Author Tamara Dean joins Wild Connection to explore resilience, belonging, and the beauty of living closely with the land. From floods to fireflies, this episode reveals how local action and storytelling can help us heal the natural world and ourselves.

This week on Wild Connection, Dr. Jen sits down with international law scholar Dr. András Hárs to unpack the UN’s role in peacekeeping, accountability, and the hidden environmental toll of conflict. From gorillas in the Central African Republic to the challenges of climate negotiations, they explore how war reshapes ecosystems as much as societies and discuss if international law can evolve to protect both.

Fungi sustain life but they also threaten it. Host Jennifer Verdolin talks with environmental toxicologist Emily Monosson about her book Blight. They explore fungal pathogens from Candida auris to white-nose syndrome in bats, and what these rising threats mean for our future.

What does it mean to say a river is alive? In this episode, acclaimed author Robert Macfarlane joins Wild Connection to explore rivers as living beings, the rise of nature’s legal rights, and how reconnecting with water can help us heal ourselves and the planet.

What can animals teach us about empathy, intelligence, and connection? In this episode of Wild Connection, bestselling author Sy Montgomery shares her journey and explores what chickens (and other animals) really know.

Join conservationist Ian Redmond as he reflects on his early days with Dian Fossey, unforgettable moments with gorillas, and his mission to protect wildlife through Ecoflix, the first nonprofit environmental streaming platform. In this heartfelt conversation, we explore the power of storytelling, building trust across species, and why conservation is both a science and an act of love.

What can great apes teach us about human nature? Dr. Richard Wrangham has spent decades studying chimpanzees, aggression, and the evolutionary forces that shaped us. Tune in to explore the deep connections between humans and our primate cousins.

This episode features Dr. Susan B Eirich— author of Whispers from the Wild: An Invitation Stories from the Rescued Wild Animals of Earthfire institute. Susan’s work in Reconnection Ecology invites us to see animals not as ‘other,’ but as beings with whom we share this planet in a profound and reciprocal way.

What makes something—or someone—belong? It’s a question we often ask about nature. We label species as native or invasive, welcome or unwelcome, beneficial or harmful. But beneath those labels is something deeper—how we decide what fits into our world and what we push away.

Author and science write Emma Marris is here to inspire you in rethinking your connection with the environment as we talk about her book, Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World.

Today I am lucky enough to talk to award winning photojournalist and filmmaker Ami Vitale who’s works will move you and compel you to reconsider your relationship to nature.

Tune in as your host, Dr. Jen, is interviewed as we kick off Season 5.

A throwback to an episode from July 2023 where I talked with orca biologist and author Hanne Strager.

In this episode I talk with Dr. Stan Temple, Senior Fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation and Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison about the evolution of Leopold’s perspective and his lasting contribution to the modern conservation philosophy of the United States.

Right here in the United States an invasion is coming. Not of aliens, of cicadas. Brood 19 and 13 have begun emerging and they haven’t come out of the ground together in 221 years! I chat with Dr. Floyd Shockley, an entomologist that knows the ins and outs of these true bugs.

This week rounds out Earth Month and I am talking with writer and conservationist Lydia Millet. Her new book, We Loved it All, takes you on a journey through her childhood and yours at the same time.

In this episode with author Leah Rampy we invite you to reconsider how you interact with the natural world and inspire you to make that a bigger part of your life (if it isn’t already!)

I’m calling April Earth month because, well, doesn’t our planet deserve at least 1 month of appreciation? This week we are revisiting a powerful conversation I had with Nathaniel Popkin, author of To Reach the Spring.

Collective science and including non experts in science can lead to major discoveries and even policies. In this episode, participatory science leader, Dr. Caren Cooper and I chat about different ways ordinary people are making a difference.

In a timely episode, guest Dr. Ben Stanger talks about how understanding the intricacies of cellular development is not just an academic pursuit but a vital step towards conquering diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries.