Protect The World – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Protect The World, I speak with Rhett Butler – founder and CEO of Mongabay.

Mongabay is a not-for-profit conservation news service that covers the intersection of people and nature. With bureaus in Latin America, India, Africa, Indonesia and the US, plus a network of journalists from across the globe, Mongabay shares stories relating to tropical forests, oceans, wildlife, the conservation sector, and frontline communities.

During this conversation, Rhett and I discuss bridging the gap between research and reporting, the benefits of a non-profit model in journalism, and how the failure to price in externalities is at the core of our environmental crisis.

With their focus on solutions-based, impact-driven journalism, Mongabay is an organisation that I've long admired, and I hope this conversation encourages you to follow and support their work.

As always, half the funds that came into the Patreon this month were donated directly to Mongabay. This money will go towards facilitating more high-impact reporting from the front lines of conservation.

You can donate to Mongabay by visiting donate.mongabay.org, and if you'd like to help me give more money to more amazing NGOs in the future, please consider signing up to the Patreon for as little as $5 a month at patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia

You can follow Mongabay on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and you can also follow the rest of my own work on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this podcast, and to Rhett Butler for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a review and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

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Additional Links:

Mongabay Global

Mongabay Indonesia

Mongabay Latam

Mongabay India

United Cacao Investigation

Global Forest Watch

Conservación Amazónica

Amazon Conservation

Fishing Labour Abuses Investigation

Subsequent Shark Finning Investigation

Mongabay Kids

Mongabay Data Studio

Mongabay Earth Atlas

Mongabay Reforestation App

Mongabay Strategic Plan 2023-2030

Planetary Boundaries

Jane Goodall Interview

Sumatran Rhino Letter

Health in Harmony

Blue Ventures

Nature & Culture International

Re:wild

Rights and Resources Initiative

Tenure Facility

World Resources Institute

In this episode of Protect The World, I speak with Caroline Teti – one of the vice presidents at GiveDirectly.

GiveDirectly is global non-profit organisation dedicated to the alleviation of poverty through unconditional cash transfers. Their core philosophy is that individuals and communities living in poverty know their needs best. GiveDirectly uses a range of innovative technologies to identify and connect with the world's poorest people, and then they send them money – no strings attached.

Born in rural Kenya, Caroline has spent over a decade working across the non-profit sector in Africa – from water and sanitation, to education and reproductive health – before finally coming to the conclusion that cash transfers were the most effective and dignified way of tackling poverty. Through GiveDirectly, she's also helped to implement the world's largest and longest Universal Basic Income program – providing ongoing payments to 23,000 people over 12 years.

With a strong focus on research and evidence-based programs, I found GiveDirectly's highly pragmatic approach to poverty alleviation to be unique and refreshing, and I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

As always, half the funds that came into the Patreon this month were donated to GiveDirectly. This money will go straight into the hands of those living in extreme poverty.

You can donate to GiveDirectly by visiting givedirectly.org, and if you'd like to help me give more money to more amazing NGOs in the future, please consider signing up to the Patreon for as little as $5 a month at patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia

You can follow GiveDirectly on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and you can also follow the rest of my own work on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this podcast, and to Caroline Teti for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a review and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

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Additional Links:

GiveDirectly

Unconditional Cash Transfers

Universal Basic Income (UBI)

Research

Kenya UBI Program

In this episode of Protect The World, I speak with Olive Moore – Interim Director at Front Line Defenders.

Front Line Defenders is a not-for-profit organisation that's focused on the protection of human rights defenders around the world. They have close to a thousand active cases, and are working tirelessly to support grassroots defenders of human rights who are facing persecution in every corner of the globe.

During this conversation, Olive and I discuss a range of Front Line Defenders' cases, including a remarkable good news story out of Iran, and an attempted trip to Bahrain that didn't quite go as planned. We also discuss the many challenging nuances involved in defending human rights, and some of the key values and principles that underpin this work.

Olive has spent decades working across every corner of the human rights sector, and has a phenomenal wealth of knowledge and experience that she shares throughout this episode. I really appreciated the opportunity to speak with someone so dedicated and passionate about human rights, and I hope you get as much out of the conversation as I did.

As always, half the money that came into the Patreon this month was donated directly to Front Line Defenders. This money will go towards supporting the organisation's grants program, which puts funding directly into the hands of human rights defenders around the world. 

You can donate to Front Line Defenders directly at frontlinedefenders.org/donate, and if you'd like to help me give more money to more amazing NGOs in future, please consider signing up to the Patreon for as little as $5 a month via the following link: patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia

You can also follow the rest of my work at @brodiehopkinsmedia on Instagram.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this podcast, and to Olive Moore for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a review and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

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A list of stuff mentioned in this episode: 

Front Line Defenders

Narges Mohammadi

Defenders of Human Rights Center Iran

Narges video for FLD

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja

Maryam al-Khawaja

Amnesty International

ActionAid

Trócaire

HRD Memorial

Cobalt Red

UDEFEGUA Guatemala

Somos Defensores Colombia

Rights on the Line Podcast

UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders

UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In this episode of Protect The World, I speak with Chris Ketola – Field Research Coordinator at Fauna Forever.

