If you listen to podcasts on the way to work, while doing chores or while working out, you’re one of the 500 million people who tune into podcasts around the world! You can find podcasts on every topic imaginable, including climate change. In this article, we’ll introduce you to 12 of the best climate change podcasts featuring compelling storytelling, expert insights and accessible information. Whether you’re looking for a short, science-based show or a more in-depth, investigative research project, this list has you covered.
Table of Contents
| Podcast | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Drilled |
| 2 | Climate Rising |
| 3 | The Climate Question |
| 4 | How We Survive |
| 5 | What on Earth |
| 6 | A Matter of Degrees |
| 7 | TILclimate |
| 8 | No Place Like Home |
| 9 | Climate Change and Happiness |
| 10 | Sea Change |
| 11 | The Art of Climate Dialogue: Stories from Iowa |
| 12 | Forest 404 |
#1. Drilled
| Category: Investigative journalism |
| Years Running: 2017-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 32 minutes |
If you want to go deep on climate change news, Drilled is a compelling, deeply researched resource. Self-described as “a true-crime podcast about climate change,” Drilled is an investigative reporting project founded by Amy Westervelt, a long-time climate reporter. Each season covers a pertinent climate change topic, such as the origins of climate denial (Season 1), the fight between Chevron/Texaco and Indigenous groups in Ecuador (Season 5), and how the fossil fuel industry pivoted from denying climate change to delaying climate action (Season 11). You can find episode transcripts, articles and primary source documents for each season on the Drilled website.
#2. Climate Rising
| Category: Business talk |
| Years Running: 2019-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 40 minutes |
Climate Rising is a climate change podcast from the Harvard Business School’s Business and Environment initiative. It tackles the climate crisis’ impact on business with insights from business leaders, policymakers and college faculty. Mike Toffell, who co-leads the HBS online Business and Climate Change course, hosts the show. Episode topics include the potential and challenges of the voluntary carbon market, the use of AI and satellite data in agriculture, and how insurance companies address climate risks. It’s a good listen for people wanting to hear from professionals at the intersection of business and climate change.
#3. The Climate Question
| Category: Weekly science news program |
| Years Running: 2020-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 30 minutes |
The Climate Question is a BBC World Service climate change podcast. Guided by their tagline, “Why we find it so hard to save our own planet, and how we might change that,” the episodes take on topics like managing a relationship where only one partner believes in climate action, whether lab-grown meat is better for the planet, and how extreme heat affects pregnant people. A new episode releases weekly, which means the show can cover breaking climate news as well. The hosts also answer listener questions on a regular basis. Even if you’re not from the UK, the show offers valuable insights and engaging stories.
#4. How We Survive
| Category: Climate solutions |
| Years Running: 2021-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 35 minutes |
How We Survive explores climate solutions with host journalists from Marketplace Media, a public media outlet. Each season covers a different topic, such as the race for lithium (Season 1), climate change and water (Season 4) and climate change’s impact on national security (Season 6). The show also has a spin-off video podcast called “Burning Questions,” where hosts answer listener questions about what foods are good for the environment, how to climate-proof a house, how to stay hopeful about the climate crisis and much more. How We Survive features compelling interviews with everyday people impacted by climate change as well as experts, which grounds the show and brings the stories to life.
#5. What On Earth
| Category: Climate solutions |
| Years Running: 2020-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 36 minutes |
What On Earth, which is hosted by a team of journalists, comes from CBC Radio Podcasts. The show investigates climate solutions like technology, sustainable agricultural practices and more. Topics include biochar, a charcoal-like carbon-storing material, and how young people are preparing for 2025’s climate fight. The show also has recurring “How To” episodes, which focus on how individuals can combat climate change in their daily lives. The podcast features compelling stories told through immersive audio, music and interviews, so it’s a good pick for listeners who get bored when a podcast is just people in a room talking.
#6. A Matter of Degrees
| Category: Climate solutions |
| Years Running: 2020-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 45 minutes |
A Matter of Degrees, which is hosted by Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katherine Wilkinson, explores stories of climate campaigns, corruption and what people are doing to be part of the climate solution. It’s appeared on many best-of lists from outlets like Wired, Variety, Gizmodo and The New Yorker. Episodes cover topics like cryptocurrency’s impact on the planet, how to clean up the industrial sector and what climate leaders are doing in their communities. Dr. Stokes and Dr. Wilkinson are among the most qualified experts on climate change, which makes the podcast a must-listen for anyone eager to learn more about the topic.
