Outside/In

Ask Sam: that special time when scientists worldwide cringe as Sam & the team speculate wildly on a diverse range of topics before picking up the phone to call in the real experts.  This time, we've got another hirsute mystery: Are insect and plant hairs also made from the magical (seeming) protein called keratin? Also, do bugs get cancer? And which came first: the chachalaca (not a typo) or the turkey?  The Ask Sam Hotline (1-844-GO-OTTER) is always open, so do your best to stump the gang and send us down another figurative rabbit-hole! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listener feedback is a big part of working in radio and podcasting. We try to look for the lesson in every critical email, phone call, or tweet (even the cranky ones). However, there is one listener who has probably gotten in touch with producers at New Hampshire Public Radio more than any other - a vegan advocate named Laura Slitt. Her approach hasn’t always made it easy to take her seriously. Today, we’ve got a deeply personal story from producer Taylor Quimby, who last year decided to strike up a relationship with Laura, to try and understand where she’s coming from and what made her decide to give up meat and dairy. Heads up: This episode features descriptions of people killing animals to eat them. Find more Outside/In at outsideinradio.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today the second in our two-part series on the politics of population. In this episode, we’re digging into the story of how around the turn of the millennium, population got all tangled up in immigration in one vote at the Sierra Club. That ugly fight represents a pivot point for the movement: a transition from the environmental politics of the 70s and 80s to the environmental politics of today. Find more at outsideinradio.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we’re talking about population. How it went from being on the front pages of our newspapers and all over late night television to being the issue that you’ll only hear from out of the mouth of comic book super-villain Thanos. It's a big story, so we're spending two episodes on it. Also, we promised you a link to David Roberts' Vox piece, so here's that. Find more at outsideinradio.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two barrels. Four bodies. And the decades-long mystery that led to a serial killer. A special look at a new podcast from NHPR, Bear Brook: A podcast about a cold case that's changing how murders will be investigated forever. www.bearbrookpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Today, we’re giving you an inside look at what it takes to make the podcast. A bunch of people make this show, which means that our ideas meetings almost inevitably turn into total chaos when one of us starts shouting our favorite facts about our favorite animals. This time, we gave up. Rather than fight it, we’re leaning in to bring you four stories about animals. Or rather… four cases for animals that are the best… the coolest… the niftiest… however you want to define that. And when it’s all said and done, we’d like you to settle this one for us. www.outsideinradio.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

News flash: men aren't the only people who enjoy the outdoors. No sh*#, right? But the outdoor gear industry has only recently started to realize that there are more people wanting high quality gear than traditionally fit men.  Today, we're digging in to the fraught relationship between the gear industry and gender. When do women actually need something different, and when are companies just looking to make more money by selling women a product that is essentially the same thing... but smaller and pink? And what do you do if the available products - pink or not -  don't fit your body at all?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are between eight and ten thousand wildfires in the United States each year, but most quietly burn out and we never hear about them. The Pagami Creek Wildfire in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area was supposed to be like that, but things turned out differently. And Greg and Julie Welch were camping right in its path. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another year… another record-breaking wildfire season. Thanks to climate change the fire season now starts sooner and ends later.  Scientists also say climate change will make lightning more frequent, and winds more powerful… basically the world is a tinderbox. But what if I told you that maybe the problem with all these big, out of control fires was *not enough* fire.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices