Here you are, noble and earbudded, ready to absorb the dulcet tones of eco-conscious hosts explaining, in exquisite detail, exactly how everything is simultaneously on fire and melting, because doomscrolling the news wasn’t quite enough existential dread for your Tuesday morning commute. Fear not, though, because I’ve done the exhausting work of sifting through approximately ten thousand podcasts with names like “Green Futures” and “Earth Matters” and “Please, For The Love Of Trees,” to bring you only the very best. You’re welcome, and so is the planet, maybe.
Earth Radio
Earth Radio is a podcast by Earth.Org that delivers the week’s most critical environmental stories in just five minutes, every Saturday. Hosted by Rebekah Hendricks, the show digs deeper into the headlines, featuring insights from scientists, activists, and experts at the forefront of adaptation and resilience.
Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast
Outrage + Optimism is a climate podcast hosted by former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, political strategist Tom Rivett-Carnac, and sustainable business consultant Paul Dickinson. Each week, the trio breaks down the latest climate news, goes behind the scenes at key talks, and keeps listeners informed and inspired on the path toward meaningful climate action.
The YIKES Podcast
Yikes is a podcast that confronts the most overwhelming challenges of our time, from the climate crisis to racism, activism, and resistance against oppressive systems. Rather than shying away from these difficult topics, the show breaks them down in an accessible, intersectional, and nuanced way, guiding its listeners toward meaningful action together.
Second Nature
Second Nature is a podcast by Commons that explores how everyday sustainable choices shape both our lives and the planet. Each week, the show highlights listeners’ efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, calculates the impact of collective action, and brings expert answers to the most pressing climate questions.
Inherited
Inherited is a podcast dedicated to amplifying compassionate, richly crafted climate stories by, for, and about young people around the world, with a particular focus on voices from marginalized communities.
Sustainably Speaking
Sustainably Speaking is a podcast that brings together innovators, policymakers, academics, and scientists in meaningful dialogue around the most pressing issues of our time. Through the lens of sustainability, the show explores forward-thinking solutions aimed at driving lasting change, protecting the environment, and building a lower-carbon future.
Nature is the Solution
Nature is the Solution is a podcast from The Nature Conservancy that approaches climate storytelling with unwavering optimism. The show shifts the conversation away from fear and toward possibility, championing hope, innovation, and the power of nature as essential tools for tackling the challenges that lie ahead.
Future Ecologies
Future Ecologies is a podcast crafted for nature enthusiasts and audiophiles alike, delving into eco-social relationships through stories, science, music, and soundscapes. Each episode offers a fresh perspective on the world, blending narrative and interviews with insights from expert knowledge holders. The show embraces a variety of formats, ranging from documentary-style storytelling to free-flowing sound collages and everything in between.
To know the land
A show dedicated to exploring humanity’s relationship with the land, striving to inspire resilience, resistance, and a deep reverence for the natural world. The podcast features conversations with authors, researchers, activists, and students of the land.
Speed & Scale
Hosted by Ryan Panchadsaram and Anjali Grover, this podcast uncovers the most impactful climate solutions already taking shape around the world. From the rise of wind energy in Texas to the end of coal in England, the show features the people driving meaningful change at scale, offering fresh perspectives and inspiring stories that prove humanity’s greatest challenge can be solved.
Living on Earth
As the planet faces a growing climate emergency, Living on Earth stands as a trusted source for in-depth coverage of climate change, ecology, and human health. Hosted by Steve Curwood and brought to listeners by PRX.
Beyond the Canopy
Beyond the Canopy is a podcast by OpenForests that places nature at the heart of every conversation. From climate finance and forest technologies to policy and real-world impact, the show brings together bold discussions with the visionaries and changemakers shaping the future of nature restoration and conservation.
Ask MIT Climate
An award-winning MIT podcast that makes understanding climate change accessible and straightforward. The show breaks down the science, technologies, and policies surrounding climate change, examining its impact on society and the steps that can be taken to address it. Each concise episode delivers clear, expert-driven insights straight from real scientists, empowering listeners to make informed decisions about the future.
Broken Ground
Broken Ground is a podcast produced by the Southern Environmental Law Center that unearths environmental stories from across the American South.
Talking Rubbish – The Recycling Podcast
James and Robbie are on a mission to prove that recycling is anything but dull. With James handling the research and Robbie offering his unfiltered take, the duo tackles recycling myths, bizarre questions, and surprising facts in an entertaining and enlightening way that just might change how listeners think about what they throw away.
Resources Radio
Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future that brings together leading experts to discuss climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making cutting-edge research accessible to a broad audience.
The Fifth Siren
The Fifth Siren takes its name from Venice’s flood warning system, using the city as a backdrop to explore the converging global crises of our time, environmental, cultural, social, and technological. The podcast confronts the many challenges humanity faces in an uncertain future, and is produced by Fill Productions with support from the Italian Cultural Institute in London and Banor Capital.
EarthWise
Hosted by Vivaan Mathur, EarthWise is a sustainability-focused podcast exploring topics such as renewable energy, circular economy, and sustainable agriculture. Through expert interviews and inspiring stories of individuals and organizations driving positive change, the show encourages listeners to take meaningful steps toward a more sustainable and equitable world.
