My Favourite Sustainability and Homesteading Podcasts

Gavin (from GreeningOfGavin.com) recently posted a list of his favourite podcasts, so I thought I’d do the same. It’s not easy finding good podcasts on topics that you enjoy, so personal recommendations are valuable.

Interestingly, there are very few overlaps between mine and Gavin’s lists!

I’m including full URLs here, in case you want to print out the list to share with others.

ABC Bush Telegraph

An entertaining look at rural and regional issues around Australia. I particularly like the Food on Friday segment, the Farm Diary, and the updates on issues affecting food production in Australia. I really like how this podcast is broken up into separate stories, so you don’t have to listen to a whole bunch of guff to get to the good stuff.

The Food Chain – What’s Eating What Radio

Discusses food issues. It’s US-centric, but many of the topics will be of interest to people in other countries as well. I just skip the episodes on US politics etc that don’t interest me.

The Greening Of Gavin

Yes Gav, of course I’m a listener! This is a great Australian podcast, featuring interviews with other green bloggers (including me!), as well as Gavin’s thoughts and observations on living sustainably and curbing consumerism.

The Harvest Eating Podcast

A US podcast on seasonal local cooking. The podcaster is Chef Keith Snow, and he shares a lot of information about cooking tips and techniques, as well as updates about what’s going on with his own farm. To be honest I skip a lot of episodes on topics I’m not interested in, but there’s a lot of good stuff too.

Homestead Dividends

Another US podcast, this one’s all about turning your house into a productive asset. Dan Vamos covers topics like growing/cooking/preserving food, preparedness, practical home improvements, etc.

Homesteading and Permaculture by Paul Wheaton

This is a hard-core permaculture podcast, full of the sort of information that takes you beyond the books and the mass-market permaculture information and into the nuts and bolts of it all. I highly recommend it to anyone who has done a PDC and wants to continue their learning. Paul can be blunt and opinionated at times, but he’ll definitely challenge your assumptions and make you think!

KunstlerCast

I’ve only just started listening to this one, on Gavin’s recommendation, but I’ve heard several interviews with Kunstler and find him very though-provoking.

The Onion Radio News

It can’t all be about gardening and sustainability! This one is great for a laugh. I like to intersperse the short Onion and 60-Second Science podcast episodes between the longer podcasts when I queue them up in my iPod for listening.

Scientific American’s 60-Second Science

Short, sharp news and commentary from the science world.

The Self-Sufficient Gardener

Another US podcast, host Jason Akers picks a topic each week and discusses it in detail. I like how he sticks to the topic and doesn’t ramble about too much other stuff, and each episode is as long as it needs to be to cover the topic. The motto of his show is “efficient, responsible and sustainable”.

The Survival Podcast

Some people might find this one a bit out there, but I really enjoy it. There’s a bit of US politics and a lot of gun stuff, but I usually skip those episodes. There’s also a lot of great stuff about preparedness, homesteading, permaculture, herbal medicine, personal finances, alternative energy, tools, etc. Well worth a listen, and it gets you thinking beyond the normal permaculture and sustainability topics.

This American Life

Each week, they put out a collection of stories on a particular theme or topic. It’s some of the best storytelling on the web, and it’s a nice break from the doom-and-gloom news.

Transition Towns

A New Zealand radio show on Transition Towns initiatives and sustainability issues, hosted by Dr Joanna Santa Barbara.

Do you listen to any of these? I hope this list helps people discover some new podcasts.

Please add your podcast recommendations below! And if you’re a blogger, please consider writing a similar post listing the podcasts you listen to (green or otherwise). Send me an email or leave a comment below and I’ll link up to it.


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12 responses to “My Favourite Sustainability and Homesteading Podcasts”

  1. Meg Avatar

    Thanks for providing a list of podcasts. I am addicted to podcasting and love to listen whilst gardening but have failed at finding many good ‘green’ or ‘gardening’ podcasts. Bush telly is great.
    I know Philip Adams isn’t strictly about gardening etc but he does live on a biodynamic farm in the Hunter and often refers to his farm. He often features guests and has interviews relating to gm, food security and other topical issues,including a lot on climate change – especially in relation to India and China. He has some really interesting podcasts about these issues if you head back into the archives.

    http://www.abc.net.au/rn/features/inbedwithphillip/

    and you can find him on the itunes store under radio national

    Happy listening 😀

    1. Darren Avatar

      @Meg: Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll have to check it out.

  2. dan vamos Avatar

    Greetings and salutations from Las Vegas.

    I am honored to make it onto your podcast list. My podcasts tend to wander over many topics, but being green is definitely one topic dear to my heart.

