Mongabay Newscast
Mongabay's award-winning podcast features inspiring scientists, authors, journalists and activists discussing global environmental issues from climate change to biodiversity, rainforests, wildlife conservation, animal behavior, marine biology and more.
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Freeing ourselves from cars is simpler (and healthier) than we may think
12/02/2025
Freeing ourselves from cars is simpler (and healthier) than we may think
Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon and Aaron Naparstek realized that no one was discussing the many cultural factors that have played a role in humanity’s car dependency, or the negative impacts this reliance on motor vehicles has on human health and the planet. So they started their own show to do exactly that, . Gordon joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss just how human society got here — and how we might get ourselves out of it — which is also the subject of a new book he co-authored with Goodyear and Naparstek, : . “We felt that nobody was really covering the car as this overwhelming determinative force in the life of you as an individual, the life of society and nature, politics, culture, everything,” he says. Take a minute to let us know what you think of our audio reporting, which you can do . The Mongabay Newscast is available on major podcast platforms, including and , and all previous episodes are accessible at our website’s . Mike DiGirolamo is a host & associate producer for Mongabay based in Sydney. He co-hosts and edits the Mongabay Newscast. Find him on and . Image Credit: Cover art for the book ‘Life After Cars’. Artwork by Alissa Rose Theodor. Courtesy of Penguin Random House. -------- Timecodes (00:00) The War on Cars (05:48) The unseen impacts of cars (25:30) Imagining ‘Life After Cars’ (33:42) How to decrease car dependency
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Indigenous and local communities regain millions of hectares of land via successful legal effort
11/25/2025
Indigenous and local communities regain millions of hectares of land via successful legal effort
Nonette Royo is a lawyer from the Philippines and executive director of , a group of “barefoot lawyers” working to secure land tenure for Indigenous, local and Afro-descendant communities across the world. To date, the organization has secured more than $150 million in funding and has made progress in securing land rights covering across 35 projects, an area larger than Greece. Royo joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss the organization’s success, its recognition as a for the 2025 Earthshot Prize, and why land rights are so crucial both for cultural survival and slowing the pace of global ecological degradation. “This work is really about land tenure, and about land and people. And it is very important because at this point in our world, where we are breaching , we are still hesitating to invest in the people who protect our land, our forests and our diverse systems,” she says. Take a minute to let us know what you think of our audio reporting, which you can do . The Mongabay Newscast is available on major podcast platforms, including and . All previous episodes are accessible on the Mongabay website. Mike DiGirolamo is a host & associate producer for Mongabay based in Sydney. He co-hosts and edits the Mongabay Newscast. Find him on and . Banner Image: Women of Masaka embark on cassava cultivation. The plantation areas are located in the heart of the community of Mabaka in the Kwango region. Image by Ley Uwera. Courtesy of The Tenure Facility. ---------- Timecodes (00:00) The ‘barefoot lawyers’ helping secure land rights (06:28) How the legal system can protect nature and rights (10:29) Challenges and successes (15:36) Better mapping tech is helping (27:16) Goals and progress of the Tenure Facility
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Madagascar conservation successes hinge on public education and health, famed primatologist says
11/18/2025
Madagascar conservation successes hinge on public education and health, famed primatologist says
Patricia Wright, a pioneering primatologist who established the research station in Madagascar, began her work there in 1986. As the person who first described the golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) to Western science, her contributions led to the creation of Ranomafana National Park, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She joins the Mongabay Newscast to discuss her conservation breakthroughs and the challenges the island faces during political instability and widespread poverty. Wright has participated in the making of numerous documentaries over the years, including Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, narrated by Morgan Freeman, and recently Ivohiboro: The Lost Forest and Surviving Alone: The Tale of Simone. In this conversation, she describes key findings from the latter two films, including how Ivohiboro, a montane tropical forest surrounded by desert, was unknown to Western science until Wright set foot there in 2016. Films like these are a crucial part of marketing conservation, wildlife and places such as Madagascar, Wright says. “It plays a pivotal role in the public understanding what the real issues are. I think the films [are] very important to get across the idea that there is a biodiversity crisis.” Take a minute to let us know what you think of our audio reporting, which you can do . The Mongabay Newscast is available on major podcast platforms, including and . All previous episodes are accessible on the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus diadema). Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. ------- Timecodes (00:00) Madagascar’s biodiversity crisis (03:49) Establishing Ranomafana National Park (08:23) Surviving Alone: The Tale of Simone (17:22) Exploring the Ivohiboro rainforest (30:41) Challenges and solutions in Madagascar conservation (45:52) The importance of research stations
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Mongabay founder reflects on success, Jane Goodall, and more
11/04/2025
Mongabay founder reflects on success, Jane Goodall, and more
