Podcast Corner: Four shows dealing with issues around sustainability
Philip Boucher-Hayes, Cate Blanchett and John O'Halloran are among those featuring on sustainability podcasts.
From RTÉ and presented by Philip Boucher-Hayes, returns after an initial six-episode run last autumn that focused on topics such as wind energy and bogs. “How long will it take Ireland to get off Russian gas and then off all gas?” he asks on the new episode, Fossil Fools.
Featuring plenty of talking heads and clips with the likes of Taoiseach Micheál Martin, over the course of 27 minutes, the affable Boucher-Hayes touches on other options to Russian gas but explains why LNG, for example, is not a simple solution. “So by the process of elimination, there’s two options left: Throw everything at renewables or turn off the lights. Not surprisingly the Government has gone with option A.”
The next episode in the series focuses on lithium for car batteries.
CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB
Exclusive to Audible (€11.99 a month), this six-part series boasts an Oscar winner and a soundtrack by Grammy Award winner Imogen Heap and biologist Dan O’Neill. Blanchett, a long-time environmentalist and activist, starred in the Netflix film last year and chats with its director, Adam McKay, alongside artists, fashion activists, and Heap on the concluding episode, pondering the role the creative arts play when telling the story of climate change.
The episodes range from 26 to 36 minutes and the series begins with the hosts seeking advice from Mary Robinson about how to become ‘prisoners of hope.'
From University College Cork, this nine-episode-and-counting series chats with various stewards and stalwarts of the university about various eco issues. The first episode features UCC president John O’Halloran talking about his early career in zoology, as did last week’s guest, celebrant Melanie O’Driscoll.
The discussion with head gardener Jack Murphy is a particular standout - just like the flowers on campus.
From Irish Doctors for the Environment, this show has been running on an ad hoc release schedule since February 2021, with 13 episodes to date. Different voices take the hosting lead as they seek to discover some solutions that will help create a healthier, happier and more equitable world.
Restoring forestry, the psychology of climate action, and active transport are all topics covered over the series, with the most recent episode about one subject du jour, rewilding, with Randall Plunkett, owner of the Dunsany Estate - Ireland’s largest rewilding project.
