Outside/In

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

There 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? Prepare to have your brain updated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Schultz, an attorney who analyzed Indigenous land-rights law in Quebec. Robert Kanatawat, Cree elder and former chief who led the Cree legal fight over James Bay. They discuss Hydro‑Quebec’s massive projects, flooded ancestral lands, starkly different outcomes for two Indigenous groups, legal fights that forced negotiations, and the long legacy of compensation and resentment.