Outside/In

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.

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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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Growing up, Kiese Laymon thought of himself as a city kid. But he spent his childhood with a foot in two worlds: his mom’s house in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi and his grandma’s house in a rural country town.

It wasn’t until Kiese left Mississippi that he came to understand that this question of city versus country actually meant a lot more. It carries a lot of baggage: the tensions between north and south, tectonic historical forces, and the contradictions of life in Mississippi.

In this episode, originally published in 2025, our producer Justine Paradis sits down with writer Kiese Laymon for a conversation on this question of country versus city, what that has to do with the history of Black life in this country, and the story of Kiese’s first children’s picture book, his latest in a lifelong exploration of a complicated love of Mississippi.

Featuring Kiese Laymon.

Produced by Justine Paradis. 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

Kiese Laymon’s first children’s book, City Summer, Country Summer.

If you’d like to read more by Kiese, we recommend “Da Art of Storytellin’ (A Prequel)”, his essay about Outkast, his grandmother, and stank. (Oxford American)

Kiese adapted City Summer, Country Summer from this 2020 prose-poem essay. (New York Times)

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Dean Russell had just wrapped several reporting projects on climate change, mental health, and COVID. “My world was just so serious,” he said. That’s when his boss approached Dean with an idea. What if they made a fiction podcast about climate change?

At first Dean wasn’t sold, but a few years later he’s become a full believer, and is the co-creator of WBUR’s The Midnight Rebellion, a choose-your-own-adventure podcast set in a futuristic climate-ravaged Boston.

This week we’re sharing the first episode of the series. But we also hear from Dean directly about what it was like to tackle such a different kind of storytelling and why he thinks embracing a format borrowed from a hit book-genre of the nineties is so apt for exploring climate action.

Featuring Dean Russell, and the cast of The Midnight Rebellion.

To hear the rest of the series, subscribe to The Midnight Rebellion wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview portion produced by Taylor Quimby. The Midnight Rebellion is produced by Dean Russell. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org.
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Producer Felix Poon goes on a field trip to the headquarters of Consumer Reports, where they test snow blowers on wet sawdust, drop bicycle helmets on anvils, and cover space heaters in towels to see how long it takes them to catch fire.

How do they come up with this stuff? And, in a world of rampant consumerism, can Consumer Reports really be a force for good?

Featuring Barrie Rosen, Paul Hope, Chris Regan, Scott Collum, Matt Schimmenti, Indu Sunkara, Paolo Fu, Sana Mujahid, Joan Muratore, and Phil Radford.

Produced by Felix Poon. 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

In Consumer Reports’ very first issue were investigations into the difference between Grade A versus Grade B milk (there was none) and the practice of “slack-fill,” when cereal companies put more air than cereal in their cereal boxes.

Learn more about some of the topics referenced throughout the episode:

Gas vs. Battery Lawn Mower: Which Is Better?

Battery Platform Buying Guide

Reducing the Risk of Arsenic in Rice

Do you have the right to repair?

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At the height of summer, when so many of us are grabbing picnic blankets, hitting the beach, and embracing an al fresco lifestyle, a tale of two outdoor events gone spectacularly wrong.

Featuring Anika Krause, Samuel Edward-Cook, Eloise Barker, Simon Vargas, and Stephen Deng.

Produced by Marina Henke. 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 watch the 2014 production of Titus Andronicus on the Globe’s website. As discussed, it’s incredibly bloody.
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