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

Stand-up for the planet: cracking climate jokes

July 18, 2025 • 31 mins

By day Matt Winning works on climate policy. By night, he’s turning scientific data into jokes. Fusing razor-sharp research with dry Scottish wit, Matt uses stand-up to make the climate crisis feel less distant, more human, and a lot harder to ignore.

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Targeting indigenous land for nuclear waste

July 11, 2025 • 23 mins

Nuclear power is making a comeback in Japan. But in Hokkaido, indigenous Ainu communities are being sidelined as their ancestral land is eyed for nuclear waste storage. The Ainu musician Oki Kano leads a quiet resistance - raising questions about justice and who gets a say in the race to decarbonize.

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Epilogue: The true cost of climate change

July 4, 2025 • 41 mins

Even in five episodes, we couldn’t cover everything. So in this bonus epilogue, Neil and Kathleen sit down with reporters Sam Baker and Charli Shield to unpack some questions we left on the cutting room floor – from the messy consequences of outdated US flood maps to why helping poorer countries leapfrog fossil fuels matters to us all – plus your comments, a few laughs, and final reflections.

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Cold rush: The race to visit Antarctica

June 27, 2025 • 31 mins

It's the trip of a lifetime. A journey to the end of the Earth, where icebergs groan and penguins shuffle. More tourists are flocking to Antarctica than ever before, drawn by a sense of urgency as climate change melts its ice caps. But what happens when we turn the last wild places into destinations? And what can Antarctica teach us about our role as visitors in a changing world?

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Introducing: Boiling Point

June 20, 2025 • 39 mins

This week we are sharing an episode from Boiling Point, a podcast by L.A. Times Studios that looks at the climate challenges facing California and the American West, and the solutions to fix them. "Breaking Down Plastics" features an interview with journalist Susanne Rust about why plastics are unavoidable, what that means for our health and what lawsuits can achieve.

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Breaking the chains of consumerism

June 13, 2025 • 30 mins

How does a person in advertising go from perpetuating consumerism one day to championing environment citizenship the next? In this episode, we explore the story of one ad man whose job was quite literally making him sick and the unexpected connection he made with a climate-anxious teen.

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Why are oceans getting darker? (Rebroadcast)

June 6, 2025 • 28 mins

In the past 20 years more than a fifth of our oceans have been growing darker. What is causing this and how worried should we be? In this episode we take you beneath the Baltic Sea to explore how ocean darkening is changing the marine ecosystem, plus the steps we need to take to protect our oceans.

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What do horses know that we don't?

May 30, 2025 • 29 mins

After cancer treatment, Suzanne was persuaded to join an animal-assisted therapy session with horses. She was skeptical at first, but the experience changed her life. This episode explores how equine therapy is helping cancer patients process grief, reconnect with themselves, and find strength in nature. Plus, what researchers are beginning to uncover about animal-assisted therapy.

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The woman who ran toward wildfires and came out a hotshot

May 23, 2025 • 29 mins

When Kelly Ramsey joined an elite unit of wildland firefighters called the "hotshots" in Northern California, she thought she knew what she was signing up for. But climate change has flipped a switch, transforming wildfires from a natural occurrence into an unstoppable force. We’ll hear her story and check in with firefighters in Canada and Australia about what it now takes to put out the flames.

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Part 5: What the economy gets wrong about nature

May 16, 2025 • 37 mins

What’s a forest really worth? Or a pollinator, or a reef? In this final episode of The Cost of Climate Change, we travel to Tasmania’s underwater forests to uncover the hidden costs of losing nature and what the economy has been ignoring — from vanishing carbon sinks to collapsing food systems. But there’s another side to this story — what we can save by putting nature first.

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Part 4: Heatstroke economy — the rising cost of extreme heat

May 9, 2025 • 40 mins

Extreme heat is no longer a future threat. It's here, and it’s costing us. From hospitals pushed to the brink, to cities built for a cooler planet, the toll is mounting on our bodies, our livelihoods and the systems meant to keep us safe. In Part 4 of our Cost of Climate Change series, we dig into the true price of rising heat, and what it might take to adapt before the next heatwave hits.

