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★★★★★

4.7

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201 reviews

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Plant People explores the ways our relationships with plants are tied to current environmental issues, and how art and culture reflect our connection to the ecosystems we rely on to thrive. Through lively stories and conversations with scientists, gardeners, artists, and experts, join the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) for deep dives into everything from food systems and horticulture to botanical breakthroughs in the lab and the field, and the many ways our daily lives are sustained by plants. Then stay for discussions on how we can return the favor, protecting what we have—and cultivating what we need—to ensure plants and people continue to support each other for future generations. Host Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG’s President & CEO, guides you through the role of humans in caring for our shared planet, whether you’re in your backyard garden, tending a window sill full of houseplants, or finding your love of nature in a concrete jungle. Let NYBG—rooted in NYC’s cultural fabric for over 130 years and a beloved respite in the heart of the Bronx, the city’s greenest borough—be your anchor for understanding how plants make a difference in your life, and our world, every single day—in ways both big and small.

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Check latest episodes from Plant People podcast

Kelp with Dr. April Ridlon

2026/06/08

In our final Plant People episode of Season 3, we explore forests of a different sort—those that live beneath the ocean’s waves. Along many of the world’s coastlines, kelp forests offer food and shelter for a wide variety of animal species among their countless waving fronds of seaweed, while protecting our coasts from erosion and even benefiting our economy. Listen in as host Jennifer Bernstein, CEO & The William C. Steere President of NYBG, is joined by Dr. April Ridlon of the Monterey Bay Aquarium to discuss the vast importance of kelp forests and the ways humans have thrown their environment off balance.

Cycads with Dr. Dennis Stevenson

2026/05/25

On this episode of Plant People, host Jennifer Bernstein—CEO and The William C. Steere Senior President of NYBG—joins Dr. Dennis Stevenson, previously NYBG’s Vice President for Botanical Science, to explore some of our planet’s oldest plants. At least as far back as 200 million years ago, cycads grew in abundance—and at the peak of their distribution, they even fed the dinosaurs. These so-called “living fossils” have changed little since then, yet today, they face their greatest threats in poaching, habitat destruction, and climate change. To preserve their future will require a team effort.

Giant Water Lilies with Brie Langley & Vanessa Callahan

2026/05/11

On this episode of Plant People, host Jennifer Bernstein—CEO and The William C. Steere Senior President of NYBG, joins Vanessa Callahan of Denver Botanic Gardens and Brie Langley of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew to chat about one of the plant world’s most gargantuan figures: the giant water lily. From its unique leaf structure, which allows its pads to hold well over 100 pounds in some cases, to the 10-foot diameter that some Amazonian specimens can achieve, these larger-than-life plants are some of our planet’s most fascinating lifeforms.

Cacao with Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan

2026/04/27

In this episode of Plant People, host Jennifer Bernstein, CEO and The William C. Steere Sr. President of NYBG, sits down with Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan, Director of the Cocoa Research Centre at the University of the West Indies, to talk chocolate. Together they explore the ancient history of cacao tree cultivation, dating at least as far back as the Olmec civilization in what is now Mexico. Today, crops of cacao and the many types of chocolate they produce face threats in climate change and plant diseases, creating serious challenges for the future of this important food.

Pitcher Plants with Dr. Rob Naczi

2026/03/30

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Rob Naczi, Arthur J. Cronquist Curator of North American Botany at the New York Botanical Garden. Listen in as he and host Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG President and CEO, discuss pitcher plants—carnivorous plants with unique leaves that function as traps for insects. They might look exotic, but there’s even a species native to New York. In summer, you can find them growing alongside the boardwalk here in the Native Plant Garden! Come explore why these important plants still have much to teach us, and the environmental threats they currently face.

Ghost Orchid with Dr. Melissa Abdo

2026/03/16

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Melissa Abdo, a Floridian whose work in conservation has brought her face to face with countless captivating yet threatened plants in the swamps of the southeast—including the ghost orchid. Long coveted by poachers, and central to the plot of author Susan Orlean’s bestselling book, The Orchid Thief, this ethereal flower faces an uncertain future, inspiring calls for its protection under the Endangered Species Act. Join us as we dive into this orchid’s story, one of passion and even obsession.

The American Chestnut with Michael Goergen

2026/03/02

In this week’s episode of Plant People, Michael Goergen of The American Chestnut Foundation joins us to discuss the tragic history—and hopeful future—of one of North America’s most iconic trees. In the early 20th century, chestnut blight arrived in North America, a parasitic fungus that went on to kill an estimated four billion American chestnut trees. But more than a century later, work is underway to cultivate a chestnut tree that can resist the fungus—and thrive doing it.

Turkey Tail Fungi with Eugenia Bone

2026/02/16

In this episode, we’re joined by amateur mycologist, food and nature writer, and NYBG instructor Eugenia Bone to revisit the world of fungi—the not-quite-plant, not-quite-animal lifeforms that keep our planet’s biological processes churning. And as researchers continue to find, mushrooms can benefit our own human processes, too. Listen in as Bone and host Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG CEO & President, explore the ways that species like turkey tail can help our bodies fend off disease, and the promising scientific studies investigating psychedelics.

Moss with Robin Wall Kimmerer

2026/02/02

Have you ever stopped to admire a patch of green moss—really gotten up close and SEEN the tiny forest of plantlife in all its complexity? For the first episode of Plant People Season 3, we’re doing just that. Today we’re joined by botanist and best-selling author Robin Wall Kimmerer, who sees moss and other up-close experiences in nature as the doorway to greater curiosity about our world. In today's episode, Kimmerer and host Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG CEO & President, explore the things ancient plantlife can teach us about surviving and truly thriving as people.

Plant People Season 3 Trailer

2026/01/26

From the tallest chestnut trees to the strangest pitcher plants, the botanical world is FULL of fascinating stories. And this season on Plant People—the third for NYBG’s award-winning podcast—we’re doing a deep dive on a different plant each episode. Tune in every other week starting February 2 as Jennifer Bernstein, the Garden’s CEO and President, joins authors, scientists, and other experts to explore the lives of particularly unique plants on our planet.

Special feature from the Smithsonian's Sidedoor podcast: "King of the Herbs"

2025/08/05

While Plant People is between seasons, we have a special episode, "King of the Herbs", from our friends at the Smithsonian's Sidedoor podcast: It’s a wild herb that countless cultures have used for centuries as a wonder drug to cure any ailment. It's so rare and valuable that it’s been dug to extinction nearly everywhere, except a small area of the United States. This time on Sidedoor, we go searching for the elusive wild American ginseng—and find that scientists, conservationists, and criminals are also on the hunt.

Ecotourism: Inspiring a Plant-Powered Economy

2025/07/14

We’re wrapping up Season 2 with NYBG’s Chief Science Officer, Mauricio Díazgranados, Ph.D., who discusses how engaging with nature through travel makes us more inclined to protect it—and the ways that tourism can actually help our planet. As an avid adventurer and botanist who has worked all around the world, Dr. Diazgranados knows how vital it is to make exploration both sustainable and economically beneficial. Here he walks us through his vision for the bioeconomy, where the world’s biodiversity hotspots become opportunities for ecotourism, enhancing the lives of local communities while funding the conservation of our planet’s irreplaceable flora and fauna.

Let's Botanize

2025/06/30

In today’s episode, we’re proving that botany is for everyone—yes, even you! We’re joined by Jacob Suissa, Ph.D., and Ben Goulet-Scott, Ph.D., botanists and founders of Let’s Botanize, a nonprofit dedicated to making plant science fun and accessible. Using social media, they share everything from practical foraging to plant identification—making it not only educational, but also exciting and easy to understand. We’ll discuss their book, learn how to dig into botany (especially for beginners!) and acknowledge why it’s important to democratize plant science—for the health of people and the planet.

Mangroves: Earth's Coastal Caretakers

2025/06/16

This week we’re getting right to the root of our coastlines—particularly the roots of mangrove forests, some of the most crucial and vulnerable ecosystems on Earth. Listen in as Dr. Brad Oberle, Associate Curator at NYBG’s Center for Conservation and Restoration Ecology, shares what makes these oceanside forests so important, from their role in carbon sequestration to fighting coastal erosion and providing habitat for marine animals. Dr. Oberle has worked around the world in an effort to restore these forests, and it’s to the benefit of each and every one of us that they continue to thrive.

The Tree Collectors

2025/06/02

Listen in as we talk about a niche and noble hobby: tree collecting. Author Amy Stewart joins us to discuss her newest book, The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession, which profiles 50 different tree aficionados ranging from scientists cataloging rare species, to families preserving their heritage, and conservationists fighting to reforest their land. Their stories shed light on both the cultural and environmental necessity of trees—and how climate change, policy shifts, and financial barriers are all hindering their protection. Stick around for insights into the ways these collectors are benefiting biodiversity, and what roles you can play in the effort.

Podcast reviews

Read Plant People podcast reviews

4.7 out of 5

201 reviews

★★★★★

Mcoffeecation 2026/04/30

Just found plant people

The cacao episode was really interesting and the guest was very knowledgeable. I’ll be tuning into other episodes

★★★★★

Detroittiger18 2026/02/28

Great podcast!

If you’re not a plant person already, you will be :)

★★★★★

botanicaedentian 2026/02/16

Botanificent

Always insightful and wonderfully informative. Wish it could be weekly!

★★★★★

Usagi888 2025/12/02

Plant People

This podcast is excellent and informative. I have been looking for an entertaining, interesting and informative podcast. This fills all those points....

★★★★★

Thisisdumbnow 2025/05/20

Plant Power

Absolutely fascinating insight into NYBG and all of the amazing expertise on boar to make this wonderful garden exist!

★★★★★

ghelleb 2025/04/23

Informative and Interesting

New to podcast. I live in an apartment so don’t have a yard to work on, but really enjoyed the first show I just listened to. Very informative and int...

★★★★★

DC of VT 2024/12/31

Listen 🌱

Amazingly great podcast. I love botanical gardens and visit them wherever I travel. This podcast opens up so much of what the New York Botanical Garde...

★★★★★

Rita Pierson 2024/08/26

Great podcast for the curious

Absolutely love this podcast and the variety of things it teaches about. The topics dive into all aspects of plants, and how they are important to the...

★★★★☆

Pxx23 2024/06/18

Fire country

I enjoyed hearing the topic of indigenous relationships with fire in the landscape. Native peoples certainly took advantage of fire such as the wild b...

★★★★★

LuluBaggins 2024/05/31

Growing My Inner Plant Person

Wildly fascinating and informative! I loved all the interesting fact filled easy flowing banter. Fossilized plant pollen?! Unreal! I loved this debut ...

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