Hello listeners. This week on the Mongabay Newscast, we ask that you take a few minutes to fill out a brief survey to let us know what you think of our audio reporting, which you can do . Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Butler was recently awarded the by the and named to the list alongside conservation greats such as David Attenborough. The credit for this success belongs to Mongabay, Butler says on this week’s podcast. “While my name is on the award, it's for Mongabay. All that Mongabay achieves is not necessarily me. I’m the figurehead,” Butler says of receiving the Henry Shaw Medal. Butler also shares his thoughts and reflections on the passing of his longtime friend, and conservation icon, Jane Goodall, through whom he learned to see the value in hope and optimism. “The biggest thing I took away from my relationship with Jane … is the importance of hope,” he says. “She was truly a messenger for hope.” You can read Butler’s obituary for Jane Goodall . Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . All past episodes are also listed at the Mongabay website. Image Credit: The last photo taken between Rhett Butler and Jane Goodall, who shared a friendship for nearly 15 years, at the Forbes Sustainability Leadership Summit in New York. Image courtesy of Sofia Negron. ----- Timecodes (00:00) The importance of hope (08:01) Rhett’s awards and Mongabay’s impact (12:39) The role of independent journalism (24:18) Expanding Mongabay's global reach (31:44) State of the world’s forests
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Australia’s inspiring ‘humpback comeback’ and why krill need protection
10/28/2025
Australia’s inspiring ‘humpback comeback’ and why krill need protection
News of Australia’s “humpback comeback” is making waves globally. Numbers of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on the nation’s east coast have rebounded to an estimated 50,000 from a historic low of just a few hundred before commercial whaling was outlawed in the 1970s. And wildlife scientist and whale expert Vanessa Pirotta joins the podcast to discuss this inspiring conservation achievement. Pirotta emphasizes this is a good news story that deserves to be celebrated, and that it could also bolster action for other whale species that are struggling, including the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) and blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). However, she stresses that vigilant protection for all whale species remains necessary. This good news is tempered by the fact that the key food source for humpbacks in this part of the world is Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), which is now being heavily harvested by industrial fishing fleets after protections for the species recently lapsed. Pirotta notes that krill are a keystone species for both humpbacks and a much broader array of marine life, including penguins and seals. Pirotta also discusses her cetacean health research based on the collection of “whale snot” (see Mongabay’s explainer video about this method, which involves the use of drones, ) and whale monitoring work conducted with Indigenous conservation group . Listeners can learn more about her work at and find her book, Humpback Highway, . Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . All past episodes are also listed at the Mongabay website. Image credit: A humpback whale. Image by ArtTower via Pixabay (Public domain). ----- Timecodes (00:00) The ‘humpback comeback’ (14:50) Why krill need protection (19:29) The Gamay Rangers sharing Indigenous knowledge (28:05) Antarctica and whale snot (32:12) Migaloo the white whale (36:16) How whale populations impact all of us
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Understanding the psychology of environmental crime
10/21/2025
Understanding the psychology of environmental crime
Psychologist and true crime presenter joins Mongabay's podcast to discuss her latest read, examining some of the highest-profile environmental crimes and why they occur, in . She details the commonalities behind six major cases, and what can be learned from them, as described by six motivating factors: ease, impunity, greed, rationalization, conformity, and desperation. "As a psychologist, I was like, ‘What if we create a psychological profile of the various people involved with these various big crimes?’ And so that's how I came to the Six Pillars because I was using a model from criminology, which is called Situational Crime Prevention Theory, and of looking at the factors that contribute to a crime being committed," she says. Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . All past episodes are also listed at the Mongabay website. Related Listening & Viewing: Watch Mongabay’s on How to Cover Wildlife Trafficking featuring expertise from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Hear activist detail his operation which employs former loggers to be conservationists. Listen to Cambridge researcher describe how society can tackle inequality and save nature. Image Credit: Photo of the author, Julia Shaw. Photo by Boris Breuer. --- Timecodes (00:00) From eco-depression to action (05:29) Why people commit environmental crimes (12:08) The ‘unsung heroes’ defending the environment (18:21) It’s not just greed (24:43) Whistleblowers and regulators are key (36:53) Towards consistent enforcement (42:02) Our biospheric values play a role
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Innovative initiatives for nature recognized with World Future Policy Awards
10/14/2025
Innovative initiatives for nature recognized with World Future Policy Awards
Policies enacted by seven nations and one international agreement have been by the World Future Council for “top policy solutions for [humans], nature and generations to come.” On this edition of Mongabay’s podcast, the council’s CEO, Neshan Gunasekera, shares key highlights of the eight World Future Policy Award laureates. Under the theme of “Living in Harmony with Nature and Future Generations,” the winners for 2025 “bring to light the future orientation of the way we take decisions at [a] time that there are multiple crises facing ourselves as a species, but also the planet,” he says. The winning legal and legislative initiatives span seven nations, from South Africa to Uganda, Panama, Spain, Aotearoa New Zealand, Bhutan and Austria. The (BBNJ), which establishes a binding U.N. treaty on the use of ocean resources beyond national borders, was among the initiatives awarded. The movement that granted legal personhood to the in Aotearoa New Zealand was also recognized. Both of these cases were previously the focus of Mongabay Newscast episodes hosted by Rachel Donald. “Nature doesn't need us, we need nature,” Gunasekera says. “And I think that's the realization we are coming to quite slowly, because any act that we have has a positive impact on the planet. But also, if you're not careful, every act could have a negative impact. Impact on nature has no national boundaries or borders. It has a global impact.” Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . All past episodes are also listed at the Mongabay website. Image Credit: The wide, steep-cliffed Whanganui River ferries spring water and snowmelt from Mount Tongariro to the west coast of Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island. Image by Jason Pratt via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) ------- Timecodes (00:00) The World Future Policy Awards (10:48) The global impact of ‘Rights of Nature’ laws (14:15) Addressing the criticisms of ‘Rights of Nature’ (27:17) Human rights and global enforcement (36:16) The global impact award
