Circle of Voices

About Circle of Voices

Circle of Voices is a podcast produced by the sound artist, documentarist and anthropologist Louise Romain. She creates immersive audio documentaries and sound journeys based on her travels; short stories and interviews with inspirational change-makers, disruptors, innovators, and Indigenous leaders from global events. She is also exploring multi-species storytelling, bringing bioacoustics to a wider audience. Tune in if you are into podcasts that cover: policy, governance, sustainability, nature, ecology, biodiversity, conservation, ocean, Indigenous rights, anthropology, documentary, travel.

Publisher

Louise Romain

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Oct 2022

Latest episode

4 Oct 2025

Latest episodes

15 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Oct 2025

   Ocean news flash - High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) and World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

   Louise Romain discusses the High Seas Treaty and the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which both aim to restore ocean health and protect biodiversity beyond national boundaries.

2. 

   9 Jul 2025

   30 Voices from the UN Ocean Conference 2025 - Part 3: World Ocean Voices at UNOC3

   Louise Romain interviews Tara Pierce, Emilie McGlone, Néfur, Azzedine Badis, José Lobo, Bodhi Patil, Maite Mompó, Sam Lee, Michael Stewart, Hajaniaina Ratsimbazafy, and Jane Lawton, who share achievements, criticisms, and doubts regarding human rights, peace, and climate justice at the UN Ocean Conference.

3. 

   23 Jun 2025

   30 Voices from the UN Ocean Conference 2025 - Part 2: Women Ocean Voices at UNOC3

   Louise Romain interviews Cecilia Sevillano, Antoinette Vermilye, Michaela Girvan, and other women leaders involved in ocean law, policy, science, and the arts, highlighting the gender gap in ocean governance and finance.

4. 

   17 Jun 2025

   30 Voices from the UN Ocean Conference 2025 - UNOC3 Ocean Voices

   Podcast producer Louise Romain presents a collection of international voices from the UN Ocean Conference, discussing topics such as deep sea mining, plastic pollution, and ocean justice in this interview episode.

5. 

   1 Jun 2025

   From reef to ridge: an immersive sound journey to the Caribbean

   Sound artist Louise Romain presents an audio documentary exploring Caribbean coastal communities' experiences and the work of Blue Indigo Foundation marine biologists in reef restoration, highlighting their dreams and challenges related to climate change.

6. 

   23 Jan 2025

   Interspecies Song #1 - Ode to birds & waters

   This piece was created as a commission for an event for climate activists in London. I called it an interspecies song as it weaves together the beauty of bird song, flowing river and human voices... The birds recordings come from London (UK), Tumbira (Brasilian Amazon) and Felidia (Valle del Cauca, Colombia). The river being is the Athabasca that runs through Alberta, Canada. 🎶 The songs and harmonies were recorded during a water ceremony in January 2024, held at a well that goes under the Royal Court of Justice in London. Activists and water protectors gathered as the court case around the Stonehenge extension road and tunnel was about to start (for the second time), threatening the sacred spring of Blickmead. This was convened by Charlotte Pulver and Sam Lee. 🐦 Key birds identified thanks to the app Merlin Bird ID (developed by Cornell Lab): - Eurasian Wren, European Robbin, Great Tit, Eurasian Blackbird (UK) - Great Kiskadee, Yellow-rumped Cacique (Brasil and Colombia) - Tropical Kingbird, Palm Tanager, Roadside Hawk, Yellow-Headed Caraca, Clay-colored Thrush (Colombia) Sound recording, editing and production: Louise Romain

7. 

   7 Nov 2024

   Danielle Frank - Freeing the Klamath River

   Tune in for this short story celebrating the resilience of wild river beings and the power of Indigenous frontline defence. Danielle Frank comes from the Hupa and Yurok Tribes, commonly known as Northern California. She attended various UN Conventions over the years, but she came to the Biodiversity COP16 in Cali, Colombia, with a particular story to share: the restoration process of the Klamath river through the largest dam removal in world history. After generations of advocacy by local Indigenous Nations, including her family members, the river now runs free and the salmon are returning home for the first time in over a century. Tune in for this short story celebrating the resilience of Indigenous frontline defence. I also ask Danielle about what the finds most challenging attending COP (Conference of the Parties) as an Indigenous youth, and her thoughts on solidarity and allyship. "The solution is going back to the sacred, going back to the lands that provide for everybody, to communities that provide for all, not this one percent that controls our entire planet. [...] The goal is community and investment in each other." Interview, sound design and production: Louise Romain. About Ríos to Rivers: https://www.riostorivers.org/

8. 

