Ultimately, I'd love to create a scientific community where you can come and you can say,

I feel this way and not have anyone say you're overreacting.

Hi, I'm Willow Belden and you're listening to Out There, the podcast that explores big questions through intimate stories outdoors.

The person you just heard is Jasmine Graham. She's the founder of a group called Minorities in Shark Science.

Our interview with her was done for a new series that we're rolling out.

Later in this episode, I'm going to give you a sneak peek into that series.

I'm really excited about it, and I think you will be too.

But first, we've gained a lot of new listeners over the past few years,

and I'd love to take a moment to welcome you all.

I'm so glad you're here.

As a special treat, between now and the end of the year, we are planning to run an episode each week instead of every two weeks.

Some of those episodes will be old favorites from the early days of Out There.

If you're new to the show, you may never have heard these stories.

And if you've been listening since the beginning, we hope that hearing some of our timeless classics will put a smile on your face.

The story you're going to hear today is the first story we ever aired on Out There.

It's also one that's gotten a lot of praise from listeners.

It's a story about a man who spent years living with a herd of deer.

He's a biologist, and he felt that the best way to understand the animals he was studying was to

essentially become one of them. This is the story of how he did that. It's a story of love,

of curiosity, and ultimately of sadness. And it's a story about what happens when the line between fact and feeling becomes blurred.

Joe Hutto lives on a modest ranch in central Wyoming.

The rolling hills around the house are covered with sagebrush, and fruit trees are scattered

...