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In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants
Climate Change
Biodiversity
Botany
Ecology
Native Plants
Paleobotany
Invasive Species
Plant Conservation
Pollination
Conservation
Orchids
Plant Evolution
Bryophytes
Plant Ecology
Gardening
Fireflies
Evolution
Devonian Period
Plant Stress
Evolutionary Biology

Plants are everything. They are also incredibly interesting. From the smallest duckweed to the tallest redwood, the botanical world is full of wonder. Tune in for a podcast celebrating everything botany.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes607Founded9 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Natural SciencesNatureScience

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Artwork for In Defense of Plants Podcast

Latest Episodes

Bogs AKA peatlands are some of the most important ecosystems on our planet but they are all too often overlooked. Home to a bewildering diversity of life and millennia worth of peat stores, boglands are simply incredible ecosystems. These reasons and... more

This episode picks up where we left off with Dr. Devani Jolman and blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) hyrbids. Join us as we dive much deeper into the ecological underpinnings of hybridization in wild blueberry species. Learn what these insights can tell us ... more

Hybridization in plants is an incredibly interesting subject from an evolutionary perspective. Add in the ecological element, however, and it becomes absolutely mind blowing. This is why Dr. Devani Jolman decided to dive head first into botanical sci... more

Silviculture is a branch of forestry dealing with the development and care of forests. It can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people but at its core, silviculture is all about how we manage forests. How do we make this process more ecologi... more

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Recent Guests

Merritt Turetsky
Ecologist, professor, and peatland advocate
Episode: Ep. 603 - A Love Letter to Bogs
Devani Jolman
Plant ecologist researching wild blueberry hybridization and a Burpee Postdoctoral Fellow at Bucknell University
Bucknell University
Episode: Ep. 602 - Hybrid Blueberry Ecology Pt. 2
Ben Knapp
Professor of silviculture in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
Episode: Ep. 600 - The Ecological Side of Silviculture
Luke Bowles
Graduate student researching plant vibrational biology and plant ecoacoustics
University lab (Rex Cochroft's group)
Episode: Ep. 599 - Exploring the Plant Vibroscape
Felicity Muth
Associate Professor at University of California, Davis; studies insect cognition with a focus on bumblebees
University of California, Davis
Episode: Ep. 598 - How Bees Learn & Remember Flowers
Riley Fortier
Post-doctoral research fellow at the Missouri Botanical Garden
Missouri Botanical Garden
Episode: Ep. 597 - Can Amazon Trees Acclimate?
Meaghan Wetherell
Vertebrate paleontologist and game-design collaborator
University of Arizona
Episode: Ep. 596 - A Carboniferous Video Game?!
Regan Dunn
Paleobotanist; associate curator at the La Brea Tar Pits and assistant deputy director at the Samuel Ocean Global Center for Ice Age Research
La Brea Tar Pits; Ice Age Research Center
Episode: Ep. 595 - Disrupt Plants, Disrupt Life: A Climate Change Story
Sam King
Natural Areas Program Manager for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
TDEC
Episode: Ep. 594 - Of Orchids & Woodpeckers

Host

Matt
Host of In Defense of Plants Podcast

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 2.5k ratings
  • Episode 599

    Great episode! Fascinating subject. I’m intrigued by plant perception. Thank you for delving into this!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    albaby70
    United Statesa month ago
  • Excellent show

    Love it!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Betsy & Ari
    United States3 months ago
  • Love your podcast

    I'm deep into plants, so I love this podcast! I must say, that often I can barely hear the guests when listening to them in my car.