   15 Oct 2024

   On Secwepemcúl’ecw

   In the summer of 2022, I travelled across Canada on a quest to gather sounds and stories of resilience and resistance, as we journey through times of collapse and crisis. I met Tamara Archie in Tk'emlúps (Kamloops) in the semi-arid part of British Columbia, Western Canada. She works for Qwelmínte Secwépemc and shares here some of her wisdom about being in right relation to the land. Qwelmínte Secwépemc is a collective of leadership from eight Secwépemc communities working together with the B.C. Government to move forward via the Qwelmínte Secwépemc Government to Government table. Find out more: www.qwelminte.ca/about-us (https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.qwelminte.ca%2Fabout-us&token=7e632f-1-1725212704999) Interview, atmospheric recordings and production: Louise Romain. Other credits: Holizna CO (Dreams) from the Free Music Archive and Heartbeat Fast Tempo by CTCollab -freesound.org/s/223614/ (https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffreesound.org%2Fs%2F223614%2F&token=ab6fe-1-1725212704999) - License: Attribution 3.0. Visit www.tuneintotheworld.com (https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tuneintotheworld.com&token=21de63-1-1725212704999) to learn more about my work.

9. 

   5 Feb 2024

   Ascoltaci (Listen to us)

   When ambient electronic music meets spoken word... I wrote this poem while attending the international symposium on soundscape in Lugano, Switzerland, in October 2023. The theme was looking at how sound creations and listening practices can help us shape better futures for human and more-than-human life. The musical accompaniment was a spontaneous creation offered by my friend Andy Squiff -photographer, graphic designer and sound producer. Lyrics: Ascoltaci (Listen to us) Lisssstening... with our hearts wide open. We are here to dream of sonic futures with a reverence for life. We are here to re-imagine the rewilding of our ears. We are here to get lost soundscapes yet to find each other. Streaming from different localities, we embarked on a quest seeking the humming of the land, the hissing of the skies and the clicking in the waters. In our rush for birdsongs going extinct, so much quicker than we can grasp, we hush. Trying to make sense of the evermore silence of our biosphere while our everyday seems to get louder and louder. The storms we play on tape echo the cataclysmic challenges of our times. Meanwhile our clever machines try to capture what defies our hearing range: the ultra, the infra, the invisible, the beyond, the below and the between. We have even designed artificial intelligences that are starting to decode the languages of bees and bats. Our cables plugged into secretive mycelium and our hydrophones intruding rock pools and ponds, We are the gifted curators of the polyphony of our Mother. Yet, as a species, we have created so much noise that we can't seem to truly listen when her children cry and scream and die. But some of us do. Those who haven't let go of a sense of wonder for this beautiful and complex world. Those of us who pay attention to frequencies and vibrations. Those of us who attempt to make the planet’s gentlest voices heard despite our physical limitations. And so our dreams grow bigger and our acoustic calls reach further: we listen, we listen, we listen. What do you hear, child of the Earth?

10. 

