In Defense of Plants Podcast

I suggest you go to bugs need heroes

I appreciate the host’s deep knowledge but wish he could approach interviews with more of a « beginner’s mind. » Most of the conversation is commiserating, marveling, humble bragging but not on the substance of the research. Rarely do I come away with a better understanding of the subject, sadly.

I was excited by the topics listed in the titles of this podcast but after listening to 7 or 8 episodes, it’s feeling painfully repetitive and lacking in substance. When the guests actually get to talk about the science in their work, it’s really interesting. Unfortunately, the majority of the podcast is often the host buttering up the guests and trying to show how passionate he is about the subject. Way too much time is spent talking about the guests’ career paths, how fascinating everything is to the host, and how important it is for people to care about these topics/the environment in general. I was listening to learn about the topics, not to be convinced to care about them. So maybe I’m just not the intended audience?

Matt is a great researcher, asks interesting questions of his brilliant guests, & explores a wide breath of fascinating topics within botany.