Sounds Wild

Sounds Wild is a Center for Biological Diversity podcast focusing on endangered wildlife, the extinction crisis, and saving life on Earth. Hosted by Mike Stark and Vanessa Barchfield, Sounds Wild features interviews with experts at the Center and beyond about some of the most important issues of our time.

Listen to new episodes every Thursday here or on Apple or Spotify.

Episodes

EPISODE 1, Oct. 2, 2025 - No one knows exactly how many species are vanishing from the planet, but a rough count estimates that we lose about one every hour. Even for plants and animals that haven’t yet disappeared, the outlook is often grim: We’re also witnessing a decline of all kinds of wildlife, from birds and bears to turtles and insects. In this episode the Center’s Tierra Curry provides a primer on the extinction crisis, what’s been lost, how wildlife declines affect people in ways we don’t notice, and what we can do.

Learn more about halting the extinction crisis.

EPISODE 2, Oct. 9, 2025 - Few places on Earth tell the story of the wildlife extinction crisis like Hawai‘i. Dozens of birds, plants, insects, and mollusks have vanished this century, and every day is a fight to provide a foothold for those who are just barely hanging on. In this episode of our Sounds Wild podcast, host Vanessa Barchfield talks with Maxx Phillips, the Center’s Hawai‘i director, about what’s been lost and the incredible on-the-ground work being done to save what’s still living.

 

Mike Stark is the Center’s creative director, leading creative initiatives to help the public better understand the wildlife extinction crisis. He’s a former journalist and the author of several books, including Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird.

Vanessa Barchfield is a senior media specialist helping tell the story of the Center’s work across the Southwest, the northern and southern Rockies, the Great Basin, and New Mexico. She’s a former reporter/producer at the NPR and PBS member station in southern Arizona and has a soft spot for vaquitas, jaguars, ocelots, and pikas. Her spirit animal is a quokka.