Where there’s smoke, there’s ire

Become a sustaining member today. For $5 a month, we'll send you an Outside/In baseball cap. The first 250 people to donate during our fall fund drive will also receive a "ginkgo love" sticker.  Support Outside/In today!Earlier this year, our host Nate Hegyi picked a fight with Ryan Zinke.  Zinke is the former Interior Secretary under Trump – the guy who rode into office on horseback.  In the midst of an awful few days in June, when Canadian wildfire smoke blanketed the entire east coast, Zinke took to Twitter and argued that the solution was “active forest management.”  Nate assumed that was a political code word for more logging, something Republicans have been pushing for years. But instead of firing back, he decided to fact-check his assumptions and study up. Why are Canadian wildfires getting so intense? Is it possible to stop the smoke by logging the boreal forest? And what would Teddy Roosevelt have to say about this?! Featuring Phil Higuera, John Vaillant, Ryan Zinke, and Courtney Shultz.   SUPPORT 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. 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 [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).   LINKS Check out our episode about prescribed burns (10X10: Pine Barrens). The NPS has a good overview of how indigenous fire practices shaped North America. “As Canada reels from wildfire, First Nations hope for larger role” (Al Jazeera)   CREDITS Hosted, reported and produced by Nate Hegyi Edited by Taylor Quimby and Rebecca Lavoie Our team also includes Justine Paradis, Jeongyoon Han, and Felix Poon.  Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer Music by Blue Dot Sessions Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices