A show where curiosity and the natural world collide. We explore science, energy, environmentalism, and reflections on how we think about and depict nature, and...
Recently, our producer Justine Paradis noticed something. Humans really like to sing together in groups: birthday parties, sports games, church hymns, protest chants, singing along to Taylor Swift at the Eras concert… the list could get very long.But… why? Did singing play a part in human evolution? Why does singing together make us feel so good?Featuring Hannah Mayree, Ani Patel, Dor Shilton, and Arla Good. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORTTo 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.Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKSBobby McFerrin in 2009 at the World Science Festival, demonstrating the intuitive power of the pentatonic scale, and in 2010, improvising in a stadium in Germany with 60,000 singers.A short documentary about Sing For Your Life! and OneVoice Circle Singers.Check out Hannah Mayree’s music and work.Dor Shilton and Ani Patel collaborated on a paper (currently preprint) examining four societies where collective music-making is rare.Dor Shilton’s paper on the evolution of music as an “interactive technology” and open-access analysis of patterns in group singing.This journal presented the hypothesis of music as a mechanism for social bonding as part of an ongoing conversation. SingWell’s forthcoming research on group singing, aging, and Parkinson’s disease.
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32:14
Why do animals play?
We’re used to seeing dogs and cats play with toys or get the zoomies… but do animals like rats and bumblebees play too? What is animal play for? How do scientists even decide what counts as play?Today, we’re taking a serious look at goofy behavior. We’ll discover the five-part checklist that many scientists use to recognize play in nature, and find out why taking turns is so important for healthy brain development. This episode is a collaboration between Outside/In and Tumble, the science podcast for kids. Featuring Junyi Chu and Jackson HamProduced by Lindsay Patterson, Marshall Escamilla, and Taylor Quimby. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. SUPPORTOutside/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. LINKSLove this episode? Looking for family-friendly podcasts to listen to? There are over 150 episodes of Tumble to check out, including a few of our favorites: Do Trees Fart?The Swift QuakeWhy Are Sloths SlowAre Cats Evil? The five-part play checklist mentioned in the episode was developed by play researcher Gordon M. Burghardt. His paper, “Play in fishes, frogs and reptiles,” answers some other really interesting questions about animal play.
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24:32
What is a forest for?
In New Hampshire, the most beloved swath of public land is the White Mountain National Forest. People interact with it as they would a national park – hiking, swimming, camping, and more. But a national forest is NOT a national park. The difference comes down to a fundamental concept: the “multiple-use” land mandate. In the WMNF, you’ll find parts of the forest preserved for wildlife conservation, recreation, climate resilience, and, most controversially, logging. This episode looks at one patch of forest from three different perspectives: a conservationist who would like to see cutting halted in the WMNF, loggers who would like to see it ramped up, and the US Forest Service that has to somehow appease them both. Featuring Zack Porter, Jeremy Turner, Charlie Niebling, Jasen Stock, Jim Innes, and Luke Sawyer.SUPPORTTo share 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 or join our private discussion group on Facebook.LINKSZack Porter references this study that shows the potential carbon storage in Eastern forests by 2100. Conservation groups and logging advocates filed an amicus brief together against Standing Tree’s lawsuits. In 2024, the Southern Environmental Law Center sued the Forest Service over its timber targets. NHPR has been covering the legal fight in the White Mountain National Forest over the past year. You can read some of our previous coverage here and here. CREDITSProduced by Kate Dario. Full credits and transcript available on outsideinradio.org.
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28:50
FEMA and the other 50 percent
It seems like every morning, another arm of the federal government is being reformed, eliminated, or downsized. That might wind up including an agency that a lot of Americans rely on when disaster strikes: FEMA.President Trump has called FEMA a “disaster.” His new head of homeland security, Kristi Noem, has signaled it’s time to “get rid of FEMA the way it exists today.” FEMA is a big agency, and understanding its role can be difficult in the abstract. So this week, we’re playing an episode from one of our favorite public radio podcasts: Sea Change. It’s all about something called the “50% Rule.” Host Carlyle Calhoun travels to two towns to discover how this obscure federal policy designed to stop the cycle of flood damage is leading to opposite destinies.For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.SUPPORTOutside/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.
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28:07
The Great Grand Canyon Burro Rescue
In the early 1980s, an animal rights group airlifted nearly 600 wild burros out of Grand Canyon National Park. The media ate it up – magazines sold full-page ads advertising the cause and families from the East Coast clamored to adopt the rescued animals.But conflict around wild burros in the West still exists today. What does one of the flashiest rescue stories of the last century tell us about the power of animal activism to make enduring change? Featuring Rebbel Clayton, Abbie Harlow, John MacPete, Dave Sharrow, Travis Ericsson, and Eric Claman. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. LINKSYou can read Abbie Harlow’s paper, “The Burro Evil” here. If you’re interested in learning more about the burro adoption process, Cynthia Brannigan outlined her experience as an employee of the Fund for Animals in her book, “The Last Diving Horse in America.” Research for this episode was also sourced from Julie Hoffman Marshall’s Making Burros Fly and Cleveland Amory’s Ranch of Dreams. Black Beauty Ranch currently houses more than 600 animals. You can read more about their work here. Check out dozens of archival shots from the rescue, via Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library. And yes, you can watch Brighty of the Grand Canyon on Youtube. SUPPORTOutside/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.
A show where curiosity and the natural world collide. We explore science, energy, environmentalism, and reflections on how we think about and depict nature, and always leave time for plenty of goofing off.
Outside/In is a production of NHPR.
Learn more at outsideinradio.org
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