We have listed our podcast recommendations below! They range in topic and length, but they are all focused on climate change and the environment. Podcasts are a great way to hear new perspectives on well-known issues, as well as gain insights into more local or lesser-known problems.
General
Where to listen: podcast website
Description: “BBC Radio’s program looks at how humans affect the environment and how the environment reacts, questions accepted truths, challenges those in charge and reports on progress towards improving the world.” “Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet”
2. Drilled
Where to listen: podcast website, Radio Public, Apple Podcasts, Spotify
Description: “Drilled is a true-crime podcast about climate change. Season 1, ‘The Origins of Climate Denial’ traced the corporate-funded creation and spread of climate denial, including interviews with former Exxon scientists, primary source documents, and an in-depth look at the history of fossil fuel-funded influence campaigns. ‘Season 2,’ Hot Water follows a group of West Coast crab fisherman who are experiencing first-hand the devastating impacts of climate change. And this unlikely group of climate activists just became the first industry to sue big oil. Season 3, ‘The Mad Men of Climate Denial,’ digs into the history of fossil fuel propaganda and the few “Mad Men of climate denial” who shaped it. Season 4, ‘There Will Be Fraud,’ follows the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to use the COVID-19 pandemic to push through its wishlist of deregulation and subsidies. Season 5, ‘La Lucha En La Jungla,’ looks at the decades-long battle between indigenous groups in the Ecuadorian Amazon and Chevron. Season 6, ‘The Bridge to Nowhere,’ a season in three parts about the past, present, and future of the natural gas industry.”
3. Erased
Where to listen: Audible
Description: “Erased is a weekly environmental news podcast where we have connections and provide information on climate issues and stories that affect us every day.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts
Description: “Emma Brisdion and Lloyd Hopkins have a friendly, easygoing rapport that makes tough, complex issues like wildfires, fast fashion, and flooding not just approachable but also enjoyable. The duo regularly brings on expert guests to discuss topics such as insects, sustainable cities, and electric cars. For What It’s Earth recently hit its 50-episode milestone with a fascinating episode about tea and coffee.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Spotify
Description: “Climate change. We know. It can feel too overwhelming. But what if there was a show about climate change that left you feeling… energized? One so filled with possibility that you actually wanted to listen? Join us, journalist Alex Blumberg and a crew of climate nerds, as we bring you smart, inspiring stories about the mess we’re in and how we can get ourselves out of it.”
Where to listen: NPR
Description: “Breaking news on the environment, climate change, pollution, and endangered species.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts
Description: “Nationally syndicated weekly radio show and podcast covering the shift to social, environmental and economic sustainability.”
Where to listen: podcast website (BBC), Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Description: “On The Climate Question, the BBC brings its journalistic might to a range of knotty questions, including: “How can we live with the SUV?” and “Will Africa really leapfrog to renewables?” Released semi-weekly, the podcast brings listeners into the heart of many of the issues animating policy rooms around the world.”
9. Threshold
Where to listen: podcast website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify
Description: “Threshold Episodes uses the “story” tool to explore environmental change, one topic per season. Threshold Conversations interviews environmental thought leaders on issues affecting communities, cultures and ecosystems in the U.S. and globally.”
10. TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate)
Where to listen: podcast website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify
Description: “Climate change is confusing. This award-winning MIT podcast breaks down the science, technologies, and policies behind climate change, how it’s impacting us, and what we can do about it. Each quick episode gives you the what, why, and how on climate change – from real scientists – to help us make informed decisions for our future.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Spotify
Description: “An online news service providing daily radio broadcasts and original online reporting, commentary, and analysis on the issue of climate change. An initiative of the Yale Center for Environmental Communication.” “Our Climate Connections radio program is broadcasting nationwide on more than 680 public, university, community, and alternative radio frequencies, and internationally on a handful of English-language stations. The program also is available as a podcast. A new 90-second episode is released every weekday, 52 weeks a year.”
