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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pollster John McLaughlin says Evangelical turnout is critical in the presidential election.

The Rev. Roland Mouton, the twin brother of the late East Bethel Missionary Baptist Church pastor the Rev. Ronald K. Mouton, who was fatally shot in the chest in June 2022 after a 10-second argument with an Uber driver in Houston, is calling for the suspect in his brother’s killing to be jailed for violating the terms of his bond as his laments the slow pace of justice for his family. 

An attorney dedicated to upholding religious freedom stated that he is “greatly disturbed” to see what Michigan has become, warning of a “growing hostility” in the state toward the exercise of religion in the public square. 

Peanut the squirrel’s seizure and euthanization by New York officials has sparked blowback from President Donald Trump’s running mate and various public figures, with the deceased pet now serving as the inspiration for a new law intended to improve animal rights. 

A social media post from a well-known Evangelical pastor has sparked debate about Christians' engagement in politics and what pastors should advise their congregations. 

A 25-year-old Michigan man is facing federal charges after he allegedly threatened violence against conservative Christians over former President Donald Trump winning the presidential election.

Pastor John-Paul Miller is expected to appear in a Myrtle Beach court Thursday for a bond hearing after he was arrested and charged a day earlier with third-degree assault months after the suicide of his wife, Mica Miller.

Jackson Gatlin, a former young adult and online community pastor at The Vineyard Church in Duluth, Minnesota, who was charged last year with sexually abusing five teenage girls, will likely spend at least 13 years in prison and have to register as a sex offender when his sentence is complete after he accepted a plea deal for one of the five charges Wednesday.

A former “gender-care specialist” at Boston Children’s Hospital testified that her ex-employer slashed the time allotted for psychologists to assess minors expressing confusion about their sex before referring them for life-altering procedures. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is investigating allegations that workers were instructed to avoid homes displaying signs supporting Donald Trump during hurricane relief efforts in Florida. The guidance, reportedly issued by a FEMA supervisor, left Trump-supporting residents without aid, prompting criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the life sentence of a pastor who led a double life and murdered his fiancée on their wedding day.

An alleged photo showing Pastor Steve Lawson next to a woman believed to be his mistress has emerged online amid new scrutiny about the role of a California megachurch in the scandal.

Barely a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2021, and shortly before they would jet off to Angola in southern Africa with their five children to do missionary work, Beau Shroyer and his wife Jackie Shroyer who was recently charged in connection with his Oct. 25 murder, shared their troubled paths to Jesus and what made them so willing to dive into the mission field no matter the cost.

A GoFundMe campaign seeking to help the family of murdered missionary Beau Shroyer is hoping to raise at least $15,000 to repatriate his body to the U.S. and help his five children navigate “unimaginable loss and uncertainty” as his wife, Jackie Shroyer, faces charges in Angola for allegedly masterminding a murder plot. 

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 .

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

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 .

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

The holiday season is in full swing. And with December approaching, there's lots of ways to celebrate in the Granite State. 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 in December: Events mentioned here: Light Up Laconia , Dec. 1 Judy's Scary Little Christmas , Majestic Theatre in Manchester, Dec. 5-8 The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical , M&D at Eastern Slope Inn Playhouse, North Conway, Dec. 5-15 30th Annual Christmas in Strafford Craft Fair , Strafford, Dec. 7-8 The Christmas Revels , Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon, Dec. 21-23

We’ve been hearing a lot about Ukraine recently. From where it is on the map to its debunked involvement in the 2016 election. Even so, photographer Joseph Sywenkyj says we’ve heard very little about the people of Ukraine.

After winning the “Best Comedy” award at last year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival in Australia, New Hampshire native Gemma Soldati and comedy partner Amrita Dhaliwal are now taking their two-woman clown show, The Living Room , on the road. The show, which they describe as “a comedy about death, devised in grief,” will be touring major cities across the United States, Canada, and Australia.

