Plant People

New episodes coming March 10, 2025!

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. 

Recent Episodes
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Recent Reviews
  • ghelleb
    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 interesting information.
  • DC of VT
    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 Garden offers local and global plant people. I’m excited to listen to all of it and to visit NYBG this year.
  • Rita Pierson
    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 environment and our health in a variety of ways. They host a variety of interesting and informative guests, and it’s always an informative and engaging listen.
  • Pxx23
    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 blueberry industry. But the story doesn’t go back far enough. Native peoples did not somehow invent the use of fires. In my home state of Alaska, the vast majority of fires are not human caused but results of hundreds of lightning strikes every year. The genius of native peoples is the observation of plant growth and change after a lightning strike. Imagine the result on a native tribe of doubling, tripling blueberry yields 2-3 years after a fire. Keen observations over many years probably led to the connection between lightening, fire And blueberries. It would be hundreds of years before scientists realized fire releases nutrients, kills blueberry pests, removes plant competitors, improves pollinator habitats, and more. But it all begins with lightning and some very astute indigenous observers/stewards of the land. Making those connections is not easy. It would be interesting to hear your guest talk about lightning in his ancestral history.
  • LuluBaggins
    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 episode and am ready for more! Kudos to the amazing Jen Bernstien and her team at the NYBG. Thanks for helping to bring out my inner plant person!
  • botanicalk
    Looking Forward to Future Episodes
    I enjoyed the very first podcast , and I look forward to hearing Jennifer Bernstein interview more of the amazing people who make NYBG the botanical center of excellence that it is!
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