Outside/In

In 2009, the state of Maine ordered farmer Dan Brown to stop selling his raw milk. It kicked off a five-year legal battle that stoked the flames of Maine’s dairy wars. But, after Farmer Brown lost his case and hung up his milking hat, things quieted down. 

Twenty years later, raw milk has surged back into the zeitgeist. Influencers are saying it tastes like ice cream, RFK Jr. is taking shots of it at the White House, and Gwyneth Paltrow is putting it in her coffee.

All of which makes for a pretty obvious question… What’s the appeal? Is raw milk some kind of superfood? Or something to avoid at all costs? 

Featuring Dan Brown, Andy Bisson, Danny Bisson, Nicole Martin, Pamela Ruegg, and Mary McGonigle-Martin.

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.

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LINKS

For a comprehensive history of dairy check out Milk! A 10,000 Year History by Mark Kurlansky.

During the height of Dan Brown’s case he gave a speech to a rousing crowd in Blue Hill. You can watch that here. 

The debate over raw vs. pasteurized milk has been happening for a long time. The Milk Question by Milton Joseph Rosenau is a fascinating (we daresay, poetic) read. 

The Pasteurized Milk Ordinance is a nearly 500-page document that outlines the intricacies of milk regulation in the U.S. Here’s its most current version. 

The FDA fact-checks many different raw milk claims ⁠on this page⁠, including pasteurization's affect on vitamin content and potential probiotic benefit.

CREDITS 

Produced by Marina Henke. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org
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In 2023, dozens of strangers gathered together in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York for three straight days. Their mission? Teach people of color how to kill, gut, and butcher a deer for the first time.

Producer Felix Poon was there as a first-time hunter. He wanted to know: what does it feel like to take an animal's life to sustain your own? Given the opportunity… would he pull the trigger?

In this episode we follow Felix out of his depth and into the woods, to find out if one weekend can convert a longtime city-dweller into a dedicated deer hunter.

This episode was first published in early 2024, and was produced by Felix Poon.

For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.com. Featuring Dorothy Ren, Brandon Dale, and Brant MacDuff.

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

Lydia Parker, executive director of Hunters of Color, discusses how to make the outdoors more equitable⁠. (The Nature Conservancy)⁠

Melissa Harris-Perry talks to Brandon Dale⁠, the New York ambassador for the Hunters of Color organization, on WNYC’s The Takeaway.

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A fishing tycoon is arrested in an elaborate sting operation, but claims he’s the real hero fighting back against an overbearing state. So who is Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael really – a folk hero, a crook, a righteous rebel, or a selfish conman?

This week we’re sharing the first episode from “Catching The Codfather,” the third season of GBH’s hit podcast The Big Dig.  It’s a series about fishing regulations disguised as a true crime caper unlike any you’ve heard before. 

Produced by Ian Coss and Isabel Hibbard. To hear the rest of the series, subscribe to The Big Dig wherever you get your podcasts. 

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.
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There’s few certainties in life. But the sun will always rise, the seasons will change, and the Outside/Inbox will forever remain answered. 

From lighthouse paint hues to polar bear lovers, this week the team takes up your questions on all things red. 

What makes cardinals red? 

Why do albino animals have red eyes? ⁠

⁠Why are so many lighthouses painted red? ⁠

Do our dogs love us? 

⁠Do some animals have same-sex relationships?⁠

⁠How do environmental changes affect pair-bonding? ⁠

Featuring Alex Funk, Jeremy D'Entremont, Karyn Anderson, and Francesco Ventura. 

Thanks to Outside/In listeners Liz, Tyler, Monica and Lera for their questions.

We’re looking for new submissions to the Outside/Inbox! Give us your weirdest, nichest, most bizarre questions you can think of. Send us those questions by recording yourself on a voice memo, and emailing that to us at [email protected].  Or you can call our hotline: 1-844-GO-OTTER.

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. ⁠Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. ⁠

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

LINKS

Here’s Karyn’s paper on how ⁠same-sex behavior⁠ in animals is far more common than previously thought. 

Olney, Illinois is known as “the home of the white squirrels.” Learn more about ⁠how they’re trying to protect these rare albino animals⁠ in this small Midwest town.

Here’s the ⁠Northeast District’s 2025 US Light List⁠, which lists an astounding 40,000 different lights, sound signals, and other visual aids to navigation.

Francesco Ventura’s paper analyzing divorce rates in albatrosses came out in 2021. ⁠You can find it here⁠.  

CREDITS

Produced by Marina Henke, Felix Poon and Nate Hegyi. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org
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Hemp used to be a staple of life in America. King James I demanded that colonists produce it. Hemp rope and fabric were ubiquitous throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The USDA even produced a WWII newsreel called “Hemp for Victory.”

But other materials came to replace hemp – wood pulp for paper, and cotton and synthetics for fabric. Why?

For that matter, what is hemp? Is it different from weed? And does it actually have 25,000 uses as its proponents claim?

Featuring Hector “Freedom” Gerardo, David Suchoff, John Fike, and Danny Desjarlais.

Note: This episode originally aired in April, 2024.
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