Ep. 840: Polar Bear Jail and an Olympic Cheesemonger | MeatEater Radio Live!

·1 hr 19 min·5 clips

A conservation officer recounts standing 15 feet from a polar bear while armed with a shotgun and a Daniel Defense rifle.

The episode opens live from MeatEater HQ in Bozeman, with host Spencer joined by Randall and Seth, and a visiting class from Poplar Middle School. Spencer announces the show's finale in one week, a six-hour live stream event. The first interview is with Sergeant Ian Van Ness, a Manitoba conservation officer in Churchill, who details the Polar Bear Alert Program, explaining how his team manages human-polar bear coexistence using hazing tactics, traps, and a unique polar bear holding facility known as the 'polar bear jail.' He describes close encounters with bears, his arsenal including a shotgun and Daniel Defense DD5 rifle, and the process of incarcerating problematic bears for 30 days without food. Next, the Hot Tip-Off segment pits two listeners against each other: Marshall Loftus demonstrates using a UV light to find lost arrows, while Dalton Bichard shares a homemade PVC jaw jacker for ice fishing; the chat votes Marshall the winner. Listener feedback touches on topics like turkey hunting, razors, and brats versus dogs. The second interview features Emilia Dalbero, who won gold at the 2025 Cheesemonger Olympics in France. She discusses her background in Italian studies and butchery, her imposter syndrome, and America's cheese reputation. She provides cheese pairing recommendations for wild game, suggesting Gruyere or smoky blue for venison, Parmigiano-Reggiano for feral hog, pecorino Romano for rabbit, and teleggio for wild mushrooms. The final segment is MeatEater Movie Club, where Randall reviews the 2018 Netflix film 'The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter,' analyzing its themes of performance and father-son dynamics, while the co-hosts discuss its comedic elements and hunting culture references. The episode concludes with more listener feedback and reminders about the upcoming finale.

As heard by us

A live MeatEater broadcast where polar-bear logistics, improvised fishing gear, arrow-finding tricks, and cheese-world competition share one table.

A live broadcast from MeatEater HQ in Bozeman becomes a loose, funny pass through outdoor know-how, wildlife management, hunting culture, and food-world competition.

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Why you'd press play

You get Canada's Polar Bear Jail, homemade ice-fishing ingenuity, and a gold-medal Cheesemonger Olympics detour in one busy live visit.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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