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NHPR

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

Outside/In

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 use tools like a chimpanzee, speak like a parrot, do tricks like a dog, and investigate murders like Sherlock Holmes. 

So today on the show, another edition of our ongoing series, Holy Scat: raven edition.

Featuring Sophie Nilles and Will Geiger.

Produced by Nate Hegyi. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to ⁠outsideinradio.org⁠. 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Dr. Kaeli Swift is one of the foremost corvid researchers on the planet, and she’s done a deep dive into corvid funerals. 

Here’s the study that shows ravens parallel great apes in terms of intelligence.

If you want a real creepy experience, you should watch Vincent Price recite Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven.’

Need more raven stories from southeast Alaska? The Sealaska Heritage Institute just published a collection. 

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That's so raven

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 the island is forested. But in the rural areas where iconic rolling hills have been replaced by rows and rows of conifers, farmers are not happy. 

Outside/In host Nate Hegyi takes us to County Leitrim, an area of Ireland hit hard by the Troubles and the Great Famine, to meet the townspeople who are fighting what they say is a new wave of colonialism: Sitka spruce plantations.

Featuring Justin Warnock, Brian Smyth, Donal Magner, Liam Byrne and Jodie Asselin.

This episode originally aired in March 2025.

Produced by Nate Hegyi. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Donal Magner wrote a book covering the history of Ireland’s forests and timber industry. 

Sitka spruce plantations are controversial in other parts of Ireland as well, including Cork. 

There are also efforts to rewild parts of Ireland with entirely native trees and to protect and restore carbon-sequestering bogs. 

It can be really tough to figure out exactly what was growing in Ireland thousands of years ago – but these scientists used ancient pollen counts to figure it out.

Researchers at University College Dublin produced a detailed socio-economic impact report on Sitka spruce plantations and County Leitrim in 2019.
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The Emerald Forest

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 contamination story that keeps repeating in town after town — and about the people who fought for answers through a maze of chemistry, regulations, and illnesses.

You can binge the whole series now: subscribe to Safe to Drink on Apple Podcasts, or check out their page on NHPR’s website. 

Reported by Mara Hoplamazian. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.

SUPPORT

Celebrate our 10th anniversary with us! Join the Outside/In team for Stories from Outside on Friday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth. Tickets are available here.

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Safe to Drink, Episode 1: You don’t know about this?

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 Christa: 40 Years After the Challenger.” 

We’ll hear from a local journalist that covered her story, the students she mentored, and the community charged with remembering her legacy. 

Produced by Patrick McNameeKing. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.

SUPPORT

Grab a ticket for our 10 year anniversary live show here! 

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remembering Christa

In 1985, high school teacher Christa McAuliffe was selected to become the first private citizen to travel to space. After the Challenger explosion that killed her and 6 other astronauts, NASA scrapped its Teacher in Space Project; it was still too risky to send private citizens to space. 

40 years later, things are looking very different. 

Today, celebrities and billionaires are buying trips on commercial rockets. Private companies are designing new, private space stations. How is safety being regulated for these private space companies? And what happens if – or when – something goes wrong? 

Featuring Kim Bleier, Ben Miller, Doug Ligor, Peggy Whitson, and Dana Tulodziecki.

Produced by Daniel Ackerman. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.

SUPPORT

Grab a ticket for our 10 year anniversary live show here! 

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Listen to NHPR’s multi-part series honoring Christa McAuliffe 40 years after the Challenger shuttle disaster.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Challenger's wake: The ethics of sending citizens to space

One of the very first books for the general public about climate change was written and published by Bill McKibben in 1989. In The End of Nature, Bill wrote that continuing to burn fossil fuels would “lead us, if not straight to hell, then straight to a place with a similar temperature.”

Bill was right. The planet is hotter. Climate disasters are everywhere. You’d think he’d be more upset now than ever. But in his latest book, Here Comes the Sun, Bill sounds optimistic. In it he writes “For the first time, I can see a path forward. A path lit by the sun.”

Host Nate Hegyi talks to journalist and activist Bill McKibben, about how he’s changed, how he’s stayed the same, and what his story tells us about the state of the climate crisis.

Featuring Bill McKibben

Produced by Felix Poon. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.

SUPPORT

Grab a ticket for our 10 year anniversary live show here! 

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

Listen to Studs Terkel’s 1989 interview with Bill about his first book, The End of Nature.

Read Bill’s latest book, Here Comes the Sun.
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Bill McKibben has changed (but not that much)

You might not think much about the sticky bottle of vanilla sitting in the back of your pantry. But that flavor – one of the most common in the world – has a fascinating history, involving a fickle orchid and a 12-year-old enslaved boy who made the discovery of a lifetime. 

