Mongabay Newscast

• Understanding the psychology of environmental crime

  Psychologist and true crime presenter Julia Shaw joins Mongabay's podcast to discuss her latest read, examining some of the highest-profile environmental crimes and why they occur, in Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet and How to Stop Them. She details the commonalities behind six major cases, and what can be learned from them, as described by six motivating factors: ease, impunity, greed, rationalization, conformity, and desperation. "As a psychologist, I was like, ‘What if we create a psychological profile of the various people involved with these various big crimes?’ And so that's how I came to the Six Pillars because I was using a model from criminology, which is called Situational Crime Prevention Theory, and of looking at the factors that contribute to a crime being committed," she says. Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website. Related Listening & Viewing: Watch Mongabay’s webinar on How to Cover Wildlife Trafficking featuring expertise from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Hear activist Paul Rosolie detail his operation which employs former loggers to be conservationists. Listen to Cambridge researcher Luke Kemp describe how society can tackle inequality and save nature. Image Credit: Photo of the author, Julia Shaw. Photo by Boris Breuer. --- Timecodes (00:00) From eco-depression to action (05:29) Why people commit environmental crimes (12:08) The ‘unsung heroes’ defending the environment (18:21) It’s not just greed (24:43) Whistleblowers and regulators are key (36:53) Towards consistent enforcement (42:02) Our biospheric values play a role

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• Innovative initiatives for nature recognized with World Future Policy Awards

  Policies enacted by seven nations and one international agreement have been recognized by the World Future Council for “top policy solutions for [humans], nature and generations to come.” On this edition of Mongabay’s podcast, the council’s CEO, Neshan Gunasekera, shares key highlights of the eight World Future Policy Award laureates. Under the theme of “Living in Harmony with Nature and Future Generations,” the winners for 2025 “bring to light the future orientation of the way we take decisions at [a] time that there are multiple crises facing ourselves as a species, but also the planet,” he says. The winning legal and legislative initiatives span seven nations, from South Africa to Uganda, Panama, Spain, Aotearoa New Zealand, Bhutan and Austria. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ), which establishes a binding U.N. treaty on the use of ocean resources beyond national borders, was among the initiatives awarded. The movement that granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River in Aotearoa New Zealand was also recognized. Both of these cases were previously the focus of Mongabay Newscast episodes hosted by Rachel Donald. “Nature doesn't need us, we need nature,” Gunasekera says. “And I think that's the realization we are coming to quite slowly, because any act that we have has a positive impact on the planet. But also, if you're not careful, every act could have a negative impact. Impact on nature has no national boundaries or borders. It has a global impact.” Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website. Image Credit: The wide, steep-cliffed Whanganui River ferries spring water and snowmelt from Mount Tongariro to the west coast of Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island. Image by Jason Pratt via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) ------- Timecodes (00:00) The World Future Policy Awards (10:48) The global impact of ‘Rights of Nature’ laws (14:15) Addressing the criticisms of ‘Rights of Nature’ (27:17) Human rights and global enforcement (36:16) The global impact award

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• Bird-watching’s wide appeal and social justice impact

  Wildlife biologist and ornithologist Corina Newsome of the U.S. NGO National Wildlife Federation joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss how bird-watching plays a role in environmental justice for underserved communities in urban areas, and provides an accessible way for people to connect with nature and drives impactful change. “Birding is an opportunity [for] people to fill in data gaps where they live [to] help direct investments that come from the world of conservation … from federal to state to local levels that have usually been funneled away from their communities,” she says on this episode. Newsome says that birding changed her own life, and she’s hopeful it can also change the world, because bird health has direct implications for biodiversity health at large. “ What birds require of us will benefit us in ways that are far beyond bird conservation. We can work together to solve problems and think about the ecological emergency and environmental harms are taking place across landscapes, across boundaries,” she says. Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website. Thumbnail image: American Avocet. Image by Michael Barry via Pixabay (Pixabay Content License). ------ Timecodes (00:00) Corina Newsome: Wildlife biologist and ornithologist (04:08) Birding changes your life (14:21) Birding, environmental and social justice (26:48) Birds as symbols of hope and resilience

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• Storytelling with wildlife photography drives global impact and healing

  On this episode of Mongabay’s weekly podcast, we look at nature through the lens of wildlife photographer and senior marketing associate at Mongabay, Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo, the multilingual staffer charged with sharing the team’s reporting and mission with the world. Prescott-Cornejo details how his work with Mongabay intersects with his passion for wildlife photography, what makes a good photo, and how anyone can connect with nature by getting to know their own “local patch.” “There are so many beautiful things, whether big or small, that can be very, very close to you — and you don't need to go photograph the biggest animals, just photograph what's close,” he says. His photography — along with images created by three of his colleagues, including Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett A. Butler — is currently on display at an exhibition at the Linden Street Gallery near Boston. The show’s theme of “Biophilia,” which celebrates humanity's love for nature, also refers to Mongabay’s recent receipt of the Biophilia Award for Environmental Communication, and is on view until Nov. 4, 2025. Readers and podcast listeners are invited to showcase their own wildlife photography by entering Mongabay’s “Wildlife Wonders” photo contest: starting on Oct. 1, just post your best wildlife image at Instagram and tag it with #MongabayWildlifeWonders and @mongabay in the description for a chance to be featured. The contest will accept entries until Oct. 22. Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Mountain gorillas by Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo for Mongabay. ---- Timecodes (00:00) Alejandro’s connection with multiple languages (07:27) Why Alejandro finds healing in nature (12:59) Get to know your “local patch” (19:37) Ethical concerns of photography (24:34) What makes a good photo? (29:58) Alejandro’s work for Mongabay (32:50) The Biophilia exhibit, and visiting a gorllia (41:32) Alejandro’s favorite landscape

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• Stewarding nature & Indigenous culture with shared knowledge & radio

  Aimee Roberson, executive director of Cultural Survival, joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss how her organization helps Indigenous communities maintain their traditions, languages and knowledge while living among increasingly Westernized societies. As a biologist and geologist with Indigenous heritage, Roberson is uniquely suited to lead the organization in bridging these worlds, including via “two-eyed seeing,” which blends traditional ecological knowledge and Western science to increase humanity’s ways of knowing, toward a view of people as active participants in shaping the natural world. Cultural Survival also sees radio as a critical tool for keeping communities together and fostering a relationship with the land. Roberson shares how their robust radio project is specifically designed to train and empower Indigenous media creators to share local news and cultural information of critical importance, in multiple languages across the world. “It's something that's [a] core part of what we do. Some people are like, ‘Ah, radio, you know, this is 2025. Who cares about radio?’ But Indigenous people really care about radio because it keeps our communities together. It's a primary form of communication.” Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website. Image Credit: Lolita Cabrera (Maya K’iche’), an Indigenous rights activist from Guatemala. Photo by Jamie Malcom-Brown/ Cultural Survival. ---- Timecodes (00:00) A bridge between two worlds (09:28) The fallacy of ‘Objectivity’ (17:20) The Indigenous Kinship Circle (22:24) We all have Indigenous roots somewhere (28:19) Indigenous led local radio (37:55) AI cannot substitute the human experience

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