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    JPaulMoore
    United States3 months ago
  • Excellent and Interesting Podcast

    I listen to ‘In Defense of Plants Podcast’ on and off. As with any long-running podcast, some are better than others. Yesterday, I listened to one of the best of any genre that I have listened to in a while. That was the interview with Dr. Ana Bedoya, researcher active in the Colombian Andes. The subject was fascinating, Ms. Bedoya presents very will - not too technical, but technical enough. My only complaint at all, and it is minor - Matt and others, please attempt proper (Latin) pronunciation... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    EdLewis2
    United States5 months ago
  • Matt should introduce his guests

    The main reason I wrote this review is to address how Matt, the host, handles his introductions. He starts every interview by asking the guest “Tell us who you are and what you do”. Ok fine, that’s a proper way to start an interview, by explaining to the audience who the guest is. What bothers me is that the host isn’t doing the introduction himself. These are scientists and professionals in their field he’s interviewing, people who deserve respect. I’m not saying he is being disrespectful, but ... more

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    RoseJ647
    United States6 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Positive feedback on accessibility and depth of topics; guests are highly credible.
A few listeners note variable audio quality and pacing in some episodes.
Episodes blend fieldwork stories with rigorous science, resonating with plant enthusiasts.
Listeners appreciate the host's calm questioning and clear guidance during discussions.
Some reviews call for tighter guest intros and less host self-praise, but overall quality remains high.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Ep. 603 - A Love Letter to Bogs
Q: How does the average listener go and advocate for these ecosystems?
Turetsky recommends learning about and visiting nearby bogs, sharing their value with others, reducing horticultural peat use, protecting peatlands from development, and re-wetting damaged soils.
Ep. 603 - A Love Letter to Bogs
Q: What began your interest in bogs?
Turetsky says she first became captivated by science after discovering its creativity and research process, then connected her interest in environmental causes and outdoor work to studying northern ecosystems and peatlands.
Ep. 602 - Hybrid Blueberry Ecology Pt. 2
Q: How do you start to tease apart variation through, say, phenotypic plasticity? Just what the environment can cause it to express versus something that is inherently part of being either what we would call a straight species in this context or a hybrid.
Jolman explains that separating plasticity from inherited differences typically requires genetic analysis or common-garden experiments. For her study, long growth times made experiments impractical, so she measured a broad range of traits in field populations.
Ep. 602 - Hybrid Blueberry Ecology Pt. 2
Q: What's going on?
Jolman says hybridization is likely more widespread than researchers currently recognize, and that increased attention to the subject is beginning to reveal its ecological importance.
Ep. 601 - Hybrid Blueberry Ecology Pt. 1
Q: How did you start to focus in to make sense of these questions, especially coming in with no plan?
Jolman read widely and looked for research that examined hybridization within ecosystems and across different environments. She found that most research emphasized evolutionary questions, while comparatively little addressed how ecological context shapes hybrid outcomes, and built her dissertation around that gap using blueberries.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About In Defense of Plants Podcast

What is In Defense of Plants Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show consistently explores plant science, ecology, and conservation through expert interviews and field-based perspectives. Episodes span topics from habitat protection and restoration to plant–fungal interactions, genetic diversity in trees, and watershed ecology, often blending research with practical conservation and policy implications. A standout pattern is the cross-disciplinary approach, drawing on ecology, forestry, botany, and environmental law to illuminate how plants shape ecosystems and human well-being, with a strong emphasis on real-world applications and community involvement. Listeners can expect rigorous yet accessible discussions led by a knowledgeable host who foregrounds the science while showcasing diverse research... more

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Which podcasts are similar to In Defense of Plants Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with In Defense of Plants Podcast:

1. Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't
2. Completely Arbortrary
3. Native Plants, Healthy Planet
4. Ologies with Alie Ward
5. The Science of Birds

How many episodes of In Defense of Plants Podcast are there?

In Defense of Plants Podcast launched 9 years ago and published 607 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on In Defense of Plants Podcast?

Recent guests on In Defense of Plants Podcast include:

1. Merritt Turetsky
2. Devani Jolman
3. Ben Knapp
4. Luke Bowles
5. Felicity Muth
6. Riley Fortier
7. Meaghan Wetherell
8. Regan Dunn

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