Outside/In

Blue is the loneliest color


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Once in a blue moon the Outside/In team opens up the mailbag and answers your questions about the natural world. This time, they all share a preoccupation with a particular hue: blue. 

Come along as we learn about the differences between European and Aztec conceptions of the color blue, how construction workers build offshore turbine foundations under the deep blue sea, and why the most exciting picture astronauts took during Apollo 8 wasn’t of the lunar surface. 

Questions:

  1. I’ve heard the color blue is rare in nature. Is that true? 
  2. Are blue eyes disappearing?
  3. How do we build things underwater? 
  4. Why is the sky blue?
  5. What is the etymology of the color blue? 
  6. Featuring Kai Kupferschmidt and Justin Alves.

     

    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.

    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 [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

     

    LINKS

    Check out science journalist Kai Kupferscmidt’s book, “Blue: In Search of Nature’s Rarest Color”

     

    CREDITS

    Host: Nate Hegyi

    Reported and produced by Taylor Quimby, Felix Poon, and Nate Hegyi

    Mixed by Taylor Quimby and Felix Poon

    Our team also includes Justine Paradis

    Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Rebecca Lavoie

    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 NHPR

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

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