The Women in Ecology and Evolution Podcast

Hosted by behavioral ecologist Dr Kirsty MacLeod, The Women in Ecology and Evolution Podcast features long-form interviews with women scientists working across ecology, evolutionary biology, and organismal research. The format is simple and effective: one guest, one conversation, enough time to actually talk about the science and the scientist behind it. Guests range from early-career postdocs to senior professors, and the research covered spans animal behavior, conservation genetics, disease ecology, microbial evolution, plant-pollinator interactions, and field biology in places most of us will never visit. MacLeod asks about the work itself, how a study got off the ground, what surprised the researcher, and what the result actually means, alongside honest conversations about the realities of academic careers, fieldwork logistics, and navigating a field that still has plenty of structural problems. The show serves as both a science podcast and a quiet form of representation, giving listeners sustained exposure to researchers whose names don't always make the textbooks. Students considering graduate school in biology will find it especially useful. Episodes typically run around an hour and new ones drop irregularly as guest schedules allow.