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Bird-watching’s wide appeal and social justice impact
10/07/2025
Bird-watching’s wide appeal and social justice impact
Wildlife biologist and ornithologist Corina Newsome of the U.S. NGO joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss how bird-watching plays a role in environmental justice for underserved communities in urban areas, and provides an accessible way for people to connect with nature and drives impactful change. “Birding is an opportunity [for] people to fill in data gaps where they live [to] help direct investments that come from the world of conservation … from federal to state to local levels that have usually been funneled away from their communities,” she says on this episode. Newsome says that birding changed her own life, and she’s hopeful it can also change the world, because bird health has direct implications for biodiversity health at large. “ What birds require of us will benefit us in ways that are far beyond bird conservation. We can work together to solve problems and think about the ecological emergency and environmental harms are taking place across landscapes, across boundaries,” she says. Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . All past episodes are also listed at the Mongabay website. Thumbnail image: American Avocet. Image by via (). ------ Timecodes (00:00) Corina Newsome: Wildlife biologist and ornithologist (04:08) Birding changes your life (14:21) Birding, environmental and social justice (26:48) Birds as symbols of hope and resilience
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Storytelling with wildlife photography drives global impact and healing
09/30/2025
Storytelling with wildlife photography drives global impact and healing
On this episode of Mongabay’s weekly podcast, we look at nature through the lens of wildlife photographer and senior marketing associate at Mongabay, Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo, the multilingual staffer charged with sharing the team’s reporting and mission with the world. Prescott-Cornejo details how his work with Mongabay intersects with his passion for , what makes a good photo, and how anyone can connect with nature by getting to know their own “local patch.” “There are so many beautiful things, whether big or small, that can be very, very close to you — and you don't need to go photograph the biggest animals, just photograph what's close,” he says. His photography — along with images created by three of his colleagues, including Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler — is currently at an exhibition at the Linden Street Gallery near Boston. The show’s theme of “Biophilia,” which celebrates humanity's love for nature, also refers to Mongabay’s recent receipt of the , and is on view until Nov. 4, 2025. Readers and podcast listeners are invited to showcase their own wildlife photography by entering Mongabay’s “Wildlife Wonders” photo contest: starting on Oct. 1, just post your best wildlife image at Instagram and tag it with #MongabayWildlifeWonders and in the description for a chance to be featured. The contest will accept entries until Oct. 22. Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . All past episodes are also listed at the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Mountain gorillas by Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo for Mongabay. ---- Timecodes (00:00) Alejandro’s connection with multiple languages (07:27) Why Alejandro finds healing in nature (12:59) Get to know your “local patch” (19:37) Ethical concerns of photography (24:34) What makes a good photo? (29:58) Alejandro’s work for Mongabay (32:50) The Biophilia exhibit, and visiting a gorllia (41:32) Alejandro’s favorite landscape
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Stewarding nature & Indigenous culture with shared knowledge & radio
09/24/2025
Stewarding nature & Indigenous culture with shared knowledge & radio
Aimee Roberson, executive director of , joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss how her organization helps Indigenous communities maintain their traditions, languages and knowledge while living among increasingly Westernized societies. As a biologist and geologist with Indigenous heritage, Roberson is uniquely suited to lead the organization in bridging these worlds, including via “,” which blends traditional ecological knowledge and Western science to increase humanity’s ways of knowing, toward a view of people as active participants in shaping the natural world. Cultural Survival also sees radio as a critical tool for keeping communities together and fostering a relationship with the land. Roberson shares how their robust is specifically designed to train and empower Indigenous media creators to share local news and cultural information of critical importance, in multiple languages across the world. “It's something that's [a] core part of what we do. Some people are like, ‘Ah, radio, you know, this is 2025. Who cares about radio?’ But Indigenous people really care about radio because it keeps our communities together. It's a primary form of communication.” Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . All past episodes are also listed at the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Lolita Cabrera (Maya K’iche’), an Indigenous rights activist from Guatemala. Photo by Jamie Malcom-Brown/ Cultural Survival. ---- Timecodes (00:00) A bridge between two worlds (09:28) The fallacy of ‘Objectivity’ (17:20) The Indigenous Kinship Circle (22:24) We all have Indigenous roots somewhere (28:19) Indigenous led local radio (37:55) AI cannot substitute the human experience
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Canada's mining sector a stain on the nation, Indigenous journalist reports
09/16/2025
Canada's mining sector a stain on the nation, Indigenous journalist reports
