Hey everyone, it’s Brandon Perry — normally behind the soundboard at Good News from Planet Earth at Soundnectar Studios. But today, stepping out from the shadows to talk about one of his absolute favorite creatures: bats.

Bats are spooky, mysterious, and completely misunderstood — but they’re also essential night-shift pollinators keeping ecosystems alive. Over 500 plant species worldwide rely on bats for pollination or seed dispersal, from bananas and mangoes to figs and agave. While bees sleep, bats swoop through the night, pollinating flowers that bloom only in the dark and even helping regenerate forests.

Here’s a spooky-good twist: without bats, your mezcal and tequila could disappear. Agave plants evolved to bloom at night, feeding the migratory lesser long-nosed bat. No bats, no pollination. No pollination, no agave reproduction — and that’s scarier than any Halloween tale! Thankfully, conservationists and farmers are protecting bats with “bat-friendly tequila,” letting them feed and pollinate naturally while supporting biodiversity.

Bats face serious threats, from habitat loss and pesticides to white-nose syndrome, but long-term monitoring, federal pollinator strategies, and protected migratory corridors are helping. Every bat that makes it through the night shift is quietly saving forests — and our favorite foods and drinks.

Of course, bats have a PR problem. They’re symbols of vampires, Halloween, and spooky nights. But in reality, they’re more like essential workers — the graveyard shift keeping ecosystems and human treats alive.

And since bats keep mezcal alive, Brandon is sharing his personal Spooky Pollinator Mezcal Cocktail at the end of the episode. Pour yourself a drink, and let’s toast to these incredible, misunderstood night-shift heroes.

So next time you see a bat silhouetted against the moon, don’t think bloodsucker. Think pollinator, forest gardener, and mezcal guardian. Cheers to the bats!

Narrated by Brandon Perry from Voiceover for the Planet.

Support the show

Good News from Planet Earth is brought to you by Voiceover for the Planet, proud members of 1% for the Planet.

Produced by Ally Murphy and Anne Cloud

Sound Designed and Mixed by Brandon Perry at Sound Nectar Studios

If you'd like a member of Voiceover for the Planet to narrate your project, email casting@voiceoverfortheplanet.com

You’re listening to Good News from Planet Earth.

For this Spooky Season of Good News, we’ve explored haunted forests and rotting pumpkins. Now, we’re going deeper — into the caves. It’s cold, damp, and dark. Drips echo in the silence, and somewhere beneath your feet, tiny pale creatures crawl through the soil. They look like something from a nightmare — but their story is surprisingly hopeful.

Meet the Coffin Cave mold beetle, one of the rarest insects on Earth. Smaller than a grain of rice, ghost-white, and eyeless, it lives deep in the limestone caves of central Texas. It feeds on tiny bits of organic matter — fungal threads, leaf litter, and droppings from other cave creatures — playing a vital role in the underground food web.

These karst caves are delicate ecosystems, home to specialized species like eyeless spiders, crustaceans, and microbes that survive only in constant darkness and stable temperatures. Even minor disruptions — filling entrances, diverting groundwater, or introducing pollutants — can threaten the entire system.

In the late 20th century, rapid suburban expansion near Austin destroyed cave entrances and changed water flow. By the 1990s, scientists feared the Coffin Cave mold beetle could vanish. It was listed on the U.S. Endangered Species List in 1988, a sign of how precarious its existence had become.

But conservation work made a difference. Today, key caves are protected, developers collaborate with conservationists, and preserves ensure karst ecosystems and groundwater remain intact. Ongoing monitoring shows the beetle is still hanging on — a reminder that even the smallest, strangest creatures matter.

Why care about a sightless beetle most people will never see? Because these cave ecosystems filter and store groundwater, recycle nutrients, and keep the land and water aboveground healthy. Protecting these tiny guardians ensures the hidden systems that sustain life remain strong.

So yes, the Coffin Cave mold beetle is pale, eyeless, and lives in darkness. It may be spooky or creepy at first glance — but it’s also a quiet, essential guardian of the underworld, keeping the planet alive in ways most of us never see.

This has been another story from our Spooky Season of Good News. Share this episode with someone who loves the hidden wonders of nature — and celebrate the tiniest heroes beneath our feet.

Narrated by Anne Cloud from Voiceover for the Planet

Support the show

Good News from Planet Earth is brought to you by Voiceover for the Planet, proud members of 1% for the Planet.

Produced by Ally Murphy and Anne Cloud

Sound Designed and Mixed by Brandon Perry at Sound Nectar Studios

If you'd like a member of Voiceover for the Planet to narrate your project, email casting@voiceoverfortheplanet.com

Welcome back to Good News from Planet Earth!

For this Spooky Season of Good News, we’re digging into the afterlife of one of Halloween’s most iconic symbols: the jack-o’-lantern. Carved into grinning faces, lit with flickering candles… and then left to slump, sag, and rot.

At first glance, that post-Halloween pumpkin seems like nothing more than trash. But in reality, how we handle pumpkin rot can have a big impact on the planet. In landfills, rotting pumpkins produce methane, a greenhouse gas about 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short term.

Here’s the good news: communities across the U.S. are turning pumpkin rot into climate heroes. Enter Pumpkin Smash events — parks, farms, and schools host gatherings where kids (and adults!) hurl old pumpkins into bins. Instead of releasing methane, the pumpkins are composted, breaking down into nutrient-rich soil that feeds worms, microbes, and future plants.

From Illinois to Massachusetts, these programs have diverted thousands of tons of pumpkins from landfills. Some farms go even further, feeding leftover pumpkins to goats and pigs, turning Halloween leftovers into a seasonal feast.

And you don’t have to wait for a community event: backyard composting, garden burial, or local farm drop-offs all give your jack-o’-lantern a good afterlife. Let it rot in a way that feeds life, not methane.

So yes, your porch pumpkin may look like a creepy mess, but handled the right way, it nourishes soil, supports future harvests, and keeps a potent greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere. Sometimes the creepiest mess can be some of the planet’s best news.

This has been another story from our Spooky Season of Good News. Share this with someone who still has a pumpkin on their steps — and help turn spooky rot into life-giving compost.

Narrated by Todd Stark from Voiceover for the Planet

Support the show

Good News from Planet Earth is brought to you by Voiceover for the Planet, proud members of 1% for the Planet.

Produced by Ally Murphy and Anne Cloud

Sound Designed and Mixed by Brandon Perry at Sound Nectar Studios

If you'd like a member of Voiceover for the Planet to narrate your project, email casting@voiceoverfortheplanet.com