Fauna Forever is a not-for-profit organisation based in the Madre de Dios region of southeast Peru, dedicated to understanding, monitoring and protecting the tropical ecosystems of the Peruvian Amazon, while also promoting sustainable, regenerative livelihoods in the region.

During the conversation, Chris and I discuss the wide variety of threats facing this particular pocket of the Amazon, the role of long-term monitoring in conservation, and the extreme nature of working in the environmental not-for-profit sector in the tropics. I was particularly grateful for Chris' honesty and openness as he discussed some of the more challenging periods in his life, and for his willingness to really dive into the nuance and complexity of conservation in the Global South.

Apologies that this episode is a little late – it's been a busy couple of weeks. But the positive side is that this is the first episode of Protect The World that I've been able to record in person, which was a real delight.

As always, half the money that came into the Patreon this month was donated directly to Fauna Forever. This money will go towards new infrastructure and equipment for conservation projects in Peru, as well as general day-to-day supplies for Fauna Forever's team.

You can donate to Fauna Forever directly at faunaforever.org/donate, and if you'd like to help me give more money to more amazing NGOs in future, please consider signing up to the Patreon for as little as $5 a month via the following link: patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia

You can also follow the rest of my work at @brodiehopkinsmedia on Instagram.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this podcast, and to Chris Ketola for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a review and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

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A list of stuff mentioned in this episode:

Fauna Forever

Wilderness International

ACCA

Junglekeepers

Cocha Cashu

Sunbird Hill

Less is More (Jason Hickel)

Doughnut Economics (Kate Raworth)

Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature

In this episode of Protect The World, I speak with Callie Broaddus – founder and executive director of Reserva: The Youth Land Trust.

Reserva's mission is to empower young people to participate in conservation efforts through research, storytelling and fundraising. In 2021, they opened the world's first entirely youth-funded nature reserve, and their long-term goal is to establish a network of youth-led protected areas across the planet.

During this conversation, Callie and I discuss Reserva's history and current ambitions, their efforts to keep gold mining out of their reserve, the ways young people hold financial power, the significance of the recent referendums in Ecuador, what it feels like to walk in a cloud forest, and much more. Callie also shares the story of an incredible person who motivates her every day, which I think everyone ought to listen to.

This was a conversation that left me feeling inspired, hopeful and energised, and I hope it has the same impact on you.

As always, half the funds that came into the Patreon this month were donated directly to Reserva: The Youth Land Trust. This money will go towards engaging young people from across the world in the fight against biodiversity loss, and will also help with a brand new conservation project that the organisation will be announcing shortly.

You can donate to Reserva directly at reservaylt.org/donate, and if you'd like to help me give more money to more amazing NGOs in future, please consider signing up to the Patreon for as little as $5 a month via the following link: patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia

You can also follow the rest of my work at @brodiehopkinsmedia on Instagram.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this podcast, and to Callie Broaddus for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a review and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

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List of organisations and people mentioned in this episode:

Reserva: The Youth Land Trust

Wild Hope Documentary

Finley's Green Leap Forward

EcoMinga

Rainforest Trust

Whitley Fund for Nature

Cool Earth

World Land Trust

Callie Veelenturf of The Leatherback Project

Nature Rights Advocate Natalia Green

Young Nature Artist Benjamin Fallow

Jacob & Klooster Farms

RoundGlass Sustain

Fundación Biodiversa

Salvemos Selva

In this episode of Protect The World, I chat with Nat Kiemski, program director for All Hands and Hearts' disaster response efforts in Türkiye. 

Back in February, Türkiye was hit by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake which took the lives of over 50,000 people. Less than 24 hours later, All Hands and Hearts were on the ground, assisting with recovery efforts, and working out how their volunteer-led disaster relief program could best contribute to the needs of those affected by the earthquake.

Six months on, Nat and her team are still there, working hard each day to help rebuild a region that is still reeling from February's disaster, and where 700,000 internally displaced persons remain unable to return to their homes.

In this installment of the Protect The World podcast, Nat shares her experiences in Türkiye and discusses global disaster relief more generally. We also hear from Lucy StJohn, a friend of the podcast who spent three months volunteering in Türkiye alongside Nat and the rest of the team. 

Thanks to all of the amazing people who support this project, I was able to make a donation of US$100 to All Hands and Hearts' work in Türkiye. This money will go towards the construction of community centres and improvements to the camps where internally displaced persons are housed in the city of Kahramanmaraş.

You can donate to All Hands and Hearts directly at allhandsandhearts.org, and if you'd like to help me give more money to more amazing NGOs in future, please consider signing up to the Patreon for as little as $5 a month via the following link: patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia 

You can also follow the rest of my work at @brodiehopkinsmedia on Instagram.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this podcast, and to Nat Kiemski and Lucy StJohn for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a review and share it with your friends and family.

