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7 Sustainability Podcasts for the Eco-Conscious Listener

These sustainability podcasts are perfect for the eco-conscious listener, touching on low-waste living, fashion, actionable tips, and more.

Written by
Erika Schwerdfeger
Published

Podcasts are wildly popular, and for good reason. The audio format lends itself to multitasking, so listeners can tune in whether doing chores around the house or stuck in traffic. That also means learning about sustainability has never been easier.

Thanks to the sustainability podcasts available, all you need to do is press play in order to learn how to live a more eco-friendly life. But let's be honest—sifting through the options can be intimidating. That's why we rounded up seven podcasts to get you started, whether you’re looking for a brief daily news bite or what feels like a chat between best friends.

From rookies to planet pros, there’s something for everyone on this list of sustainability podcasts.

7 Sustainability Podcasts to Add to Your Lineup

Hosted by Brightly's co-founders, Laura Alexander Wittig and Liza Moiseeva, Good Together gives listeners practical, actionable tips for living more sustainable lives. Aside from covering topics like eco-friendly pet parenting, planet-friendly eating, and shopping sustainably, it also addresses hot topics like climate neutrality and fast fashion, and emphasizes ongoing, imperfect efforts as opposed to planet perfectionism.

Simply put, listening to Good Together is like having in-the-know best friends who can teach you easy but impactful ways to live more sustainably. And who wouldn't want that? It's also been featured by Apple three times as the #1 podcast for conscious consumers, so you know it's good.

You know the expression “start small”? If you’re not yet on the podcast bandwagon and skeptical about how long one might hold your attention, Climate Connections by Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale University is a great place to start. In just 90 seconds, Leiserowitz gives listeners a concise but informative climate-related news piece, so you can kickstart every weekday by learning something new in less time than it takes to prepare your morning coffee.

Recent episode topics include the effects of climate change on potato crops, the racing performance of electric SUVs, and how rising sea levels could submerge internet cables.    

Green Dreamer is a great podcast for anyone looking for inspiration, empowerment, and inclusion in the sustainability space. Host Kamea Chayne and her guests explore environmental and sustainability topics with a focus on healing and wellness, intersectionality, and ecological regeneration, often using a social justice lens and an eye toward challenging power structures and practicing inclusivity.

Recent episode topics include green governmentality and the commodification of nature, the psychology of materialism (and why people want more, more, more), and lessons from the pandemic about the true meaning of abundance.  

Ideal for the curious and investigative listener, How to Save a Planet asks—and tries to answer—the questions we’re all wondering and talking about, guided by the knowledgeable and practical voices of hosts Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Alex Blumberg.

Breaking down complex issues like nuclear power and the impacts of animal agriculture on greenhouse gas emissions, the hosts are able to make even the most existentially serious topics approachable and, with their natural repartee, even enjoyable listening. 

Calling all sustainable fashionistas! Conscious Chatter is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersections of the fashion industry and the environment. Guided by passionate and reflective host Kestrel Jenkins, this podcast broaches the important and oft-ignored questions about what we wear, and in the process upends what you thought you knew about your clothing (including where it’s made, who made it, and how).

You can think of Practical(ly) Zero Waste as your roadmap to living a low- or zero-waste lifestyle—or, more accurately, your companion along the way. (Living zero-waste is more a journey than a destination, as this podcast will tell you.) True to its name, each episode discusses practical, straightforward tips on how to get started and maintain progress toward the goal of generating less waste.

Host Elsbeth Callaghan combines realism and practicality with optimism and encouragement, diving into the day-to-day challenges you might face (like ordering takeout). And forget your worries about zero-waste warriors being intimidating. Hearing Callaghan trumpeting seed saving as "an act of resiliency and rebellion," or "celebrating the small things, like being average at stuff" is like having your own personal cheerleader.

Inherited is a narrative podcast about the “earth-shaking” youth climate movement, and hosts Julianna Bradley and Georgia Wright take on topics from legislation and climate policy to the mental health sacrifices of young activists doing everything in their power to change the course of the world issues they’ve inherited.

With its narrative style and the personal depth offered by hosts and guests alike, Inherited deftly captures the sentiments of a generation bound up in a battle between fear, fury, and hope.