Outside/In

In the late 1950s, engineer Herb Ueda Sr. traveled to a remote Arctic military base. His mission? To drill through nearly a mile of ice, and extract the world’s first complete ice core. To finish the job, he and his team would endure sub-zero weather, toxic chemicals, and life inside a military base… which was slowly being crushed by the glacier from which it was carved. In this episode (first released in 2023) Daniel Ackerman takes us inside Camp Century, and explains how a foundational moment in climate science was inextricably linked with the United State's military interest in Greenland. Featuring Curt La Bombard, Julie Brigham-Grette, Herb Ueda Jr., Don Garfield, and Aleqa Hammond. Produced by Daniel Ackerman. For a full list of credits and transcript, go to outsidinradio.org.

A magician spins a black top hat to show their audience it’s empty. Then, with the wave of a wand and a few magic words, PRESTO: a snow white rabbit pokes its ears over the brim. Compared to sawing a person in half, pulling a rabbit out of a hat is a joyful bit of magic that entertainers have been doing for more than 200 years. But after the applause dies down, one is left wondering: where did the rabbit come from? And where did it go? Today, in honor of the Easter Bunny (who doesn’t actually appear in this episode), we’re pulling a handful of rabbit stories out of our proverbial hat. But be warned: these are dark tales of disappearing pets, occult eugenicists, and animal sacrifice. The secrets behind some magic tricks are more shocking than others. Featuring Nicole Cardoza, Gwyne Henke, Suzanne Loui, Sally Master, Ana DiMaria, Tanya Singer, and Meg Crane. Produced by Nate Hegyi, Marina Henke, Kate Dario, and Justine Paradis. For full credits, photos, and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. 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 or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS Join us for NHPR’s 3rd Annual Climate Summit! The theme is “Healthy Connections,” and we’ve got a great lineup of speakers and breakout sessions PLUS a trivia night. And the best part? It’s all FREE. Learn more and register here. Check out this video of magician and storyteller Nicole Cardoza performing for a group in Chicago in 2024. You can check out Gwyne Henke’s childhood rabbit poetry on our website. Tanya Singer reported on the history of Project Angora for Tablet. You can also learn more about Helena Weinrauch and her blue sweater here. Read more about the history of pregnancy testing in this paper on Egyptian grain method, rabbit tests, and more, and in A Woman’s Right to Know by Jesse Olszynko-Gryn, available as a free ebook from MIT Press. The story of Meg Crane’s Predictor test can also be found in the excellent Designing Motherhood, a book and exhibit on human reproduction through the lens of design. Pagan Kennedy’s New York Times article, which prompted Meg Crane to start sharing her story—and Pagan’s follow-up, which does include Meg.

Allergies have been documented in historical records dating as far back as 2,400 years ago, when Hippocrates wrote about “hostile humors” in some people who suffered badly after eating cheese. But why do we experience them to begin with? What even is an allergy? Are allergies on the rise? And why are some mere nuisances, while others are deadly? This episode is a roundup of allergy stories—from the mundane to the frightful—and a round up of allergy questions we’re asking Dr. Theresa MacPhail, author of Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World, to answer for us. Featuring Beni Osei Duker, Theresa MacPhail, Dwayne Smith, and Lily Ko. Produced by Felix Poon. 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. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS Check out Theresa MacPhail’s book, Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World. Read up on the different hypotheses on why we get allergies in the first place: The parasite hypothesisThe toxin hypothesisThe hygiene hypothesisThe old friends hypothesisLearn about the history of the EpiPen.

Venom is full of dualities. According to the UN’s World Health Organization, snakebite envenoming causes somewhere between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths per year, and even that is likely an undercount. Yet research into venom has yielded treatments for diabetes, cancer, erectile dysfunction, and even the celebrity favorite diabetes slash diet drug, Ozempic. In this episode, we explore the world of venom, where fear and fascination go hand-in-hand, and the potential for healing comes with deadly stakes. This is part II of our “Things That Can Kill You” miniseries, which also explores poison and allergies. Featuring Sakthi Vaiyapuri. Thanks to Iva Tatić for her question. Produced by Justine Paradis. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. 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, BlueSky, Tiktok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS Here’s more on Sakthi Vaiyapuri’s community awareness programs in India and his team’s research on the socioeconomic impacts on rural populations in Tamil Nadu The UN’s World Health Organization’s fact sheet on snake envenoming as a high-priority neglected tropical disease A great breakdown on why snakebite deaths are undercounted and the problem of missing data, written by global health researcher Saloni Dattani on Substack A Nature article on potential advances in antivenom Check out this Science Friday film on the cool research on cone snails and the non-opoiod painkillers derived from their venom. More on Ozempic and lots of other innovations with roots in venom research (New York Times)

