We’ve all thrown pennies in fountains or wished upon stars. In this recollection, NHPR’s Sean Hurley recounts the way his son Sam came up with his own way of wishing - and his own special thing to wish for. Editor's note: As with all stories by Sean Hurley, we highly recommend listening to the broadcast version About ten years ago, around this falling time of year, everything dropping down, leaves, pine needles, apples, the sky, the temperature, a little snow, my wife and I took our four year-old son Sam for a short walk to the sandpits near our house. Sam had just discovered leaves – jumping in them, smelling them, tossing them into the air like his own possible feathers - and he found a leaf in our yard and carried it with him down the street like a pinwheel that didn’t spin. Where our road breaks for the woods there’s a small apple tree and Sam found an apple below it and brought that along too. Now, these were wishing years for us. We wished upon shooting stars and upon the first

NHPR's Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley sits down with NH Magazine's managing editor Erica Thoits at the beginning of every month to chat about upcoming events. Listen to find out what's happening in November: Events mentioned in the interview: NH Open Doors, statewide, Nov. 3-4 Women of Whiskey and Spirits at the Manchester Country Club, Nov. 6 Veterans Day Ceremony at state cemetary, Boscawen, Nov. 7 Veterans Day Service at Cathedral of the Pines, Rindge, Nov. 7 Thanksgiving Farm Fare at Stonewall Farm , Keene, Nov. 22-23 Portsmouth Holiday Arts Tour , Nov. 22-24 Harvest Your Own Christmas Tree at The Rocks Estate, Bethlehem, starting Nov. 23 You can find a full list of November events from NH Magazine here .

It’s a gloomy, rainy Sunday in downtown Portsmouth. I’m hanging out in a dark basement beneath a bookstore waiting to see a creepy Halloween music show for kids. Dozens of children dressed in their Halloween finest crowd the room. There are princesses and superheroes. An elephant finds a seat next to a dinosaur as the show is about to begin. (Editor's note: we highly recommend listening to this story.) Doctor Gasp is dressed in a long black cape with a white skeleton mask covering his face. Jack-o-lanterns cast orange light across a makeshift stage. He gives a lively performance, jumping and dancing while playing his guitar. The kids get up to dance along with him. Monster Mash is a crowd favorite of course. I sat down with Doctor Gasp after the show to find out who he is behind the mask. Dan Blakeslee is actually a folk singer for most of the year. When he first started writing Halloween music, he would play under his own name at his regular shows. “But then it got to be at the point

Traveling from Concord to Lebanon along Route 4, you’re likely to see people walking or biking on the Northern Rail Trail. While Potter Place Station has been preserved, that 50 plus mile stone dust path is really all that remains of the once thriving Northern Railroad.

NHPR's Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley sits down with NH Magazine's managing editor Erica Thoits at the beginning of every month to chat about upcoming events. Here's what's happening this October: Events mentioned here: Annual Powder Keg Beer & Chili Festival at Swasey Parkway, Exeter, Oct. 5 Warner Fall Foliage Festival , Warner, Oct. 11-13 Goffstown Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off and Regatta , Goffstown, Oct. 19-20 The Porstmouth Halloween Parade , Portsmouth, Oct. 31 You can find a full list of October events from NH Magazine here .

NHPR and The Music Hall in Portsmouth present Writers on a New England Stage with i nternational bestselling author and podcast host Malcolm Gladwell, who sat down with Peter Biello to discuss his new book, Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know .

We explore how data errors might have inflated New Hampshire's progress on distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. We also get an update on the latest environmental news in the Granite State and hear from NHPR's CEO about the decision to cease production of The Exchange at the end of the month. And we chat with long-time Berlin Sun editor Barbara Tetreault about her upcoming retirement. Air date: Friday, June 11, 2021.