    My love of fruit trees is unsurpassed. If you can plant and grow your own food, please do. Pesticides and petro-chemical fertilizers are horrid stuff!

    Also, I just did a series of videos on installing blinds to keep the sun out and the cooling costs down. Very appropriate for my Aussie friends… but as you head into winter, it’s probably not that pressing.

    If you get a chance, come over and visit my site.

    My daughter informed me years ago that her high school graduation present will be a trip down under, and she hasn’t deviated from that sentiment. We’ll be down there soon enough, just keep that bloody vegemite away from me!!!!

    Warmest regards,

    Dan Vamos

    1. Darren Avatar

      @Dan: Thanks for stopping by! I’m still working through your older episodes, and haven’t caught up to the ones you’re making now. I’m really enjoying them. Winter is a good time to get those blinds installed – they keep the warmth in just as well as they keep the sun out. Between our blinds, curtains and insulation, we still haven’t lit the wood fire yet; that’d be like you guys getting into December without heating.

      You’d enjoy a trip to Australia – let me know if you’re anywhere south of Sydney and maybe we can meet up!

  3. Sam Avatar

    Good list, mate. I too am a fan of The Survival Podcast, and I too skip a lot of the US-centric, gun stuff.

    Another gardening podcast I listen to is The Self-Sufficient Gardener (theselfsufficientgardener.com/). He picks a topic per week and gets stuck in. I particularly like the ones where he picks a genus and looks into the history, cultural references and uses.

    1. Darren Avatar

      @Sam: Oh, how’d I miss The Self-Sufficient Gardener!? It’s right there in my iTunes – I must have accidentally skipped it when building the list. I’ll add it now!

  4. dan vamos Avatar

    Darren,

    Thanks for listening…and the invite. My daughter is still many years away from graduation, but I’ll hold you to your offer: TEN years from today!!!

    My friends down under: you are right to skip much of the American politics and BS…I do and I AM an American…LOL.

    I do have a political/prepper question, though. Do you find increased interest/awareness in homesteading/prepping in your neck of the woods as well? Do you find there to be a prepper “quickening” in your culture?

    Lastly, I must confess to being really dumb about Aussie politics (I know, the Ugly American Scenario) but I wondered what is the political climate towards guns and the ease of obtaining them.

    Just curious.

    Dan Vamos

    1. Darren Avatar

      @Dan: No worries, ten years will give me just enough time to develop a homestead worth showing off to you!

      I am seeing a little more interest in homesteading type stuff here – mostly under the broad label of permaculture. There are a number of permaculture-based community gardens in our region, and kids are starting to learn about it at school, so awareness is growing. I don’t see much real prepper discussion among people I know in real-life, though. Most of what I see is among online friends, and they’re probably a non-typical sample space :-).

      You’d be amazed at the gun control here! It’s very difficult to jump through all the hoops to get a gun license, and hunting isn’t really accommodated very much compared to the US (despite having large numbers of feral deer, goats, pigs, etc damaging our state and national parks). It’s even harder to get a handgun, and as far as I know there’s no such thing as a concealed carry permit for the general public. It’s not even legal to carry a knife in public here!

  5. dan vamos Avatar

    Too bad on the hunting guns. Wild boar and venison are treats not to be missed. Add-in the damage feral hogs do…

    Also, I thought wild dogs (dingos sp?) are an issue as well in remote parts.

    Anyway, I’m not a real gun nut, but defending yourself and getting some free bacon would be nice.

    Thanks for the answer.

    Dan

    1. Darren Avatar

      @Dan: Dingoes may be a problem out west, I’m not too sure. Wild dogs are worse, and there are some packs around here. They’ve never been near our property, thankfully. Our biggest predator problem here though is foxes – they’re very hard on poultry, rabbits, baby lambs, etc, so all the cages/pens have to be very well protected. Makes it hard to free-range your animals!

  6. dan v Avatar

    Winter is coming!!! Hope all is well and you’re prepared for the cooler temperatures. I’m sure that you are.

    Just wanted to drop in and say “Hello!”

    1. Darren Avatar

      @Dan: Thanks! Yep, I’ve got tons of firewood (literally!) and we broke out the door draft-stoppers. We’re lighting the fireplace about every second night at the moment. Winter here isn’t too bad – I’m still wearing shorts and t-shirts around the yard, and we don’t get frost or snow. The citrus is all ripening nicely, and thankfully the grass is growing a lot slower so I don’t need to mow every weekend! It’ll be good to get some digging and construction work done during the cooler weather, when the gardens aren’t so demanding.