All Creatures Podcast

El Niño is strengthening across the Pacific, and its effects can ripple far beyond the ocean.

Chris breaks down what El Niño actually is, how it shifts weather patterns around the world, and why this event matters for people, wildlife, and ecosystems.

From drought, flooding, and heat to disrupted marine food webs, coral bleaching, wildfire risk, and changing breeding patterns, this episode explores how one natural climate cycle can influence life across the planet.

Chris also looks at how human-caused climate change is altering the background conditions in which El Niño now occurs, and why forecasting, preparation, and resilient ecosystems matter more than ever.

Timeline

00:00 El Niño Overview
02:52 How El Niño Works
06:06 ENSO Phases Explained
07:25 Climate Change Amplifier
10:09 2026-2027 Outlook
13:00 Rainfall Drought Flood Risks
15:22 Human Impacts And Equity
21:33 Ocean Food Web Disruption
27:21 Coral Reefs Heat Stress
30:23 Terrestrial Wildlife Impacts
36:33 Forecasting And Preparation
38:20 Conservation And Hope
40:47 Final Takeaways

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Another thank you to all our Patreon supporters. You too can join for one cup of "good" coffee a month. With your pledge you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With the funds we receive each month, we are have been sending money to conservation organizations monthly. We now send a check to every organization we cover, as we feel they all are deserving of our support. Thank you so much for your support and for supporting animal conservation.

Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

We also want to thank you to all our listeners. We are giving back to every conservation organization we cover and you make that possible. We are committed to donating large portions of our revenue (at minimum 25%) to every organization we cover each week. Thank you for helping us to grow, and for helping to conserve our wildlife.

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Imagine living for more than 200 years in one of the harshest environments on Earth. Meet the bowhead whale, the longest-lived mammal known to science and an extraordinary survivor of the Arctic.

Chris and Angie discover what makes bowheads so special, from enormous, ice-breaking skulls and blubber nearly half a metre thick to the longest baleen plates of any whale. These Arctic giants sustain their massive bodies largely on tiny crustaceans, including copepods and krill.

Their conservation story combines recovery with continuing concern. Commercial whaling devastated bowhead populations, but protection has allowed some to rebound. Today, fishing-gear entanglement, ship strikes, underwater noise and a rapidly changing Arctic present ongoing challenges for these remarkable whales.

==

Another thank you to all our Patreon supporters. You too can join for one cup of "good" coffee a month. With your pledge you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With the funds we receive each month, we are have been sending money to conservation organizations monthly. We now send a check to every organization we cover, as we feel they all are deserving of our support. Thank you so much for your support and for supporting animal conservation.

Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

We also want to thank you to all our listeners. We are giving back to every conservation organization we cover and you make that possible. We are committed to donating large portions of our revenue (at minimum 25%) to every organization we cover each week. Thank you for helping us to grow, and for helping to conserve our wildlife.

Please contact us at advertising@airwavemedia.com

if you would like to advertise on our podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris and Angie return after a National Geographic event with photographer Amy Vitale and introduce an episode on sand dollars, prompted by Angie finding live sand dollars with her family and wanting answers to her kids’ questions.

They describe sand dollars as flat, burrowing echinoderms with an internal calcium-carbonate “test,” tiny spines and cilia, petaloid patterns with tube feet for respiration, slow movement and burrowing.

They also discuss global distribution, size variation, feeding as deposit feeders. Major threats include bottom trawling/dredging and ocean acidification; they suggest using Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch and highlight the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and practical pollution-reduction steps.

Timeline

00:00 Welcome Back Nat Geo
00:55 Why Sand Dollars
05:09 What They Look Like
09:20 Sizes And Range
11:43 Why They Matter
17:16 Threats And Trawling
25:06 What You Can Do
28:18 Evolution And Classification
33:40 Movement And Lifespan
37:00 Sand Dollar Skeleton Test
38:37 Top View Flower Pores
42:11 Tube Feet Water Vascular
44:28 Missing Eyes Brain Blood
48:18 Predators And Defense
50:08 How Sand Dollars Eat
54:28 Poop And Nutrient Cycling
56:41 Behavior Chemical Cues
01:00:53 Reproduction Life Cycle
01:09:44 Conservation And Curiosity

==

Another thank you to all our Patreon supporters. You too can join for one cup of "good" coffee a month. With your pledge you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With the funds we receive each month, we are have been sending money to conservation organizations monthly. We now send a check to every organization we cover, as we feel they all are deserving of our support. Thank you so much for your support and for supporting animal conservation.

Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

We also want to thank you to all our listeners. We are giving back to every conservation organization we cover and you make that possible. We are committed to donating large portions of our revenue (at minimum 25%) to every organization we cover each week. Thank you for helping us to grow, and for helping to conserve our wildlife.

Please contact us at advertising@airwavemedia.com

if you would like to advertise on our podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine a shark swimming through the Arctic today that was already alive before the United States existed. Greenland sharks are thought to be the longest-lived vertebrates on Earth, with research suggesting they can live for around 400 years—and potentially longer. Even more astonishing, females may take approximately 150 years to reach reproductive maturity. These slow-growing inhabitants of the cold North Atlantic and Arctic oceans live on a timescale that is almost impossible to comprehend.

We’re revisiting this classic All Creatures Podcast episode following renewed headlines about a controversial proposal to kill 1,000 Greenland sharks. Earlier this year, Greenland’s Avannaata municipality approved a bounty scheme in response to fishers’ concerns about damaged equipment and lost catch. The scheme was subsequently dropped because the municipality lacked the legal authority to implement it, but the debate over killing these extraordinary animals continues.

Greenland sharks are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Historically hunted for their liver oil, they now face ongoing threats from accidental capture in fishing gear, while climate change may alter their Arctic habitat. Their population size remains poorly understood, and their exceptionally slow growth and late maturity make them particularly susceptible to overfishing. Join us as we revisit one of the ocean’s most remarkable animals—and why protecting a creature whose life spans centuries requires thinking far beyond our own lifetimes.

==

Another thank you to all our Patreon supporters. You too can join for one cup of "good" coffee a month. With your pledge you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With the funds we receive each month, we are have been sending money to conservation organizations monthly. We now send a check to every organization we cover, as we feel they all are deserving of our support. Thank you so much for your support and for supporting animal conservation.

Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

We also want to thank you to all our listeners. We are giving back to every conservation organization we cover and you make that possible. We are committed to donating large portions of our revenue (at minimum 25%) to every organization we cover each week. Thank you for helping us to grow, and for helping to conserve our wildlife.

Please contact us at advertising@airwavemedia.com

if you would like to advertise on our podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the archives of All Creatures Podcast, we're revisiting our inspiring 2021 conversation with Dr. Paula Kahumbu, one of Africa's most influential wildlife conservationists, a National Geographic Explorer, and recipient of the prestigious Whitley Gold Award.

As a leading voice in elephant conservation, Dr. Kahumbu has dedicated her career to protecting Africa's wildlife, combating the illegal ivory trade, and inspiring a new generation of conservationists. Through her leadership at WildlifeDirect and her groundbreaking television series Wildlife Warriors, she has helped bring African conservation stories to millions while championing local communities and African-led conservation efforts.

Fresh off our own live podcast event at National Geographic, we're celebrating another extraordinary Explorer whose passion, determination, and leadership remind us that protecting wildlife begins with empowering the people who share their world.

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