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Outside/In

Can an Animal be a Criminal?

Outside/In

NHPR

Society & Culture, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Nature, Science

4.71.5K Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2021

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Aspen, Colorado, bears descend from the mountains to gorge on unlocked restaurant dumpsters. In India, drunk elephants crash into bodegas searching for food. And behind these human-wildlife conflicts are the researchers and scientists who are trying to prevent us from killing each other.  Author Mary Roach is no stranger to squirmy subjects: she’s written about the science of decomposition, digestion, and sex. By comparison, her latest book sounds almost cute: It’s called Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. But don’t be fooled, because this book is “wilder” than anything else she’s ever written. Reminder: you don’t need to read the book to enjoy Outside/In Book Club! The conversation is open to all. In this episode, we speak with Mary about humanity’s drive to keep wild animals out of our kitchens, communities, and crops, and the absurd -- and sometimes disturbing -- lengths we’ll go to do it.  Our next pick for the Outside/In Book Club is Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore, by Elizabeth Rush. Again, you don’t have to read it to enjoy the show, but if you do,  don’t forget to tag us @OutsideInRadio on Twitter and Instagram, and use the hashtag #ReadingOutsideIn to share your thoughts and questions. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In.  Subscribe to our newsletter. LINKS More about Mary Roach CREDITS Produced by Taylor Quimby and Jessica Hunt Edited by Justine Paradis Executive Producer: Rebecca Lavoie Mixed by Taylor Quimby Additional Editing: Jessica Hunt, and Felix Poon Theme: Breakmaster Cylinder Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is outside in, I'm Justine Paradise, and please allow me to introduce Mary Roach.

0:08.6

Mary's the kind of person who's got info about wildlife that you would never find in

0:13.0

a field guide.

0:14.0

There's a lot of good stuff in a human refrigerator and freezer, particularly in a wealthy community,

0:19.6

and apparently the bears prefer the premium ice cream, the less expensive Western family

0:24.4

ice cream.

0:25.4

Mary's going to get sued by Western family ice cream, per se.

0:30.0

The bears don't, and will not even eat their ice cream.

0:36.4

Mary Roach is a nonfiction author known for her one syllable titles.

0:40.2

Her books, Stiff, Gulp, and Bunk, each cover the science behind one of life's squirmiest

0:46.3

subjects.

0:47.4

In Stiff, it's research into death and decomposition.

0:51.5

Bunk is all about digestion, and Bunk is a headlong dive into the science of sex.

0:57.0

The orgasm reflex can be triggered by a surprisingly broad range of input.

1:02.6

There's such a thing as a knee orgasm in the literature.

1:06.0

The most curious one that I came across was a case report of a woman who had an orgasm

1:11.8

every time she brushed her teeth.

1:14.6

Maybe you would think this one would have excellent oral hygiene.

1:22.5

That's Mary.

1:23.5

From her TED Talk, ten things you didn't know about orgasms.

1:27.6

What makes Mary's books so fun to read is that she's almost always a part of the action.

1:32.2

She's either tagging along in the field, volunteering as a research subject, or occasionally getting

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