Our podcast brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers

What do we really know about biodiversity? Inside Biodiversity brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers tackling the most pressing and controversial questions in biodiversity science. Each episode features experts who challenge common narratives, reveal surprising trends, and explore solutions for conservation.

From species extinctions to ecosystem resilience, we go beyond the headlines to uncover the complexities of nature. Whether you’re a scientist, conservationist, or just curious about the state of life on Earth, this podcast will change the way you see biodiversity.

Why has biodiversity decreased over the past 20 million years? Why did large mammals, such as giant sloths, tapirs, and mammoths, go extinct at the end of the last ice age, some 50,000 to 10,000 years ago? Why are there many fewer mammal species today than there “should be”? In episode 5, we speak with Prof. Susanne Fritz, research group head at iDiv and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, about biodiversity change over very long time scales. She shares insights into how past extinction events shaped today’s ecosystems — and what that might mean for the future.

While some biodiversity change trends are deeply worrying, such as the decline of common bird species in North America, others offer hope, such as the recovery of rare birds: “I’ve seen in my lifetime species that were locally extinct come back, and rivers that were dead come back to life,” says Henrique Pereira, a professor at iDiv and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. “And that’s because there’s been so much positive development from environmental policy.” In episode 4, we explore why biodiversity change isn’t a single story of loss and why it is important to understand the complexity of the issue for science, communication, and policy.

What if cutting down an old-growth forest actually increases the number of species? According to biodiversity researcher Jonathan Chase, “You can have huge levels of biodiversity in habitats that are strongly degraded by people.” In episode 3 of Inside Biodiversity, we explore how biodiversity changes can be counterintuitive, and why measuring them is more complicated than just counting species. If biodiversity isn’t inherently good or bad, then what do we—as individuals and as a society—value about nature? We discuss these questions in this episode of Inside Biodiversity with Jonathan Chase, professor at iDiv and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

In episode 2 of Inside Biodiversity, we talk to Andrew Gonzalez, a Professor at McGill University in Montreal, about how biodiversity is changing – and how humans are driving this process. Gonzalez discusses shifts in species composition, critiques conclusions drawn from time-series analyses we covered in episode one, and calls for better data to link changes to human impacts. Drawing on climate science, he proposes a “detection and attribution” approach and urges scientists to focus on solutions. A thought-provoking look at the science and communication of biodiversity change.

In episode 1 of Inside Biodiversity, we look at one of the most controversial questions in biodiversity research: How ubiquitous is biodiversity loss? Our guest, Maria Dornelas, a Professor at the University of St Andrews and the University of Lisbon, has challenged overly simplistic narratives of how biodiversity is changing. We discuss the current state of knowledge and how best to communicate it. Whether you are a sceptic or an advocate of biodiversity conservation, this conversation will give you new insights into the fascination and complexity of biodiversity change.