Planet Pod

We talk bees, honey and money!   Amanda talks to bee experts Richard Rickitt, co-editor of Bee Craft magazine and beekeeping tutor, and Kevin Baughen, co-owner of 13 Bees beekeeping experiences, to discuss their passion for bees and why we should all be in awe of these amazing insects. But "bee" warned - we also raise the spectre of the destructive Asian Hornet and what to do if one buzzes your wa...

How the ocean ecosystems help restore the planet   Carbon makes us blue, but what is Blue Carbon? If the coastal and oceanic ecosystems aren't incredible enough - they also play a key role in capturing carbon dioxide  from the atmosphere in complex processes played out in inorganic and organic matter, which is then called Blue Carbon.  We ask our experts Prof Fiorenza Micheli from Stanford Univers...

We banned it from paint petrol and pipes but allow it to enter the human food chain - find out why it's time to ban lead shot.  Sacha Dench joins Dr Julia Newth from WWT, John Gregson from Waitrose and Dr Niels Kanstrup from Danish Hunters Association on the eve of an historic EU vote to finally ban the use of lead in shot and so stop the annual killing of 1million wild birds in Europe and the dum...

The Climate Change Committee's Annual Report to Parliament calls for immediate and systemic change if we are to build a green recovery post Covid. Investment in the low carbon economy coupled with some bold thinking and decision making on land use, house building, infrastructure and behaviours provides a blueprint for a green future according to Baroness Brown of Cambridge (Deputy Chair Climate Ch...

Waste in the field, the factory and in the kitchen - the truth behind the scandal of global food waste UN Manifesto Chef Arthur Potts Dawson joins Tristram Stuart, author, campaigner and founder of Toast Ale and food waste charity Feedback and Will Edge, founder of Greensand Ridge Distillery, as they talk with Amanda about the global scandal that leaves farmers unpaid, food rotting in fields and w...

Did you know 50 billion years of evolutionary history is under threat of extinction?  Rikki Gumbs from ZSL Edge programme and Dr James Rosindell discuss punk turtles (aka Mary River Turtle), how to Zoom in on the Tree of Life and why we need to save the rarest and most precious of our species who are on the edge of extinction. This podcast is the latest in our series in collaboration with the Gran...

Lost to the UK since Roman times, according to Ben Macdonald - conservation writer, field director in wildlife television and keen naturalist - the enormous Dalmatian pelican might once again be spotted (no pun intended) gliding across our marshes and wetlands.  Along with John Arbon from WWT’s Barnes Wetland Centre, Ben describes the dramatic decline of the bird population in the UK over the past...

Transition to Green Energy - who pays? The producer, the polluter or the consumer? Join our expert guests Neil Hirst, Senior Policy Fellow for Energy and Mitigation at the Grantham Institute and Juliet Davenport, CEO of Good Energy as they discuss the paradigm shift we need in policy and regulation that will free up the consumer so we can make our own decisions about how to heat and power our home...

Fancy  "....a fishy on a little dishy, when the boat comes in"?  But, if the boats aren't going out, there won't be any fish! Catch our Fish for Dinner podcast produced by Planet Pod for The Blue Marine Foundation and hear how they are supporting sustainable fishing to ensure the fish caught in native waters are getting to customers while Covid 19 has shut down the routes to market, keeping the fi...

Author and walker Peter Fiennes joins Alastair Driver from Rewilding Britain and Amanda to discuss how landscape shapes imagination and how rewilding today is about man and wildlife living in harmony together, not about resetting the baseline or turning the clock back. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this fascinating "eco-nomics" discussion with guests Professor Michael Grubb and Dr Alex Köberle we explore what choices and opportunities there may be to build a greener economy once the current world health crisis is over.  What will the lasting impacts be on global markets and are we likely to see disruptive models emerging which will help drive us towards a more sustainable model for busine...

Join Amanda and co-host Beatrice as they talk to writer and fashion consultant Aja Barber alongside Sarah Ditty, Global Policy Director at Fashion Revolution about the future of fashion post Covid-19 The fashion industry is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. From the water-heavy production processes, the carbon emissions and the huge amount of waste it produces, with 300,000 tonnes...

