Wild Lives

Wild Lives, the podcast from the team at BBC Wildlife Magazine is back for Season 2! Hosted by BBC Wildlife editor Paul McGuinness, Wild Lives returns with more incredible stories from the people who work and live on the frontlines of the natural world.

We speak with Peruvian chemical biologist and conservationist Dr Rosa Vasquez Espinoza, about combining science with her ancestral knowledge of indigenous Amazonian and Andean healing.

We also hear from deep sea explorer Jeffrey Marlow about how his studies of the microbes that live at the depths of our oceans is helping in the search for life on other planets.

And we head to British Columbia to meet First Nations hereditary chief Mike Willie, who shows us how indigenous-run tourism in Canada supports nature and local communities.

Also this series we’ll be discovering how flight evolved 2 or possibly 3 times; we’ll meet the sea rangers changing the landscape of our oceans, we’ll go birding in the Amazon and we’ll find out how wildlife tourism and conservation go hand in hand in east Africa.

Episode 1 releases on Friday 16th October.

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Wildlife cameraman and presenter Hamza Yassin became a household name in the UK when he won Strictly Come Dancing in 2022.

Born in Sudan, Hamza moved to the UK as a child, and is one of the best-loved natural history filmmakers on our screens, whether that be in front or behind the lens. Hamza loves to share his passion for the natural world through his storytelling, which is often aimed at children, but is increasingly finding an adult audience.

We chat with Hamza about how children sometimes lose that passion for nature, and how important it is to share our love of nature.

Hamza is heading out on tour in the UK, with dates around the country. Tickets for Hamza's debut tour ‘Hamza Yassin – My Life Behind the Lens’, which runs until May 30, are available to buy from nothird.co.uk

Photo: Hamza Yassin

And to get more great content from BBC Wildlife, visit our website: https://www.discoverwildlife.com

BBC Wildlife is the world’s longest-running and most popular nature magazine. This episode was hosted by Paul McGuinness and produced by Lewis Dobbs.
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What emotions have you felt when you’re in the natural world? We hear a lot about how nature calms us, gives us joy and hope, but what about other feelings, such as grief, anger or shame?

In this episode, we talk with self-confessed nature nerd Lucy Lapwing, who explores these complex emotional responses to nature in her new book, Love Is A Toad (Blink Publishing, March 2026).

Our conversation explored many subjects, including how nature writing helped Lucy fight cancer in her early 20s, and how gazing into the eyes of a slug made her head swim.

You can follow Lucy’s adventures on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/lucy_lapwing/

Photo: Lucy Lapwing

And to get more great content from BBC Wildlife, visit our website: ⁠https://www.discoverwildlife.com/

BBC Wildlife is the world’s longest-running and most popular nature magazine. This episode was hosted by Paul McGuinness and produced by Lewis Dobbs.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What are crabs – and what are they for? What can they teach us about ecosystems? And what exactly have they got to do with the 1926 general strike?

These questions – and more – are all answered by the brilliantly informative and irreverent Crab Museum in Margate, Kent. Opened in 2021 by brothers Ned and Bertie Suesat-Williams and their friend Chase Coley, it's a witty celebration of crustaceans that also has serious things to say about biodiversity, climate change and politics.

Ned and Bertie are hugely enthusiastic advocates for both the museum and the wider natural world, as we discovered when we caught up with them for this far-reaching chat. So far-reaching, in fact, that we even get on to the evolution of bums (but you'll have to stay to the end for that).

You can find out more about the Crab Museum at ⁠crabmuseum.org⁠, and you can follow the museum's team on Instagram at ⁠instagram.com/crabmuseum/⁠

Photo: Sam Bush

To get more great content from BBC Wildlife, visit our website: https://www.discoverwildlife.com/

BBC Wildlife is the world’s longest-running and most popular nature magazine. This episode was presented by Oliver Hurley, hosted by Paul McGuinness and produced by Lewis Dobbs.
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Ever since he was shot in the back by bandits in a Guatemalan forest, Stuart Butchart has been exploring the natural world in a wheelchair, which is every bit as hard as it sounds. But Stuart’s positive approach is inspiring.

Today, Stuart is chief scientist at BirdLife International, the world's largest partnership of nature conservation organisations, where he heads up a team that, among other things, identifies bird species around the world most in danger of extinction.

We chat with Stuart about his love of nature, the accident that changed his life, and the obstacles that limit access to natural spaces for wheelchair users – and how to improve that situation.

You can find out more about the work Stuart and his team do by visiting: ⁠https://www.birdlife.org/⁠

Photo: Annelisa Grigg

And to get more great content from BBC Wildlife, visit our website: ⁠https://www.discoverwildlife.com/⁠

BBC Wildlife is the world’s longest-running and most popular nature magazine. This episode was hosted by Paul McGuinness and produced by Lewis Dobbs.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices