Rewilding the World with Ben Goldsmith

Latest Episodes:

Using AI to unlock animal communication with Katie Zacarian Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

"We're essentially trying to create an AI powered research assistant to accelerate the rate of discovery and support biologists understanding even more and help the biologists come up with new hypotheses from their own data."

Imagine if we could decipher the language of other animals such as whales, monkeys or crows? How would that change our relationship with them? In this episode Ben Goldsmith talks with Katie Zacarian of Earth Species, which is using artificial intelligence to do just this.

Ben Goldsmith is a British financier and rewilding enthusiast. Join him as he speaks to people from all over the world who champion nature and are helping to restore habitats and wildlife to some of the most nature depleted parts of our planet.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

We'd love to know what you think of the podcast. Do you have suggestions for guests, stories or topics you'd like to hear more about? To help us develop the show please consider taking a couple of minutes to complete our listener survey. Thank you.

Restoring Canada's iconic Bison with Tom Olson Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

"Our herd is north of 5,000 so I think it's the largest conservation herd in the country and it may be the largest herd period, even amongst non conservation."

North America's iconic bison are recovering from the brink of extinction. Millions of bison once populated the North American landscape but by the turn of the 20th century, fewer than 1,000 remained.

In this episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith talks with Canadian bison champion Tom Olson about the return of this majestic and vital keystone species to Canada.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

Bringing the ocean back to life with Enric Sala Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

"I saw everything that was missing from the sea of my childhood."

If you haven’t seen the latest David Attenborough film Ocean yet, you must. It’s a masterpiece.

In the latest episode of Rewilding the World Ben Goldsmith speaks with one of the key people behind it, Enric Sala, from National Geographic‘s Pristine Seas campaign. It has secured protection from industrial fishing for millions of square kilometres of seas around the world. Enric is a true conservation hero.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

Fighting organised wildlife crime with Olivia Swaak-Goldman Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

"We have to make this crime type too risky and lower the reward. We need to seize all the assets that they gain from their criminal enterprise... it's something I'm very committed to."

The illegal trade in wildlife and the body parts of wild animals is driving many creatures towards extinction; yet governments put little effort into busting the culprits and closing down this vile trade. In the latest episode of Rewilding the World, Ben Goldsmith talks to Olivia Swaak-Goldman, formerly of the International Criminal Court, who now runs a small charity named the Wildlife Justice Commission which is punching way above its weight in smashing criminal wildlife trade gangs.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

Can rewilding and farming work together? With Toby Diggens Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

"Go for it. Go into any kind of career even if you don't have that ecological education and change the culture from within. That's just such a powerful moment."

How can rewilding and traditional pastoral farming systems go hand-in-hand? The grazing, browsing and movement of livestock has shaped our landscapes across millennia. In the latest episode of rewilding the world Ben Goldsmith speaks to landscape ecologist Toby Diggens to discuss how the rich agro-ecological history of Britain informs efforts to restore nature today.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

Diving into New York’s Billion Oyster Project with Katie Mosher May 21, 2025

Show notes

"Oyster reefs do this really special thing; they become a refuge for finfish species, for crabs, for all types of really important species and so it's really critical for all of those species to interact together and oyster reefs make that habitat."

New York’s Billion Oyster Project is one of the most exciting urban rewilding projects ever. In this episode of Rewilding the World, Ben talks to Katie Mosher about the once vast abundance of oysters in New York and along the whole East Coast of America, the vital ecological role they play, and about plans for restoring them – starting in the middle of New York city.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

Brokering finance deals to fund nature restoration with Rob Gardner May 07, 2025

Show notes

“You’re going to invest in a fund but this fund is going to own peatlands, sphagnum moss, re-wiggled rivers. It's going to restore farmland, it's going to own oyster reefs.”

How are we going to find the funding needed to restore nature at scale? Protecting communities and infrastructure from flooding, and drought, by rewilding river systems may hold the key.

In this episode of Rewilding the World, Ben Goldsmith is joined by Rob Gardner of Rebalance Earth, a new initiative which aims to do just this.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

Defending the world's oceans with Peter Hammarstedt Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

"We fill a law enforcement void that exists in the world's oceans and we'll continue to fill that void until government fills that vacuum. And then we'll hold government accountable."

Sea Shepherd is a truly heroic organisation, with four ships, brave crews and volunteers who hunt down the world’s worst ocean abusers: illegal fishing vessels, and whalers are amongst the word offenders.

Captain Peter Hammerstedt joins Ben Goldsmith to share some white-knuckle stories of environmental heroism on the high seas.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

‘Rogue rewilding’ - the illegal release of lynx with Pete Cairns Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

“There absolutely is no substitute for just seeing it but also smelling it, feeling it, hearing it. You can read all the books and watch all the films you like but there is absolutely no substitute for seeing it in the flesh.”

The mysterious appearance of seemingly tame lynx in the Highlands of Scotland raised questions about who released them and why. Scotland’s native Eurasian lynx are believed to have suffered extinction more than 500 years ago.

In this episode Ben Goldsmith is joined by Pete Cairns of Scotland: The Big Picture, one of three charities involved in plans to legitimately return lynx to the Highlands. He explains why people might have released the four animals illegally.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

Making history and nature work together with Rene Olivieri Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

"Part of restoring nature - a really important part - is making sure that everyone has equal access to it."

The National Trust is now arguably one of Britain’s most ambitious and important nature charities. It now has plans for restoring nature on an area larger than Greater London.

In this episode Ben Goldsmith is joined by the Chair of the National Trust, Rene Olivieri, who has been huge voice for nature in the organisation.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Text Rewilding the World here. Let us know what you think of the podcast and if there are any rewilding projects you would love Ben to feature in future episodes.

The Devon Environment Foundation (DEF) is on a mission to accelerate nature restoration across Devon.

Devon’s beautiful natural landscapes are under growing pressure from farming, housing development, and sewage, plastic, and other pollution.

Grassroots nature restoration offers an inspiring, cost-effective response.

We raise money from people and businesses who love Devon, directing it where it delivers the greatest benefit for local nature.

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