Mongabay Newscast

Latest Episodes:

Exploring our deep connection to water, plus the sounds of Sandhill crane migration Mar 20, 2018

Show notes

On this episode, we discuss humanity's deep connection to water and hear sounds of one of the most ancient animal migrations on Earth, that of the Sandhill crane. Our first guest is marine biologist and sea turtle conservationist Wallace J. Nichols, the author of Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, & Better at What You Do. Then we speak with a team using bioacoustics to document the ecology and phenology of Sandhill cranes on the Platte River in the U.S. state of Nebraska, as the birds make a stopover during their annual northward migration.

We play their spellbinding recordings of this amazing scene, plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news!

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How effective is environmental restoration? Mar 06, 2018

Show notes

How effective is environmental restoration? On this episode, we seek answers to that question with Claire Wordley of Cambridge University, which has just debuted a much needed new project collecting the evidence, and examples of restoration from around the globe. We also speak with Becky Kessler, editor of Mongabay's ongoing series that examines how well a range of other conservation efforts work, about what this project has revealed.

Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news!

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And please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

Exploring the minds and inner lives of wild animals Feb 19, 2018

Show notes

On this episode we discuss the amazing minds and lives of animals — their memories, how even electric eels dream, the fact that some creatures like to get drunk (and why) — and we'll hear all about Mongabay's newly launched bureau in India.

Author Sy Montgomery teamed up with her friend and fellow animal writer Elizabeth Marshall Thomas to write Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind. Sy is the author of numerous other fascinating animal behavior titles, including "The Soul of an Octopus," which was a National Book Award finalist in the U.S.

We also speak with Sandhya Sekar, she is Programme Manager for Mongabay's newest bureau, Monbabay-India, and she shares some fascinating stories that they're already covering.

Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news!

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And please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

New eyes in the sky monitor Earth systems like never before Feb 06, 2018

Show notes

On this episode we dive into cutting-edge remote sensing technologies invented by Heinz Award-winner Greg Asner, the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, which his team uses to monitor ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs. This airborne laser-guided lab can even see underwater to map reefs, find record-breaking individual rainforest trees that have escaped detection, and more.

We also listen to bioacoustic recordings that are used to analyze species richness in tropical forests with a researcher from the University of Puerto Rico, Dr. Mitch Aide.

Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news!

Please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend about the show!

David Suzuki on why indigenous knowledge is critical for humanity's survival Jan 23, 2018

Show notes

On today's episode we feature a conversation with iconic Canadian scientist, author, television presenter, and activist David Suzuki.

Suzuki is a biologist who's just as well known for his outspoken views on the need to protect nature. He is the author of more than 50 books and the host of the long-running science program The Nature of Things. He's also the founder of the David Suzuki Foundation and the Blue Dot Movement, which aims to enshrine the right to a healthy environment in the Canadian Constitution.

Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news!

Please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend about this show!

Climate lessons from indigenous peoples, plus the mysterious night parrot Jan 09, 2018

Show notes

On the first episode of 2018, we speak with the author of a new book about the resilience of indigenous peoples in the face of climate change, and a researcher shares recordings of Australia's elusive night parrot.

Plus we round up the recent top environmental news!

Please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend about this podcast!

Massive Amazonian medicine encyclopedia gets an update, and Madagascar conservation efforts examined Dec 12, 2017

Show notes

We speak with Christopher Herndon, a medical doctor who as co-founder and president of Acaté Amazon Conservation, has been helping indigenous Matsés people document their traditional healing and plant knowledge in a massive 1,000 page encyclopedia, and in creating living pharmacies for the future.

Also on the show is Mongabay contributor Rowan Moore Gerety, the writer behind our recent series on the effectiveness of conservation projects in Madagascar. The island nation has been a global conservation priority for decades, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in conservation funds from international donors — but rising deforestation, commercial exploitation of wildlife, and degradation of critical habitats suggest that these conservation investments may not be reaching their full potential. Mongabay hired Gerety, a veteran radio and print journalist, to examine the factors that contribute to or hinder success with the aim of informing future conservation efforts.

Plus we round up the recent top environmental news!

Please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend about this podcast!

Margaret Atwood talks about birds, ecology, and her graphic novel series Nov 28, 2017

Show notes

Award-winning iconic writer Margaret Atwood recently tackled a medium she is not as well-known for: comic books. Her superhero series Angel Catbird "was a conservation project from the get-go," she tells us in this edition of the podcast, being an effort to shine a light on the plight of wild birds and the house cats who love to stalk them, plus other ecological themes. We also discuss her smash hit "The Handmaid's Tale" and other 'possible futures,' as she calls them.

Then we speak with Tyler Gage, a co-founder of the beverage company Runa and author of "Fully Alive," a new book detailing the lessons he learned in the Amazon that led to the launch of Runa and its mission to partner with indigenous communities in business via plant medicine and agroforestry.

Plus we round up the recent top environmental news!

Please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend about this podcast!

Jane Goodall on being proven right that animals have personalities, and more Nov 15, 2017

Show notes

Mongabay is lucky to have Jane Goodall on its Advisory Board, and just before founder and CEO Rhett Butler was scheduled to speak with her most recently, research came out that vindicated her contention, which she's held for nearly 60 years, that animals have personalities, so we recorded her thoughts about that for the Mongabay Newscast. "Quite honestly I think almost everybody recognized that animals have personalities, whether they were in the wild or whether they weren't," she says. Other topics discussed include trophy hunting, activism, and hope for the future (a full transcript will be available at Mongabay.com on 11/17/17).

Our second guest is reporter Justin Catanoso, who is covering the UN Climate Change conference (COP23) for Mongabay this week, and he joins us from the event in Bonn, Germany.

Plus we round up the top environmental news.

Please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend about this podcast!

Gas drilling vs wildlife in Peruvian Amazon and a Goldman Prize winner on mercury contamination Nov 01, 2017

Show notes

In this episode we discuss new science on the impacts on birds and amphibians of drilling for natural gas in the tropics with a Smithsonian researcher, and a Goldman Prize winner discusses her ongoing campaign to rid mercury contamination from the environment, which is (still) having alarming human health effects.

Plus we round up the top environmental news.

Please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it.

And if you like what you hear, please tell a friend about this podcast!