Mongabay Newscast

Dr. Thomas Lovejoy coined the term “biodiversity” in 1980 and his work since has helped establish the preservation of global biodiversity as one of the most important conservation issues of our time. We discuss this and some of the key environmental issues we’re currently facing, plus why he believes the next decade will be the last decade of real opportunity to address those issues. And we round up the top environmental news, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend.

Sir David Attenborough says the superb lyrebird has one of “the most elaborate, the most complex, the most beautiful song[s] in the world.” In this episode we explore the incredible ability they have to mimic predators and possums, squeaky trees and other songbirds. Ornithologist Anastasia Dalziell joins us to discuss her work with them and plays amazing recordings of these spellbinding songsters. Plus we round up the top environmental news, so please subscribe and tell a friend.

You might not think of beavers as remarkable, but they are actually brilliant ecosystem engineers whose dams mitigate flooding, improve water quality, and boost groundwater levels, and they also provide habitat for species like salmon, moose, and mink. Environmental journalist Ben Goldbarb joins us to discuss his fascinating new book putting a bright shine on beavers, "Eager," plus we round up the top environmental news, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend.

On this episode we explore revelations about “shadow companies” and dark money associated with the palm oil sector, and how they factor into Mongabay’s ongoing investigation into corruption fueling Indonesia’s rainforest destruction and land rights crises (plus how these factors derail democracy in this huge country). Host Mike Gaworecki speaks with guest Phil Jacobson, Mongabay's Indonesia editor. Plus we round up the top environmental news, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell

Drones are increasingly used by wildlife lovers and researchers, but how is that stressing animals out, and how can drone "pilots" make a meaningful contribution to science while avoiding wildlife harassment? Our guest shares best practices for drones not only to guide hobbyists making wildlife videos, but also before companies like Amazon.com deploy fleets of drones in our skies. Plus we round up the top environmental news, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend.

Indigenous knowledge and climate change is the topic of this episode: “Science has been seen as [a] colonial tool by indigenous peoples. We are trying to say that we are co-researching, and these knowledge-holders [are] scientists of their own kind.” Snowchange's director Tero Mustonen also works on ecological restoration and solar initiatives that empower women in remote indigenous communities. Plus we round up some top environmental news, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a fri

Anne Axel of Marshall University is making the case for a new field of bioacoustics research: soundscape phenology, the study of cyclical life events of plants and animals via sound recordings. She keynotes the Ecoacoustics Congress in Australia soon on this topic, and plays a few of the recordings that have informed this research from the forests of Madagascar. Plus we round up the top environmental science news, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend.

A special report on community forestry in Mexico: "ejidos" are effective at conserving forests while creating economic opportunities, but also face threats from exclusion of women from governance, and also young people, who have left in large numbers. But host Mike Gaworecki discovered that some ejidos are including women and youths now, and are reaping the benefits. Plus we round up the top environmental & conservation science news, so if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend.

Legendary marine biologist Sylvia Earle, sometimes called "Her Deepness," is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and former chief scientist at NOAA. She's a conservation champion and argues for marine protected areas in particular: "The ocean has given us everything, life itself, now it's time to give back," she says in this wide ranging conversation. Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend!

Megan Friesen is a conservation biologist using bioacoustics technology to examine the breeding behavior of a secretive Pacific seabird called Buller’s shearwater, which breeds on remote islands off of New Zealand. Friesen explains why bioacoustics techniques are critical to this research and plays recordings of the birds from both of the main islands where it breeds. Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend!

On this episode we discuss Brazil’s incredibly biodiverse Cerrado savannah, with its 10,000 plant species, 900 kinds of birds and 300 different mammals. Long overlooked, much agriculture has moved from the rainforest to this vast region, so Mongabay sent a team there to learn about the effects of agriculture, and they join us to discuss this 'upside down' forest. Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend!

On this episode we speak with James Valentine, the multiple-Grammy-winning guitarist for Maroon 5 about his work to keep illegal and unsustainable rainforest wood out of musical instruments. He has been to the rainforests of Peru and Guatemala to see the effects of illegal logging there, and talks about his motivations for stopping this destructive trade. Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend!

On this episode we discuss our deep connection to water with marine biologist and sea turtle researcher Wallace J. Nichols, bestselling author of Blue Mind. Then we speak with a team using bioacoustics to document the ecology of Sandhill cranes on the Platte River in Nebraska, as the birds stop over during their annual migration. We play some of their new recordings plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend!

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, plus examples of restoration from around the globe. We also speak with the editor of Mongabay’s series that examines how well a range of other conservation efforts work. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend about the show!

On this episode we speak with Sy Montgomery, an author of a new book about 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 about Mongabay's newly launched bureau in India.