23 Fantastic Climate & Sustainability Podcasts

I've shared the following quote many times over the years. But given its foresight and the emphasis on education, I feel it's worth continuing to do so until society starts treating climate change like the all-hands-on-deck emergency it is.

“Everyone needs to be educated on climate change because climate change and our response to it is going to change the world over the next 25 years as much as the internet did in the last 25 years.” – Joe Romm

Podcasts can be a great way to deepen our understanding of important topics. I listen to them all the time to learn from experts and hear from smart people in the climate space I really like.

What follows is an updated list (July 2022) of some of the best podcasts on climate and sustainability!

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of these.

They range from the wonky, science-heavy to the more casual, emotionally-intelligent. From true crime to clean technology, innovation, environmental justice, and grassroots. There's a little something for everybody.

One thing they all have in common though: Wonderful hosts, impressive guests, and many great stories!

Top Climate & Sustainability Podcasts

Hot Take

Climate change has emerged as the undisputed story of our time, even of all humanity. But we don’t know how to talk about it. And the story is so overwhelming, we don’t get to talk about storytelling. In Hot Take, Mary Anna?se Heglar and Amy Westervelt take an intersectional, critical, but constructive look at climate coverage—with the ultimate goal of making the conversation more productive and powerful. Not just bigger, but more inclusive.

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A Matter of Degrees

Give up your climate guilt. Sharpen your curiosity. This show is for the climate-curious people who know climate change is a problem, but are trying to figure out how to tackle it. We’re telling stories about the levers of power that have created the problem — and the tools we have to fix it.?

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Drilled

Courtroom drama, secret documents, psychological warfare, whistleblowers, media manipulation, this is a story that has it all. Join us as we uncover the mechanics of the longest-running and most elaborate propaganda campaign of the century – the creation and spread of climate denial – and why it’s been so effective.

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Generation Green New Deal

A new generation has pushed the climate crisis to the center of American politics. Generation Green New Deal tells the story of this youth movement: who they are, what they’ve accomplished so far, and where they go from here. Hosted by filmmaker Sam Eilertsen.?

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My Climate Journey

A podcast for those seeking to better understand climate change and how to help.

A podcast about a recovering software entrepreneur (me!), and my quest to reorient my career around helping solve climate change for this next chapter and beyond. Includes interviews with people in the thick of tackling this problem, and commentary from yours truly.?

How to Save a Planet

Does climate change freak you out? Want to know what we, collectively, can do about it? Us too.?How to Save a Planet?is a podcast that asks the big questions: what do we need to do to solve the climate crisis, and how do we get it done? Join us, journalist Alex Blumberg and scientist and policy nerd Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, as we scour the Earth for solutions, talk to people who are making a difference, ask hard questions, crack dumb jokes and — episode by episode — figure out how to build the future we want.

The Coolest Show

Your weekly dose of conversations that reimagine how Black, Indigenous, and Brown people thrive in our environment. Now in its fourth season, The Coolest Show is about connecting you to brilliant leaders from the culture, grassroots, and politics. Our guests bring their full selves and lived experiences to each episode. The Coolest Show is a safe space to build community based in our humanity. Here we discuss how we fight the racist policies that have led to brutality, pollution and the climate crisis in our communities. If you are looking for ways to fight for Black liberation and fight for climate and environmental justice, this is the show for you.

Climate One

Climate One at The Commonwealth Club is a thriving leadership dialogue on energy, the economy and the environment. We bring together top thinkers and doers from business, government, academia and advocacy groups to advance the discussion about a clean energy future.

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The Climate Pod

The Climate Pod covers the latest climate issues with the journalists, activists, academics, artists, and more at the center of the story. Hosted by brothers Ty and Brock Benefiel.

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Cooler Earth

Your weekly dive into the latest news and current state of energy transitions, sustainability, environmental policies and all things climate change. Each week we will in have an in-depth discussion on a specific topic relating to the science and economics of global warming, and feature experts as guests.

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No Place Like Home

A podcast that gets to the heart of climate change. We explore the biggest story of our time from inviting, intimate, creative, and surprising angles. From staying sane in the age of climate change, to real talk about whether or not our personal choices really matter to saving the planet, No Place Like Home dives into the spiritual, personal, cultural, and emotional dimensions of climate change. We don’t shy away from science and politics, but we always bring along our sense of humor – and a feisty dose of hope.

