Outside/In

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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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.

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 [email protected]. We answer questions about nature, climate change, sustainability, humans and evolution, and more. No question is too serious or too silly. 

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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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. 

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

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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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.

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Albuquerque and the Rio Grande go hand in hand. The river cuts right through town, which means if you leave your office at closing time, you could have your feet in the water before 6. 

But, not this past summer. This August, along the river’s middle section, more than a hundred miles ran dry. What scientists have warned about for decades – the gradual aridification of the desert Southwest – finally arrived in Albuquerque. 

So, what was it like for the people who flocked to the river daily? Our producer Marina Henke went to Albuquerque to hear from them directly.

Featuring Laura Paskus, David Gutzler, Matt Springer, Kim Eichorst and Alida Davila.

Produced by Marina Henke. 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. 

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

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

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

Laura Paskus wrote a whole book about climate change in New Mexico. It’s called ⁠At the Precipice⁠. ⁠You can also find her work on Substack. 

You can find out more about the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) ⁠here⁠.

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You might associate it with the foil that wraps leftover pizza and the shiny craft beer cans sold in breweries, but aluminum is literally everywhere. Scoop up a handful of soil or gravel anywhere on Earth and you’ll find atoms of bonded aluminum hidden inside.

But even before it was used in everything from airplanes to deodorant, the trade of aluminum minerals helped color the world, finance the Vatican, and led to the mass collection of human urine.

In this installment of “The Element of Surprise” — a series all about the hidden histories behind the periodic table’s most unassuming atoms, isotopes, and molecules — we’re talking about aluminum.

This episode was first published in 2024.

Featuring Saleem Ali.

Produced by Taylor Quimby. 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. 

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

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

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Noah Wilson-Rich has made it his mission to save the bees — from colony collapse disorder, loss of habitat, and disease. He’s doing this not just as a scientist, but also as an entrepreneur.

But is that a good thing?

And what happens when you think you know the answer to a solution, only to realize that you got it wrong? “The ‘save the bees’ movement is canceled,” he says. But what should we do in its place?

Featuring Noah Wilson-Rich, and Lauren Ponisio.

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

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When an Outside/In listener asked the team to weigh in on a debate between him and his wife, perhaps we should have hesitated. But it was too good to resist.

“We have eighteen-year old twin boys, and sometimes they leave pizza out on the counter. She's convinced it's bad for your health — and I don't think so! Is pizza left overnight on the counter bad for you?” Anthony asked. 

For some members of the team, the answer was vindicating. For others, it was unmooring. 

Beyond settling this marital debate, in this Outside/Inbox roundup, the team offers our insights on animal perception of earthquakes, the apple supply chain, and finally answers a personal question that a surprising number of you have posed. 

Featuring Don Schaffner, Martin Wikelski, and Thiago Campbell. Thanks to Anthony, Carolyn, Mande, and Charles for their questions.

We want your questions on food safety! You might hear them on the show. Send them to [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 1-844-GO-OTTER.

For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.

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When evolutionary biologist Vincent Lynch heard the news that a $10 billion biotech company had brought the once extinct dire wolf back to life, he called foul. He took to the media to argue that these overhyped headlines threatened public trust in science. 

And that's when things started to get weird. 

In a story that feels like it came right out of Jurassic Park, we look into the murky world of "dark PR" and discover what happens when the principle of scientific discourse challenges the power of corporate science.

Featuring Howard Wolinsky, Vincent Lynch and Nic Rawlence

Produced by Nate Hegyi. 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.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

You can read Howard’s entire investigation over at EMBO Reports. 

Check out this example of one of the critical stories about Vincent.

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