News of Australia’s “humpback comeback” is making waves globally. Numbers of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on the nation’s east coast have rebounded to an estimated 50,000 from a historic low of just a few hundred before commercial whaling was outlawed in the 1970s. And wildlife scientist and whale expert Vanessa Pirotta joins the podcast to discuss this inspiring conservation achievement.

Pirotta emphasizes this is a good news story that deserves to be celebrated, and that it could also bolster action for other whale species that are struggling, including the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) and blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). However, she stresses that vigilant protection for all whale species remains necessary.

This good news is tempered by the fact that the key food source for humpbacks in this part of the world is Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), which is now being heavily harvested by industrial fishing fleets after protections for the species recently lapsed. Pirotta notes that krill are a keystone species for both humpbacks and a much broader array of marine life, including penguins and seals.

Pirotta also discusses her cetacean health research based on the collection of “whale snot” (see Mongabay’s explainer video about this method, which involves the use of drones, here) and whale monitoring work conducted with Indigenous conservation group Gamay Bay Rangers. Listeners can learn more about her work at vanessapirotta.com and find her book, Humpback Highway, here.

Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website.

Image credit: A humpback whale. Image by ArtTower via Pixabay (Public domain).

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Timecodes

(00:00) The ‘humpback comeback’

(14:50) Why krill need protection

(19:29) The Gamay Rangers sharing Indigenous knowledge

(28:05) Antarctica and whale snot

(32:12) Migaloo the white whale

(36:16) How whale populations impact all of us

Psychologist and true crime presenter Julia Shaw joins Mongabay's podcast to discuss her latest read, examining some of the highest-profile environmental crimes and why they occur, in Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet and How to Stop Them.

She details the commonalities behind six major cases, and what can be learned from them, as described by six motivating factors: ease, impunity, greed, rationalization, conformity, and desperation.

"As a psychologist, I was like, ‘What if we create a psychological profile of the various people involved with these various big crimes?’ And so that's how I came to the Six Pillars because I was using a model from criminology, which is called Situational Crime Prevention Theory, and of looking at the factors that contribute to a crime being committed," she says.

Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website.

Related Listening & Viewing:

Watch Mongabay’s webinar on How to Cover Wildlife Trafficking featuring expertise from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

Hear activist Paul Rosolie detail his operation which employs former loggers to be conservationists.

Listen to Cambridge researcher Luke Kemp describe how society can tackle inequality and save nature.

Policies enacted by seven nations and one international agreement have been recognized by the World Future Council for “top policy solutions for [humans], nature and generations to come.” On this edition of Mongabay’s podcast, the council’s CEO, Neshan Gunasekera, shares key highlights of the eight World Future Policy Award laureates.

Under the theme of “Living in Harmony with Nature and Future Generations,” the winners for 2025 “bring to light the future orientation of the way we take decisions at [a] time that there are multiple crises facing ourselves as a species, but also the planet,” he says.

The winning legal and legislative initiatives span seven nations, from South Africa to Uganda, Panama, Spain, Aotearoa New Zealand, Bhutan and Austria. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ), which establishes a binding U.N. treaty on the use of ocean resources beyond national borders, was among the initiatives awarded. The movement that granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River in Aotearoa New Zealand was also recognized. Both of these cases were previously the focus of Mongabay Newscast episodes hosted by Rachel Donald.

“Nature doesn't need us, we need nature,” Gunasekera says. “And I think that's the realization we are coming to quite slowly, because any act that we have has a positive impact on the planet. But also, if you're not careful, every act could have a negative impact. Impact on nature has no national boundaries or borders. It has a global impact.”

Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website.

Image Credit: The wide, steep-cliffed Whanganui River ferries spring water and snowmelt from Mount Tongariro to the west coast of Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island. Image by Jason Pratt via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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Timecodes

(00:00) The World Future Policy Awards

(10:48) The global impact of ‘Rights of Nature’ laws

(14:15) Addressing the criticisms of ‘Rights of Nature’

(27:17) Human rights and global enforcement

(36:16) The global impact award

Wildlife biologist and ornithologist Corina Newsome of the U.S. NGO National Wildlife Federation joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss how bird-watching plays a role in environmental justice for underserved communities in urban areas, and provides an accessible way for people to connect with nature and drives impactful change.

“Birding is an opportunity [for] people to fill in data gaps where they live [to] help direct investments that come from the world of conservation … from federal to state to local levels that have usually been funneled away from their communities,” she says on this episode.

Newsome says that birding changed her own life, and she’s hopeful it can also change the world, because bird health has direct implications for biodiversity health at large.

“ What birds require of us will benefit us in ways that are far beyond bird conservation. We can work together to solve problems and think about the ecological emergency and environmental harms are taking place across landscapes, across boundaries,” she says.

Find the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify. All past episodes are also listed here at the Mongabay website.

Thumbnail image: American Avocet. Image by Michael Barry via Pixabay (Pixabay Content License).

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Timecodes

(00:00) Corina Newsome: Wildlife biologist and ornithologist

(04:08) Birding changes your life

(14:21) Birding, environmental and social justice

(26:48) Birds as symbols of hope and resilience