Living Planet | Deutsche Welle
Every Thursday, a new episode of Living Planet brings you environment stories from around the world, digging deeper into topics that touch our lives every day. The prize-winning, weekly half-hour radio magazine and podcast is produced by Deutsche Welle, Germany's international broadcaster - visit dw.com/environment for more.
Episodes
June 1, 2023 • 29 mins
This week we're sharing an episode of Drilled, a true-crime climate podcast we love that describes itself as Law & Order meets the climate crisis. This is episode one from their new season that follows the story of a Guyanese reporter as she tries to find out what kind of deal was struck between ExxonMobil and the Guyanese government after they discovered oil reserves off the country's coast.
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May 25, 2023 • 30 mins
We hear from people in Puchuncaví, Chile, who want to reclaim their region from industrial exploitation. And we talk to author and expert Saleem Ali about how to reduce the harm of mining and refining the minerals critical to harnessing renewable energy and powering electric vehicles.
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May 18, 2023 • 29 mins
In this special episode, three experts on climate mis/disinformation discuss the way factually inaccurate and misleading information about the environment travels around the web. Climate journalist Stella Levantesi, climate communication researcher John Cook and Wikimedia strategist Alex Stinson join Sam Baker for an engaging round-table discussion, which originally was broadcast in 2022.
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We hear why Kenyan farmers are rejecting genetically modified seeds, meet the biodiversity guardians protecting peace in the rainforest region of Caquetá, Colombia, and find out how Ghana's coastline is at severe risk of being swallowed by the sea.
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May 4, 2023 • 30 mins
This week we're sharing an episode from Heat of the Moment, a podcast from Foreign Policy in partnership with the Climate Investment Funds. In Season 3, they explore the idea of a "just transition" away from fossil fuels — not only what that means for the coal miners whose jobs are going away, but also how the opportunity can be used to address wrongdoings such as racism, sexism and colonialism.
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On Living Planet this week, too many deer in the Scottish Highlands are leading to community disputes over how to deal with them. As India works to clean up its air, scientists have realized there may be a surprising trade-off: even higher temperatures. And we venture into the heart of the humanitarian disaster that is cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo with author Siddharth Kara.
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This week on Living Planet, we hear how refugees in Cameroon are creating shade and fresher air, as they connect their tree-planting project to the Great Green Wall of Africa. We also unpack Uganda's electronic waste problem, which has been made worse by a flood of cheap, counterfeit mobile phones on the market. And we learn about the promise and drawbacks of compostable packaging.
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April 13, 2023 • 29 mins
We head to the Hawaiian Islands to hear how climate change and the touristic obsession with a dreamy island getaway is steadily eroding the archipelago, driving local people, flora and fauna to extinction. And we learn from South African scientists and teachers trying to protect 200 species of shark off the country's coast.
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April 6, 2023 • 30 mins
Are two of the world's most beloved beverages – coffee and wine – viable in a world warped by climate change? And how's the world going with the whole 'sustainable aviation' thing?
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March 30, 2023 • 29 mins
We hear how the next zoonotic disease could be brewing in Kenya, and speak to a non-profit group trying to save the world's rainforests, who may have just struck upon a way to ward off the next deadly virus while they're at it.
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March 23, 2023 • 29 mins
From the water shortage in the Western United States to changes in floodplains in the Amazon, how is climate change impacting our water supplies? We explore solutions to these problems. We also hear what it's like to experience the world through the ears of a whale (yes, whales have ears)! And in France, one town is trying out some natural, glow-in-the-dark lighting.
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March 16, 2023 • 29 mins
We follow Australians battered by climate catastrophes, a walrus devoid of its ice floes and Indians from the eastern state of Odisha as they grapple with migration amid the climate crisis.
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March 9, 2023 • 29 mins
How should we talk to kids about climate change? From Belgian teens interacting with climate change on a philosophical level to an eco-bank in Peru where kids can open their first bank account to a new primary school climate program in Ghana, this week on Living Planet, we find out how schools and organizations are engaging young people on one of the most important issues of our time.
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March 2, 2023 • 29 mins
At a time when many people are struggling to pay their energy bills, we hear how oil and gas giants are raking in the profits, while quietly scaling back their emission reduction targets. And we head to Micronesia, via the Caribbean, to find out how small island nations are faring amid the climate crisis.
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February 23, 2023 • 29 mins
Today on Living Planet — more farmers around the world are turning their backs on industrial agriculture in an effort to shore up food supplies. In Georgia, ancient wheat varieties and breadmaking traditions are making a comeback, while farmers in Kenya have been forced to pollinate their crops themselves. And Lebanese farmers are ditching expensive chemical fertilizers for more natural options.
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February 16, 2023 • 29 mins
We head to the Canary Islands, where scientists are devising novel ways to squeeze every last drop of moisture out of the air to revive forests destroyed by wildfires. From Morocco, we hear about the potential for building batteries with 'green cobalt'. And, in India, we learn how to turn a flood of flower waste into something useful.
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February 9, 2023 • 30 mins
Is burning wood to generate energy sustainable? It is according to the EU's renewable energy strategy — a policy that was meant to help the block reduce fossil fuel usage and lower greenhouse gas emissions. But in order to profit from EU subsidies, more and more coal-fired power plants have switched to burning firewood instead, which is having devastating consequences for Europe's forests.
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This week on Living Planet, we hear from climate scientists whose work has been disrupted by the war in Ukraine. We visit an ambitious project in the Netherlands, which shows us that living things really are all around us. And we look into the exploitative practice of biopiracy.
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Today on Living Planet — a controversial oil pipeline in Uganda stirs up strong reactions. We ask what fossil fuels have to do with our beauty routine. And if you've wondered about the environmental and economic trade-offs of getting an electric vehicle, we've got answers.
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January 19, 2023 • 29 mins
Today on Living Planet, we're traveling to some cold (and not-so-cold) places. We're asking how Europe’s snow-starved winters are affecting winter sport enthusiasts. We visit a French supermarket that's keeping things especially chilly. And we head to the lab to find out how climate scientists study the world's oldest ice.
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