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Part 3: Who should pay for climate action?

May 2, 2025 • 40 mins

What do a German heat pump and a Canadian carbon price have in common? They're both flashpoints in a growing political battle over how to cut emissions and share the costs fairly. In Part 3 of our series on The Cost of Climate Change, we follow the money and ask: Who should foot the bill — consumers, taxpayers, or polluters?

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Part 2: Can we afford a transition to clean energy?

April 25, 2025 • 38 mins

Sun, wind, water, and Earth’s heat — they’re abundant, carbon-free, and cheaper to harness than ever. But what’s the true price of overhauling our energy system? Is clean power really the cheaper path? In Part 2 of our series on The Cost of Climate Change, we head to outback Australia to meet an accidental ally in the race to ditch fossil fuels.

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Part 1: How much does a hurricane cost?

April 18, 2025 • 42 mins

In the first episode of our series on The Cost of Climate Change, we head to Miami — where vibrant nightlife, sunshine, and storm surges collide. As hurricanes intensify and insurers pull out, the cost of living in paradise is becoming impossible to ignore. Who picks up the tab for extreme weather, and how do we keep from going broke? One new Florida community might hold some of the answers.

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Prologue: The true cost of climate change

April 11, 2025 • 14 mins

Ever notice how debates about the cost of climate change tend to focus on how green policies are too expensive — and less about the huge bill we’ll all face the longer we fail to act? That’s exactly what our new five-part series on The Cost of Climate Change will be exploring, starting April 18. Here's a taste of what to expect.

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Are PFAS affecting you? What you should know

April 4, 2025 • 36 mins

PFAS, or "forever chemicals," are everywhere – in food packaging, water, and more. But what happens when they enter our bloodstream? One woman's fight to find out.

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Nature's healing touch: Fact or fiction?

March 28, 2025 • 33 mins

Is our love for nature more than instinct? A look at the fascinating link between nature, mental health, and physical recovery.

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Are your flowers bad for the environment? (Rebroadcast)

March 21, 2025 • 31 mins

Spring is in the air, and so are fresh blooms! With the US marking National Flower Day this week and flower season about to ramp up in the world's flower capital, the Netherlands, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite episodes. Find out how cut flowers are grown, how they reach us, and what it takes to keep them blooming year-round.

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How far will governments go to stop climate protests?

March 14, 2025 • 25 mins

Governments are cracking down on climate protests. They say activists have crossed the line into extremism. But history shows resistance only adapts. As repression intensifies, will it crush the movement - or make it stronger?

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What does 1 ton of CO2 look like?

March 7, 2025 • 33 mins

Last year, the world pumped over 41 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Hard to picture, isn’t it? In this episode, we explore different ways of understanding this basic concept of climate science along with the help of a researcher with a very personal link to the origins of our obsession with carbon dioxide.

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Living Planet

Episodes

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.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Targeting indigenous land for nuclear waste

Epilogue: The true cost of climate change

Cold rush: The race to visit Antarctica

Introducing: Boiling Point

Breaking the chains of consumerism

Why are oceans getting darker? (Rebroadcast)

What do horses know that we don't?

The woman who ran toward wildfires and came out a hotshot

Part 5: What the economy gets wrong about nature

Part 4: Heatstroke economy — the rising cost of extreme heat

Part 3: Who should pay for climate action?

Part 2: Can we afford a transition to clean energy?

Part 1: How much does a hurricane cost?

Prologue: The true cost of climate change

Are PFAS affecting you? What you should know

Nature's healing touch: Fact or fiction?

Are your flowers bad for the environment? (Rebroadcast)

How far will governments go to stop climate protests?

What does 1 ton of CO2 look like?

Popular Podcasts

Stand-up for the planet: cracking climate jokes

Targeting indigenous land for nuclear waste