262 episodes

News and inspiration from nature’s frontline, featuring inspiring guests and deeper analysis of the global environmental issues explored every day by the Mongabay.com team, from climate change to biodiversity, tropical ecology, wildlife, and more. The show airs every other week.

Mongabay Newscast Mongabay Podcasts

    • Science

News and inspiration from nature’s frontline, featuring inspiring guests and deeper analysis of the global environmental issues explored every day by the Mongabay.com team, from climate change to biodiversity, tropical ecology, wildlife, and more. The show airs every other week.

    Forest elephants, the endangered "gardeners" of the Congo Rainforest

    Forest elephants, the endangered "gardeners" of the Congo Rainforest

    African forest elephants play a crucial role in shaping the Congo rainforest ecosystem, two experts explain on this episode. As seed dispersers and maintainers of forest corridors and clearings, they are sometimes referred to as "gardeners of the forest." 
     
    Their small and highly threatened population needs additional study and conservation prioritization, since the loss of this species would fundamentally change the shape and structure of the world's second-largest rainforest.
     
    Guest Fiona "Boo" Maisels is a conservation scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, while Andrew Davies is assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University, and they speak with host Mike DiGirolamo about these charismatic mammals.  
     
    Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
     
    If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
     
    See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.
     
    Image credit: A calf attempts to sneak its trunk into a mineral pit that mom is drinking from. Protest calls are often heard from calves in this behavioral context, as mom sometimes pushes them away and they in turn express their displeasure with a little yell. Photo Ana Verahrami, Elephant Listening Project.
     
    ---
    Timecodes 
     
    (00:00) Introduction
    (02:00) There are two African elephant species?
    (06:06) Can the "value" of an elephant be quantified?
    (19:30) The value of forest bais
    (27:25) Impacts of climate change
    (30:30) The future of forest elephants in the Congo Basin
    (38:44) Credits

    • 38 min
    Show us the money: Are giant pledges by major conservation funders effective?

    Show us the money: Are giant pledges by major conservation funders effective?

    Billionaires, foundations, and philanthropists often make massive, headline-grabbing pledges for biodiversity conservation or climate change mitigation, but how effective are these donations? How do these huge sums get used, and how do we know? These questions are among the considerations that conservationists and environmental reporters should keep in mind, two guest experts on this episode say.
     
    On this edition of the Mongabay Newscast, Holly Jonas, global coordinator of the ICCA Consortium, and Michael Kavate, staff writer at Inside Philanthropy, break down some of the more overlooked issues these giant gifts raise, and story angles that reporters should consider when covering philanthropy for the environment.
     
    "I think what the public really needs is more critical and in-depth coverage of the ideologies and the approaches behind their kinds of philanthropy, the billionaire pledges and so on, how they're being rolled out in practice, where the funding's actually going," says Jonas.
     
    Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
     
    If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
     
    See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.
     
    Image credit: Great Green Macaw in Las Balsas reserve. Photo credit: José León.
     
    ---
    Timecodes 
     
    (00:00) Introduction
    (01:55) Biggest trends in environmental philanthropy
    (07:23) Follow the money, follow the power
    (20:23) Tools and techniques for reporters
    (24:09) Localization & accountability
    (37:37) Funding transparency
    (53:25) Project finance for permanence
    (01:06:14) Western influence in philanthropy
    (01:13:37) Credits

    • 1 hr 15 min
    Cultural survival through reclaiming language and land, with author Jay Griffiths

    Cultural survival through reclaiming language and land, with author Jay Griffiths

    Today’s guest is Jay Griffiths, award-winning author of several books, including the acclaimed Wild: An Elemental Journey. She speaks with co-host Rachel Donald about the importance of language for preserving communities and their cultures, the impact of colonization and globalization on Indigenous communities, and the innate human connection with the natural world in the land of one's birth. 
     
    Roughly 4,000 of the world’s 6,700 languages are spoken by Indigenous communities, but multiple factors (such as the decimation of human rights) continue to threaten their existence along with their speakers’ cultures.
     
    The guest also explores parallels between humans, nature and culture: “There’s great research that suggests that we learned ethics from wolves [by taking] an attitude to the world of both me the individual, and of me the pack member,” in caring for all members of the group, she says.
     
    Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
     
    If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
     
    See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.
     
