In just over 18 months, the chart-topping Plant Based Podcast has welcomed a surge in listeners, with download figures rising by a staggering 320% since January 2020 – a milestone celebrated as the show’s fourth series comes to an end.
Its soaring popularity reflects the increasing number of people of all ages turning to nature in light of the pandemic, encouraging many to discover the joy of gardening and explore the benefits of plants in everyday life.
With 18% of Brits tuning in to podcasts each week throughout 2020 - double the number who listened in the previous two years - the Plant Based Podcast has become a “go-to” resource for a host of green-fingered listeners, providing an essential source of plant-based information, inspiration and entertainment.
The podcast, which is hosted by horticulture stars Michael Perry and Ellen Mary, celebrates the importance of plants and the many unusual ways they can be used, with each episode welcoming a passionate plant-based expert to share their knowledge and shine a spotlight on a variety of different themes.
Since its launch in 2019, the Plant Based Podcast has become one of the most popular gardening podcasts to have emerged in recent years, having consistently been featured in the top 5 podcast charts on iTunes and regularly taking the number one spot in the leisure podcast chart.
Its fourth series, sponsored by Cobra, has featured guests including comedy writer, Lynn Ferguson; investigative journalist, Nelufar Hadayat; TV presenter, Nicki Chapman; and TV presenter and food importer, Chris Bavin, amongst many others. A whole roster of topics have been explored, from growing orchids and vegan diets to plant trafficking and plant-based buildings, plus a whole lot more. It also featured regular contributions from Richard Chilvers from Sharpen Your Spades as the show’s new Allotment Agony Uncle; Joey and Katy Cook sharing their plant-based recipe of the fortnight; and Forage and Folklore with their “foraging right now feature.”
Recording for series five is already underway, with an exciting line up of guests set to spill their plant-based stories, which will launch later on this year.
Ellen Mary commented: “We are so excited to be ending series four on such a high. We can’t thank our listeners enough for downloading and listening to the podcast. We’ve been really lucky to be able to interview so many amazing names, who share our passion of plants and understanding of connecting with nature. We’re currently recording series five and have spoken to some amazing people – we are so excited to share it with our listeners soon.”
The entire of the back catalogue of the Plant Based Podcast is available to download via iTunes orSpotify, as well as on theplantbasedpodcast.net.