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mikedigirolamo.bsky.social
Audio journalist @Mongabay. Runner. He/him. Born at 350ppm. đź“ŤGadigal Land. Fan of birds. My thoughts: https://mike-digirolamo.ghost.io
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It is with the heaviest of hearts that I bring you this news. Ochieng' Ogodo, Mongabay's East Africa Editor, passed away suddenly at the age of 64.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Congratulations again to my colleague @shreyadg.bsky.social. Her podcast series 'Wild Frequencies' with Mongabay India made the Publisher Podcast Awards shortlist. 'Mongabay Explores' also made the list. If you haven't listened to either podcast series, check out all six episodes here:

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

Climate change is making marathons more dangerous. Hi. Many of you know me as the podcast guy at Mongabay. I moonlight as a marathoner. Australia just became the first country to host a marathon major in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm going to run it. But I have some mixed feelings. My thoughts...

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

After two decades, the saiga antelope is back at almost 4 million. I spoke with Vera Voronova from the ACBK about the Kazakhstan-led effort behind this stunning achievement and the subsequent Earth Shot prize they were awarded. Listen now at @mongabay.bsky.social:

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Now that I've emphasized the importance of protecting wildlife and biodiversity before it goes extinct, join me and experts from UC Berkeley, Mongabay, and the Coalition for Wildlife Corridors on how journalists can better cover wildlife corridors. Going live in 30 minutes:

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

"Soon after Colossal’s news about their wolves this week, the Trump administration embraced the technology and suggested removing legal protections for endangered species." Essential reading from @mbolotnikova.bsky.social :

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

Please do read the story linked here. The point of my post is to highlight the perverse incentives this has created. This isn't a debate on whether the wolves are 'dire.' (They aren't). A government is already trying to removed endangered species from the list and citing the biotech firm.

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

I need people to understand that the animals genetically engineered by Colossal are not dire wolves. They have not performed 'de-extinction,' and it's misinformation to claim otherwise. It's incredibly worrying and damaging to conservation because things like this were bound to happen:

submitted 9 days ago • 4 comments

Nonprofit journalism allows newsrooms like Mongabay to report unique stories, and in-depth investigations that traditional media is divesting from. Amazing investigations the likes of which Gerry Flynn regularly works on.

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

A lot of people who respond to reader surveys at Mongabay note they aren't aware we are a nonrofit newsroom. This week on the podcast our director of philanthropy Dave Martin explains why we are, and why it's vital for our newsroom. Think of this as a primer on independent media, and why it works

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

Some good news! The Mongabay Explores Circular Economy series was shortlisted for 'Best Science & Health Podcast' by the Podcast Publisher Awards. Congrats also to Mongabay India for being shortlisted as well!

submitted 11 days ago • 2 comments

Putting aside the question of whether Colassal's gene engineered pups are actually dire wolves, the big Q that feels unanswered was originally posed by Deborah Bird Rose in Vox: "What sense does it make to dream of returning the thylacine when we cannot even ask people to make room for dingoes?"

submitted 11 days ago • 2 comments

Australia’s environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is being sued by The Wilderness Society for failing to put recovery plans in place for threatened species.

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

This week on the Mongabay Newscast, celebrated author and environmental activist, Paul Hawken speaks with @racheldonald.bsky.social about his latest book 'Carbon: The Book of Life.' Hawken argues the language of the climate movement needs a refresh to a more human centric focus:

submitted 17 days ago • 1 comment

Journalists: if you are interested in covering pangolin trafficking or the illegal wildlife trade, watch this webinar with three experts in the field discuss key considerations and underreported stories in the pangolin trade. Thank you Pangolin Aware, SMCRF, and @eia-news.bsky.social for joining:

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

A few photos I snapped while in the Blue Mountains on Dharug and Gundungurra Land. Australia is generally considered the only wealthy/industrialized nation that is also a deforestation hotspot. Experts have called for reform of its env. laws, which the current gov promised and shelved.

submitted 23 days ago • 2 comments

As the Australian government has shelved key environmental reforms ahead of the next federal election, its status as a leader of the 'nature positive' agenda is uncertain. @adammorton.bsky.social at @australia.theguardian.com joins me on the @mongabay.bsky.social podcast to explain:

submitted 25 days ago • 2 comments

“Out of Plain Sight,” directed by journalist Rosanna Xia and filmmaker Daniel Straub, documents the legacy of mass amounts of DDT waste dumped off the California coast decades ago, with environmental consequences continuing today. Read:

submitted 27 days ago • 3 comments

The world is in quite a state, both politically and environmentally. To help me unpack the situation for listeners, I invited Yale history professor Sunil Amrith onto the podcast to discuss historical parallels to the current moment, and what lessons we can learn from the past. Listen here:

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments

NOAA has far reaching global influence on science and meteorology. Many nations have benefited from its existence. Its degradation will be felt here in Australia as well.

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

For Elisabeth Vrba, the fossil record was not a static archive of long-dead creatures, but a dynamic record of nature’s upheavals. She never claimed that her hypotheses provided all the answers, only that they asked better questions. In doing so, she changed the course of evolutionary science.

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

It's forecast to be 36°C (almost 97°F) here in Sydney on the 16th of March, 2025. The hottest March 16th on record in Sydney was in 2023, when it reached 37.9°C With very few exceptions, it did not start regularly exceeding 30°C on this day (since modern record keeping began) until about 1996.

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

'Empathy' is a term that has made its way into quite a few conversations, but what about nature? On this week's podcast, Lauren Lambert PhD from Arizona State U, talks with @racheldonald.bsky.social about 'ecological empathy,' what it is, and how it can help us shape a better world:

submitted 38 days ago • 1 comment

If you want a longer conversation about housing reform in Australia that respects planetary boundaries, affordability, and equity. Listen to my episode with Louise Dorignon on housing circularity at this link:

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments