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Who owns the sky?

Men and women with telescopes, gyroscopes, a hot-air balloon in a detail of an engraving
Detail of an engraving by E. Voysard (1746-1812) after C.L. Desrais.

If you own land in the United States, do you also own the airspace above it? In other words, who owns the sky?

The answer begins with a medieval Roman principle of property rights, which made it all the way to American courts: “Whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to Heaven and down to Hell."

We asked our friends Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy, cohosts of Civics 101, to join us to explore the uniquely American philosophy of property, to the moon and back.

Featuring Colin Jerolmack, Michael Heller, George Anthony Long, and Deondre Smiles.

Click here for a full transcript and links to more information.

Justine Paradis is a producer and reporter for NHPR's Creative Production Unit, most oftenOutside/In. Before NHPR, she produced Millennial podcast from Radiotopia, contributed to podcasts including Love + Radio, and reported for WCAI & WGBH from her hometown of Nantucket island.
Outside/In is a show where curiosity and the natural world collide. Click here for podcast episodes and more.
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