Spring in New Hampshire is a double-edged sword. On one hand you have longer, warmer days — plants and trees are blooming! On the other hand, the pollen springtime trees produce can present an array of unpleasant seasonal symptoms. Yet pollen is so incredibly important to our survival – we think we should give it the credit it deserves. O ur friend Sam Evans Brown is the host of NHPR’s Outside/In; when pollen makes his eyes watery and the roof of his mouth itchy this time of year, Sam likes to remember that " the pollen that you’re breathing, and that your body is freaking out over... is you know… is half of the equation of tree sex. So you’re breathing in a little bit of tree sex which is you know... just a fun thing to think about." If you can recall your middle school science class you might remember that pollen is the male reproductive product of tree flowers — found on the anther and filament of male stamens — used to make new plant life. It needs to reach the sticky stigma, style

Every other Friday on Morning Edition, Outside/In host Sam Evans-Brown tackles a question from a listener. Suzanne from Concord asks: “I’m trying to find out why ladybugs are in my house in the spring, and did they all live together in my house over the winter? And if they did that, what did they eat? Or do they eat? Do they hibernate? And now they’re dropping dead, I mean out of six ladybugs, there are two alive.” Note: This eidition of Ask Sam originally aired in March of 2020. What you are most likely seeing is called (among many other things) the Harlequin Ladybeetle . It gets that name (as well as all its others) because it has a lot of different presentations — many different numbers and arrangements of spots — and it's an invasive species from Asia. “It’s basically been released as a biological control agent, in multiple places,” says William Fincham, who researches ladybugs with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, “In the U.S, in multiple places in Europe as well.” Even

COVID-19 has been hard on just about every industry in New Hampshire, and renewable energy is no exception. People worried about money are putting off investing in solar panels, and health concerns have made home energy efficiency visits more complicated. But scientists say investments like these can lower energy costs, and remain a critical way to combat the other big crisis we’re facing – climate change. As part of NHPR’s new climate change reporting project, By Degrees , NHPR’s Annie Ropeik has been trying to find out what might be ahead for the renewable energy industry in the state. Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley spoke with her about what’s next.

Earlier this year, the city of Lebanon gave a small group of residents the chance to bring not their trash and recyclables to the local landfill, but their compost too. It makes Lebanon one of a few cities in the state helping residents reduce food waste, which is a major contributor to climate change.

New Hampshire is seeing more heat waves due to climate change. And staying cool is even harder this year because of COVID-19. Our new climate change reporting project, By Degrees , has this look at how New Hampshire's cities are coping.

By Degrees is a new reporting project by NHPR shedding new light on climate change in New Hampshire. That project launches this week. Air pollution is known to cause health problems like premature deaths, hospitalizations, heart attacks, and childhood asthma. It's also closely connected to climate change. Syracuse University Professor Charles Driscoll joined NHPR’s All Things Considered host Peter Biello to talk about what air quality in New Hampshire can tell us about the extent of the problem. So walk us through the basics, if you could. What are the main sources of air pollution in New Hampshire? There are different air pollutants that come from primarily fossil fuel combustion. So that could be through electric utilities, could be industrial processes, could be transportation. And there are a number of air pollutants, but the ones that are most prominent are very fine particulate matter released directly from these processes. But it also can be produced in the atmosphere from

Our new climate change reporting initiative, By Degrees , begins in an unprecedented time – one where people are making seismic shifts in their lifestyles and attitudes in response to COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement. Many of our listeners have wondered: why haven’t people reacted the same way to the climate emergency, and could that be about to change?

By Degrees is a multi-year reporting project from NHPR that will tell stories about climate change in New Hampshire - its challenges, solutions and connections to other forces shaping our lives today. The project begins today. Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley spoke with lead reporter Annie Ropeik, who covers energy, the environment and the Seacoast for NHPR, to learn more about the project's goals, what to expect this week and how listeners can contribute. We want to know your questions and the kinds of stories you'd like to hear about climate change. You can share those ideas by filling out our quick survey . Rick Ganley: On the website for the project, you describe it as beginning in kind of a historic moment. What do you mean by that? Annie Ropeik: Well, I mean that we are in the middle of many more than one crisis right now. We are in the middle of a global pandemic, a generational reckoning on racial justice. It's a presidential election year, which can be hard to remember

To kick off NHPR's new reporting project By Degrees , we're unpacking the basics of how climate change is already affecting life in New Hampshire, and how the state is contributing to and responding to the problem. Rachel Cleetus is the policy director for the Union of Concerned Scientists' Climate and Energy Program, based in Massachusetts.

