover you have a secret sixth sense...one that’s been inside you all along, if you just knew how to turn it on.
Dr. Percy & the Magic Soybean
September 22, 2016 10:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBIt’s not surprising that many of the medicines we use today are derived from plants. The surprising part is how similar the molecular components of plants are to the building blocks of our own human, mammalian bodies. This week we dive head first into a vat of soybean oil with Dr. Percy Julian who, against all odds, became one of the most prominent chemists of his time and whose work paved the way for the birth control pill. Plus, why the cone snail and its deadly neurotoxin just mi...
The Early Birder Gets the Bird
September 08, 2016 15:34 - 23 minutes - 32 MBIn 2013, Neil Hayward was depressed. He had just left the biotech company he helped start, and he was getting over the end of a very serious relationship. He had disposable income, and free time. Suddenly, he found himself doing a lot of birding. A LOT. In this episode Sam delves into the subculture of extreme bird-watching. Plus, this week’s Ask Sam is all about assassin crows.