nektonmissionpodcast, Author at Catch Our Drift

Episode 10 – Deep Sea Mining

DEEP SEA MINING

This is the final episode of this season of Catch Our Drift and it’s all about the deep ocean, and whether we should be mining it?

Not so long ago, people genuinely thought the deep ocean was a vast void space empty of life. But as scientists have explored deeper, it’s become clear that there’s life all the way down to the very greatest depths many miles beneath the waves. And there are also great mineral riches down there. And there are plans in the pipeline for mining the seabed. Dr Diva Amon tells us more about what is at the very bottomof the ocean and why this remote, unseen part of th planet matters to us all. And we ask Gerard Baron, Chairman and CEO of the The Metals Company, about his company’splans to open the world’s first deep seabed mines.

CONTRIBUTORS

DR DIVA AMON

Dr Diva Amon is deep sea biologist from Trinidad. She has led scientific expeditions to the deep ocean all across the world, is a Nat Geo Emerging Explorer and a World Economic Forum Friend of Ocean Action among many things. She is brilliantly placed to tell us all about our sea beds and why they matter to us all.

GERARD BARRON

Gerard Barron is one of the people leading the way towards launching sea bed mining. His company, The Metals Company is one of the leading companies pushing hard to begin exploting the seabed, the last vast frontier on the planet and open the world’s first deep seabed mines.

Episode 9 – Literature

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LITERATURE

This week on Catch our Drift we’re diving into the language, words and stories of the seas. Since time immemorial, people have been inspired by the ocean, to imagine and understand what lies beneath the waves, and to build connections to this vital place by finding words and stories that speak of the ocean and why it all matters.

CONTRIBUTORS

MANCHÁN MAGAN

Film maker, writer and connoisseur of the Irish language, Manchan Magan joins us to talk about his latest project, Sea Tamagotchi. He has travelled the coastal roads of Ireland, seeking out sea words, maritime terms and coastal customs in an effort to preserve them.

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MONIQUE ROFFEY

Monique Roffey, author of the Costa Book prize winning novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch, joins us to talk about her captivating version of the universal tale of people who span the boundary between ocean and land, being part human, part fish.

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KIRTI RAMESH

Kirti Ramesh is a marine biologist whose PhD focussed on shell formation in the blue mussel and the effects of climate change on shellfish. She wanted to find a wider audience for her research so turned her work into a captivating illustrated children’s book. She tells us why she did this

Episode 8 – Space

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SPACE

This week on Catch Our Drift, we are exploring the parallel realms of Outer Space and Inner Space as we gaze at the stars and also turn our eyes downwards to contemplate the vast ocean depths.

We’re delighted to be joined by astronaut and aquanaut Kathy Sullivan – the only woman to have walked both in space and descend to the ocean’s greatest depth. Who better to tell us about both worlds? Fabien Cousteau shares his plans to build Proteus, the ocean’s equivalent of the International Space Station, an underwater habitat that will enable aquanauts to live on the seabed for weeks at a time. And ice cream seller turned oceanographer Craig Donlon discusses his work at the European Space Station monitoring the impacts of climate change on our ocean from space.

CONTRIBUTORS

KATHY SULLIVAN

Astronaut and aquanaut Kathy Sullivan is the only woman on the planet who has been to space and to the deepest part of the ocean. She joined NASA in the first cohort of female astronauts and went on to be Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, under President Obama and was part of President’s Biden’s transition team. She tells s us why it matters that we push the boundaries of exploration.

DR CRAIG DONLON

Oceanographer Craig Donlon has been engaged in Earth observation and oceanography for over 25 years. He trained as oceanographer and now works for the European Space Agency tracking the impacts of climate change on the ocean.

FABIEN COUSTEAU

Fabien Cousteau has dreamed for years of building a modern underwater habitat. In 2014 Fabien and his crew spent 31 days living and working at the last habitable underwater facility, Aquarius, off the coast of Florida. Aquarius is now over 30 years old. Fabien has a bold new vision, Proteus, an advanced underwater laboratory research station and habitat that will allow scientists and observers to live under the sea for weeks or potentially months on end – an underwater International Space Station.

Episode 7 – Music

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MUSIC

Our ocean is the largest biome on earth making up over 95% of the space for life on the planet. And where there is life there is sound. This week on Catch Our Drift we are talking about the sound of the ocean, listening to music inspired by the ocean and asking what musicians can be doing to highlight the plight of our ocean. We’ll be hearing from Lauren Sullivan and Adam Gardner about the inspirational work they are doing uniting musicians such as Jack Johnson and Billie Eilish and their fans to tackle the environmental impact of touring. Explorer, scientist, musician and DJ Ben Mirin explains what we can learn from the health of our ocean and acoustic ecologist and musician Cosmo Sheldrake shares his favourite ocean sounds with us.