This Sustainable Life
A podcast for those who care about the environment but struggle to take action alone. By featuring role models who have overcome the same doubts, the show inspires listeners to find meaning, purpose, and community in acting on their values.
Ecogradia
Ecogradia is a weekly podcast hosted by sustainability strategist and author Nirmal Kishnani, exploring the future of sustainable architecture and urbanism. Through conversations with leading experts and practitioners, each episode delivers inspiring stories, bold ideas, and forward-thinking solutions that go beyond minimizing harm toward actively doing good.
Nature Breaking
Hosted by Seth Larson, this podcast features conversations with experts on the most pressing environmental issues facing people and the planet, from climate change and habitat loss to endangered species and beyond. Produced by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), every episode offers listeners a fresh perspective on the natural world.
Drilled
Drilled is an investigative true-crime podcast hosted by Amy Westervelt that exposes the corporate corruption and political manipulation behind decades of climate denial and delay. Each season uncovers new evidence of deception and the power structures blocking meaningful climate action.
A People’s Climate
A People’s Climate is a podcast by Counterstream Media and The Nation, hosted by Shilpi Chhotray. Across nine episodes, the show brings together activists, organizers, and movement leaders on the frontlines of environmental justice, highlighting how communities are already building solutions and reclaiming power from the ground up.
How to Save a Planet
Hosted by journalist Alex Blumberg and a team of climate enthusiasts, this podcast tackles climate change in a way that leaves listeners feeling energized rather than overwhelmed. The show delivers smart, inspiring stories about the challenges humanity faces and the solutions that could lead the way forward.
America Adapts: The Climate Change Podcast
America Adapts is a leading climate podcast hosted by Doug Parsons, featuring conversations with scientists, activists, policymakers, and journalists tackling humanity’s greatest challenge. Each episode challenges assumptions and offers fresh perspectives on how the world is responding to a changing climate.
Living Planet
Every Friday, Living Planet delivers the stories, facts, and debates surrounding the most pressing environmental issues of our time, offering listeners a path to reconnect with nature and make more informed decisions for the health of the planet.
Sustainability Defined
Sustainability Defined is a podcast hosted by Scott Breen and Jay Siegel that breaks down sustainability one concept at a time. With the help of field experts, each episode explores a new topic spanning seven sectors — Energy, Cities, Natural Environment, Transportation, Business, Policy, and Social — all represented visually in a Sustainability Tree.
The Hopeful Environmentalist
Formerly known as the Angry Environmentalist, host Taylor Ganis has rebranded as the Hopeful Environmentalist, bringing hope and community to the forefront of climate conversations. The podcast features inspiring discussions with environmentalists and storytellers, aiming to educate and empower listeners of all backgrounds to become agents of change.
Climate One
Climate One is a podcast hosted by Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious, and Kousha Navidar that delivers empowering conversations covering all dimensions of the climate emergency, from the daunting to the inspiring, and from individual action to systemic change. The show is available ad-free on Patreon.
Plastic Podcast
Hosted by science communicator Clark Marchese, Plastic Podcast explores the science of plastic pollution and the global push to address it through the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution. Each episode features scientists, policymakers, and activists sharing expert insights and recommendations on tackling this worldwide crisis.
World Ocean Radio
World Ocean Radio is a weekly series of five-minute audio essays covering a broad range of ocean-related topics, available free of charge for syndication by college and community radio stations around the world.
On The Green Fence
On the Green Fence is a podcast hosted by DW reporter Neil King that examines complex environmental issues from multiple perspectives. Rather than taking sides, the show explores the roles of business, society, and science in the transition to a greener world, cutting through ideology and oversimplification to deliver an open-minded and engaging take on the issues that affect us all.
Water We Doing
A podcast that uncovers the fascinating ways water — humanity’s most precious resource — shapes lives across the globe. The show explores the social, environmental, and economic issues surrounding water, asking the hard questions about what is being done and how things can be improved.
Costing the Earth
A podcast bringing together the brightest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet, delivering fresh ideas and forward-thinking perspectives.
People Places Planet
People Places Planet is ELI’s environmental podcast featuring conversations with leading experts across sectors, sharing solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges, with a focus on the latest developments in environmental law, policy, and governance.
A Climate Change with Matt Matern
A Climate Change with Matt Matern is a weekly podcast featuring guests from government, business, activism, academia, and culture, all united around environmental and climate issues. The show is committed to informing its audience and inspiring meaningful change.
Real Organic Podcast
Farmers sit down with scientists, activists, politicians, and authors fighting to defend USDA organic food from corporate takeover. Since launching its add-on label in 2021, Real Organic Project has worked to connect everyday consumers with a growing movement. This podcast features leading organic and regenerative farmers alongside voices like Dr. Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, Leah Penniman, Bill Mckibben, Alice Waters, Dan Barber, and Eliot Coleman — all united against the profit-driven forces looking to corrupt real food. With both human and planetary health on the line, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Feed the soil, not the plant!!
Do you know of another environmental podcast that you think should be on this list? Let me know
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