The MeatEater Podcast

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Latest Episodes:

Ep. 219: Snake Oil May 04, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Dr. Robert Reed and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: an entire peer reviewed publication from a single Burmese python poop; three dead deer inside a snake; death by hair; the Florida Everglades; being a sophomore at UC Berkeley and buying a snake to get girls to your dorm room; where the hell did they all come from?; low detection rates are a bitch; squirrels as biological exhibitionists; how Steve has a really bad endotherm bias; bio accumulation of mercury; python hunters; pivoting from Judas snakes to scout snakes; a python orgy in a gopher tortoise burrow; manipulating genomes to drive extinction; big props to Steve's bro, Dan; how the non-hunting life informs the hunting life; and more.

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Ep. 218: The World's Best Small Game Hunter Conquers Mongolia Apr 27, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Kevin Murphy, Phil Taylor, and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: The wild swings of rabbit populations; a hunting station wagon brought back from the dead; a dog named Wings&Things; wanderlust; an epic hunting trip to Mongolia; how your shit needs to be in shape to hunt snowshoe hares; the last remaining eagle hunters in the world; an owl, three golden eagles, two ravens, five Mongolians, and two Americans on horseback trying to catch a critter; how harness boots aren't worth a damn for climbing around; if you want to stack up a lot of game animals, you don't want to be a falconer; the crack of the ass cushioning the rest of it; abusing one’s scrotum; all for a chunk of tungsten; from city junk bond seller to swamp rabbit hunter; recruiting newbies; and more.

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Ep. 217: Mark Kurlansky on Saving Salmon Apr 20, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Mark Kurlansky, Phil Taylor, and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: Mark being a lifelong fisherman; fisheries and over fishing as only minor problems by comparison; how salmon get hit by everything we do wrong; the 11-foot-high jump of the salmon; Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain and dedicated fly fisherman; the Atlantic Ocean's decreasing carrying capacity; why catch it if you're going to release it?; calibrating the success of salmon stock recovery to population numbers from centuries ago; environmentalists spending too much time trying to stop things rather than fix things; subject as a proxy for your soapbox issue; the problem with solutions; New Deal dam building; dumbed down wild salmon; celebrating the completion of your 33rd book (Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate) by beginning to write your 34th book; and more.

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Ep. 216: Roasting Coffee In The CIA Apr 13, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Evan Hafer, Phil Taylor, and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: ice fishing is not a crime; exactly how big is a big blood transfusion?; let’s sort out addiction issues later; ass goblins; Bergmann's rule and Allen's rule; negligent discharges; pissing out your car door and into your ice hole; Black Rifle Coffee Company; growing up outdoors; why it’s called MeatEater; having more degrees than intelligence; back-slapping, pleated-Dockers-wearing, back-nine D-bags; acclimating to the stress of a war zone; repatriating to the mountains; on liking Folgers and wanting your coffee to look like tea; being ass backwards on caffeine levels; why Jani's a decaf man and how Steve saved his life; need-to-know basis in a time of not normal; flattening the curve with the family; and more.

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Ep. 215: I Miss My Friends Apr 06, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Phil Taylor, Ryan Callaghan, and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: Steve's violated sense of artistic sensibility; Cal gets robbed by meth heads; is it okay to kill someone for stealing your shit?; how everyone knows the sound of their own truck; stick 'em up!; Steve’s elaborate vengeance fantasies; making the perfect batch of turkey stock; prepping vs. supporting your community; how Cal borrowed Steve's dehydrator and will not return it during this time of need; hunting and fishing in the land of Covid-19; the need for a little self-policing; Steve hearts suppressors; the Rinella-Putellis 2020 campaign and MeatEater's Land Access Initiative; the Michigan hello; no blind spots for my kids; and more.

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Ep. 214: Gobbling Your Ass Off Mar 30, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Michael Chamberlain, Brody Henderson, Seth Morris, and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: Just how much is a unit of blood?; packin' tourniquets; how Jani's wife won't give Steve weasel trapping permission; etymology; hunting turkeys with dogs; the kee-kee run; how many critters kill and eat turkeys?; the wild turkey Bermuda Triangle; more things that make a turkey gobble; mesomammals; lies your daddy told you about wildlife; song meters and gobbling data; some big turkeys get all of the love; will hunting go to hell?; having an incredible sense of place and a big home range; hatching into a social hierarchy; and more.

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Ep. 213: The Return of the Latvian Eagle Mar 23, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Miles Nolte, Brody Henderson, Ryan Callaghan, Phil Taylor, and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: The things that won the war; melting your wedding band into your finger; chap ass and irritated sphincters; getting a tater on your thing; Dumpster Diver Cal; manipulating a briefcase full of pike decoys; a golf ball with an eyelet through it; thrusting spears into fish; hot tips for making fish cakes; the myth that old folks know what’s up; is it bad when you positively generalize about people?; finding worm beds to find fish; a quarter sturgeon per acre; whitefish caviar on Cool Ranch Doritos; sturgeon schnitzel; a paddlefish living inside a wet sleeping bag; Steve sings "Ch-ch-changes"; and more.

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Ep. 212: Chad Mendes on the Fight, the Hunt, and the Food Mar 16, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Chad Mendes, Ryan Callaghan, and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: the Total Putelis-Total Rinella Dinner; eating Jani’s baby moose; a whiffle ball bat for a leg; getting paid a couple thousand for a couple minutes’ work; Chad getting picked on in high school and then beating the guy’s ass; getting disciplined through hunting; lost in the woods; redlining your body multiple times per day; Finz and Featherz; down to the peanut; fad diets; getting knocked out; the UFC payment arrangement; not having to get punched in the head anymore; guilt-based motivation; the three Chads; and more.

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Ep. 211: Hunting with Your Enemy Mar 09, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Dan Ahdoot, Brody Henderson, Phil Taylor, Corinne Schneider, and Janis Putelis.

Topics discussed: Steve and Janis as the J-Lo and Shakira of the hunting world; merfolk and mermaid’s purses; Janis pushing past his limits on the dance floor; using a baby's umbilical cord as fishing bait; a tarantula rehabilitation program; how to make wild game kosher; an Iranian Jew and an Iraqi Muslim as hunting buddy BFFs; Long Island game wardens; having a bone to pick with duck hunting; pheasant ragu; how hunting has affected Dan's view of politics; Dan coming out of the closet as a hunter; going through TSA with a heart and liver in a styrofoam container; joining your local mycological society as a good way to find a date; the meanest gun store in the world; quotes about writing; hunter safety; and so much more.

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Ep. 210: Josh Carney on the Presence of a Feather Mar 02, 2020

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Steven Rinella talks with Josh Carney, Ryan Callaghan, and Phil Taylor.

Topics discussed: How Josh is mean to Steve about his turkey calling; putting a rasp on it; living in town with 15 hunting dogs; skinning raccoons; a small game family; how turkey hunting is like dating at a bar; a 2 at 10 and a 10 at 2; not being tuned into hunting and fishing laws; what it feels like to be hit by buckshot; how it can all be taken away in a moment; dying on the operating table, twice; how you don't know who you are until you're absolutely alone; battling with God; getting so nervous you goose honk at Jim Shockey; the "Son of the South" and a crisis of identities; is the hunting industry sexualized?; and so much more.

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