Outside/In

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Introducing “Bear Brook: A Private Matter” Nov 06, 2026

Show notes

A Christmas tree farmer with dementia named Jay Hickey vanishes from his small town in rural New Hampshire. Jay's wife Patty never reports him missing. A tipster claims "a lot of strangeness is starting to emerge" – and they're right.

From our colleagues on the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, the season three premiere of Bear Brook, A Private Matter, tells a story about family estrangement, the growing dementia crisis, and the legal gaps that leave vulnerable people behind.

To listen to more of the new season, follow Bear Brook here: https://play.megaphone.fm/3gfaxmufro-bjytd5eobrg

Visit the Bear Brook website to find photos from Jason's reporting and transcripts of each episode.

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Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast.

To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, leave a voicemail on our listener hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER, or email outsidein@nhpr.org. We answer questions about nature, climate change, sustainability, humans and evolution, and more. No question is too serious or too silly.

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It’s like riding a bike Nov 04, 2026

Show notes

To hear an ad-free version of this episode, join our Patreon.

Producer Felix Poon used to be a reckless moped driver who weaved in between semi trucks. Now he’s a cautious cyclist constantly looking over his shoulder for the slightest sign of danger, wondering why he still bikes at all.

To figure it out, Felix enlists the help of other cyclists. A city bike commuter who dismisses his mom's concerns about his safety. A self-identified "fat" woman who gets back on the bike after years of not biking. And a father who wished his son would risk the kind of scraped knees and broken bones he got when he was a kid.

Together, Felix and the gang consider what biking means to their lives, and what, at the end of the day, gets them back on the saddle.

Featuring Reece Taylor Williams, Marley Blonsky, and Taylor Quimby.

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

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ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

The “Four Types of Cyclists” paper was written for the city of Portland, Oregon to try to understand risk tolerance and whether people choose to bike or not. Which type are you?

Photojournalist Reece Taylor Williams’ “Self-portrait, Die in for cyclists killed in hit-and-runs in New York City, City Hall Park, August, 26, 2026” (Instagram)

Learn more about Marley Blonsky’s size inclusivity work through the organization she cofounded called All Bodies on Bikes.

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Operation Night Cat Update: New Plea Deals and Charges Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

“Operation Night Cat” is a special series from NHPR’s ⁠Document ⁠team and ⁠Outside/In. Since we first brought you this series in November 2025, there have been two big updates. Host Nate Hegyi sits down with producer Jason Moon to explain.

Missed it the first time? Check out the original three-part series here.

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Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast.

To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, leave a voicemail on our listener hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER, or email outsidein@nhpr.org.

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

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Zombies, jack-o’-lanterns, and our spooky scary skeletons Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

On a recent fishing trip, Nate came across a bone-chilling sight. It was a salmon that seemed kind of… dead. Its skin was falling off, it smelled horrible, and it didn’t have any eyes. Turns out, Nate had stumbled onto a (barely) living example of a recent listener question: “Are there any real-life zombies?”

From mutant looking fish to the science behind mysterious lights that flicker in cemeteries, in this Outside/Inbox roundup the team takes on your Halloween curiosities.

Here’s the questions we cover…

Are there any real-life zombies?
Are bone conduction headphones better or worse for preventing hearing loss?
Can you eat those giant decorative pumpkins?
What’s the science behind will o’ the wisp lights?

Featuring Daniel Teske, Rick Neitzel, and Richard Zare. Thanks to Amelia, Shaina, and Meg for their questions.

Our next roundup theme is all about the cold! Send us your questions and you might hear them on the show. Email outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a voicemail at 1-844-GO-OTTER.

Produced by Marina Henke, Felix Poon, and Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org

Episode logo artwork adapted from “Will o' the Wisp and the Snake” by Hermann Hendrich (Public Domain).

CONNECT WITH US

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast.

To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, leave a voicemail on our listener hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER, or email outsidein@nhpr.org.

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

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have a lengthy page detailing the horrors of zombie salmon. You have been warned.

The current pumpkin record-holder we mentioned was a recent upset! Congratulations to Ron Wallace in Greene, Rhode Island.

Hermann Hendrich’s 1901 painting, “Will-o'-the-wisp Dance.”