That’s the sort of tale that attracts poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil. From peacock feathers to the sounds of garden insects, her work is known for magnifying the wonders of the natural world. Her latest book of essays, “Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees,” explores the unexpected connections between food, memory, and community.

So take a seat and pour yourself an aperitif, as Aimee Nezhukumatathil shares a few of these miniature morsels with Outside/In host Nate Hegyi: a three-course meal of grape jelly, sweet nostalgia, and just a hint of vanilla bean. 

Featuring Aimee Nezhukumatathil

This episode originally aired in 2024. 

SUPPORT

Grab a ticket for our 10 year anniversary live show here! 

To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly.

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Follow Outside/In on Instagram and BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

LINKS

You can find Aimee’s book of essays, Bite by Bite, at your local bookstore or online. 

CREDITS

Produced by Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

nom nom nom

** We’re celebrating our 10 year anniversary and want you to come! Join us in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for a night of storytelling, featuring former Outside/In guests and hosted by our very own Nate Hegyi. Get your tickets here! ** 
In celebration of Outside/In’s 10th anniversary we’re looking back at our very first episode: “The Kiwi Apocalypse,” first published in December of 2015. Afterwards, we’ll get an update to the story and talk about how weird it is to have a podcast old enough to be in middle school. 
Here’s our original description for The Kiwi Apocalypse: 
Iago Hale has a vision: it’s one where the economy of the North Country is revitalized by local farmers selling delicious cold hardy kiwi berries to the masses.
Meanwhile, Tom Lautzenheiser has been battling a hardy kiwi infestation in Massachusetts for years, and is afraid that this fight will soon be coming to the rest of New England.
Should we worry about the cold hardy kiwi and what does the quest to bring it to market tell us about what an invasive species is?
Featuring Iago Hale, Tom Lautzenheiser and Bryan Connolly.
This episode was produced by our original host, Sam Evans-Brown. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.
SUPPORT
Grab a ticket for our 10 year anniversary live show here! 
Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 
Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Return of the Kiwi Apocalypse: 10 years of Outside/In

Over the past few decades, CGI has allowed directors to put virtually anything they can imagine onto the big screen. But in the world of theater, practical effects still rule supreme. 
So how do these special effects wizards make it snow, rain, and gust inside the confines of a theater, where real live audiences are sitting just feet away? And what are the challenges to dumping more than 100 gallons of water indoors, or coating the stage in slippery fake snow? 
We tour a Brooklyn warehouse that houses the secrets behind Broadway’s wildest special effects, where one engineer is inventing new ways to wow audiences with the magic of the elements.
Featuring Jeremy Chernick.
Produced by Taylor Quimby. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.
SUPPORT
Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 
Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.
LINKS
To see some of the effects we mention in action, check out Jeremy Chernick’s website gallery of shows he’s worked on.
ALSO! Did Operation Night Cat leave you wanting more? Make a year-end gift to NHPR, and we’ll invite you to a special Operation Night Cat Virtual Q&A on January 8th 6PM EST, featuring our very own Nate Hegyi! 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Broadway’s SFX designers make it rain (and snow) on stage

When Avatar came out in 2009, it shattered box-office records. And even though it was billed as a sci-fi epic featuring blue aliens on a far-away moon, the movie didn’t shy away from a pretty Earth-based message of environmental conservation.
So, with a third Avatar hitting theaters this weekend, we were inspired to bust out the popcorn, dim the lights, and play the part of pop culture critics. 
How do movies – from blockbusters to documentaries to Disney films – shape our conception of the natural world?
Featuring Alyssa Vitale, David Whitley, Salma Monani, and Erin Trahan. 
SUPPORT
To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly.
Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 
Follow Outside/In on Instagram and BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook.
LINKS
Similar to Avatar, the animation required to pull off Finding Nemo was a technological feat for its time. Here’s a documentary showing you behind the scenes.
Listen to all of “Little April Showers” (that catchy tune from Bambi) here. 
You can find Alyssa Vitale’s movie reviews on her Youtube channel, Mainely Movies. 
Salma Monani’s academic work within ecocinema extends far beyond that of FernGully. Her faculty page at Gettysburg College can be found here.
Find some of Erin Trahan’s recent work on her website, including a recent documentary following Michael Dukakis.
You can find David Whitley’s book on Disney animation here. 
CREDITS 
Produced by Marina Henke. For full credits, transcript, and a list of movies mentioned in this episode visit outsideinradio.org

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Remembering Christa

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