The Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC is sometimes called “the people’s zoo.” That’s because it’s the only zoo in the country to be created by an act of US Congress, and admission is free.

But why did our federal government create a national zoo in the first place?

Producer Felix Poon has the scoop – from its surprising origins in the near-extinction of bison, to a look at its modern-day mission of conservation, we’re going on a field trip to learn all about the National Zoo.

Featuring Kara Ingraham, Daniel Frank, and Ellie Tahmaseb.

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LINKS

William Hornaday founded the National Zoo, but his legacy is complicated, to say the least. Environmental journalist Michelle Nijhuis contemplates whether he’s a “villainous hero or heroic villain” (PBS).

“A Chinese cigarette tin launched D.C.’s 50-year love affair with pandas” tells the origin story of pandas at the National Zoo (The Washington Post).

The story of Ota Benga, the man who was caged by William Hornaday in the Bronx Zoo (The Guardian).

Environmental writer Emma Marris imagines a world without zoos in her opinion essay, “Modern Zoos Are Not Worth the Moral Cost” (NYTimes).

We looked at the court case of Happy the elephant in our 2022 Outside/In episode, “Et Tu, Brute? The Case for Human Rights for Animals.”

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Felix Poon

Editing by Taylor Quimby.

Our staff includes Justine Paradis

Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Thanks to Nick Capodice for performing William Hornaday voiceovers.

Music by Bluedot Sessions and Jules Gaia

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

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 outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

While digging a well in 1750, a group of workers accidentally discovered an ancient Roman villa containing over a thousand papyrus scrolls. This was a stunning discovery: the only library from antiquity ever found in situ. But the scrolls were blackened and fragile, turned almost to ash by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Over the centuries, scholars’ many attempts to unroll the fragile scrolls have mostly been catastrophic. But now, scientists are trying again, this time with the help of Silicon Valley and some of the most advanced technology we’ve got: particle accelerators, CT scanners, and AI.

After two thousand years, will we finally be able to read the scrolls?

Featuring Federica Nicolardi, Brent Seales, Youssef Nader, Arefeh Sherafati, and Julian Schilliger.

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LINKS

The Vesuvius Challenge is not over. Find out more here.

Check out more pictures of the scrolls and the process of “virtual unwrapping” at the Digital Restoration Initiative website, or watch Brent Seales lecture about his technique.

A 60 Minutes story (2018) focusing on the conflict between Seales and scholars Vito Mocella and Graziano Ranocchia.

A replica of the marble floor discovered by Italian farmworkers in 1750.

A video illustrating the process of “virtual unwrapping” with a jelly roll.

Contestant Casey Handmer’s blog post detailing his identification of the “crackle signal” to the ink.

CREDITS

Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi

Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Our team also includes Felix Poon.

NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie

Music in this episode came from Silver Maple, Xavy Rusan, bomull, Young Community, Bio Unit, Konrad OldMoney, Chris Zabriski, and Blue Dot Sessions.

Volcano recordings came from daveincamas on Freesound.org, License Attribution 4.0 and felix.blume on freesound.org, Creative Commons 0.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

The Colorado River – and the people that rely on it – are in a state of crisis. Climate change and overuse are taking a significant toll. Seven states must compromise and reach a solution to prevent the river from collapsing.

In late 2023, tensions were running high between the major players in the water world as they convened at the annual Colorado River conference in Las Vegas. LAist Correspondent Emily Guerin was there, seeking to learn as much as she can about the people with the most power on the river, including a sharply-dressed 28-year-old from California.

This episode comes to us from the podcast Imperfect Paradise, which is releasing a whole series on the Colorado River water crisis.

SUPPORT

Donate $10 per month and get our new “I axolotl questions” mug!

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.

LINKS

Agriculture uses a lot of the Colorado River - what if we replaced that farmland with solar panels?

Speaking of farms, most of the crops raised with Colorado River water don’t go to people. They go to cows.

CREDITS

This episode was written and reported by Emily Guerin

Imperfect Paradise host: Antonia Cereijido

Fact-checking by Gabriel Dunatov.

Mixing and Imperfect Paradise theme music by E. Scott Kelly with additional music by Andrew Eapen.

Outside/In Host: Nate Hegyi

Outside/In Executive producer: Taylor Quimby

Our staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon

Rebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

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 outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).