Outside/In

We’re cleaning out the proverbial fridge, but instead of old food, it’s fantastic and forgotten questions from the Outside/Inbox. Conversation topics include Taylor’s humiliatingly old headlamp, the olfactory experience of a dead whale and, of course, the answers to the following queries… 

Why do dogs like to roll in dead stuff? 

Do humans have a mating season? 

Why do so many deer collisions happen in November? 

When did headlamps start to have red light?

I live next to a highway. What can I do about the noise pollution?

In the final Lord of the Rings movie, there’s a crust that forms on top of the lava that the ring is thrown onto. Is that legit? 

Featuring Christopher Schell, Eric Nystrom, and Erica Walker.

Thanks to our listeners who called in: Dusty, Kyle, Claire, Amanda, Gretchen, Zach, and Sabrina. 

We’re looking for new submissions to the Outside/Inbox! Send us those questions by recording yourself on a voice memo, and emailing that to us at [email protected].  Or you can call our hotline: 1-844-GO-OTTER.

SUPPORT

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

If you want to learn more about noise pollution listen to our episode “Shhhh! It’s the sound and silence episode.”

Check out for yourself what those clunky old mining headlamps used to look like. 

CREDITS

Produced by Marina Henke, Felix Poon, and Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org
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Every December, tens of thousands of volunteers look to the skies for an international census of wild birds. 

But during migration season, a much smaller squad of New York City volunteers take on a more sobering experience: counting dead birds that have collided with glass buildings and fallen back to Earth. 

In this episode, we find out what kind of people volunteer for this grisly job, visit the New York City rehab center that takes in injured pigeons, and find out how to stop glass from killing an estimated one billion birds nationwide every year. 

This episode was first produced and published in the spring of 2024.

Featuring Melissa Breyer, Linda LaBella, Gitanjali Bhattacharjee, Katherine Chen, and Tristan Higginbotham. Produced by Taylor Quimby. 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. 

Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).

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

LINKS

Want to see the migration forecast? Check out Birdcast. 

Want to be a citizen scientist and report dead birds? Check out dBird. 

Want to see volunteer Melissa Breyer’s photos of dead birds? Check out Sad Birding.More about Project Safe Flight.
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With the ubiquity of plastic products, it’s maybe no surprise that a growing body of research shows tiny pieces of plastic are getting inside of us. 

But what is all this plastic doing to our bodies? And once it’s there… is there any way to get it out? 

Producer Haleema Shah looks at what the research says (and doesn’t say) about plastic and health, and explores a new trend in wellness: the microplastics cleanse. 

Featuring Charmaine Dahlenburg, Marcus Garcia, Yael Cohen, and Sarah Morath.

Produced by Haleema Shah. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.
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Zeyneb Magavi is a bona fide climate nerd; she drives an electric car, has solar panels on her roof, and worries about natural gas leaks because they’re a major source of planet-warming emissions.

Bill Akley is a lifelong natural gas guy; he grew up smelling heating oil in his kitchen, spent decades in the energy industry, and eventually became head of New England’s largest gas utility. 

So what brought this improbable duo together? The answer is under your feet. In this episode, how a geothermal pilot project in Massachusetts is bringing together unlikely alliances that might be key to our clean energy future.

Featuring Zeyneb Magavi, Bill Akley, and Kevin Kircher.

Produced by Felix Poon. 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

Learn more about the networked geothermal pilot in Framingham, MA, and how it works.Learn more about the “gas-to-geo transition” that HEET advocates for.
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In 2009, the state of Maine ordered farmer Dan Brown to stop selling his raw milk. It kicked off a five-year legal battle that stoked the flames of Maine’s dairy wars. But, after Farmer Brown lost his case and hung up his milking hat, things quieted down. 

Twenty years later, raw milk has surged back into the zeitgeist. Influencers are saying it tastes like ice cream, RFK Jr. is taking shots of it at the White House, and Gwyneth Paltrow is putting it in her coffee.

All of which makes for a pretty obvious question… What’s the appeal? Is raw milk some kind of superfood? Or something to avoid at all costs? 

Featuring Dan Brown, Andy Bisson, Danny Bisson, Nicole Martin, Pamela Ruegg, and Mary McGonigle-Martin.

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

For a comprehensive history of dairy check out Milk! A 10,000 Year History by Mark Kurlansky.

During the height of Dan Brown’s case he gave a speech to a rousing crowd in Blue Hill. You can watch that here. 

The debate over raw vs. pasteurized milk has been happening for a long time. The Milk Question by Milton Joseph Rosenau is a fascinating (we daresay, poetic) read. 

The Pasteurized Milk Ordinance is a nearly 500-page document that outlines the intricacies of milk regulation in the U.S. Here’s its most current version. 

The FDA fact-checks many different raw milk claims ⁠on this page⁠, including pasteurization's affect on vitamin content and potential probiotic benefit.

CREDITS 

Produced by Marina Henke. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org
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