Hundreds of hikers and skiers started the new year outside as part of New Hampshire State Parks' First Day Hikes program. Five parks throughout the state - Monadnock, Franconia Notch, Odiorne Point, Milan Hill, and Bear Brook - welcomed visitors with trail maps, campfires, and hot chocolate.

A common theme on Something Wild is breeding. (Which is why we always sip our tea with our pinkies extended.) Seriously, though, we talk about the how, when and where because there are a lot of different reproductive strategies that have evolved in nature. Today we take a closer look at two such strategies through the lens of "how often": semelparity and iteroparity.

We focus on environmental news on this edition of the Weekly New Hampshire News Roundup. We talk about climate issues on the 2020 campaign trail after the departure of Jay Inslee, and compare the climate plans offered by other Democratic candidates. Following protests at the statehouse over the Merrimack Station coal plant, we discuss the future of fossil fuel generators in the state. Plus, the latest environmental vetoes and bill signings from Governor Chris Sununu. Annie Ropeik, NHPR's environment and energy reporter, is guest host. GUESTS: Sam Evans-Brown - host of NHPR's, Outside/In, our show about the natural world and how we use it. We discuss the 2020 candidates and their climate plans with Leah Stokes , Assistant Professor of Climate Politics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Lila Kohrman-Glaser , co-director of 350 NH Action, joins us to talk about protesting the 440-megawatt Merrimack Station at the statehouse. Bay Road in Newmarket is currently closed for

You may be familiar with hoarders (not the TV show, but same idea). In nature, a hoarder will hide food in one place. Everything it gathers will be stored in a single tree or den. But for some animals one food cache isn't enough. We call them scatter hoarders. A "scatter hoarder" hides food in a bunch of different places within its territory. The gray squirrel is a classic example, gathering acorns and burying them in trees or in the ground. Not all squirrels are hoarders. Red squirrels are "larder hoarders." If you've ever been walking through the woods and a red squirrel starts screaming at you, it's defending its one and only stash. The same goes for chipmunks and white-footed mice. The gray squirrel isn't alone in the practice of scatter hoarding. Blue jays and gray jays will spend the summer accosting hikers, filling itself with as much granola or fruit as it can. They bring their bounty back into the forest and glue the food into crevices of the trees with its saliva. I know, who

The recent defeat of Northern Pass was a major setback for the import of large-scale hydropower into the region. Meanwhile, efforts to build more solar and wind power are still underway… and some towns and cities have set their own renewable goals. We'll look at the reliability of these technologies… and talk about their role in the future of our region’s power grid.

The solid waste company Casella says it's running out of space for Northern New England's trash. So it's taking the rare step of planning a brand-new landfill, in the small Coös County town of Dalton. Lots of locals agree – they don't want the landfill. But they're divided on one potential tool to block it: zoning.

We know…we’ve been remiss, and it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Something Wild, as you know, is a chance to take a closer look at the wildlife, ecosystems and marvelous phenomena you can find in and around New Hampshire. But over the years there is one species in New Hampshire that we haven’t spent much time examining. A species, I think that has been conspicuous in its absence. Humans. So we’re grabbing the bull by the horns and digging in to a complex species that is an important part of the ecosystem. And we thought we’d start with a particular trait that’s been with us almost since the beginning: olfaction. The sense of smell among other sensory systems are relatively unchanged throughout mammalian history. As Nate Dominy, professor of anthropology and biological sciences at Dartmouth, says, “a lot of the traits we see in mammals are retention of those basic traits.” Dominy suggested our olfactory sense was really important to our proto-mammalian ancestors. Picture

This summer, towns in southern New Hampshire are breaking ground on what will become the state’s largest regional water system. It is being built in part with money from massive settlements between New Hampshire and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, that used to produce MtBE, a chemical that polluted local drinking water.