An international tribunal of environmental rights activists recently found that the Canadian mining sector is “guilty for the violation of Rights of Nature across South America and Serbia.” The guest on this episode of Mongabay’s podcast corroborates these accusations, and describes human rights abuses in South American nations that she has seen in her reporting, too. , a Cree-Iroquois-French environmental journalist and freelancer for Mongabay, discusses how Canadian mining projects impact ecological health and the rights of Indigenous communities in places such as Ecuador and Bolivia. “Canada is the mining giant of the world, and around the world, they're getting away with atrocities. They aren't regulated very well to hold them to account. It's a free-for-all out there,” she says. Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to . All past episodes are also listed at the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Intag community members block security guards hired by the mining company Copper Mesa Corporation (at the time a Canadian firm) from entering Junin Reserve in Ecuador in 2006. Image courtesy of Elisabeth Weydt. ----- Time codes (00:00) Canadian mining in South America (15:39) A ‘green transition’? (23:50) A mining state in Ecuador (28:19) The International Rights of Nature Tribunal (35:00) You can’t protect the Earth by destroying the Earth
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Top court delivers a 'huge' climate win for island nations
09/09/2025
Top court delivers a 'huge' climate win for island nations
The recent from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on states' obligations regarding climate change was celebrated globally for providing clarity on countries’ legal obligation to prevent climate , but was also appreciated by island nations for its additional certainty on their maritime boundaries remaining intact regardless of sea level rise. This week on Mongabay’s podcast, environmental lawyer Angelique Pouponneau, a Seychelles native and lead negotiator for the (AOSIS), explains these victories, their legal implications, and how they matter for small island nations. She says Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face a multitude of, “one of which [was] this idea of the shrinking exclusive economic zones.” are the waters that lie within the jurisdiction of a nation, usually 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from its shore. With the ICJ advisory opinion, there’s now legal certainty that this zone will remain within the jurisdiction of a state, even if its shoreline shrinks as a result of rising seas due to climate change. “What island nations were trying to guard against through state practice was essentially if there were ever to be loss of territory, it would not mean loss of exclusive economic zone,” Pouponneau says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Mike DiGirolamo is a host & associate producer for Mongabay based in Sydney. He co-hosts and edits the Mongabay Newscast. Find him on and . Image Credit: Island in the South Pacific, Fiji. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. ---- Timecodes (00:00) The importance of the SIDS alliance (10:09) ’Wins’ in the ICJ advisory opinion (17:38) What about enforcement? (21:29) Maritime boundaries will remain (27:38) What are sustainable ‘blue economies?’ (32:32) Concerns about development & ‘debt for nature’ (42:12) Frustrations with Global Plastic Treaty negotiations (45:50) Looking to the BBNJ treaty
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Saving ourselves and nature means tackling inequality
09/03/2025
Saving ourselves and nature means tackling inequality
is a primary culprit behind the ecological and environmental collapse of societies over the past 12,000 years, which have come to be dominated by a small circle of elites hoarding resources like , research shows. Today, instead of an isolated collapse, we face a global one, says , a researcher at the University of Cambridge’s . On this episode of Mongabay’s Newscast, Kemp explains how wealth inequality is not just tied to, but may be the very cause of the ecological destruction we are witnessing today, and how tackling that is key to how we solve all these challenges, as he recently told . “Imperial overexpansion, depleting the natural environment, having elite competition and popular immiseration, all [are] just simply the natural effect of inequality. All is driven by growing concentrations of power and wealth inequality,” he says. Humans are not naturally like this, Kemp explains. Rather, for the vast majority of their existence, they have coexisted in nomadic, interconnected societies, functioning in a largely egalitarian fashion. Until the discovery that grain could be harvested — and therefore also stolen and hoarded with violence — humans did not dominate one another, as we do today. As mentioned in the episode, you can read a recent piece on what listeners and readers can do overcome despair in the face of existential threats such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Statue of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt. Photo by Rhett Butler/Mongabay. ----- Timecodes (00:00) Why humans are egalitarian (08:06) Why authoritarianism is so pervasive (14:12) How and why societies fall (20:58) Our global society is at risk (24:22) How we solve it (30:25) Capping wealth at 10m (37:54) Citizen juries and how they work (45:11) Could a ‘ministry for the future’ work? (46:54) Lessons from the Khoisan Peoples (51:00) Democracy isn’t just a ‘left-wing’ idea
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Tales of wonder in an age of extinction with author Natalie Kyriacou
08/26/2025
Tales of wonder in an age of extinction with author Natalie Kyriacou
On this episode of the Newscast we take a look at Natalie Kyriacou’s widely praised new book, , whose high-profile fans, like Paris climate agreement architect call it a “lyrical call to awaken our love for the wild before the music stops.” Kyriacou, the founder of the environmental organization , shares her aim of the book, her thoughts on real solutions to our ecological problems, what she wishes more people understood about nature, and why they need to fall in love with it. “If there’s one simple thing that we can do, it is to just step outside and feel that wonder and look up and appreciate it … if we are going to protect nature, to protect something, you need to fall in love with it.” Always honest and often humorous, this deeply researched volume clearly outlines the economic, political and cultural drivers of our most significant ecological problems, and what the reader can do to effect meaningful change. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Natalie Kyriacou. Photo by Chloe Paul. -- Timecodes (00:00) Making nature mainstream (04:28) Challenging bias about nature (12:38) Stories of recovery (16:23) How we all depend on nature (21:55) Porches and peacocks (27:03) Your actions are a vote (35:18) Inspiration from Costa Rica (38:55) Lessons from the Montreal Protocol (45:08) To protect it, you have to love it
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Rewilding the world, one acre at a time
08/12/2025
Rewilding the world, one acre at a time