Education – Focused
Where to listen: podcast website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts
Description: “This podcast from Green Teacher, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping educators promote environmental awareness, features interviews with environmental educators from around the globe.”
Policy – Focused
Where to listen: podcast website, Radio Public, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio
Description: “We’ve entered a new epoch: the Anthropocene, and nothing is as it was. Not the trees, not the seas – not the forests, farms, or fields – and not the global economy that depends on all of these. What does this mean for your investments, your family’s future, and the future of man? Each week, we dive into these issues to help you Navigate the New Reality.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify,
Description: “Parts Per Billion is Bloomberg Law’s environmental policy podcast. We cover everything from air pollution, to toxic chemicals, to corporate sustainability, and climate change. The reporters from our environment desk offer an inside look at what’s happening at Congress, in the courts, and at the federal agencies, and help explain the scientific and policy debates shaping environmental laws and regulations.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify,
Description: “Hosted by Jared Blumenfeld, former West Coast administrator of the EPA, this award-winning podcast explores different aspects of sustainability /environmental change and social impact each week.” “At a time when our planet is under existential threat, Podship Earth helps listeners engage in the adventure of life on earth. Exploring how we connect with ourselves, nature and the universe, this award winning podcast offers an inspiring look at how we can make a difference.”
Science – Focused
Where to listen: podcast website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify,
Description: “Environmental scientists Wyatt Jordan and Breanna Waterman interview researchers, farmers, professors and astrophysicists to learn about how they’re affected and what their research and experience can tell us about climate change.”
Where to listen: Apple Podcasts
Description: “Matt Eastland and Lukxmi Balathasan present the Food Fight, a new series from EIT Food examining the biggest challenges facing the food system, and the innovations and entrepreneurs looking to solve them.”
Location – Focused
- California Burning
Where to listen: podcast website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify
Description: “Natural disasters are increasing across the nation. In the West, these disasters often come in the form of wildfire, and perhaps no State understands the true cost of wildfire as California. While the Golden State has always had forest fires, these conflagrations are progressively becoming harder to control and more deadly. At the same time, California’s population has surpassed 40 million, pushing people further into wild spaces that have been adapted to fire. California Burning takes a deep and critical look at how the State’s fire-prone forests have been managed, and how we can all learn from the past to be better stewards of the land and avoid catastrophic wildfires in the future.”
Where to listen: podcast website, iTunes, Spotify
Description: “This podcast by Chesapeake Bay Journal staff writer and SEJ member Jeremy Cox is a reported journey around the Chesapeake Bay watershed, driving home the message that you don’t have to look to the north or south poles for evidence of climate change: It’s happening here and now.”
3. Islands on Alert
Where to listen: YouTube
Description: “Some of the clearest and most urgent calls for climate action have come from leaders and activists on small island nations. And there’s a good reason why: despite being responsible for less than 1% of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, small island nations are on the forefront of rising sea levels, extreme storms, and other climate impacts. In this hard-hitting, informative, and compelling podcast hosted by Andy Liburd, a renowned media figure in Antigua and Barbuda, scientists, political negotiators, energy specialists, and Indigenous and youth voices will share the stage.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Radio Public, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify
Description: “Asian voices give perspective on how different countries in Asia are tackling environmental problems on a changing planet.”
Example episode description: “The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin is protected at the highest level in China, but its numbers are dwindling fast. In Hong Kong, where the species is affectionately known as the Chinese white dolphin, only 37 individuals remain. Their struggle for survival pits them against massive development projects and fishing vessels because dolphins use sonar – not sight – for survival. How can we mitigate the cacophony in Asia’s oceans to help keep vulnerable species like the Chinese white dolphin safe from harm?”
Where to listen: podcast website, Michigan NPR
Description: “The Environment Report, hosted by Lester Graham, explores the relationship between the natural world and the everyday lives of people in Michigan.”
Health – Focused
Where to listen: podcast website, Google Podcasts, iTunes
Description: “The NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) Partnerships for Environmental Public Health network produces this podcast series exploring how environmental exposures affect our health. Each episode highlights ways researchers work in partnership with community groups to understand and address environmental health issues.”