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Outrage & Optimism

Face the climate crisis head on, but understand that we have the power to solve this. From former UN Chief Christiana Figueres and the team who brought you the Paris Agreement, this podcast about issues and politics will inform you, inspire you and help you realize that this is the most exciting time in history to be alive.

The Snap Forward

Alex Steffen's podcast that follows his latest thinking on ideas ranging from?why all real sustainability is now disruptive?to?why the planetary crisis isn’t an issue but an era?to?why we cannot act too fast on climate change.

Volts

Volts is a podcast about leaving fossil fuels behind. I've been reporting on and explaining clean-energy topics for almost 20 years, and I love talking to politicians, analysts, innovators, and activists about the latest progress in the world's most important fight.

Rigged

In Rigged, we’ll rummage through the bag of tricks used by PR to shape the world you live in. Over the last century, these tricks have rigged the media, the government… society, really...with sometimes ridiculous, and sometimes profoundly serious effects on our democracy. This is a podcast about that war for hearts and minds right here on US soil.

House on Fire

Coined after famous youth climate activist Greta Thunberg’s famous speech, “House on Fire” is a youth-centered podcast about the climate crisis based in ‘ground zero’ Miami, Florida, powered by The CLEO Institute. Co-hosted by Miami residents, 24-year-old climate activist, Katrina Erwin, and educator and founder of The CLEO Institute ,Caroline Lewis, “House on Fire” holds impactful, intersectional conversations with scientists, activists, artists, and more. Each action-oriented episode brings guests, influencers, experts in the field of science, advocacy, and communications, educating and motivating listeners to become activated in the climate crisis movement. Our youth are inheriting the most existential, complex crisis the human species has ever faced, it is our mission to empower them to speak up. For more information on what you can do to help educate and empower others, please visit The CLEO Institute's website at www.cleoinstitute.org

Planet: Critical

This podcast is a resource of critical interviews with critical thinkers from the frontline of the battle to save our planet. Planet: Critical is home to the world’s best problem-solvers and synthesisers: economists, climate scientists, physicists, politicians, systems scientists, activists, anthropologists, market strategists, engineers.

Mothers of Invention

Climate change is a man-made problem — with a?feminist solution!

Join former Irish president, Mary Robinson, comedian-writer, Maeve Higgins, and series producer, Thimali Kodikara for a groundbreaking season of Mothers Of Invention!

Love, laughter and unforgettable storytelling lies in?every episode as they celebrate the inspiring climate leaders around the world carving a path to climate justice for all!

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Stepping Up?

In Stepping Up, Claire Schoen tells fun, funny, surprising stories of Americans who are taking action on the greatest crisis of our time: climate change. 12-year-olds tackle ocean acidification. Grannies risk arrest…These smart, articulate, passionate individuals spark our imagination and show us how we can step up our game as well.?

The Carbon Copy

Everything is a climate story. The Carbon Copy covers our shifting carbon-based economy, one news story at a time. Host Stephen Lacey covers climate change through the lens of business, technology, culture, and politics, to explain how the planet is transforming. (Also worth checking out the sister shows: Catalyst, Climavores, and Political Climate.)

Broken Ground

Broken Ground is a podcast by the?Southern Environmental Law Center. Join host, Leanna First-Arai, to dig up environmental stories in the South?and hear from the people bringing those stories to light.

In the fifth season, uncover the story of how a Black community in southwest Memphis and its allies beat the odds and defeated a crude oil pipeline.

Scene on Radio

Scene on Radio?is a two-time Peabody Award–nominated podcast that dares to ask big, hard questions about who we are—really—and how we got this way. Produced and hosted by John Biewen,?Scene on Radio?comes from the?Center for Documentary Studies?(CDS) at Duke University and is distributed by PRX.

Season 5,?The Repair, takes on the climate crisis: How we got ourselves into this fix, how we need to transform our societies to save ourselves and our world—and, crucially, who is this “we”?

Crowdsourcing Sustainability

Our mission: To help reverse global warming as soon as possible and rebuild a safer, healthier, and more just world. How are we doing this? We're working to unleash the power of people (like you) all around the world by bringing you the info, resources, tools, ideas, and community to multiply our collective impact. On this show, you'll learn from sustainability leaders around the world and find ways to level up your own impact!

There are honestly too many great ones to list. If you have a favorite that's not on here, please let me know in the comments below. Things do fall through the cracks at times but I do my best to check everything out.

Enjoy!

Ryan

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(This article was originally published?on?Crowdsourcing Sustainability.)