A few months ago we got an email from a listener who tried a bit of a very poisonous apple and lived to tell the tale. Ultimately, he was fine, but the incident left him full of questions. We figured, why not run with that curiosity? We put a call out for all of your poison related queries and you delivered: How much should you worry about those green potatoes in your pantry? Could our car tires be poisoning the environment? It’s another Outside/Inbox roundup on the show this week. Buckle up. This is the first part of a “Things That Can Kill You” mini-series. Up next we tackle venom and allergies. Featuring Hussein Elgridly, Deborah Blum, Andy Robinson, Angela Mech, Kyle Lombard and Heejung Jung. Are invasive browntail moths expanding their range?How much toxic airborne pollution is contributed by vehicle tires?For our next Outside/Inbox roundup, we’re looking for questions about sound! Dream big here: we’re talking animal sounds, traffic noise, the sounds of space… Send us your questions by recording yourself on a voice memo, and emailing that to us at outsidein@nhpr.org. Or you can call our hotline: 844-GO-OTTER. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.

Sgt. Tibbs, a fluffy, 19-year-old Maine Coon with tiger stripes, soft eyes, and a chipped tooth, is missing on the streets of Manchester, New Hampshire. His owner, Rose, fears the worst. But when she finds out her cat was never missing at all – the truth turns out to be worse than she feared. From our friends over at the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, this is the first in a four-part series about what we owe our pets – and what we owe our neighbors. 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.

After the Irish fought for and won their independence from the British in 1921, they had a problem. Centuries of exploitation had left the island one of the least forested nations in Europe, with less than 2% tree cover. So, they started planting a non-native American tree: fast-growing Sitka spruce capable of rebuilding their timber resources in record time. And it worked. Today, about 17% of the island is forested. But in the rural areas where iconic rolling hills have been replaced by rows and rows of conifers, farmers are not happy. Outside/In host Nate Hegyi takes us to County Leitrim, an area of Ireland hit hard by the Troubles and the Great Famine, to meet the townspeople who are fighting what they say is a new wave of colonialism: Sitka spruce plantations. Produced by Nate Hegyi. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. Featuring: Justin Warnock, Brian Smyth, Donal Magner, Liam Byrne and Jodie Asselin 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. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKS Donal Magner wrote a book covering the history of Ireland’s forests and timber industry. Sitka spruce plantations are controversial in other parts of Ireland as well, including Cork. There are also efforts to rewild parts of Ireland with entirely native trees and to protect and restore carbon-sequestering bogs. It can be really tough to figure out exactly what was growing in Ireland thousands of years ago – but these scientists used ancient pollen counts to figure it out. Researchers at University College Dublin produced a detailed socio-economic impact report on sitka spruce plantations and County Leitrim in 2019.

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. 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. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKS Bobby 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.

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 Ham Produced by Lindsay Patterson, Marshall Escamilla, and 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. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS Love 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 Quake Why Are Sloths Slow Are 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.

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. SUPPORT To 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. LINKS Zack 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. CREDITS Produced by Kate Dario. Full credits and transcript available on outsideinradio.org.

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. 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.

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. LINKS You 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. 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.

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. It may also be the most hated. Tennis and basketball players are complaining about losing court space because of an “invasion” of pickleballers. Residents are losing sleep because of the incessant noise. Fights over pickleball have led to a slew of petitions, calls to the police, and even lawsuits. So why do pickleball players love this sport so much? Just how annoying is it to everyone else? And what will it take for everyone to just get along? Producer Felix Poon visits one of the most popular courts in Boston to see how the drama is unfolding there. Featuring Kemardo Henry, Martha Merson, Soren Whited, and Zariyah Cherise. 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. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS Want to play pickleball, but don’t want to annoy the neighbors? Check out this guide to quiet pickleball paddles. Read the petition that first raised concerns over the popularity of pickleball at the South Street Courts in Jamaica Plain. Learn more about the history of pickleball, which was invented near Seattle in Bainbridge Island, WA. For more on the various conflicts arising from pickleball’s growing popularity, read One Man’s Lonely War on Central Park Pickleball (NYTimes), and Shattered Nerves, Sleepless Nights: Pickleball Noise Is Driving Everyone Nuts (NYTimes)