Economics and Tech – Focused
Where to listen: podcast website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify
“Climate One from The Commonwealth Club offers a weekly podcast exploring topics including economics, energy, food, resilience, technology, transportation, and water.” “We’re living through a climate emergency; addressing this crisis begins by talking about it. Host Greg Dalton brings you empowering conversations that connect all aspects of the challenge — the scary and the exciting, the individual and the systemic.”
Focused on Environmental Justice & Historically Marginalized Perspectives
- Breaking Green Ceilings
Where to listen: podcast website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts
Description: “A weekly interview series produced by policy research and communications strategy firm Water Savvy Solutions. Dedicated to amplifying the voices of historically underrepresented environmentalists from Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and Disabled communities, as well as their White allies, Breaking Green Ceilings is all about raising awareness, humanizing guests, building community, and promoting a more diverse and inclusive environmental movement. Topics range from human ecology to wildlife conservation, youth education, and environmental justice.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify
Description: “Broken Ground is a podcast by the Southern Environmental Law Center. Join us as we dig up environmental stories in the South and hear from the people bringing those stories to light. This season, Broken Ground talks with women on the frontlines of the fight for environmental justice. Subscribe to hear directly from these activists who are trailblazing a path to a healthier environment for all. The Broken Ground team is dedicated to telling the stories of people from all walks of life. We are looking for the stories of Southerners who are stewards of the environment, truth-tellers, and on the front lines fighting to protect our precious water, air, and land.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Description: “The Emergence Magazine Podcast centers Indigenous perspectives. Episodes either feature an interview by editor-in-chief Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee or essays read by activists, authors, philosophers, and scientists. Recent essays include a piece on the forests that surround Mount Kenya, a meditation on the environmental wisdom of druidry, and a profoundly beautiful reflection on alternative economic models by the author and biologist Robin Wall Kimmerer.”
Where to listen: podcast website
Description: “The third of environmental podcasts on Earth.Org’s list is How to Save the Planet. Brought to you by environmental charity Friends of the Earth, this podcast discusses popular stories from the climate movement and breaks down often-complex issues, like environmental racism, eco-anxiety, and fracking. Frank yet inspiring, the podcast explores solutions to the climate crisis, and how anyone can have an impact, big and small.”
Where to listen: podcast website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Description: “The nonprofit Mongabay publishes indispensable journalism on climate change, wildlife and biodiversity, and Indigenous rights. Its podcast is an extension of this work, diving deeper into subjects with the help of scientists, conservationists, and activists. Recent episodes include restoration efforts in the Sumatra, the potential of rewilding landscapes, and agroforestry.”
Where to listen: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud
Description: “Join former Irish president, Mary Robinson, comedian-writer, Maeve Higgins, and series producer, Thimali Kodikara for a groundbreaking season of Mothers Of Invention! Love, laughter and unforgettable storytelling lies in every episode as they celebrate the inspiring climate leaders around the world carving a path to climate justice for all!” “In each episode, they talk to badass climate heroes like Kenya’s former environment minister Judy Wakhungu and the amazing eco-feminist author, activist, scientific advisor, food sovereignty advocate and seed saver Vandana Shiva.”
Where to listen: podcast website
Description: “Grist’s weekly podcast covers climate, race and culture, hosted by Andrew Simon.”
8. Women in Environmental Science
Where to listen: Apple Podcasts, Audible
Description: “This podcast is to inspire other people and to educate them about the work researchers in environmental science are doing: the issues they face in the industry, the solutions they make, the roadblocks they push through, and what they learning to teach the society to keep the environment clean.”
9. Yikes
Where to listen: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Radio Public
Description: “There’s a lot to make us Yikes in this world. From the climate crisis to racism to activism and resisting oppressive systems, it can call get a bit overwhelming. Yikes is a podcast which leans into the Yikes of the world rather than letting it overwhelm us. We breakdown the issues in an accessible intersectional and nuanced way to guide us towards action together.”