Outside/In

06/16/2026

Put salt (aka sodium chloride) in your pasta water and you’ll end up with delicious spaghetti. Put pure sodium in it instead… and it will explode. 🧂💥

In the latest edition of “The Element of Surprise” — our occasional series about the hidden stories behind the periodic table’s most unassuming atoms, isotopes, and molecules — we talk all about sodium.

It’s the periodic table’s saltiest element. It powers your body like a battery and you need it to survive. So why is too much of it bad for you? Plus, how did salt help the North win the Civil War?

🎧 Check out "Never add salt to your pasta water" wherever you get your podcasts.

06/12/2026

Hey folks - we launched a Patreon!

We're a public radio show, and that means there will never be a paywall on this podcast. Our episodes will always be free to everyone, and we're not making bonus episodes that are only available to patrons.

But as thanks for supporting our work directly, patrons can get an AD-FREE VERSION OF THE PODCAST, discounts on merch, behind-the-scenes blog posts, and even a hand-written postcard from host Nate Hegyi.

Check it out!

Get more from Outside/In on Patreon. A podcast where curiosity and the natural world collide. Support Outside/In and get exclusive access to their work.

06/11/2026

We won a Regional Murrow Award! Producer Marina Henke's story on tornado recovery in St. Louis took best “News Documentary.”

It gave Marina a good excuse to catch up with Natalie Hughes, the bricklayer we featured in our original piece. What does recovery in St. Louis look like more than a year later? And, what’s been the fate of the thousands of bricks which have come down in demolitions?

“They got more bricks than they can deal with. They’re almost giving them away now.” Natalie told us.

Read on for the full story.

📷 Photos by Natalie Hughes taken in North City over the past year.

05/20/2026

In a world where switching on a lamp during evening hours is, as travel writer Megan Eaves-Egenes writes, “almost as basic as breathing," cities may seem like an unlikely spot to stargaze with success.

But with a few tips, you could be well on your way to some nighttime awe.

This week on the show, producer Marina Henke talks with Megan about how our cities became so bright in the first place, and why light pollution isn't necessarily an impossible problem to solve.

Photo credits 📸
Streetlight at night (Unsplash)
A summer Milky Way seen in Italy (Public Domain).

Check out the full episode wherever you get your podcasts. 🌠

05/20/2026

In a world where switching on a lamp during evening hours is, as travel writer writes, “almost as basic as breathing," cities may seem like an unlikely spot to stargaze with success.

But with a few tips, you could be well on your way to some nighttime awe.

This week on the show, producer Marina Henke talks with Megan about how our cities became so bright in the first place, and why light pollution isn't necessarily an impossible problem to solve.

Image credits 📷
1) Streetlight at night (Unsplash)
2) A summer Milky Way seen in Italy (Public Domain).

Check out the full episode at the link in our bio or wherever you get your podcasts.

05/15/2026

President Trump recently signed an executive order to make certain psychedelic drugs more available to treat mental health conditions like depression and PTSD. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Joe Rogan were in the oval office, and President Trump even joked during the signing ceremony, “can I have some, please?” Maybe this executive order wasn’t on your 2026 political bingo card… but interest in these substances for mental health isn’t new. In this week’s episode, we’re revisiting the story of Kathy Kral. In the midst of her battle with cancer, Kathy found herself facing a diagnosis of major depression.

So, she signed up for a clinical study to see if psilocybin — the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms” — could help her confront her fears about cancer and death, as well as her deepest inner demons.

04/29/2026

Alewives and blueback herring are born in freshwater but spend most of their lives at sea. Every spring across the Atlantic seaboard they swim upstream to their spawning grounds, more than 100 miles inland in some locations, then head back to sea. Months later their offspring make the same journey to the ocean, where they are a key part of the marine food web, supporting species like tuna and mackerel. Their push inland every spring is also a massive infusion of protein for eagles, herons, striped bass and other animals coming out of winter.

04/09/2026

Producer looks at what the research says (and doesn’t say) about microplastics and health, and talks to Yael Cohen, CEO of Clarify Clinics, about a new trend in wellness: the microplastics cleanse.



📸 credits: Marc Newberry, Violette Hosack

04/07/2026

Heat pumps! They’re less sexy than EVs and solar panels but just as important for the planet, according to climate advocates, because they’re an efficient home heating and cooling option, and can run on renewable energy.

The most efficient kind of heat pumps are ground source heat pumps that tap into geothermal energy under our feet. But while geothermal energy is cheap, installation costs a lot of money.

So what if we got some help… from gas utilities? That story on the Outside/In episode: “A climate activist, and a gas executive walk into a bar.”

03/27/2026

Raw milk. Only about 1% of Americans consume it on a weekly basis, but that number is growing. What's the appeal? Is it the superfood they claim? Or something to avoid at all costs?

🎧 For the full story, listen to this week's episode of Outside/In at the link in our bio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 🥛