Living Planet
Looking to reconnect with nature? Want to make better decisions for the health of the planet? Every Friday, Living Planet brings you the stories, facts and debates on the key environmental issues of our time.
Episodes
February 6, 2026 • 16 mins
This week, we're featuring Episode 2 of Boy Wasted, a three-part environmental true crime series by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor, co-produced by Adnan Khan. The investigation into a boy found dead in a bale of recycled plastic in Turkey takes a shocking turn, as new witnesses come forward and the wider dangers of the global recycling trade start to come to light.
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January 30, 2026 • 29 mins
US Health Secretary RFK Jr. released new dietary guidelines that have literally turned the food pyramid upside down. Beef is, quite literally, "what's for dinner." Living Planet's Jennifer Collins spoke with health experts about what the new recommendations might mean for the health of the US, and the planet. Plus, some spicy listener comments from the episode "What we get wrong about protein."
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January 23, 2026 • 33 mins
Children today spend less time in nature than any generation before - and educators are sounding the alarm. But what if the outdoors becomes the classroom itself? In this episode, we explore the science and stories behind nature-based education, from improved wellbeing to deeper environmental awareness. We ask how learning in nature - not just about it - can change how we think, feel, and act.
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January 16, 2026 • 35 mins
Bioacoustics is pretty niche, but now thanks to AI, it could turbocharge biodiversity research. Michel André calls it “the science of the sound of life.” In this episode, we hear his recordings from the mysterious waters of Antarctica and the life-giving wetlands of the Amazon. He also explains why bioacoustics could hold the key to survival on the planet. Plus, a behind the scenes chat.
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January 9, 2026 • 26 mins
It started with a scoop of soil from an Arctic dump. Inside was a microbe scientists call a game-changer - able to live on air and pull methane, one of the planet’s most dangerous greenhouse gases, straight out of the atmosphere. Could this lucky find help reshape our fight against climate change?
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January 2, 2026 • 36 mins
Time to ring in the New Year with something a little different, and fun! Host Neil King is joined by producers Jennifer Collins, Kathleen Schuster and Charli Shield for Living Planet’s first ever quiz. How closely were you listening in 2025? Listen along and find out!
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December 26, 2025 • 33 mins
Before we say goodbye to 2025, Living Planet has some good news to share. Not only has the feedback from you, our listeners, been overwhelmingly positive, but our team has received recognition for its work in climate journalism. In this episode, we’re going to revisit those award-winning episodes along with the producers behind them.
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December 19, 2025 • 36 mins
Every year, countless animals meet their end on our roads - yet most of us barely notice. But this isn’t just a minor tragedy; the sheer scale is reshaping ecosystems across the planet. So, how can we make a difference - and could eating roadkill be part of the solution?
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December 12, 2025 • 30 mins
Protein obsession is reshaping our diets — and our planet. We lift the lid on the protein craze, what we truly need for good health, why animal protein carries such a heavy climate footprint, and what choices could cut emissions without sacrificing strength and health. And we hear from one powerlifter's surprising shift from meat-lover to vegan butcher, against the backdrop of online culture wars.
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December 5, 2025 • 31 mins
For 40 years, environmentalist and author Bill McKibben has chronicled the worsening climate crisis and politicians' failure to stop it. But now, for the first time, he says he can actually see a path forward. In the third and final part of our special miniseries, The Switch, we ask him what that path looks like – and what still threatens to derail it.
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November 28, 2025 • 27 mins
We're generating more solar and wind power than ever before, but somewhere between where it's made and where it's needed, the energy system can't keep up. From Spain's blackout to bottlenecks across Europe, the way we move electricity is in desperate need of some updates. In Part 2 of The Switch, we reveal the power grid cracks halting climate progress.
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November 21, 2025 • 26 mins
Some of the places hardest hit by climate change are also home to one of the future's most powerful gifts: superabundant sunshine. If solar is now cheaper than ever, what’s stopping the clean energy revolution from taking off where the sun shines the brightest? In Part 1 of our special miniseries, The Switch, we head to Morocco in search of the promise, and the politics, of desert power.
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November 14, 2025 • 1 min
Solar power is the cheapest energy source in history – and wind isn’t far behind. So why isn't the clean energy transition moving faster? In a new three-part miniseries, we’re digging into why the switch is so damn hard. From solar mega-farms in Morocco to European bottlenecks to climate writer Bill McKibben’s office, we're asking what the holdup is – and where to from here. Starting November 21.
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November 7, 2025 • 35 mins
When mercury pollution makes headlines, it's often linked to fish and human health. But there's another big source of mercury pollution that's affecting millions of people across the world - artisanal and small-scale gold mining. This episode looks at efforts in South America to reduce mercury use in mining - and what that means for people's health and the future of the Amazon.
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October 31, 2025 • 23 mins
Your thrifted shirt might not be as green as you think. From Ghana's "dead white man's clothes" to the rise of resale, we uncover fashion's hidden impact - and a way forward that could change it all.
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October 24, 2025 • 23 mins
This week on Living Planet, we're sharing Boy Wasted - a gripping three-part environmental true crime series by Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor and co-produced by Adnan Khan. It begins with a shocking find: a boy's body hidden in a bale of recycled plastic in Turkey, leading to a dangerous, cross-border investigation into a global recycling scandal.
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October 17, 2025 • 29 mins
The harm of plastics on human health is well known, but what about their impact on the people living near the plants that produce them? In this episode, we hear from the women on the frontlines of the fight against petrochemical companies in one of the US’s most toxic strips of land known as “Cancer Alley.”
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October 10, 2025 • 35 mins
In classrooms across the US, fossil fuel interests and political pressure are shaping the science - and leaving key facts out. Meet two teachers fighting to keep climate education honest, local, and alive.
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October 3, 2025 • 27 mins
Think fungi are just mushrooms and mold? Think again. Over 90% of fungal species are still unknown, and scientists are discovering new ones all the time. This World Fungus Day, dive into the hidden, fascinating world of fungi with us.
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September 26, 2025 • 29 mins
Hydropower, heat pumps and EVs made Norway a climate darling. Oil and gas exports made it rich. When one Norwegian started to question his role in this story, he came up against the paradox shaping this country's future – and the world’s energy transition.
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