Rewilding advocate, financier and host of the popular podcast , Ben Goldsmith, joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss nature restoration in his home country of England, where a significant cultural change is taking hold toward reviving biodiversity, such as . Once seen as a nuisance there, many farmers and planners now embrace the rebound of the huge rodent, thanks to its impressive ability to mitigate flooding events that the island nation now experiences with regularity, due to climate change. “If you stop a random person on the street now, in the city or in the countryside, they know that beavers are back, that [they] are native species, that they play a vital role in managing our rivers,” he says. However, he argues that while there has been some rewilding momentum in England, it’s not happening fast enough, particularly for larger carnivores like wolves. “The idea of reintroducing them is considered madness. Even though there are news reports of swelling populations of deer and growing incidents of Lyme disease and road traffic collisions and a disequilibrium in our forests,” Goldsmith says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Image Credit: Chrome Hill in Yorkshire, England. Image by via (Pixabay free content ). Timecodes ------ (00:00) “We don’t have wildlife here” (11:46) England’s rewilding comeback (15:05) Cultural and economic shifts (25:24) Changing environment policy (30:52) Nitrogen and pollinators (37:43) Getting along with ‘difficult’ wildlife (47:51) Rewilding the World
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Alan Weisman’s ‘Hope Dies Last’ weaves stories of environmental hope
08/05/2025
Alan Weisman’s ‘Hope Dies Last’ weaves stories of environmental hope
On this week’s episode of Mongabay’s podcast, best-selling author Alan Weisman details the people and places he visited in reporting his new book, , a chronicle of miraculous accomplishments and resilience of the book’s protagonists, many of whom are working to solve humanity’s most intractable ecological problems. The book’s impetus was an accumulation of despair at the state of the world and how humanity treats it. “I started this book because I was really, really, really depressed about how I saw systems breaking down,” Weisman says. But as he uncovered each story, Weisman’s tune changed. He explains the ingenuity and bravery of the people and projects he visited that altered his perspective on what is possible. “By the end of this book, I was so uplifted by all these people — and by the variety of people — that I found, in the most extraordinarily different circumstances, each of them daring to hope and oftentimes succeeding, that I'm there with them. This ain't over.” Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Image Credit: Kicker Rock in the Galápagos, Ecuador. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. Timecodes ------- (00:00) The Mesopotamian Revitalization Project (07:56) Why does Hope struggle against itself? (13:27) Creating food from thin air (24:06) Suing the government to protect species (31:03) The most dangerous country Alan visited, the U.S. (35:54) New forms of energy (45:39) Power is the most addictive drug (51:53) This ain’t over
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How empathy and spiritual ecology can heal humanity’s rift with nature
07/29/2025
How empathy and spiritual ecology can heal humanity’s rift with nature
is a new podcast series from the nonprofit nature and culture magazine that speaks with prominent figures in conservation and culture about how humans relate to the natural world, and how they might heal and strengthen that relationship. On this episode of Mongabay’s podcast, its host and Atmos editor-in-chief Willow Defebaugh details the series’ resulting revelations and why her publication covers the environment through the lens of community, identity, arts and culture. “From the beginning, we knew that we wanted to invite creative storytellers and artists into this conversation alongside scientists and journalists,” she explains. Storytelling and the arts, she says, house rarely tapped potential for helping people place themselves in the context of nature: “I think that what we need is to be changing people's hearts, not just minds.” Defebaugh also highlights how little individual action is actually needed to inspire greater collective action among the public, a fact that Harvard researchers : only 3.5% of the public needs to be engaged in non-violent resistance for a movement to succeed. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Image Credit: Willow Defebaugh, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Atmos. Image courtesy of Camila Falquez/Atmos. --- Timecodes (00:00) The nature of relationships (11:24) Why science and empathy go together (16:23) On ‘spiritual ecology’ (20:43) Meditations on how humans see nature (23:41) Willow’s inspiration (26:10) Identity, community & nature (28:43) Art & culture (31:10) Biomimicry (36:38) Collective vs individual action (43:14) Speaking of solutions
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How Singapore leads the way in urban-wildlife coexistence
07/22/2025
How Singapore leads the way in urban-wildlife coexistence
Singapore has come a long way since the 1880s, when only roughly 7% of its native forests remained. Since the 1960s, when the city-state gained independence, it has implemented a number of urban regreening initiatives, and today, nearly 47% of the city is considered green space, providing numerous benefits to human residents and wildlife, like heat mitigation, freshwater conservation and cleanliness, carbon sequestration, coastal climate adaptation, biodiversity protection, and public enjoyment. To discuss his city’s regreening efforts — from the philosophical to the practical applications of methods and mindset shifts that have allowed the city to revitalize its urban wildlife interface — Anuj Jain, director and principal ecologist at the biomimicry consultancy and an adviser to BirdLife International, joins Mongabay’s latest podcast. “ Through the greening initiatives in Singapore, it's attracted a lot of species, many of which actually had declined before, some even had gone extinct, or locally extinct,” Jain says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Image Credit: Supertree grove is part of the Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) urban park in Singapore, covering 105 hectares (260 acres). Image by Tien Tran (tientran0019) via (). -- Timecodes (00:00) Making the ‘city in a garden’ (10:01) What Singapore looks like today (13:51) The many benefits of urban greenery (20:53) Ecology and biomimicry design (24:30) Cleaner, more plentiful water (25:55) Urban regreening in the Middle East (29:16) To densify, or not to densify? (33:04) Where Singapore still struggles (36:33) Living more harmoniously with wildlife
