Plant People

 This week we’re getting right to the root of our coastlines—particularly the roots of mangrove forests, some of the most crucial and vulnerable ecosystems on Earth. Listen in as Dr. Brad Oberle, Associate Curator at NYBG’s Center for Conservation and Restoration Ecology, shares what makes these oceanside forests so important, from their role in carbon sequestration to fighting coastal erosion and providing habitat for mar...

 Listen in as we talk about a niche and noble hobby: tree collecting. Author Amy Stewart joins us to discuss her newest book, The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession, which profiles 50 different tree aficionados ranging from scientists cataloging rare species, to families preserving their heritage, and conservationists fighting to reforest their land. Their stories shed light on both the cultural and environmental...

 In this week’s episode, we’re joined by NYBG Assistant Curator Ana María Bedoya, Ph.D., whose career as a scientist takes her on many a wild adventure. She spends much of her time tracking down aquatic plants that live in some of the harshest conditions, including steep cliffs, river rapids, and tumbling waterfalls—a practice Bedoya likes to call “extreme botany.” Listen in as we discuss her research in the wilderness of ...

 In this week’s episode, we discuss the future of horticulture—and the simple, sustainable changes that can help the planet heal. Come join Chad Massura, founder of Rosy Soil, and Kurt Morrell, VP of Horticulture Operations at NYBG, for a chat about the importance of peat-free soil for a carbon-neutral world. Massura shares the story behind potting products like his that move beyond the extractive model of the peat industr...

 In this episode we’re joined by Todd Forrest, NYBG’s Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections, who turns our attention to the Bronx River—NYC’s only freshwater river and one of the highlights of the Garden’s landscape. He’ll talk us through the River’s redemption arc: from its former state as an “open sewer,” to its renewal as a hotspot for plants, animals, and the local community. We’ll discover how the Bro...

Acclaimed author and poet Camille Dungy joins us this week to explore the intersection of nature, identity, and systemic change. With insight from her latest book, SOIL: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, Dungy shares her view of gardening as another form of storytelling. Listen in as we talk about environmental advocacy and stewardship—and the ways nature and narrative are more intertwined than you might think. 

Join Dr. Alex McAlvay, Assistant Curator at NYBG’s Center for Plants, People, and Culture, and Dr. John de la Parra, Director of the Global Food Portfolio at the Rockefeller Foundation, as they chat about the problems in modern agriculture (like monocrops!) that are threatening our food security worldwide. Together, they'll share some of the ways that historical farming methods might help solve these problems, diversifying...

In the first episode of Season 2, we explore the resilience and creativity of the Bronx through the eyes of acclaimed author Ian Frazier, whose new book—Paradise Bronx: The Life & Times of New York’s Greatest Borough—is an ode to the City’s greenest and most diverse borough. Frazier’s love for the neighborhoods of the Bronx introduces us to a rich history of rebuilding and revitalization driven by the people who call i...

Are you a plant person? If you’re not quite sure, we can help get you there—with Season 2 of Plant People, dropping March 10! 
 
 After an award-winning first season for NYBG’s podcast about the ways plants and people help each other thrive, we’re BACK with an all-new season of in-depth talks featuring gardeners, authors, scientists, and activists. Jump back in with NYBG President Jennifer Bernstein as she dives deep...

In our final episode of the season, we sit down with Merlin Sheldrake, biologist and author of Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures, to talk fungi. Mushrooms are a culinary sensation, but they’re also lifeforms that we’re still trying to understand. Join in as we learn how the grim work of fungi—death, decay, and “the end” of organic life—is key to the survival of all living th...

In this week’s episode, we’re joined by renowned culinary historian, author, and NYBG Trustee Dr. Jessica B. Harris, curator of the African American Garden at NYBG. Over the last three years, this important collection has used plants to tell the stories of migration, dispossession, and reclamation that inform so much of the African American experience—and define much of what American cuisine is today. As we take a stroll t...

We’re joined by renowned food journalist, author, and broadcaster Dan Saladino, who's been a host on the BBC’s Radio 4 show The Food Programme for almost 20 years. Recently, he published Eating to Extinction, which explores humankind’s relationship with food, including the world’s most uncommon bites and the communities that produce them—from rare cider apples on the brink of extinction to the vanishing Old Cornish caulifl...

 In this week’s episode, we catch up with Doug Tallamy, Professor of Agriculture & Natural Resources at the University of Delaware. As an expert in their Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, he knows a thing or two about the benefits of planting natives, and feeding the birds and the bees is high on the list. Find out how healthy ecosystems rely on these plants to thrive, and how the home garden is just the s...

In episode 6, NYBG’s VP of Urban Conservation, Dr. Eric Sanderson, takes us on a quick trip around the landscape of New York City—both today and in the distant past. He’ll get into the sudden rise of catastrophic floods worldwide, and how our relationship with plants centuries ago is impacting our situation right now. Then we talk solutions, ecosystem restoration, and the ways that the future of fighting floods will rely o...

In episode 5,  we cover the surge in home horticulture spurred by the pandemic, with apartment dwellers and homeowners all over the country—and indeed the world—filling their homes with greenery at a time when almost everyone was stuck indoors. NYBG’s Marc Hachadourian, Senior Curator of Orchids and Director of Glasshouse Horticulture,  joins us for a chat on the ways conservatory and botanical garden horticulture have inf...

Dr. Evelyn Beaury joins us for a look at the state of invasive plant species in the United States, which threats are greatest to the well-being of our native ecosystems, and how changing climates and land-use patterns can expedite the spread of invasive species.  From knotweed in the northeast U.S. to kudzu in the south and cheatgrass in the west, hear how these species can overwhelm native plants and habitats—and discover...

Michael Dockry, Assistant Professor of Forestry Studies at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, explores the state of our forests—and the increased threat of wildfires in today’s climate. Then we dig into the ways that traditional means of forestry, from controlled burns to carefully considered cutting, provides the knowledge we need to tackle this problem if only we acknowledge its va...

We're joined by landscape designer Edwina von Gal, founder of Perfect Earth Project, for a chat exploring America's love of grass, its historic roots as a ubiquitious plant, and von Gal's advocacy for toxin-free landscaping. Dig into the ways that changing our relationship to our lawns can help our gardens work harder as part of the solution to our most pressing environmental challenges. We'll examine lawn alternatives, th...

Take an in-depth look at how NYBG has championed the natural world for over 130 years by caring for its unique and historic collections — together with Dr. Emily Sessa, Director of the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, and Rhonda Evans, Director of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library.

We’re first joined by Library Director Rhonda Evans for an exploration of the world-renowned Mertz Library, where she digs into the ways ...