Buzzing bees, beautiful butterflies, burbling birdsong ..... what better way to banish the blues?​ Take a break from staring at your own four walls and join our guests to look for beasties, bees and birds right on your doorstep ( or through your window). The Urban Birder, David Lindo, tells us which birds we can see in the city sky - wherever you are. Tony Whitbread and Gill Perkins share their in...

What can studying core samples from over 2.5m years ago tell us about the likely impact of climate change today? Join us as we talk with climate science expert Professor Martin Siegert about his work to investigate what conditions were like on earth during the Pliocene era (5.3 to 2.6 million years ago) - the last time atmospheric carbon emissions were around 400ppm for a prolonged period.  We exp...

Join Amanda and Jim for this special Covid 19-free podcast as they step their way from A to Z and guide you through some useful climate change and environment terms. Essential listening to prep for those Houseparty quizzes or help out with home schooling assignments. We hope all our listeners are staying safe and well and wish everyone good health. Happy listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

Discussing the knowns and unknowns of the COVID 19 pandemic and its impact on the Climate Emergency..... In this episode (recorded via a Skype connection rather than our usual studio production in response to the guidance to limit travel and contact) we unpick what we can learn from the current Covid 19 pandemic.  Could there be a possible green benefit when we emerge from the worst global he...

Planet Pod talks Brexit, fish and the environment with the two Toms!..... Join Amanda as she explores with our expert guests Dr Tom Appleby and Dr Tom West what leaving the EU, its regulations and the jurisdiction of the European Courts might mean for the environment in the UK. Will we be like fish out of water? Will we have to swim against the tide? Will it open up a can of worms? Or will it help...

With nearly 70 episodes under our belt Planet Pod has had the privilege of hearing from over 150 inspirational guests. They all have a call to action - listen to a few of these in this short compilation and download past episodes to hear what else they have to say on a wide range of sustainability topics.  Go to www.theplanetpod.com to read about our guests and listen past episodes. Hosted on Acas...

“If you take care of birds, you take care of most of the environmental problems in the world.” The words of Thomas Lovejoy and eminent biologist perfectly describe why Sacha Dench has soared with swans and now plans to fly with ospreys.  In this episode in our 'Environmental Changemakers" series, Amanda finds out what has inspired Sacha to strap herself to her paramotor and take on the challenge o...

In this fifth episode in our Grantham series of podcasts looking at the challenges of getting to Net Zero, Professors Richard Templer and Peter Childs talk to Amanda about the role of innovation in helping us to deliver things to the market that have an impact in a timescale which is 10 times shorter and involving 10 times as many people than the Industrial Revolution - and doing this without maki...

Cars, trains, buses, planes.....what's the right way to travel to achieve net zero? We kick off 2020 with Planet Pod's fourth episode in collaboration with the Grantham Institute which looks at the impact of travel and transport on climate change and our ability to achieve a net zero carbon economy by 2050. Amanda is joined by experts Dr Audrey de Nazelle and Dr Mark Stettler. We look at the inter...

Explorer, adventurer, conservationist, campaigner..... Our first guest for our "In Conversation With" series is all of the above (oh, and BAFTA-winning naturalist, writer and TV presenter as well!).  Amanda talks with Steve Backshall to find out what has inspired him to want to protect the world's ecosystems and species. How can we shift the political dial and encourage countries to think beyond G...

Bored with being fobbed off? Don't think any of the parties mean it? Listen into Planet Pod's election special as self-confessed eco maverick and activist Alex Gilbert and Amanda pick their way through the party manifesto commitments - is there hope or is it all hogwash and just how many trees a minute will Labour have to plant to meet their commitments? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Get down and dirty with Planet Pod.... We talk about waste – methane, landfill and water.  How wasteful is the UK?  Where does your recycling go?  How much is recycled?  What is residual waste?  Can you avoid making waste in the first place?  Can waste have value?   In this third episode of our series about getting to Net Zero, Professors Chris Cheeseman and Nick Voulvoulis of The Grantham Institu...

The energy revolution is happening somewhere near you.... Clean Green Energy: locally sourced - locally managed.  Just a pipe dream or realistic vision of the future? In the second of our shared series with the Grantham Institute , Dr Jeff Hardy and Dr Madeleine Morris explore what smart local net zero energy systems mean for our communities, for our energy bills and for our lives ... a positive s...