With bars, restaurants and venues closed down indefinitely, it's harder than ever to be a working musician. But that doesn't mean New Hampshire artists aren't performing. NHPR's Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley spoke with Campton musician Jim Tyrrell to ask what he's doing while he can't play on stage. You can watch Jim Tyrrell and other local New Hampshire musicians play live shows here . Jim Tyrrell: This is pretty unprecedented for me, certainly, and for a lot of people. You know, we're all just kind of adjusting on the fly, but that's true of any industry, I suppose. Rick Ganley: Yeah, you're part of a group of, I think, pretty tight musicians in central New Hampshire that play a lot of the same venues different nights of the week. What are you hearing from your friends and your fellow musicians? Jim Tyrrell: Oh, I think we're all -- it is a pretty tight community, as you mentioned, and we're all connected on social media. So we're very supportive of one another. And we're just

With statues coming down around the country in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, NHPR’s Sean Hurley recently heard about one town in New Hampshire that is considering putting one up.

New Hampshire artists have suffered a lot during the pandemic, but they've also helped people get through these hard times. For NHPR's series, The Show Goes On , we're talking with artists across the state to hear what inspiration they've found throughout this year and what's kept them going.

All this week, NHPR is talking with artists about their work and how the past year has changed the way they create art. For the latest installment of “ The Show Goes On ," All Things Considered host Peter Biello explores the colorful streetscape of Nashua.

For NHPR's series, The Show Goes On , we've been talking with artists across New Hampshire about what inspiration they've found and how they've been making it through the pandemic. Jim Tyrrell is a musician based here in New Hampshire. NHPR first reached out to him about a year ago to ask how he was doing when everything was first shutting down. Morning Edition host Rick Ganley checked in with him recently to find out what he's been up to since then.

Laila Mickelwait has fought against sex trafficking for decades, and her latest memoir recounts her efforts to expose Pornhub and also how her Christian faith filled her with the strength to take on Goliath. 

As the calendar ushers in fall, now is the perfect time to visit Europe.

A majority of practicing Christians, including pastors, admit to viewing pornography and a large share say they are comfortable with the habit, a new study has found.

People suffering as a result of unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion should be allowed to seek professional help, and the Church must offer a more hopeful message than simply telling them to be celibate for the rest of their lives.

Bonar Tanudjaja, Southeast Asia and East Asia regional director of Generosity Path, shares the core principles of biblical generosity and how the Journey of Generosity has transformed individuals, churches and communities across Asia through sharing stories of people who are radically generous.

Events that occurred this week in Christian history include Bob Marley joining the Orthodox Church, the death of Billy Sunday, and Pope Leo X defending indulgences.

Despite being rebuked by Pastor Donnie Swaggart for endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to become the next president of the United States, Bishop John Drew Sheard, presiding bishop and chief apostle of the Church of God in Christ, defiantly anointed her with prayer before his congregation Sunday after declaring, “I believe we have the victory.”

The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe has taken over as the new leader of The Episcopal Church, declaring at his installation service that the denomination must unify and “finish the job” of witnessing to a “hurting world.”

A day after urging sex abuse victims of current or former leaders of the embattled Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, to report their abuse to elders, longtime elder at the megachurch, Tra Willbanks, revised his advice on Sunday urging them instead to “go to the police first.”

Former Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt and the SBC are scheduled to meet next year as part of his lawsuit against the denomination over allegations of defamation and invasion of privacy.

An Illinois-based congregation has agreed to pay more than $1.4 million in order to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church following litigation over who owned its property.

After a recent shooting of a Jewish man on his way to synagogue in Chicago and a surge in antisemitic incidents, a ministry focused on sharing the Gospel with Jewish communities is stepping up to equip Christians with tools to support God’s chosen people.

Bill Johnson’s Bethel Church in Redding, California, announced Sunday that it has planted a new church in Sydney, Australia, where Hillsong Church is headquartered. 

Events that occurred this week in Christian history include the martyrdom of a Georgian king, a social reformer claims to have a vision, and the founding of a Baptist denomination.

The Rev. Bernard Randall, an ordained Church of England chaplain, has taken legal action against Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for blocking a disciplinary case against the Bishop of Derby who labeled him a safeguarding risk due to his traditional Christian views on gender identity..

A historic African Methodist Episcopal church in Pennsylvania has been appointed its first woman pastor since the congregation was founded in the late 18th century.

After promising to refund the donations of members who questioned the stewardship of his church's finances, outspoken Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke has reneged on that offer. His attorney has allegedly threatened at least one donor who asked for their money back.

Pastor and bestselling author Voddie T. Baucham announced Monday that he and his family will be returning to his native United States after a decade living abroad in Lusaka, Zambia.