Ever since fluoridation became widespread in the 1950s, cavities in kids have fallen drastically. The effort is considered one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. But it’s also one of the most controversial. At really high doses, fluoride is toxic – it can calcify your ligaments and joints and even fuse your spine. It also potentially has impacts on our brains. There’s a small but growing body of research suggesting that fluoride can inhibit intelligence in children. This is still unsettled and hotly debated science but, as host Nate Hegyi finds out, in our polarized and increasingly digital world… unsettled science can quickly become doctrine. Featuring Rene Najera, Philippe Grandjean and Mark Hartzler 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. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS The CDC has a website that tells you how much fluoride is in your drinking water. Here’s the reasoning behind the U.S. Public Health Service’s recommended limit for artificially fluoridating water. The National Toxicology Program suggests that a child’s IQ could be impacted if they or their pregnant mother ingests more than 1.5 ppm of fluoride in their water. Philippe Grandjean’s peer-reviewed study suggests that the safe level of fluoride in water for pregnant women is much lower than what the U.S. Public Health Service recommends. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dental Association have cast doubt on the National Toxicology Program’s conclusions and say that the fluoride levels in U.S. waters are safe. A U.S. district court judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to take a second look at its limits for fluoride in the water, citing the National Toxicology Program’s monograph.

What has Donald Trump claimed he would do when it comes to environmental policy in the U.S.? What happened during his last administration? And what are the limits on executive powers when it comes to treaties and global agreements? Just days before Trump’s inauguration, this episode comes to us from our friends over at Civics 101. Featuring Elizabeth Bomberg. This episode was produced by Hannah McCarthy with help from Nick Capodice and Marina Henke. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org. LINKS Check out Nate’s episode on Biden’s climate legacy — “Is Biden a Good Climate President?” 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.

Sardines are in vogue. Literally. They are in Vogue magazine. They’re delicious (subjectively), good for you, and sustainable… right? Recently, a listener called into the show asking about just that. “I've always had this sense that they're a more environmentally friendly fish, perhaps because of being low on the food chain. But I'm realizing I really have no sense of what it looks like to actually fish for sardines,” Jeannie told us. The Outside/In team got together to look beyond the sunny illustrations on the fish tins. Is there bycatch? What about emissions? Are sardines overfished? If we care about the health of the ocean, can we keep eating sardines? Featuring Jeannie Bartlett, Malin Pinsky, and Zach Koehn. 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. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT 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 Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS If you’re interested in finding sustainable fisheries, our sources recommended checking out Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch and the Marine Stewardship Council. Sardines (specifically, Fishwife) in Vogue. Why are tinned fishes in every boutique store, and why do all of those stores feel exactly the same? For Grub Street, Emily Sundberg reported on the digital marketplace behind the “shoppy shop.” The documentary about the epic South African sardine run is “The Ocean’s Greatest Feast” on PBS. Zach Koehn’s paper, “The role of seafood in sustainable diets.” Malin Pinsky’s research found that small pelagic fish (like sardines, anchovies, and herring) are just as vulnerable to population collapse as larger, slower-growing species like tuna. Explore the designs of historical Portuguese fish tins (Hyperallergic). An animated reading of The Mousehole Cat The last sardine cannery in the United States closed in 2010. But you can explore this archive of oral histories with former workers in Maine factories (many of them women and children).

