The Thing About Wildlife

The Thing About Wildlife is a podcast that offers insightful, unscripted conversations with those working closest to nature

The interdisciplinary fields of ecology and conservation are practiced by people from diverse backgrounds ranging from engineering and economics to visual arts and journalism, apart from traditional biologists. The personal journeys that result in devoting one’s life to the study and preservation of nature are, unfortunately, rarely documented.

The work of ‘wildlifers’ is recorded in peer-reviewed academic journals, book chapters, or informal articles in popular magazines which focus on the results from their scientific efforts alone. While these are of immense importance, they portray only the final product of painstaking bodies of work. Much more goes on behind the scenes than is ever communicated, thus leaving out a crucial component of science communication and environmental storytelling.

Hoping to fill this gap within the global wildlife-oriented community, we began talking to ecologists, social scientists and conservationists about their untold tales. What first motivated them to consider a career in wildlife? Did they switch over into these fields from completely unrelated occupations? What was their first ever experience in the field like? Were they ever disillusioned by science? What inspires them to keep fighting conservation battles even after losing so many? What daily trials of field work – amusing or frustrating – have they survived? The answers we got proved to be insightful, moving, awe-inspiring and, importantly, entertaining. We have been bringing these conversations and candid tales to light since June, 2021 through a biographical podcast – The Thing About Wildlife – where we have long, unscripted conversations with those working closest to nature – researchers, educators, conservationists and more!