Episode
The Bittersweet Past: The Listening Planet (with Martyn Stewart)
- Podcast
- The Bittersweet Life
- Published
- Jul 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2769
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Summary
What does it take to capture the sounds of the world's rich and diverse wildlife? On this extraordinary interview from our archives, we are joined by sound and nature recordist Martyn Stewart. Stewart has one of the largest collections of natural sounds in the world, having recorded more than 90,000 different sounds in more than 55 different countries for a total of over 60,000 hours of natural sounds. Stunningly, Martyn reveals that two thirds of what he has recorded is now extinct. He talks about what inspired him as a young child to be a nature recordist, and explains you how to open your ears to discover the sounds of the creatures around you. He also talks about what we can do, as ordinary citizens of earth, to lessen the constant encroachment of humans on the natural habitats of the world. This unforgettable conversation might just make you think differently about the world, and who you are in it. All through the episode, Katy uses her brilliant sound-editing skills to weave a backdrop of Martyn's nature sounds to accompany their fascinating conversation. Learn more about Martyn and follow his journeys at his website, The Listening Planet . *** The Bittersweet Life podcast has been on the air for an impressive 10+ years! In order to help newer listeners discover some of our earlier episodes, every Friday we are now airing an episode from our vast archives ! Enjoy!*** ------------------------------------- COME TO ROME WITH US: Our 4th annual Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure is taking place this year from 1 to 7 November 2026! If you'd like to be part of an intimate group of listeners on a magical and unforgettable journey to Rome, discovering the city with us as your guides, find out more here . AD-FREE LISTENING: After well over 10 years on the air with little-to…