Wild Lives
Wild Lives is a podcast from BBC Wildlife Magazine that introduces listeners to the people who devote their lives to the natural world. Host Paul McGuinness talks with scientists, guides, conservationists, writers, photographers and hobbyists from places as varied as the Amazon jungle and London's Natural History Museum. Each episode explores the stories, challenges and triumphs of living and working alongside wildlife every day. Produced by Lewis Dobbs, the show offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at the human side of nature and conservation.
Episodes
How flight works, with Simon Barnes
One of Britain’s most-loved writers, Simon Barnes has been obsessed by flight for as long as he can remember.
He talks about where this love of flight came from, and reflects on how human cultural history is littered with the dream of flight, from Daedalus and Icarus to Leonardo Da Vinci and Arthur Dent, the hero of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
His latest book, How To Fly
Saving the Amazon one bee at a time, with Dr Rosa Vásquez Espinoza
Dr Rosa Vásquez Espinoza’s work with stingless bees in the Peruvian Amazon led to them becoming the first insect anywhere in the world to be protected by legal rights.
Born in Peru, Rosa is a chemical biologist, and a descendent of Andean and Amazonian people, who passed their knowledge of natural healing down to her. As well as combining her scientific and Indigenous understanding of nature, Ros
Wild Lives is back for Season 2!
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
Telling wild stories, with Hamza Yassin
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 chil
How nature affects our emotions, with Lucy Lapwing
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
The fantastical world of the Crab Museum, with Bertie and Ned Suesat-Williams
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
Nature by wheelchair, with Stuart Butchart
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
Living in the Amazon rainforest, with Alejandro Aguilar
If you think you’ve ever been to the middle of nowhere, think again. In this episode, we take a journey deep into the Amazon rainforest, to one of the most remote parts of the jungle where we met Indigenous wildlife guide, Alejandro Aguilar.
This conversation took place on board a boat in Peru, and along the way we learn what it’s like to have been born and raised in the jungle. We follow Alejan
On location in Africa, with Gordon Buchanan
For most people, the thought of watching a magnificent wild animal being eaten alive right in front of them would be the stuff of nightmares, but it’s all in a day’s work for our guest, the celebrated Scottish wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan.
Fresh from filming the latest series of the BBC’s Big Cats 24/7, Gordon discusses what it’s actually like to sit in a safari vehicle for endless hours i
Bringing back Britain’s lost species, with Nick Viney
If you’ve ever imagined what the world would have looked like before it was cut up for agriculture and urban life, you could do worse than to look at the work being done by rewilders, like Nick Viney.
For this episode, we took a road trip to meet Nick Viney, the creative force behind Rewilding Coombeshead, 400 acres of former farmland in southwest England that is being reclaimed by nature. Wild
Wildlife filmmaking up close, with Bertie Gregory
Many of us dream of close encounters with wild animals, but Bertie Gregory has made this a reality through his stunning films for National Geographic.
As well as winning a stack of awards for his photography and filmmaking, Bertie is a National Geographic Explorer – which, as we discovered, is as cool as it sounds.
Bertie is passionate about sharing his love of nature, as we found out when we ca
How to rebuild a coral reef, with Erin Muir and Lou Schekler
Have you ever wondered how to repair a coral reef? Or even if it’s possible? Well you’re not alone. And that’s why we visited Mote Marine Laboratories at Islamorada, in the Florida Keys.
We know that our coral reefs are in trouble. But the good news is that there is hope for these vital ecosystems.
We spoke to scientists whose ground-breaking work is helping to regrow the world’s third largest c
Community-led conservation in Tanzania, with Rahima Njaidi
How much difference can one person make? As this week’s guest proves, the answer is quite a lot, if you truly devote yourself to what you believe in.
Rahima Njaidi is a Tanzanian conservationist who pioneers community-led conservation, while championing gender equality and land rights.
We talked with Rahima about these complex issues, and how her direct approach is changing people’s lives on a
Inner city wildlife, with David Lindo, AKA the Urban Birder
Look up! You never know what you might see. Our cities have become quite literal urban jungles, as more and more wildlife is drawn to thrive in the increasingly sprawling megapolis.
In order to get a grip on what wildlife to watch out for in the city, we turned to BBC Wildlife columnist David Lindo – aka the Urban Birder – to find out how a boy from Wembley forged a career in nature.
For David,
Why flies matter, with Dr Erica McAlister
Have you ever looked at a fly seemingly trying but failing to find its way out of an open window and wondered why it can’t figure it out? Well, if so, then you’re not alone!
To unravel the mystery and learn why it’s time we changed how we think about flies, we went to the Natural History Museum in London to meet Dr Erica McAlister, Principal Curator of Diptera and Siphonaptera – that's flies and
My life as North America's only blind conservationist, with Lawrence Gunther
Have you ever wondered how a blind person might interact with nature? After losing his sight gradually from the age of eight, Lawrence Gunther was functionally blind by his twenties. Despite this, he continued to forge a life in nature, living for a while with Inuits, where he learned so much from them about how we can thrive to the mutual benefit of both ourselves and our environment.
Today, Law
Welcome to Wild Lives!
Wild Lives is the podcast from BBC Wildlife Magazine that gets you closer to the people who dedicate their lives to the natural world. We meet inspirational people across the globe – from the depths of the Amazon jungle to London’s Natural History Museum – and find out why they have contributed so much to nature.
From scientists, guides and conservationists, to writers, photographers and passiona
