The Underdogs Ep1: Honey and vinegar

Outside/In

NHPR

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

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Underdogs Ep1: Honey and vinegar Outside/In host Nate Hegyi gets a surprising tip that leads him into the frozen and tight-knit world of competitive sled dog racing in Alaska. More about Outside/In presents The Underdogs: A few months ago, Outside/In host Nate Hegyi got a tip from the highest levels of the dog sledding community. It was about the first team from New Zealand to complete the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile race across some of Alaska’s harshest terrain. Over the past decade, Curt and Fleur Perano have transformed their success on the trail into a flourishing mushing tourism business in their home country’s south island. Some of their dogs have even appeared in a Marvel movie and a Taylor Swift music video. But behind the scenes, in the usually-guarded world of competitive dog sledding, the Peranos have burned bridges, destroyed friendships, and left a trail of debt totaling tens of thousands of dollars. In this special Outside/In mini-series, Nate investigates a story one musher describes as “one dead body away from Tiger King,” and exposes the singular culture within the world of elite mushing. Featuring: Jodi Bailey, Austin Sorem, Dan Kaduce, Jamie Nelson, and Marine Kuhn. SUPPORT Outside/In presents The Underdogs is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook LINKS Check out the results from the 2023 Iditarod Read the actual Iditarod rule (Rule 34) that states wild game animals killed in self-defense must be gutted and reported to a race official at the next checkpoint. To learn more about the physiology of Alaskan huskies, check out this TEDx talk from Michael Davis: “Canines in Combat and Competition” Read a review of Blair Braverman’s memoir, “Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube”. CREDITS Host: Nate Hegyi Reported and produced by Nate Hegyi Edited and mixed by Taylor Quimby Editing help from Rebecca Lavoie, Jack Rodolico, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jessica Hunt Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Dylan Sitts, Rand Aldo, and Amaranth Cove. Outside/In presents The Underdogs is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	A quick warning before we start, this podcast contains audio of Alaskan Huskies barking,
0:06.6	whining and woo-wooing.
0:08.0	So if you have pets of your own, consider using headphones when listening, because they
0:12.5	might freak out.
0:13.5	Also, there are a few curse words.
0:16.1	A few months ago, I got a tip.
0:39.3	It was the kind of wild story that makes you immediately call up your editor.
0:44.0	The kind of tip that lands you on a flight to Fairbanks Alaska.
0:51.3	Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas, but its entire population is only half the
0:56.5	size of San Antonio.
0:58.9	And most of those people live on the Alaskan coast in cities like Anchorage and Juno.
1:04.2	There were only six people on my flight.
1:06.6	No crying kids, nobody kicking the seat behind me.
1:16.8	We flew over rows of craggly snow-covered mountains and into these white foothills braided with
1:21.8	frozen rivers, a subarctic biome known as the Boreal Forest.
1:26.6	That's where Fairbanks is, deep in Alaskan's interior.
1:35.5	When I landed, it was negative 10 degrees.
1:38.4	So cold that I had to sneak into the airport bathroom to put on my long johns, two coats
1:43.0	and a beanie before stepping outside.
1:47.1	Ooh cold, cold cold cold.
1:50.3	It's the kind of cold that when you breathe in, it makes your cough, it's that kind of
1:57.2	cold, but beautiful sunset, my snot's freezing.
	...

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