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To change the world, change the narrative
07/15/2025
To change the world, change the narrative
Narratives help shape our society, culture and environment, entrenching beliefs that can help — or harm — our planet and human rights. , story manager at , joins Mongabay's podcast to explain how dominant narratives — stories shaped by existing power structures and institutions — often undergird destructive industries and favor the powerful and the wealthy, and to discuss what people can do to counter such narratives. In this interview, she expands upon thoughts shared in the essay “How to Reject Dominant Narratives,” from the new book , published by . "A dominant narrative in reality would be anything that supports the status quo … what we have right now is a system in which we're trashing the world in which a small minority is profiting off of that destruction, and in which the vast majority of humanity does not have the basic necessities for a dignified human existence," she says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Image Credit: Emergent tree in the Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay. --- Timecodes (00:00) What is a dominant narrative? (08:04) Understand how they work (12:56) Countering the narrative (17:56) Making a more compelling appeal (20:31) The real goal is to change our conditions (23:32) When movements get co-opted (26:20) Conversation is key (28:49) Creating a narrative where none exists
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Cash for community conservation is tight, but this nonprofit unlocks it
07/01/2025
Cash for community conservation is tight, but this nonprofit unlocks it
says organizations know best how to tackle the complex conservation challenges unique to their ecosystems. However, they’re also among the most underserved in terms of funding of all stripes. On this week's episode of Mongabay's podcast, Collomb explains how his nonprofit, (WCN), is working to change that. When it comes to funding conservation," it's really difficult to know who to give your money to besides a handful of organizations that a lot of people are familiar with," Collomb says. WCN facilitates partnerships between community-based conservation groups, primarily in Global South nations with funders, in what has previously been described as “‘venture capital for conservation,” or as Collomb says, “people invest in people.” They are “the first actors,” he says. “We're huge fans of being able to encourage people to give unrestricted [funding] … those organizations who are based on the ground in the field know best how to use that money.” Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Banner image: Beach on Mioskon Island in Raja Ampat. Photo by Rhett Bulter/Mongabay. ------ Timecodes (00:00) Why community-based conservation? (09:54) How WCN works (14:10) The importance of unrestricted funding (16:48) Transparency & ethics in philanthropy (19:59) 30x30 and Indigenous sovereignty (27:08) Scientific advancements (31:16) Either/or (35:33) USAID funding cuts (40:29) Connecting with WCN
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Are Rivers Alive? Author Robert Macfarlane argues they are.
06/24/2025
Are Rivers Alive? Author Robert Macfarlane argues they are.
This week on Mongabay's podcast, celebrated author and repeat Nobel Prize in Literature candidate Robert Macfarlane discusses his fascinating new book, , which both asks and provides answers to this compelling question, in his signature flowing prose. Its absorbing narrative takes the reader to the frontlines of some of Earth's most embattled waterways, from northern Ecuador to southern India and northeastern Quebec, where he explores what makes a river more than just a body of water, but rather a living organism upon which many humans and myriad species are irrevocably dependent — a fact that is often forgotten. Regardless of whether humans see rivers as useful resources or living beings, Macfarlane says their great ability to rebound from degradation is demonstrable and is something to strive for. " When I think of how we have to imagine rivers otherwise, away from the pure resource model, I recognize that we can reverse the direction of 'shifting baseline’ syndrome. We can make it ‘lifting baseline’ syndrome. We can make our rivers touchable, then swimmable, then drinkable again. Drinkable rivers. Imagine that!" Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Banner image: The author Robert Macfarlane. Photo by Bryan Appleyard. Courtesy of Robert Macfarlane. -------- Timecodes (00:00) The liquid asset story (05:42) The beginning of the ‘hydrocene’ (12:49) Is a river alive? (20:01) ‘Rights of nature’ (30:02) Landmarks of hope & looming threats (35:41) ‘Slow violence’ (39:43) ‘A gathering that seeks the sea’ (45:13) Public waterways under private ownership (48:59) How the Cuyahoga River caught fire (53:58) Collective health over private wealth
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Coffee drives tropical deforestation, but doesn’t have to
06/17/2025
Coffee drives tropical deforestation, but doesn’t have to
Roughly a billion people enjoy coffee daily, and more than 100 million people rely on it for income. However, the coffee industry is the sixth-largest driver of deforestation and is also rife with human rights , including the labor of enslaved persons and children. But it doesn't have to be this way, says this guest on the Mongabay Newscast. is the founder of the NGO , having formerly served as a senior adviser at the U.S. National Wildlife Federation. The main commodity on her radar now is coffee. On this podcast episode, she explains how the industry can — and should — reform its practices. "It's so simple … pay a living [a] living income wage," she says, " and a lot of human rights violations will just dry up." To target deforestation, Higonnet says the European Union Deforestation Regulation () is "a beautiful law" that "simply put, would bar imports of coffee into the European Union if that coffee is tainted by deforestation or illegality. So, two things that are illegal off the top of my head are slavery and child labor." Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Image Credit: A cup of coffee with beans and a teaspoon on a stump tabletop. Image by Anja () from (). --- Timecodes (00:00) Coffee tied to slavery and deforestation (07:03) How we can stop it (12:36) Why are prices soaring? (19:25) How the EUDR can help (25:56) When will the EUDR come into effect? (29:40) Why the coffee supply chain is simple (33:54) What about certification schemes? (37:46) What coffee drinkers can do to act
