Plastic Podcast | Pollution, Policy, and People

Plastic pollution has reached deep-sea coral reefs. Marine scientist Dr. Lucy Woodall joins Plastic Podcast to explain the ecological roles of deep-sea corals and how discarded fishing gear, larger debris, and microplastics interact with them. Drawing on field research and expeditions, she discusses possible disease transmission, physical damage, and the difficulty of separating plastic from other pressures such as climate change and fishing. The episode offers a careful look at plastics and coral reefs, ocean plastic pollution, deep-sea conservation, and the cumulative threats facing marine ecosystems.

Episode Guests: Dr. Lucy Woodall

More information about Dr. Woodall here

Browse Dr. Woodall’s publications on Research Gate

Visit the Nekton website here

More information about the episode and the Plastic Podcast

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Tadeo Cabellos 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Microplastics have reached Antarctica’s ecosystems. In this crossover from South Pole, British Antarctic Survey researcher Dr. Clara Manno explains how plastic travels to polar regions and how Antarctic wildlife and Southern Ocean processes encounter it. This epsiode explores plastic pollution in Antarctica, Southern Ocean microplastics, marine organisms, and questions about whether pollution can interfere with the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon. The episode shows why Antarctica is not isolated from human activity and why polar plastic research matters globally.

Episode Guest: Dr. Clara Manno

More information about Dr. Clara Manno here. 

Browse Dr. Clara Manno’s’ publications on Google Scholar

More information about Plastic-AG here

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

For More information about the United Nations Treaty on Plastic follow the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty on Linkedin

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, written, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plastic behavior depends on culture, systems and trust. Environmental psychologist Dr. Anastasia Voronkova discusses the PISCES project and its research into how people in Indonesia buy, use, and discard plastic. This episode explores environmental psychology, waste banks, religious practice, community context, and the limits of campaigns that treat behavior as an individual choice. This case study of plastic behavior change and plastic waste in Indonesia shows what Western institutions can learn from approaches developed in the majority world.

Episode Guests: Dr. Anastasia Voronkova

More information about Dr. Voronkova here

Follow Dr. Voronkova on X

More information about PISCES

More information about the episode and the Plastic Podcast

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Tadeo Cabellos 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plastic’s lifecycle reveals hidden costs and benefits. Researcher Rachel Karasik guides us through a plastic lifecycle assessment, from raw material extraction and production to use, disposal, leakage, and pollution. They examine the health, environmental, and economic consequences that appear at different stages, as well as the benefits that keep plastic embedded in modern systems. The conversation shows why better plastic policy requires more than counting waste, with attention to chemical regulation, extended producer responsibility, environmental justice, and more intentional material use.

Episode Guests: Rachel Karasik

More information about Rachel Karasik at NIVA Here

Connect with Rachel Karasik on LinkedIn

Browse Rachel Karasik’s publications on Google Scholar

Something in the Water Ep 2 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

More information about the episode and the Plastic Podcast

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, written, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Tadeo Cabellos 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Microplastics are accumulating in agricultural soil. Dr. Xuejun Liu and Dr. Kai Wang of China Agricultural University explain how plastic mulch, atmospheric deposition, and other sources introduce microplastics and nanoplastics into farmland. Host Clark Marchese asks what current research can tell us about soil health, crops, earthworms, bacteria, nutrient cycling, and agricultural yields. Because many effects remain uncertain, the episode distinguishes evidence from open questions while exploring the difficult balance between the benefits of agricultural plastics and their potential risks to food security.

Episode Guests: Dr. Xuejun Liu and Dr. Kai Wang

More information about Dr. Xuejun Liu and Dr. Kai Wang here

Sino-UK agricultural plastics project link

More information about the episode and the Plastic Podcast

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, written, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Tadeo Cabellos 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bottled water exposes plastic’s deepest tensions. In this crossover from Something in the Water, host Dr. Elena Berg speaks with anti-plastic activist Malia Elder and plastics researcher Dr. Sherri Mason about bottled water, packaging, environmental racism, and microplastics in drinking water. They examine how plastic particles reach bottled and tap water, why filters or bottled alternatives do not solve the larger problem, and how production, consumption, and waste create unequal burdens. The conversation supports safe, trusted tap water while confronting the environmental footprint of single-use plastic bottles.

Episode Guests: Dr. Sherri Mason and Malia Elder

Find more information about Dr. Mason here and browse her publications on Research Gate.

More information about the episode and Something in the Water here.

Episode transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted by Elena Berg

Written and produced by Elena Berg and Clark Marchese

Audio Editing by Clark Marchese

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chemical recycling is useful, but not a cure-all. Chemical engineer Dr. Julia Vogel of Germany’s Federal Environment Agency breaks down solvolysis, pyrolysis, liquefaction, and gasification, including what each process does and what it produces. She compares chemical recycling with mechanical recycling while explaining why the two are designed for different inputs and outcomes. The episode examines energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, technical limits, and the circumstances in which chemical recycling might supplement other forms of plastic waste management.

Episode Guests: Dr. Julia Vogel

More information about Dr. Julia Vogel here

More information about the German Federal Environmental Agency and Chemical Recycling here.

Find Dr. Vogel’s article on chemical recycling here

More information about the episode and the Plastic Podcast

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, written, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Tadeo Cabellos 

Trivia Question: Which of the following is an active volcano on Antarctica

1. Mount Terror
2. Mount Erebus
3. Mount Everest
4. Mount Murphy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plastic production carries a hidden climate cost. Sustainability researcher Dr. Livia Cabernard explains how greenhouse gas emissions accumulate across the plastic lifecycle, with particular attention to coal-powered manufacturing and the movement of production into carbon-intensive economies. Revealing how consumption in wealthier countries can outsource plastic production emissions elsewhere shows why downstream waste statistics tell only part of the story. This episode connects plastic and climate change through plastic lifecycle emissions, global supply chains, and the policy choices that shape production.

Episode Guests: Dr. Livia Cabernard

More information about Livia Cabernard here

Find Dr. Cabernard’s article on plastic and emissions here

Find more of Dr. Cabernard’s articles here.

More information about the episode and the Plastic Podcast

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, written, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Tadeo Cabellos 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plastic poetry makes an invisible crisis personal. Poet and author Allison Cobb discusses Plastic: An Autobiography, a work that connects plastic with war, wildlife, industry, waste, and the intimate details of everyday life. Their conversation explores how environmental literature can hold scientific, historical, political, and emotional truths at once. This episode offers a creative route into plastic pollution, showing how poetry and environmental storytelling can reveal relationships that conventional environmental communication often misses.

Episode Guests: Allison Cobb

More information about Allison Cobb here

Find Allison’s book, Plastic: An Autobiography here

More information about the episode and the Plastic Podcast

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, written, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Tadeo Cabellos 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plastic waste crosses borders, but its burdens do not. Environmental policy researcher Dr. Danny Marks and sustainability expert Dr. Chen Hui Ling speak about the multibillion-dollar global plastic waste trade. Using Thailand and Malaysia as case studies, they examine why wealthy countries export plastic waste, how financial incentives sustain the system, and why receiving communities bear unequal environmental and social costs. The episode connects plastic pollution in Southeast Asia with environmental justice and the policies needed to make producers and exporting countries more accountable.

Episode Guests: Dr. Danny Marks and Dr. Hui Ling

Find Dr. Marks’ publications on Research Gate

Find Dr. Chen Hui Ling’s publications on Research Gate

More information about the episode and the Plastic Podcast

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, written, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. 

Theme music by Tadeo Cabellos 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.