    Image credit: Kali Biru (Blue River) on Waigeo Island in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo credit: Rhett Ayers Butler
     
    ---
    Timecodes 
     
    (00:00) Introduction
    (01:45) The power of language
    (09:03) Colonialism and globalization
    (17:40) The trickster in myth to modern governance
    (23:24) Reclaiming belonging
    (20:27) Championing Indigenous voices
    (34:45) Against mechanic modernity
    (40:35) West Papua, a brief explainer
    (46:22) Land and identity
    (51:50) A world of climate refugees

    • 55 min
    Restoring an Irish rainforest by simply leaving nature alone

    Restoring an Irish rainforest by simply leaving nature alone

    Eoghan Daltun has spent the past 14 years restoring 75 acres of farmland in southwest Ireland to native forest, a wildly successful and inspirational effort that has welcomed back long-absent flora and fauna, which he details in his book, An Irish Atlantic Rainforest: A Personal Journey Into the Magic of Rewilding.
     
    On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, host Rachel Donald speaks with Daltun about how easily he achieved this feat, its seemingly miraculous results, and the historical context behind the near-total ecological annihilation of Ireland, a country that today has only 11% forest cover. Daltun provides an honest but hopeful perspective on how humans can shift their relationship with nature and rekindle a powerful partnership with it. 
     
    Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
     
    If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
     
    See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.
     
    Image credit: Part of the guest's Irish Atlantic rainforest on the Beara Peninsula. Photo courtesy of Eoghan Daltun. 
     
    ---
     
    Timecodes:
     
    (00:00) Introduction
    (01:14) Eoghan’s journey
    (05:55) Getting out of the way
    (10:42) Removing invasive species
    (13:50) What lies underneath
    (17:26) A connection with the land
    (22:48) A brutal history
    (29:22) Hope for the future
    (35:48) Reflections on forests
    (40:45) What is a temperate rainforest?
    (54:25) Credits

    • 56 min
    Exploring a jewel of the Coral Triangle

    Exploring a jewel of the Coral Triangle

    On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, host Mike DiGirolamo takes you on a journey through the most biodiverse marine region in the world, Raja Ampat. 
     
    He speaks with three guests about how ecotourism has provided stable incomes through conservation, including documentary filmmaker Wahyu Mul, veteran birding guide Benny Mambrasar and resort owner Max Ammer, whose biological research center trains and employs local people in a variety of skills.
     
    Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
     
    If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
     
    See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage, mongabay.com, or follow Mongabay on any of the social media platforms for updates.
     
    Image credit: Cape Kri, Sorido Bay Resort, Raja Ampat Regency, by Rhett Butler for Mongabay.
     
    ----
    Timecodes
     
    (00:00) Introduction
    (02:20) The Role of Ecotourism in Raja Ampat
    (03:01) Wahyu Mul
    (10:03) The Raja Ampat Research and Conservation Centre
    (15:00) Max Ammer 
    (39:36) Into the Forest - Benny Mambrasar
    (47:00) Threats of Development
    (52:47) Credits

    • 54 min
    Is media objectivity possible during our environmental crisis?

    Is media objectivity possible during our environmental crisis?

    Objectivity is a pillar of journalism, but its definition and application are loosely defined and humanly impossible to achieve, experts say.

    Podcast guest Emily Atkin argues that an uncritical adherence to objectivity (over trust) has led to gaslighting readers about the real-world causes and urgency of the climate crisis.
     
    She quit her day job to launch the acclaimed newsletter “HEATED,” which was spurred by a desire to report on the human causes of climate change and ecological destruction more directly. She discusses why with host Rachel Donald on this episode.
    Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, and you can also listen to all episodes here on the Mongabay website, or download our free app for Apple and Android devices to gain instant access to our latest episodes and all our previous ones.
    Image: An abstract AI-generated photo of a wildfire in the forest. Image from CharlVera via Pixabay. 

    ---
    Timecodes: 
    (00:00) - Introduction
    (02:48) - The Birth of Heated: A Climate Journalism Venture
    (05:19) - The Challenges of Mainstream Media
    (14:17) - The Role of Objectivity in Journalism
    (32:34) - The Role of a Journalist and Power Dynamics
    (35:49) - The Relationship Between Press and Government
    (38:48) - The Role of Independent Journalism
    (47:33) - Journalism Ethics
    (50:41) - The Roots of Objectivity
    (01:00:35) - Conclusion

    • 1 hr 2 min

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