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Lessons from 30 years of successfully fending off mines in an Ecuadorian cloud forest
06/10/2025
Lessons from 30 years of successfully fending off mines in an Ecuadorian cloud forest
Carlos Zorrilla has been living in an Ecuadorian cloud forest since the 1970s, and his last 30 years there have been spent mining companies seeking to extract its large copper deposits. He and his community have successfully fought such proposals by multiple firms in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, but sometimes at great personal risk, he tells Mongabay's podcast. While his organization, Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag (), and allies in the local community notched a against mining there in a 2023 court case, he explains they're still not out of the proverbial woods. "Every day, I have to think about mining [and] I'm not exaggerating, my life now revolves around mining. Even though we won a case, I know they're going to come back because the copper's there, and there's a lot of demand for copper." His advice to anyone who wants to protect their community from mining is to go on the offensive, , comparing the strategy to how one might view treating cancer. "You have to think of it like a cancer, that you need to treat it immediately and you need to look for signs that your body, in this case, your community, is sick,” Zorrilla says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Please send questions, feedback or comments to podcast[at]mongabay[dot]com. Banner image: Carlos Zorrilla in the DECOIN office in Apuela, Ecuador. Photo by Romi Castagnino. ----- Timecodes (00:00) A victory for Intag Valley (07:19) The influence of ‘rights of nature’ laws (09:57) The return of vulnerable fauna (15:56) Reprieve is only temporary (22:02) Mining companies omit important information (25:07) ‘How to stop’ mining before it starts (30:52) “Every day, I have to think about mining”
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Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Ministry for the Future' has lessons for the present
06/03/2025
Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Ministry for the Future' has lessons for the present
Five years since groundbreaking climate fiction novel, , hit The New York Times bestseller list, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning writer shares reflections on themes explored in the book and how they apply directly to the world today. The utopian novel set in a not-so-distant future depicts how humans address and the , toppling oligarchic control of governments and addressing chronic inequality. Robinson explains how the novel works as ”a kind of cognitive map of the way the world is going now, the way things work and the way things might be bettered. And also a sort of sense of hope or resiliency in the face of the reversals that will inevitably come along the way.“ In this conversation, he also explains how storytelling can help humans fight a “war of ideas” and speaks about challenging economic inequities with what he calls “postcapitalism.” Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. For general questions or comments, email us at podcasts[at]mongabay[dot]com. Image Credit: Screenshot of the book cover for ‘The Ministry for the Future’ by Kim Stanley Robinson, published by Orbit. Cover art by Trevillion Images. Cover design by Lauren Panepinto. --- Timecodes (00:00) What Stan would change about the book today (07:56) We’re all ‘in a sci-fi novel we’re co-authoring together’ (13:37) Challenging capitalism with ‘post-capitalism’ (19:43) Is ‘Degrowth’ part of the Ministry for the Future? (23:45) About Frank (27:24) The inspiration for Mary Murphy (30:34) The threat of ‘wet bulb’ 35C temps (36:37) How to fight a ‘war of ideas’ (42:21) You cannot kill the future (46:26) Before you read the book… (49:27) Looking to Antarctica
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Why protected Congo rainforests look 'like a war zone'
05/20/2025
Why protected Congo rainforests look 'like a war zone'
Nearly half of the Republic of Congo’s dense rainforests are protected under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) framework to receive climate finance payments, but Mongabay Africa staff writer Elodie Toto’s recent investigation the nation has also nearly 80 gold mining and exploration permits in areas covered by the project, driving deforestation and negatively impacting local people and wildlife. As the world scrambles for new sources of gold during these uncertain economic times, she joins the podcast to explain what her Pulitzer Center-supported reporting uncovered: "It was beyond words, if I may say. I could see people using excavators to uproot trees. I could see them washing the earth and it basically looked [like] a war zone," Toto says on this episode of the podcast. Toto is also part of Mongabay Africa's team producing a new French-language podcast, , and discusses how the program makes environmental news more accessible to audiences who often prefer to get their news via audio or video. Subscribe to or follow theMongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Cover image: An excavator digs for gold at the Alangong-Bamegod-Inès mining site in the Sangha. According to environmentalist Justin Chekoua, “nothing seems to be done” to preserve biodiversity at the site. Image by Elodie Toto for Mongabay. ---- Timecodes (00:00) Rainforest given over to gold mining (10:17) Curious connections & justifications (17:34) The law of the land (22:03) In plain sight (25:33) Planète Mongabay
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Inspiring action for the ocean wins top environmental prize for ex-engineer
05/13/2025
Inspiring action for the ocean wins top environmental prize for ex-engineer
has been awarded the for protecting the marine biodiversity of Tenerife, the most populated of the Canary Islands. On this episode of Mongabay's podcast, Molina explains what led him to quit his job as a civil engineer on a road project impacting the Teno-Rasca marine protected area (MPA) and his subsequent campaign to stop the port project it was planned to connect to, which would have impacted the biodiversity of the area. His successful campaign contributed to the decision of the Canary Islands government to abandon the port plan. Now, Molina and his nonprofit are helping set up an environmental education center in its place. "I was going diving every weekend in my free time, and it was full of sea turtles, it was full of whales, it was full of marine life. And so, I think understanding how my impact was going to destroy [a] marine protected area … I think that was where I had my biggest click in my brain … I need to do something to change what I'm doing, in [a] way that I can protect this ocean," he says. Image Credit: Pinnacles of Fonsalía, Tenerife, Canary Islands. Photo by Innoceana. B-roll Credit: Goldman Environmental Prize Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. --- Timecodes (00:00) From engineer to activist (05:31) The biodiversity of Teno-Rasca (06:58) Fighting for protection (12:13) Shutting the port down (16:29) A future of sustainable tourism? (21:02) Future projects (22:19) Carlos’ connection to the ocean
