Planet Pod's Podcast

Insects - pollinators, major carnivores, herbivores and recyclers. They sustain our diet. Most animals eat insects. Our food relies on insects. The ecology of the world has evolved around insects. Yet they are in crisis, the situation is dire. We speak to Matt Shardlow, the Chief Executive of Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, and Dr George McGavin, television presenter and author, whose recent book “The Hidden World” offers a fascinating insight to how insects sustain life on earth today and will shape our lives tomorrow.

We take a deep dive into the threats facing our waterways and why it matters with Feargal Sharkey, former frontman of punk band The Undertones and de facto figurehead of the battle to save Britain’s rivers, author and Right to Roam activist Amy-Jane Beer and author, academic and campaigner Mark Wormald. To mark the conference Owned By Everyone? Chalk Streams in Culture and Crisis, we explore the scandal behind the terrible state of our rivers and find out what we can do to be part of the solution.

What is the meaning of geese? This podcast explores what climate change, personal action and hope hold in store for our local spaces through the story of Nick Acheson, renowned naturalist and conservationist, who cycled 1,200 miles during lockdown, the exact length of the pinkfeet's migration to Iceland, to try and discover what geese mean to communities, landscapes and the future of the planet.

Migratory birds are in sharp decline. We talk to pioneering conservationist Sacha Dench about her work to raise awareness of the threats facing these incredible creatures and efforts to create systems to protect them and their flyways. We talk about her recent expedition, the Flight of the Osprey, her recovery following the tragic accident on the Round Britain Climate Challenge and the future of her conservation work.

Do we need to rethink farming? Farmers are not just food producers; they are custodians of the land, businesses, innovators and our partners in the hunt for solutions to climate change. What does the Government's new payment scheme mean for them? We catch up with Martin Lines, arable farmer in South Cambridgeshire and UK Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network and Dominic Buscall, Project Manager at Wild Ken Hill, who aims to restore nature, fight climate change and farm regeneratively at his family farm in Norfolk. In our Animal, Vegetable, Mineral slot - where we explore the many astounding facts and feats of the natural world - we find out how a certain bird can survive bashing its head against a tree 20 times a second, each time withstanding deceleration 1000 times the force of gravity!

We speak to Sasha Abraham, Senior Analyst at the UK's Climate Change Committee and formerly a member of the COP26 President's team, about her hopes and fears for 2023. How does the CCC hold Government to account? What did the UK achieve in 2022? Was COP27 a success? Also, in Animal, Vegetable, Mineral we talk to Jim Haywood about the latest incredible green tech. What do seaweed, squid and dandelions have in common?