    3 Jan 2024

    At the heart of COP15 - Part 2

    One year ago, a historic agreement was adopted by 196 countries at COP15: the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). What was so special about it? And what happened since then? In this second episode, I invite you to lend an ear to Indigenous leaders, to the finance sector and businesses present at the conference. I also share some insights on the (slow) progress and some of the positive developments since the adoption of the GBF. Listen here for part 1: At the heart of COP15 - Part 1 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0qUG2YHWc3PDUEiq9KEKoQ?si=ff3eab70baf4426a). Voices featured in this episode: * Viviana Figueroa / Omaguaca-Kolla, Argentina / international public lawyer, Associate Programme Officer for the Convention on Biological Diversity (2009 - 2018) * Jennifer Tauli Corpuz / Kankana-ey Igorot, Philippines / Senior Global Policy and Advocacy Lead, Nia Tero * Ramson Karmushu / Maasai, Kenya / Field and Logistics Officer, Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation (IMPACT) * Joji Cariño / Ibaloi-Igorot, Philippines / Senior Policy Advisor, Forest Peoples Programme * A representative from the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation * Eva Zabey, CEO of Business for Nature 🎵 Live music from a COP15 concert with original songs by Kellylee Evans (https://www.kellyleeevans.com/) 'Everything', 'Greenlight' and 'Feel my love' and musicians Steeve Boudreau, Ed Lister and Chris Palm. Others songs by Holizna Co (Ugly Truth, Foggy Headed, Old Age, Chills) and Wax Lyricist (Indulgence) from the Free Music Archive (https://freemusicarchive.org/). Recordings, script and production by Louise Romain. Visit www.tuneintotheworld.com (www.tuneintotheworld.com) to learn more about my work. Sources: - International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity: https://iifb-indigenous.org/2023/11/13/agenda-item-7-joint-programme-of-work-on-the-links-between-biological-and-culturaldiversity-review-and-update-of-the-four-adopted-traditional-knowledge-indicators/ (https://iifb-indigenous.org/2023/11/13/agenda-item-7-joint-programme-of-work-on-the-links-between-biological-and-culturaldiversity-review-and-update-of-the-four-adopted-traditional-knowledge-indicators/) - Finance for Biodiversity Foundation: https://www.financeforbiodiversity.org/celebrating-10-new-finance-for-biodiversity-pledge-signatories-on-the-one-year-anniversary-of-the-gbf/ (https://www.financeforbiodiversity.org/celebrating-10-new-finance-for-biodiversity-pledge-signatories-on-the-one-year-anniversary-of-the-gbf/) https://www.financeforbiodiversity.org/ffb-foundation-launched-the-nature-target-setting-framework-for-asset-managers-and-asset-owners/ (https://www.financeforbiodiversity.org/ffb-foundation-launched-the-nature-target-setting-framework-for-asset-managers-and-asset-owners/) - UNEP report: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/global-annual-finance-flows-7-trillion-fueling-climate-biodiversity (https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/global-annual-finance-flows-7-trillion-fueling-climate-biodiversity) - 2023 report, World Benchmarking Alliance: https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/publication/nature/ (https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/publication/nature/) To go deeper: - About the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF): https://www.cbd.int/gbf/ (https://www.cbd.int/gbf/) - One year anniversary KMGBF: https://www.cbd.int/article/one-year-kmgbf (https://www.cbd.int/article/one-year-kmgbf) - Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures: https://tnfd.global/ (https://tnfd.global/)

11. 

    10 Oct 2023

    New York Climate Week 2023 Teaser

    Each year in September, people gather on Lenapehoking - the ancestral territory of the Lenape people - to attend the New York Climate Week. But this year was quite special... Are you curious to hear more from people turning the tides for climate justice? This teaser features Tzeporah Berman at an event hosted by WECAN (Women's Earth and Climate Action Network) speaking about the progress of the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty campaign: https://fossilfueltreaty.org/ The music are street recordings of the saxophonist Lewis Jordan and of the brass band Rude Mechanical Orchestra. Recorded and produced by Louise Romain in September 2023.

12. 

    1 May 2023

    Immersion #1: Sound journey through Brasil

    In 2022, I traveled to Brazil at the time of the national elections. I went with the intention to record sounds and stories of resistance and resilience, in times of collapse and crisis. I created this sound journey to bring you on the road with me... I will guide you through some of the country's most iconic landscapes, from the Coast of Bahia to the heart of the Amazon, sharing songs and prayers from the Pataxó people, bringing you the entrancing chant of the Yoruba ocean goddess Yemanja, and even get you involved into Brasilian politics. This sound journey was originally created for a performance at the event Sing for Earth Day (https://www.singforearthday.co.uk/) on April 22nd 2023 in Stroud, UK. It features songs from the Pataxó communities of Barra Velha and Porto do Boi (in Bahia) and a displaced community in Paraty. The song 'Yemanja' was recorded in Salvador, as part of the Balé Folclórico da Bahia. Recordings, script and composition: Louise Romain / Sound editing: Rory Thomas Lawton.

13. 

