Alex Honnold’s Favorite Podcasts & Episodes of 2025 | Snippet / Teaser Post

EarBuds delivers five podcast episodes around a central theme, and each week it’s curated by someone new.

This is a snippet / teaser post. For the full list from Alex Honnold, see below for the link to EarBuds.

As the host of Planet Visionaries, a podcast created in partnership with The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, my appreciation for podcasts has only grown.

Here’s a selection of my favorite podcasts, which focus on my interests of climate advocacy, climbing, entrepreneurship, health, and longevity. From former CEO of Patagonia Kris Tompkins on Planet Visionaries to David Letterman on Climbing Gold, each of these conversations will hopefully leave you a more informed person.

Alex Honnold, Climber & Show Host, December 2025 EarBuds Curator

3 out of 5 of Alex’s picks are listed here. To see his whole list, go here.

In partnership with the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, I had the distinct opportunity to interview Kris Tompkins, former CEO of Patagonia and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation.

She’s a wonderful example of a leader working to build a healthier, more sustainable world for us all. Kris reflects on her path to becoming a conservationist by working to protect 15 million acres of land in Chile and Argentina.

Founders is a podcast that has taught me so much about history’s greatest entrepreneurs.

This episode focuses on James Dyson, industrial designer, farmer, and business magnate who founded the Dyson company. The story of Mr. Dyson reveals important insight into how he successfully built one of the most valuable privately-held companies in the world.

On this episode of the Rich Roll Podcast, my friend and fellow climber Emily Harrington gets vulnerable, sharing personal stories including her 50-foot fall while climbing, her battle against an eating disorder, losing an important mentor while pregnant, and how she finds inner strength while climbing.

Emily, an inspiring person and role model, was the first female professional climber to free climb El Capitan’s Golden Gate route in under 24 hours.

Alex's Full List of Podcast Picks

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2️⃣5️⃣ In Podcast The Newsletter… Lauren Passell shares a list of her favorite episodes of 2025, including one from The Dream: “…listen to Jane Marie’s conversation with Charlotte Isenberg, who at 16 became an anti-abortion spokesperson...”

✏️ From Snap Judgment, German and his family are stuck behind the walls of a rusty old pencil factory in the jungle. When a Youtuber stumbles onto the scene with a camera, he may be their only hope.

🌎Season 2 of How to Save It takes listeners on a journey to Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Rwanda. Narrated by UK broadcaster Kate Humble and Whitley Fund for Nature founder Edward Whitley, the mini series features the new conservation heroes driving remarkable outcomes for nature.

🔦New this week: EarBuds founder Arielle Nissenblatt🎧 (that’s-a-me) will share what she’s been listening to in this section.

You’ll still be able to sponsor this section, and when it’s sponsored, that will be noted and clear.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Origin Stories

Origin Stories is a wonderful interview show (purposefully designed to be ongoing) from Campside that lives in its own podcast feed and intentionally-unintentionally draws listeners to the Campside sonic universe. Host Matthew Shaer (Suspect, Over My Dead Body) interviews creators, producers, and makers from across the media world about how they got started and what goes into the making of their projects.

Episode recommendation: After seeing Nuremberg last month, I got a lot out of this conversation between Shaer and screenwriter, producer, and director James Vanderbilt. I learned about the process of adapting books into movies and I enjoyed hearing Vanderbilt parse the challenge of structuring the timeline of historical events into a film format. Origin Stories has quickly become a regular listen for me.

This segment was added after the original publish date

Fun news: turns out this issue of the newsletter got a lot of great feedback and email replies! Here’s a note that I received from reader Betsy Bush…

Did you know that Alex's mother, Dierdre Wolonick, is the oldest woman to climb El Capitan (with ropes, not free solo!)?

And that a film about her life and many accomplishments was released this year — the filmmaker was Melissa Davey, who became a filmmaker in retirement and made this film at 74. I've interviewed Melissa twice, most recently talking about “Climbing Into Life,” her film about Dierdre. Both women are truly inspiring.

Here are links to the episode:

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• Get Alex Honnold’s full list of podcast recommendations here.

Thanks for reading!

🎧Arielle Nissenblatt