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‘De-extinction’ is misleading and dangerous, ecologist says
05/06/2025
‘De-extinction’ is misleading and dangerous, ecologist says
A biotech company in the United States made last month by revealing photos of genetically modified gray wolves, calling them “dire wolves,” a species that hasn’t existed for more than 10,000 years. edited 14 genes among millions of base pairs in gray wolf DNA to arrive at the pups that were shown, leaving millions of between these wolves and real dire wolves. This hasn’t stopped some observers from asserting to the public that “de-extinction” is real. But , says podcast guest Dieter Hochuli, a professor at the at the University of Sydney. Hochuli explains why ecologists like him de-extinction isn’t just a misleading term, but a dangerous one that promotes false hope and at the expense of existing conservation efforts that are proven to work. "The problem with the word de-extinction for many ecologists is that we see extinction [as] being an irreversible event that has finality about it, a bit like death. The idea that you can reverse those sorts of things is anathema, I think, biologically, but also philosophically and ethically," Hochuli says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Thylacines, female and male in the National Zoo Washington D.C. Mike DiGirolamo is a host & associate producer for Mongabay based in Sydney. He co-hosts and edits the Mongabay Newscast. Find him on and . ------ Time codes (00:00) They aren’t dire wolves (03:57) Why extinction is final (04:50) Ecological barriers to ‘de-extinction’ (12:25) Problems with species reintroduction (20:25) How ‘de-extinction’ can mislead (25:32) Is conservation a zero-sum game? (31:58) Can this technology truly aid conservation? (39:24) Is the marketing hype justified?
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How the sounds of whales guide conservation efforts
04/29/2025
How the sounds of whales guide conservation efforts
Biological oceanographer John Ryan joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss his team’s multiyear study that examined vocalizations of baleen whales, including blue (Balaenoptera musculus), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), and how this science is critical for understanding their feeding habits, and thus informing their conservation. The found that these whales’ songs rise and fall with their , which provides valuable insights into how changing ocean conditions can affect their health and guide management measures. “Some of the research we did tracking the movement and ecology of blue whales helped our sanctuary [to] act on this long-term concern about ship strikes, and to join a program that is called ,” the (MBARI) researcher says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Mongabay’s East Africa editor, Ochieng’ Ogodo. Read about his life, legacy and achievements. Audio credit: Blue and humpback whale calls featured in this episode are courtesy of MBARI and John Ryan. Image credit: A humpback whale dips back beneath the surface of the ocean. Image courtesy of Cristina Mittermeier/SeaLegacy. ------- Timecodes (00:00) Marine heatwaves and their impact (06:33) Analyzing whale songs (12:30) A change in tune (20:13) Interspecies communication? (25:16) The reason behind the heat (27:36) Informing conservation (36:52) Credits
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How a prize-winning project brought saiga antelope back from the brink
04/15/2025
How a prize-winning project brought saiga antelope back from the brink
Two decades ago a group of NGOs came together with the government of Kazakhstan to save the dwindling population of saiga antelope living in the enormous Golden Steppe. Since then, the has successfully rehabilitated the saiga (Saiga tatarica) from a population of roughly 30,000 to nearly 4 million. For this effort, it was the 2024 Earthshot Prize in the “protect & restore nature” category. Joining the podcast to discuss this achievement is Vera Voronova, executive director of the , an NGO involved in the initiative. Voronova details the cultural and technological methods used to bring the saiga back from the brink and to help restore this massive grassland ecosystem. “When [the] initiative [was] started, the saiga would be always like the flagship and the priority species because we did have this emergency case to recover saiga,” she says. “But the whole … picture of restoring the [steppe] was always behind this, and will be now a long term strategy.” Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Image credit: Saiga calf. Photo by Kibatov Arman/ACBK. -------- Timecodes (00:00) Saving the saiga antelope (07:13) The Golden Steppe is massive (13:00) Using conservation technology (17:07) Incorporating local knowledge (20:56) Wild horses and agriculture (26:40) Community connection (29:37) Credits
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The impact-driven success of Mongabay’s nonprofit news model
04/08/2025
The impact-driven success of Mongabay’s nonprofit news model
Media outlets are newsrooms and the audience for traditional news is in , but Mongabay continues to grow thanks to its , nonprofit model. Mongabay's director of philanthropy, , joins the podcast this week to explain the philosophy behind Mongabay's fundraising efforts, why the nonprofit model is essential for impact-driven reporting, and how the organization ensures editorial independence. " Those who fund us and read us, they're really expecting real-world impact and high-quality journalism. So, people are coming back to Mongabay because they're interested in what we're reporting on. There's a really high level of quality that is informing their decisions," he says. Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from to , and you can also listen to all episodes on the Mongabay website. Dave can be reached at or on . Image Credit: Galapagos tortoise, Ecuador. Photo by Rhett Butler/Mongabay. ----- Timecodes (00:00) Dave’s story (08:50) Why nonprofit news creates impact (15:08) Funding and ethical considerations (23:27) Explaining trust-based philanthropy (29:10) Reflections on the Los Angeles wildfires (32:19) Dave’s favorite animals
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