You can read Richard Zare’s 2025 paper presenting his microlightning theory here. Check out our webpage to see videos of the phenomenon.

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Why these food safety experts will eat rare steak, but not buffet fruit salad Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

Can you eat a tuna sandwich if it sits in your backpack all day? Is ceviche risky? And, after Hot Cyclospora Summer, are we allowed to eat lettuce yet?

We brought your food safety questions to Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman, scientists and hosts of the podcast Risky or Not?, and they delivered.

Plus, we ask them what they put on their plates — or better yet, what they avoid — and, in a time of big cuts and recalls, if the US food safety system is getting less safe.

Featuring Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman.

Produced by Justine Paradis and Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. Episode art adapted from photo by arbyreed on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

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The secret origins of commercial coyote urine Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

Last spring, a curious listener called with an unusual question about coyote urine. Is it – as advertised by companies who sell it – an effective, all natural pest deterrent? And more importantly: “Who are the coyotes that are providing this urine?”

Since then, producer Taylor Quimby has been trying to find out… and with literal gallons of the stuff available online, he discovered the answers aren’t pretty.

Today on Outside/In, we peek inside the unregulated Pandora’s box of urine farming. Does it work? Is it ethical? And is anybody willing to actually talk about it?

Featuring Jeannie Bartlett, Caroline Long, Ed Brookmyer, Laura Koivula.

This episode was first published in August 2025.

Produced by Taylor Quimby. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.

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Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast.

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

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

This 1998 study assessed coyote urine as a deterrent for deer, and found (with some caveats) a 15-24% reduction in deer browsing after exposure to the urine.

However, coyote urine had no measurable effect on the deer browsing of yew saplings in this more recent study.

Websites for some coyote urine brands, like PredatorPee.com and Shake-away animal repellents, claim that they source urine from regulated farms that treat animals humanely, but did not provide more information when asked.

This article from Cleveland.com details the conditions at The Grand River Fur Exchange, a fur and urine farm where hundreds of animals were found in poor condition after the owner’s death.

Since we reported this story, Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill in response to what was discovered at the Grand River Fur Exchange. If passed, the bill would require much stricter oversight for commercial breeding facilities in the state.

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Introducing Heavyweight Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever had something from your past that you just couldn't let go of? A friendship that suddenly ended, a question you never asked, or simply a moment where you've always wondered what really happened? Heavyweight is a podcast that takes those unresolved moments and does something most of us only imagine doing: it goes back and tries to resolve them. I hope you adore it as much as I do!

The deer sharpshooters of Maui Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

Maui has a problem: too many deer, not enough hunters. So on a dark, humid night, Nate joined a group of elite hunters as they endeavor to turn an ecological nightmare into a source of profitable, high-protein venison.

Over the course of a few hours, he watches the employees of Maui Nui Venison methodically shoot dozens of deer, collect their carcasses, and speed them to a mobile slaughterhouse for processing – all under the watchful eyes of the USDA.

Can you bring the efficiency of the slaughterhouse to the natural world? And is commercial hunting a solution for America’s over-abundance of deer?

Featuring Keahi Camara, Erin Yamauchi, Jake Muise, Yasmin Tayag and Jay Marcoullier

Produced by Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org

CONNECT WITH US

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast.

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

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

Read Yasmin Tayag’s argument that Americans must start eating more deer.

A University of Wisconsin professor outlined how commercial hunting would work in the U.S. in a 2011 paper.

Check out photos and videos of my trip with Maui Nui venison at our Patreon.

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Introducing Heavyweight Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

Decoding nature's symphony Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

In 1985, electronic music pioneer Bernie Krause was asked to step in to help save a stranded humpback whale. Krause was known back then for being an evangelist of Moog synthesizers, not a whale whisperer. But from that moment he would go on to become a foundational scientist in the new field of ecoacoustics, or soundscape ecology.

In this episode producer Patrick McNameeKing talks to three scientists from the growing field of ecoacoustics. From saving Humphrey the humpback whale, to eavesdropping on frogs, they share what ecoacoustics tells us about the biodiversity of our world, and why they still have hope.

Featuring Bernie Krause, Brian Pijanowski, and Ximena Bernal.

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

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get ad-free episodes of the podcast.

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

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