    28 Mar 2023

    Toxic threat for the Amazon of the North

    In this special episode created for the podcast show RAVEN Debriefs⁠ (https://raventrust.podbean.com/), I bring together recordings from the Athabasca river with voices from Indigenous land & water protectors and members of the Canadian organisation 'Keepers of the Water'. After decades of extracting bitumen (a thicky form of crude oil) in Northern Alberta, the toxic wastewater from the mining activities is starting to become a problem... But the federal and provincial governments of Canada, together with industry, have a solution: they want to change domestic law to legalize the release of the tailings ponds (the residual wastewater from the mining operations) into the Athabasca river. This river directly feeds into the Mackenzie River Basin, which is known as the Amazon of the North: the largest watershed in Canada and the most intact large scale ecosystem on the continent. 🎤 Hear from Melody Lepine, Tori Cress, Daniel T’seleie and Paul Belanger, as they all shared their concerns as part of a press conference at the latest UN biodiversity conference -COP15- last December in Tio'tià:ke, Montreal. The press conference organised by Environmental Defence Canada and Keepers of the Water. 🐦 The more-than-human voices are the Athabasca river* and various animals recordings provided by the sound library of the Yellowstone National Park, as many species are also endemic to the Wood Buffalo National Park, of which: red-winged blackbird, Wilson's snipe, warbling vireo, bald eagle, western meadow lark, common loon, savannah sparrow, sandhill crane, bison and wolves. https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/soundlibrary.htm What can you do to support? 1. https://www.keepersofthewater.ca/tar-sands-tailings-ponds 2. https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/122490/action/1 Music credits by Holizna CC0, Soft and Furious, and Loyalty Freak through the Free Music Archive. *Recorded in August and December 2022, produced in March 2023 by Louise Romain. /Additional info about organisations involved/ - The Canadian organisation ⁠RAVENTrust⁠ (https://raventrust.com/) raises funds for Indigenous People's access to justice. - Environmental Defence (https://environmentaldefence.ca/2022/12/02/four-lessons-from-the-science-letter-sent-to-minister-guilbeault-concerning-toxic-tailings/⁠) is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

14. 

    7 Feb 2023

    At the heart of COP15 - Part 1

    In this episode, I bring you behind the walls of the Palais des Congrès in Tio'tià:ke (Montréal) where the 15th Conference of the Parties #COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity took place. For two weeks, representatives from civil society, business, finance and politicians from 196 countries gathered to agree on a global biodiversity framework: a strategic plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. In my show, I deliberately feature the voices of youth, women and Indigenous peoples. In this episode, you will hear from: * Elisabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the CBD * Aishwarya Puttur, youth climate justice organiser with Mock COP (https://www.facebook.com/MockCOP26/?__cft__[0]=AZWNGOFxihZOyj8UDHa5_5sG989nGW-FgR5jC2qwTLXCJYsRAhDWWxKnI5182W23YrZkxQTOfb4H3Traujx_y1fJhJfGHMy2RKRlS3gsOgQzIq7HRoWKZvFizZ2zKJaGoMYtwwH2uFlpxMIJA6igq0gc&__tn__=kK-R) * Grandma Klasom Satlt'xw Losah (https://www.facebook.com/pheonixstar5858?__cft__[0]=AZWNGOFxihZOyj8UDHa5_5sG989nGW-FgR5jC2qwTLXCJYsRAhDWWxKnI5182W23YrZkxQTOfb4H3Traujx_y1fJhJfGHMy2RKRlS3gsOgQzIq7HRoWKZvFizZ2zKJaGoMYtwwH2uFlpxMIJA6igq0gc&__tn__=-]K-R), land defender and matriarch at Ada'itsx/Fairy Creek Blockade (https://www.facebook.com/FairyCreekBlockade?__cft__[0]=AZWNGOFxihZOyj8UDHa5_5sG989nGW-FgR5jC2qwTLXCJYsRAhDWWxKnI5182W23YrZkxQTOfb4H3Traujx_y1fJhJfGHMy2RKRlS3gsOgQzIq7HRoWKZvFizZ2zKJaGoMYtwwH2uFlpxMIJA6igq0gc&__tn__=-]K-R) Credits for additional materials: Melancholic Haze (https://freesound.org/s/271339/) by FoolBoyMedia, Wind in Pine Trees (https://freesound.org/s/147638/), Outro song 'Excess Charge' by Shaolin Dub. Recorded in December 2022. Composed and produced by Louise Romain. Visit www.tuneintotheworld.com (http://www.tuneintotheworld.com/) to learn more about my work.

15. 

    13 Oct 2022

    Iridescence on the Athabasca river

    A Friday afternoon, I drove out of Edmonton / Amiskwaciwâskahikan with Will Cardinal, a fierce and kind Metis man I had met a few days prior, to Whitecourt. The Athabasca river crosses widely there and I wanted to meet and witness her. We walked past a golf course and found a way to get close to the river... which happened to be at the site of a pipeline crossing.

Who has been a guest on Circle of Voices

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Tara Pierce
• Emilie McGlone
• Néfur
• Azzedine Badis
• José Lobo

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 14 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

15

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32