#7. TILclimate
| Category: Educational |
| Years Running: 2019-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 10 minutes |
This MIT podcast simplifies the science, policies and technology behind climate change through short, digestible episodes. It’s designed for listeners interested in climate change basics, as well as those who need a refresh on the facts. For each episode, the podcast posts an Educator Guide on the episode page, which includes a set of questions and activities teachers can use in high school or higher education classrooms. Episode topics include whether green hydrogen is all that clean, whether wind turbines kill birds and how human activity changes wildfires. If you’re short on time and enjoy podcasts that get straight to the point, TILclimate should be on your list.
#8. No Place Like Home
| Category: Interview |
| Years Running: 2016-2021 |
| Average Episode Runtime: 40 minutes |
Hosted by climate activists Mary Anne Hitt and Anna Jane Joyner, No Place Like Home “gets to the heart of climate change through personal stories.” While the podcast appears to have wrapped up, its stories and interviews are still relevant. Episodes feature conversations with thought leaders like Rashad Robinson of Color of Change (Episode #12), Amy Westervelt of Drilled (Episode #34), and adrienne maree brown (Episode #29). Season 3 (which premiered in 2020) explores the intersection of the climate crisis with faith and spirituality. The production is simple and raw, so it’s a good listen if you prefer podcasts that feel like real-life conservations.
#9. Climate Change and Happiness
| Category: Mental health and wellbeing |
| Years Running: 2020-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 32 minutes |
Most climate change podcasts focus on science or solutions, but Climate Change and Happiness examines the impact on mental health and wellbeing. Described as “an international podcast that explores the personal side of climate change,” the show features conversations between psychologist Thomas Doherty, climate emotions scholar Panu Pihkala and guests. Episodes cover issues like parenting in a climate crisis (Season 4, Episode 7), art and climate emotions (Season 3, Episode 21) and climate coping for children (Season 2, Episode 26). The show uses a calm, introspective, no-frills production style.
#10. Sea Change
| Category: Investigative journalism |
| Years Running: 2023-present |
| Average Episode Runtime: 33 minutes |
Sea Change is a podcast from WWNO/WRKF about climate change’s impact on coastal communities. Through a story-driven format, the show explores the challenges and tragedies of climate change, but also the joy and resilience of coastal cities. Documentarian Carlyle Calhoun and rotating hosts cover topics like sustainable seafood, the experience of meteorologists reporting on climate change and how to tell impactful climate change stories. The show is deeply researched with lots of expert interviews, but it’s still accessible to most listeners.
#11.The Art of Climate Dialogue: Stories From Iowa
| Category: Interview |
| Years Running: 2023 (limited series) |
| Average Episode Runtime: 64 minutes |
The Art of Climate Dialogue is a limited podcast series featuring 13 conversations with farmers, community organizers, artists, researchers and activists. The subjects have all used art and storytelling techniques to talk about climate change and agriculture in Iowa. Guests include DK, a hip-hop artist and educator, Shelley Buffalo, a storyteller and food sovereignty specialist, and Cornelia F. Mutel, an ecologist and writer. While the podcast focuses on Iowa, insights can be applied to other communities, making the podcast a worthwhile listen for anyone interested in climate change communication and storytelling. Transcripts are available on the website.
#12. Forest 404
| Category: Fiction |
| Years Running: 2019 (limited series) |
| Average Episode Runtime: 15 minutes |
We’re closing this climate change podcast list with something different: an immersive fiction experience. Starring Pearl Mackie, Forest 404 is an environmental sci-fi thriller that takes the listener to a post-Nature world where people live in skyscrapers or off-world entirely. Pan, an audio archivist, is tasked with deleting audio files from the long-dead past. When she stumbles on a recording of a rainforest, she becomes obsessed. Her attempts to understand the sound are threatened when the police claim the audio harbors a deadly virus and must be destroyed. Forest 404 is both a love letter to nature and a warning about climate change’s destructive consequences. The show uses binaural technology, an immersive audio method, which welcomes listeners into the soundscapes Pan discovers. For the best experience, listen to Forest 404 with headphones.