Thanks for listening!

As of this moment, there are more than 650 million people worldwide who are officially recognised as living in extreme poverty. However, there are billions of people whose basic nutritional and housing needs are not being met, and yet, they aren't considered to be living in extreme poverty.

The way we measure international poverty is broken. In fact, it was never acceptable to begin with, and it distracts us from the true scale of the problem. In this first Deep Dive episode of Protect The World, I take a look at how international poverty is measured, the obvious flaws in the current system, and what can be done to fix it.

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The Protect The World podcast will feature two different types of episodes. The majority will be profiles of amazing not-for-profit organisations that are tackling inequality or biodiversity loss in one way or another. But every so often I'll also be releasing a 'Deep Dive' into a large-scale global problem that I think is important – and this is the first of those episodes.

If you'd like to support this project and help me contribute to the work of amazing NGOs, you might consider signing up to the Patreon at patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia

You can also follow Brodie Hopkins Media on all the usual social media sites.

In this very first episode of Protect The World, I chat with Corey Tutt, CEO of DeadlyScience and proud Gamilaraay man.

DeadlyScience is a not-for-profit organisation that strives to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in science. They currently work with over 800 schools in regional and remote areas across the Australian continent, but it's taken a lot of hard work to get to where they are today. In this first episode, Corey shares the story behind his amazing journey to become CEO of Australia's leading Indigenous science organisation.

On behalf of all the incredible people who support this project, I was able to make a donation of AU$200 to DeadlyScience. This money will go towards delivering STEM-based resources to schools in remote communities, and helping to run a variety of programs that are inspiring the next generation of Indigenous scientists.

You can find DeadlyScience on all the usual social media sites, and you can donate to them directly at deadlyscience.org.au/donate.

If you'd like to help me give more money to more amazing NGOs in future, please consider signing up to the Patreon for as little as $5 a month via the following link: patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia

You can also follow the rest of my work at @brodiehopkinsmedia on Instagram.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this podcast, and to Corey Tutt for being willing to be the very first guest on it. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a review and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

Welcome to the Protect The World podcast! In this introductory episode, I give you an overview of what this project is: how it started, what I'm trying to achieve, and how you can help.

This podcast is dedicated to the people and organisations making the world a better place. Every month, I connect with an NGO that's addressing inequality or biodiversity loss in some way. My goal is to learn about the issues they're tackling, interview the founder or director, and then share their stories with you.

But I don't just want to share their stories, I also want to contribute to their work. If you’d like to help me do that, you can support this project via Patreon for as little as $5 per month.

Be sure to follow Brodie Hopkins Media on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter as well.

Much love ❤️

In this episode of Protect The World, I speak with Galina Angarova. She comes from the Abzai clan of the Ekhirit nation of the Buryat peoples in Siberia, and she's also the executive director of the SIRGE Coalition.

The SIRGE Coalition is an international association dedicated to securing the rights of Indigenous Peoples during the transition to a green economy. It's projected that this transition could see the global extraction of raw materials rise by 60% by 2060, and demand for so-called 'transition minerals' such as cobalt, lithium, copper, and nickel is already skyrocketing.

Perhaps more alarmingly, over half of the world's current transition mineral projects are located on or near Indigenous land, so Galina and her team are working tirelessly to ensure that the right of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination is upheld through the implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

Galina comes to this conversation with a wealth of knowledge from decades of experience working with Indigenous Peoples around the world, and I hope she inspires you to reflect on your own place within our global community.

As always, half the money that came into the Patreon this month was donated directly to the SIRGE Coalition. This money will go towards direct support for communities on the front line in the battle to protect their lands against exploitative mining and extraction.

You can donate to the SIRGE Coalition via their partners at the Batani Foundation, and if you'd like to help me give more money to more amazing NGOs in the future, please consider signing up to the Patreon for as little as $5 a month at patreon.com/brodiehopkinsmedia

You can follow the SIRGE Coalition on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, and you can also follow the rest of my own work on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this podcast, and to Galina Angarova for joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a review and share it with your friends and family. Thanks for listening!

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Additional Links:

SIRGE Coalition

Donations via the Batani Foundation

Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Transition Minerals

NorNickel Oil Disaster (Russia)

Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)

Cultural Survival

First Peoples Worldwide

Batani Foundation

Earthworks

Society for Threatened Peoples

International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)

Transition Minerals and Indigenous Land

Mapuche (Chile)

A Guide to Free, Prior and Informed Consent

Dakota Access Pipeline Protests (USA)

Standing Rock Sioux (USA)

Cobre Panama Protests (Panama)

Fenix Nickel Project (Guatemala)

Q'eqchi' (Guatemala)

Juukan Gorge Destruction (Australia)

Khoisan (Southern Africa)

Indigenous Peoples of Siberia (Russia)

Buryats (Russia)

People of Red Mountain (USA)

Camp Morningstar (Canada)

Colla (Chile)

Sami in Kiruna (Sweden)