Peter Dykstra and Host Bobby Bascomb take a trip beyond the headlines to acknowledge the growing popularity of plant-based meat alternatives like the Impossible Burger. Then, they discuss the ongoing Keystone XL pipeline protests. Finally, the two look at the anniversary of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act of 1984.

The tropical rainforests of the world are lush habitats home to thousands of different species, and their birds have evolved a tremendous variety of adaptations, from intricate courtship rituals to massive horned bills for cracking nuts. But as BirdNote’s Michael Stein reports, most rainforests birds do have at least one thing in common: their plumage.

A century of fire suppression has turned much of the West into a tinderbox. Prescribed fire could help bring nature back in balance, but it’s currently far more common in the Southeast than in the West, where it’s sorely needed, says Pyrogeographer Crystal Kolden of the University of Idaho. She joins Host Steve Curwood to talk about the opportunities to get communities involved in prescribed burns, and the challenges of building fire-resilient communities.

Gunung Palung National Park on the island of Borneo is home to diverse species found nowhere else, and beloved by the people who live on the Indonesian island. But like many people who live near tropical forests, they have at times had to resort to illegal logging to pay for healthcare. Now the nonprofit Health in Harmony is providing healthcare that patients can pay for with a simple trade of labor, seedlings or manure, so that no one ever has to log to pay cash for essential health services. Founder Kinari Webb and Host Bobby Bascomb discuss the importance of listening to what forest communities say they need in order to stop logging.

California communities nestled among the forested foothills of the Sierras are vulnerable to wildfire, and some communities are taking steps to reduce their risk. Nathanael Johnson, a senior writer for Grist, witnessed a neighborhood burn squad in action in his hometown of Nevada City, California, and he tells host Steve Curwood about the potential benefits, and risks, of these community-driven controlled burns.

Rainforests are a crucial ecosystem when it comes to fostering biodiversity, providing carbon sequestration, and even protecting human health. Researchers recently found that a 10% increase in deforestation in the world's rainforest is linked with a 3.3% increase in the number of malaria cases worldwide. Living on Earth's Don Lyman reports.

Pope Francis recently called the bishops of the Amazon to Rome for a synod to bring them together with lay members of the indigenous community to address human rights, climate change and deforestation. And there is such an acute shortage of priests in Latin America, the synod ended up calling for allowing priests to marry and the ordination of women as deacons to have a more effective response to the Amazon crisis. Father Thomas Reese, author of Inside the Vatican, joins Host Steve Curwood to discuss.