ZSL Wild Science Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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ZSL Wild Science Podcast

Zoological Society of London

Science

Frequency: 1 episode/61d. Total Eps: 52

Delve into topical issues in zoology, conservation and the environment, from saving species and protecting the planet, to finding out about the animals living across the globe, including in London's own river Thames. Learn more about the science behind the conservation work being done by ZSL and others, in this podcast from ZSL's Institute of Zoology. Hosted previously by Dr Monni Böhm and Ellie Darbey, and now by Harriet McAra.

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Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
15/08/2026
#96
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
14/08/2026
#93
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
13/08/2026
#75
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
11/08/2026
#51
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
10/08/2026
#32
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
16/07/2026
#94
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
14/07/2026
#90
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
13/07/2026
#73
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
12/07/2026
#62
🇬🇧 Great Britain - naturalSciences
11/07/2026
#35

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Score global : 48%

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ZSL #042 Nature's Negotiators: The UN's Wildest Diplomatic Mission - Part 1

Episode 42

Wednesday, August 21, 2024 • Duration 34:40

You may have heard of a COP, and you've almost definitely heard of the United Nations (UN), but how much do you know about the negotiations that go into getting nature, climate and biodiversity embedded into international policy? Ahead of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP16) in Colombia this autumn, we're hearing from policy experts in this two-part miniseries on how we can save the planet one meeting at a time…or at least try to.

Overview

00:11 Introduction to Nature's Negotiators mini-series

00:24 Bethan Laughlin, ZSL's Senior Policy Specialist, speaking from a CBD intercessional meeting in Nairobi

01:07 Introduction from Harriet McAra

2:09 Interview with Bethan Laughlin on the history of the CBD, UNFCCC and Global Biodiversity Framework

10:02 Nelly Musyoka, ZSL Kenya's Community Liaison Officer, on how the 23 CBD targets are applied to real world conservation

14:39 Bethan Laughlin on what ZSL's priorities are for COP16 in Colombia

23:39 Fiona Dobson, RSPB, on what RSPB's priorities are for COP16 in Colombia

33:18 Outro and further information

Resources

If there's a topic you'd like to hear on a future podcast, or if you'd like to share your thoughts, email the ZSL Wild Science Podcast at: wild.science@zsl.org
Check out our science and conservation work at: www.zsl.org/Science or www.zsl.org/conservation
Bethan Laughlin: https://www.zsl.org/about-zsl/our-people/bethan-laughlin
Watch a recording of our Science and Conservation Event, Putting Nature at the Heart of Global Decision Making: https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/events/putting-nature-heart-global-decision-making
View the infographic depicting successes and failures following the Rio Earth Summit as described by Bethan in this episode: https://cms.zsl.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/CBD%20UNFCCC%20timeline.png

Get in touch

Email wild.science@zsl.org with your questions, comments, and thoughts for future episodes!
Tweet us @ZSLScience with the hashtag #ZSLWildScience
Follow us on Facebook @ZSLScienceAndConservation

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ZSL #041 Reimagining Coral Reefs

Episode 41

Friday, June 14, 2024 • Duration 29:05

Out of sight…but not out of mind? Coral reefs exist largely out of sight for the majority of the world's population, so the vast array of ecosystem services they provide for local communities are often forgotten, leading conservation efforts to feel like an uphill battle. In this episode, we talk to the people trying to tackle this problem; from using the sounds that healthy and degraded coral reefs make to monitor their restoration, to bringing people closer to coral reefs using virtual reality.

Overview

00:13 Introduction to the topic from Harriet McAra

01:26 Ben Williams, PhD student at the Institute of Zoology and UCL, on coral reefs' importance, coral soundscapes and the Mars Assisted Reef Restoration System

08:30 Introduction to the Datascape Realities Project

08:52 John Zhang and Lourenco Viveiros, co-founders of Datascape Realities, and Jason Lynch, UCL and Institute of Zoology

28:14 Outro and further information

Resources

If there's a topic you'd like to hear on a future podcast, or if you'd like to share your thoughts, email the ZSL Wild Science Podcast at: wild.science@zsl.org
Check out our science and conservation work at: www.zsl.org/Science or www.zsl.org/conservation
Ben Williams: https://www.zsl.org/about-zsl/our-people/ben-williams

ZSL #031 Habitat loss and human health – understanding the links between ecosystem degradation and infectious disease outbreaks

Episode 31

Thursday, March 4, 2021 • Duration 38:53

After more than a year of Covid-19 impacting global populations, health systems and economies, one of the major questions being asked was how did this start, and how can we prevent it from happening again? As we humans increasingly disturb our planet's natural habitats and convert them to agricultural and urban areas, the way we interact with wildlife around us also changes. In this episode, Monni turns to a team of experts in wildlife diseases, to discuss this link between ecosystem degradation and infectious disease outbreaks. What makes an animal a good host for carrying zoonotic diseases? Can we predict and prevent infectious disease outbreaks in the future? And exactly what does a job as 'human bait' entail?

Guests:

Dr Rory Gibb, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dr Christina Faust, Pennsylvania State University
Dr Kimberly Fornace, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Overview

01:40 Monni welcomes Dr Rory Gibb, to discuss zoonotic hosts and their response to land-use change, and how we should move forward to help human health in the future.

18:28 Dr Christina Faust joins Monni to explore disease transmission, explaining where transmission is more likely to happen in different types of landscapes, and how this could be tracked to avoid future outbreaks in humans.

28:43 Monni is joined by the final guest, Dr Kimberly Fornace, to discuss the Monkey Bar project, and how different technologies such as drones and radio collars were used to monitor monkey malaria.