The next blue moon isn’t until May 2026, but luckily for you, you won’t have to wait that long to hear the Outside/In team answering listeners’ questions. This time, we’re exploring why blue moons are cool (or even what the heck a blue moon even is) and other seasonably appropriate curiosities. Should we leave the leaves?What happens to Christmas tree stumps?What does all that road salt do to the environment?Featuring Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Tim Gaudreau, Victoria Meert, and Sujay Kaushal. Thanks to Outside/In listeners Zoe, Janet, Gio, Alexi, Prudence, Wendy, Mo, and Devon for their questions and contributions. 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 Check out this study on the long-term impacts of leaf litter removal in suburban yards. Looking for a creative and cute way to keep leaves in your lawn or garden? Consider building a “bug snug.” Read about the mad dash for salt that rescued the 2014 Sochi Olympics’ ski events (NYT). Learn more about the turn to beet juice and beer-based de-icers to reduce the harm of excess salt to the environment (AP News) CREDITS Host: Nate Hegyi Reported, produced, and mixed by Felix Poon, Justine Paradis, and Marina Henke. Edited by Taylor Quimby, Rebecca Lavoie, and Justine Paradis. Our staff includes Kate Dario. Executive producer: Taylor Quimby Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Jules Gaia, and Jharee. Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Appalachia is Bigfoot territory. In a big way. This week, we look at the mythical beast's legend, lore and sizable economic impact in the region. And we follow one reporter’s journey through the mountains and foothills of western North Carolina in search of Sasquatch. This episode comes to us from the wonderful folks at The Broadside from North Carolina Public Radio, a weekly podcast exploring stories happening in their home at the crossroads of the American South. Other topics include how the world ‘y’all’ is taking over the world, the impact of dangerous heat on workers, and why cola became the king of beverages. Featuring Emily Cataneo and Jerry Millwood. SUPPORT 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 Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS Check out Emily Cataneo’s story on Appalachian Bigfoot culture at The Assembly here. CREDITS Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi Outside/In team: Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, Marina Henke, and Kate Dario. Executive Producer: Taylor Quimby Intro music by bomull. NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Coyotes are a sort of goldilocks animal. They can be active during the day, and at night. They can hunt in groups, or survive solo. They’re wolfish enough to survive in the wild, dog-like enough to blossom in the big city. That adaptability has arguably made coyotes one of the most successful mammalian predators on the planet. It’s also given them a reputation as opportunistic villains that prey on neighborhood garbage, livestock, and (occasionally) household pets. So what makes these animals so special? And if coyotes are so good at living amongst us, how do we get better at living amongst them? Featuring: Daniel Proux, Dan Flores, Christine Wilkinson, Stan Gehrt, and Kieon Halona 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 If you enjoyed learning about coyote vocalizations, check out Janet Kessler’s blog about San Francisco coyotes, or her YouTube page, where you can find dozens of videos showing the diversity of coyote yips, yowls, barks, grows, and more . Read about coyotes in the Massachusetts town of Nahant, where municipal officials asked the federal government to help kill them in 2022. (New York Times) CREDITS Host: Nate Hegyi Reported and produced by Kate Dario Mixed by Kate Dario and Taylor Quimby Editing by Taylor Quimby Our staff includes Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Marina Henke Executive producer: Taylor Quimby Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio Music by Blue Dot Sessions Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Just a few weeks after we released the What Remains series, news broke that the Penn Museum discovered additional remains of 1985 MOVE bombing victims in the museum. How did this happen? And what's next for the thousands of other human remains still in their possession? Producer Felix Poon knew just the person to talk to for answers. Featuring Rachel Watkins. MORE ABOUT “WHAT REMAINS” Across the country, the remains of tens of thousands of human beings are held by museums and institutions. Scientists say they’ve helped lay the foundations of forensic science and unlocked the secrets of humanity’s shared past. But these bones were also collected before informed consent was the gold standard for ethical study. 19th and 20th-century physicians and anthropologists took unclaimed bodies from poorhouses and hospitals, robbed graves, and looted Indigenous bones from sacred sites. Now, under pressure from activists and an evolving scientific community, these institutions are rethinking what to do with their unethically collected human remains. In this series from Outside/In, producer Felix Poon takes us to Philadelphia, where the prestigious Penn Museum has promised to “respectfully repatriate” hundreds of skulls collected by 19th century physician Samuel George Morton, who used them to pursue pseudo-scientific theories of white supremacy. Those efforts have been met with support by some, and anger and distrust by others. Along the way, Felix explores the long legacy of scientific racism, lingering questions over the 1985 MOVE bombing, and evolving ethics in the field of biological anthropology. Can the institutions that have long benefited from these remains be trusted to give them up? And if so, who decides what happens next? LINKS Read the Penn Museum’s statement about the latest discovery of additional MOVE remains at the museum. Listen to WHYY’s news report, Penn Museum discovers another set of human remains from the MOVE bombing. You can find our full episode credits, listen to our back catalog, and support Outside/In at our website: outsideinradio.org.