New restrictions on PFAS and what that means for Granite State communities. These chemicals have been found in public water supplies around the state. Used for decades in such products as Teflon and Gortex, they've been linked to serious health problems, spurring communities to take action, including lawsuits. Now, after intense pressure from community activists, New Hampshire officials have proposed some of the lowest PFAS limits in the country. We'll find out what's in store now, in terms of testing, following the health effects of these chemicals, and more.

The specter of drought is often raised in these early days of summer. And for good reason, though water levels have returned to normal around the New Hampshire, state officials are still warning residents to remain cautious after last summer drought. And while we often fret about the health of our lawns and our gardens, Dave (from the Forest Society) wanted to address drought resistance among his favorite species, trees. So, we all know that trees need water to survive. Basically the many leaves on a given tree have these pore-like holes called stomates that leak moisture into the surrounding air. As that vapor exits the tree through the leaves it draws more water up through the trunk and branches, like through a bundle of straws. Harnessing the power of the sun, trees break apart that water into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen molecules; forming glucose with the hydrogen and exhaling the oxygen into the atmosphere. The glucose is what fuels growth in the tree, from buds to bark to

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with Kevin Kwan. Host Peter Biello talks with the author of the bestselling Crazy Rich Asians about his latest book, Sex and Vanity.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with environmental activist Erin Brockovich.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with Diane Rehm.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with Rebecca Carroll. Carroll is an award-winning author, podcast host and Black culture critic.

We discuss the latest news about the new state budget, including the controversial 24-week abortion ban. We also explore the extension of the federal eviction moratorium and what that means for housing here in New Hampshire. And, we cover the latest COVID news in the Granite State.

You may have zoomed right by the broad green signs, but stopping for a moment to read a historical roadside marker gives a sense of the depth and complexity of the state’s past. The markers encompass a broad range of N.H. history: Abenaki Native Americans, poets, painters, contemporary sports figures, meeting houses, stone arch bridges, and long-lost villages, as well as factories and cemeteries. Any organization or individual can propose a historical highway marker and shepherd it through to reality. We discuss the process leading to the state's latest marker in Dover, honoring John Parker Hale.

Have you hiked Mount Lafayette in N.H.'s Franconia Notch? We talk with N.H. author Ty Gagne, about his new book “The Last Traverse: Tragedy and Resilience in the Winter Whites." It’s the true story of two friends on a winter hike that goes awry, and the search-and-rescue efforts that keep it from becoming a bigger tragedy. What makes it especially relevant for this moment is the insight into how we make high-stakes decisions and manage risk in uncertain situations.

Robert Frost famously said “good fences make good neighbors” and if you’re out for a walk in the woods in New Hampshire, you will likely find a stone wall. We talk with Kevin Gardner, a master stone builder and author of several books on the subject, about the on-going appeal of stone walls and how to build them. He explains the philosophy behind the craft of placing stone and examines the mythology of the stone wall and its place in the New England imagination.

Although Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the Civil War prevented it being enacted in much of the South. Emancipation Day, now known as Juneteenth, commemorates June 19, 1865, when around 250,000 enslaved people were declared free in Texas. NHPR's Peter Biello talks with historian Annette Gordon-Reed, whose book, On Juneteenth, gives a view of the country’s road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and episodes from her life growing up in Texas. In 1965, she was the first child to integrate her town’s all-white schools. Juneteenth became a N.H. state holiday in 2019.

Last summer, many trails were overcrowded as outdoor enthusiasts and newcomers took advantage of the Granite State’s natural resources. In a conversation recorded before Memorial Day this year, we discussed what lessons we take from that experience and what to expect this summer. We discussed how we can balance sharing the trails with all those who want to use them, and also promote stewardship of our natural resources.

Have you found the time to read more this past year or have you had less time or an inability to focus on the written word lately? Our annual Summer Book Show is back, and our indie booksellers have lots of titles to add to your "To Be Read" pile. Several authors are revisiting mythology, as well as revisiting American history. There's plenty of fiction for the beach or the pool, too, of course, as well as fantasy and compelling autobiographies. What are you looking forward to reading this summer?