Hosted by Dr Monni Böhm, ZSL Research Fellow and produced by Eleanor Darbey, ZSL Scientific Events Coordinator.

ZSL #030 Can surveillance technology and social science address rule-breaking and wildlife crime?

Episode 30

Tuesday, February 2, 2021 • Duration 47:28

Law breaking, such as poaching or fishing inside marine reserves, is a great challenge to conservationists because research is often complicated by ethics and data privacy. However, important technological progress has been made in recent years, especially in the fields of surveillance and vessel tracking. Join Monni as she finds out from a panel of experts how machine learning and technology developments in drones, infrared imaging, global positioning systems and cameras can help tackle wildlife crime. How can social science help us understand the motivations behind rule-breaking? And what rule is Monni so afraid of admitting that she once broke?

Guests:

Dr Tom B Letessier, Research Fellow at the Institute of Zoology, ZSL
Dr Kristina Boerder, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Dalhousie University
Professor Serge Wich, Liverpool John Moores University
Dr Colin Beale, Reader at the University of York
Dr Ana Nuno, NOVA University Lisbon and University of Exeter

Overview

00:53 - Monni is joined by the co-host of today's episode, Dr Tom B Letessier, an expert in the use of drones and other technologies for marine protected area (MPA) surveillance, fisheries enforcement and megafauna monitoring.

03:49 - Monni and Tom welcome Dr Kristina Boerder to discuss the use of automatic identification systems (AIS) to track illegal activity of fishing vessels in MPAs.

ZSL #029 The future of biodiversity conservation - different dimensions of conservation thinking

Episode 29

Tuesday, December 22, 2020 • Duration 43:55

Conservationists are working hard to stem global biodiversity loss. Yet, just like biodiversity itself, the conservation movement is very diverse, with a variety of ideas shaping its framing, purpose and application. In this episode, Monni and co-hosts Yara Shennan-Farpón, Helen Muller and Thalassa McMurdo Hamilton, speak with Dr Chris Sandbrook, co-creator of the Future of Conservation Survey, about some of the lessons learned from analysing the perspectives of nearly 10,000 conservationists from around the world. What could the future of conservation look like? And what would need to happen for us to get there?

Take the survey to find out and reflect on where you think the future of conservation lies: https://www.futureconservation.org/

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ZSL #028 What's next for rewilding?

Episode 28

Friday, December 11, 2020 • Duration 47:09

Rewilding has emerged as a captivating, but controversial, concept in conservation. Depending on how rewilding is defined, it aims to increase "wildness" of nature, regenerate ecosystem functioning, develop self-sustaining ecosystems, or a combination of these. Join Monni as she finds out from the experts how real "wildness" can be achieved, and why now is an important time for the UK to be thinking about rewilding. What is even possible in places like the UK where we have quite limited space? Should people be part of rewilding? And why can the Tamworth Pig be considered the hippopotamus of the UK?

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ZSL #027 Madagascar's missing megafauna: life after lemurs, hippos and elephant birds

Episode 27

Thursday, May 14, 2020 • Duration 44:52

Madagascar is famed for its incredible biodiversity and charismatic lemurs, but has also seen extensive loss of natural habitat. Monni finds out from a panel of Madagascar aficionados what the island has been like in the past and what the challenges are for its surviving wildlife. How big is an elephant bird and its poo? What can old bones tell us? What are the ups and downs of conservation efforts on Madagascar? And why is the Madagascar pochard such a special bird?

This episode was recorded in November 2019

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ZSL #026 Shifting tides: how can small-scale fisheries help address the Sustainable Development Goals?

Episode 26

Monday, February 10, 2020 • Duration 43:36

Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) provide around two-thirds of the world's catch intended for human consumption, and support 90% of employment in the fisheries sector, therefore should have a huge role to play in achieving some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite this, they are barely mentioned. Monni finds out from a panel of SSF a-fish-ionados why SSFs are being overlooked, what we can learn from them, and how we can better incorporate SSFs into policy, to meet human needs while safeguarding marine biodiversity. But where does gender come into this? And what is this creature that breeds like a plant but feeds like a carnivore?

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ZSL #025 Can badger vaccination help eradicate bovine TB?

Episode 25

Thursday, December 12, 2019 • Duration 43:41

For decades, conservationists, vets and farmers in the UK have been at loggerheads about the best way to manage bovine tuberculosis (bTB). This cattle disease is a huge burden on the farming industry and can pass between cattle and badgers, making it difficult to eradicate. In this episode, Monni teams up with bTB & badger specialists, to discuss badger vaccination as an alternative to culling operations - the current approach to controlling the disease in England. How do the two approaches compare in terms of effectiveness, practicality and cost? How can the disease be eradicated? And what on earth is a Goodger©?

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ZSL #024 Street-smart animals - incorporating cognitive behaviour into conservation efforts

Episode 24

Monday, November 25, 2019 • Duration 36:46

Human-induced urbanisation, invasive species and land clearing are changing the environment at a far quicker pace than animals are able to evolve. Cognitive mechanisms can play a crucial role in determining how well animals adapt to this change. In this episode, Monni and a team of experts explore how integrating cognitive mechanisms into conservation strategies offers a new approach to enable animals to adapt and survive. How can cognition play a role in caring for our animals at ZSL London Zoo? Why do some baboons think they're being stalked? And will Monni ever learn?

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ZSL Wild Science Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

ZSL Wild Science Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

The Guardian4

Twitter2

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Other99+

The Guardian4

Twitter2