Although Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the Civil War prevented it being enacted in much of the South. Emancipation Day, now known as Juneteenth, commemorates June 19, 1865, when around 250,000 enslaved people were declared free in Texas. NHPR's Peter Biello talks with historian Annette Gordon-Reed, whose book, On Juneteenth, gives a view of the country’s road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and episodes from her life growing up in Texas. In 1965, she was the first child to integrate her town’s all-white schools. Juneteenth became a N.H. state holiday in 2019.

In her final appearance, Laura Knoy is on the other side of The Exchange mic, as Peter Biello interviews her about her 25 years as host. We discuss the show's origins, moments that have stood out over the years, and hear her observations on how New Hampshire has changed.

We explore how data errors might have inflated New Hampshire's progress on distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. We also get an update on the latest environmental news in the Granite State and hear from NHPR's CEO about the decision to cease production of The Exchange at the end of the month. And we chat with long-time Berlin Sun editor Barbara Tetreault about her upcoming retirement.

Our Sky Crew returns for a send-off for Laura Knoy’s last show as Exchange host. The Sky Crew will be at their telescopes in the wee hours prior to the show checking out the partial solar eclipse visible in our area. We discuss the goals of NASA’s newly-announced missions to our nearest planetary neighbor, Venus, the growing problem of space junk, and what to think about UFOs.

We talk about what you need to know about the importance and safety of the COVID-10 vaccine in children, and the status and process of vaccination approval for children under twelve. Also, how to navigate summer activities, travel, and masks with unvaccinated children, and the impacts of the virus on kids.

After the coronavirus led to virtual Pride celebrations last year, some events will be held in-person this year. We find out how Granite Staters are observing Pride this year and explore their thoughts on how our country's current political climate is affecting LGBTQ folks.

The Exchange presents a special broadcast of Writers on a New England Stage with Kevin Kwan. Host Peter Biello talks with the author of the bestselling Crazy Rich Asians about his new book Sex and Vanity.

We discuss Thursday's Senate vote on the two-year state budget, including the new language for the so-called "divisive concepts" bill, tax cuts, and new policies related to abortion. We also explore an array of bills facing the House and talk about the effects of the pandemic on charitable giving in New Hampshire.

We know…we’ve been remiss, and it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Something Wild, as you know, is a chance to take a closer look at the wildlife, ecosystems and marvelous phenomena you can find in and around New Hampshire. But over the years there is one species in New Hampshire that we haven’t spent much time examining. A species, I think that has been conspicuous in its absence. Humans.

Here at Something Wild, we love all things wild (even blackflies !) but sometimes it can be helpful to look beyond a single species and consider how many species interact within a given environment. In our periodic series, New Hampshire’s Wild Neighborhoods, we endeavor to do just that and this time we’re looking at peatlands.

It’s an unmistakable sound. One that elicits memories, sights and scents of events long ago. It recalls the joy of youth, the possibility of a spring evening. But it can also incite insomnia and the blind rage that accompanies it.

For some, m aple sugaring is a perennial ritual, painstakingly completed as we usher out the bitter wisps of winter, and embrace balmier, brighter days of early spring. And whether you’re producing maple syrup with just a few buckets, or if you’ve expanded operations with a full-blown sugar shack … you know this much to be true: 1) S ugaring is an art 2) Sugaring is a science 3) And a great excuse to be outdoors, with family and friends. This week on Something Wild, we check in with novice maple-sugar farmer Phil Brown, Director of Land Management for New Hampshire Audubon, to discuss the unexpected joys of maple season. Most maple seasons last about 4 to 6 weeks, and b ecause sugaring is so dependent on the weather—we never know just how long optimal conditions will last. B y optimal conditions, we’re talking daytime temperatures that reach into the 40’s and overnight lows that land in the 20’s. This “goldilocks zone” is juuust right for maple sap runs, because temperature fluctuation