CONTRIBUTORS

COSMO SHELDRAKE

Cosmo Sheldrake is described as a musical visionary, writing love letters to the natural world. He’s a music producer, multi instrumentalist and a composer for film and theatre. He’s recently produced an extraordinary sonic journey through the ocean.

Cosmo’s Ocean Soundscape

BEN MIRIN

Ben Mirin is the creator and host of the TV series Wild Beats, he was the first artist in residence at New York’s Bronx Zoo. He’s part scientist, artist, musical artist, explorer and DJ working on the frontlines of our changing planet. He records the sounds of the ocean for research and then samples their music to inspire conservation.

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REVERB - DAVID AND LAUREN

Reverb was founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband Adam Gardner. Lauren was seeing the power musicians could bring to environmental campaigns and Adam was horrified by the size of his band’s environmental footprint on tour. Reverb was born to partner musicians, festivals, and venues to green their concerts whilst engaging fans face-to-face at shows to take environmental and social action… Jack Johnson, The 1975, Pink and The Lumineers have all signed up.

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Episode 6 – Seaspiracy & Eating Fish?

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SEASPIRACY & EATING FISH?

Have you watched Seaspiracy on Netflix? Love it or loathe it, it has certainly got people talking about the issue of overfishing…. Many have now pledged to give up eating fish, others are outraged by what they see as inaccuracies and misrepresentation of the issues around fishing and sustainability. So of course, we have to talk about it on a longer then normal Catch Our Drift. We’ll be discussing the film and also about some of the most inspiring and innovating sustainable fishing stories we have found from around the globe.

CONTRIBUTORS

ALEX ROGERS

Alex Rogers is Professor of Marine Science at Oxford University, advisor to Blue Planet II, he’s lead dozens of expeditions at sea and published hundreds of Scientific papers. He’s author of The Deep, The Hidden Wonders of our Oceans and How we can Protect them. He was the founding Scientific Director and Trustee of Nekton and now the Scientific Director of Rev Ocean. Who better to talk to us about the issues raised in the film?

SERGE RAEMAEKERS

Serge Raemakers is the founder of Abalobi, a South African based social enterprise with global reach. It’s a mobile app which helps thriving, equitable and sustainable small scale fishing communities in Africa and beyond.

DAVID SHOSHOLA

David is a small scale fisherman from Lambert’s Bay, north of Cape Town whose life has been transformed by working with Serge and the Abalobi app.

CHEF BUN LAI

Chef Bun is credited with running the world’s first sustainable sushi restaurant, Miya’s in New Haven, Connecticut. There is no seafood on his menu that was caught or farmed in a detrimental way. He has reinvented sushi to promote ethical eating and only serves invasive species, that are abundant and ecologically destructive on his menu.

Miya’s Sushi

MITCH TONKS

Mitch is a leading proponent of sustainable seafood in the UK. In his restaurants he focusses on locally-caught fish. If you visit any of his restaurants his staff will be able to tell you where the seafood on your plate was caught, and sometimes even which fishing vessel it came from.

Rockfish Restaurant / Seahorse Restaurant

Cath Our Drift Podcast, Episode 5, with Jason Fox, Bhakti Sharma and Dr Jo Garrett

Episode 5 – Health

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HEALTH

This week it’s all about the ocean and health and we have three incredible guests joining us.

We’re talking mental health with Jason Fox – former UK Special Forces Marine Commando and now TV presenter and mental health campaigner. Bhakti Sharma from Rajasthan in India has swum in all five oceans and eight seas and holds the world record for the longest swim in Antarctic waters – she tells us about the inspirational power of open water swimming and finally we dive into the science with Dr Jo Garrett to explore why being by the sea – and in fact all blue spaces – is good for health and well being.

CONTRIBUTORS

JASON FOX

Jason Fox is best known as the author of Battle Scars and Life Under Fire and as a TV presenter on Channel 4’s SAS Who Dares Wins. He spent 20 years as a Royal Marine Commando in the Special Forces working in counter terrorism, as a combat swimmer, hostage rescue and demolitions expert. Jason has been a campaigning force in raising awareness of mental health issues and co-founded Rock to Recovery, supporting veterans and their families dealing with PTSD. On leaving the military, Jason and four friends rowed across the Atlantic from continent to continent the long way. He tells us about this gruelling journey and how it helped him recover from his own PTSD.

BHAKTI SHARMA

Bhakti Sharma knows all too well the health benefits of swimming. She grew up in Jaipur in Rajasthan where she learned to swim at the age of two. But it wasn’t until she was 14 that she swam in the ocean for the first time. Since then she has swum in all five oceans of the world, she crossed the English Channel more than once, she swam around the Alcatraz rock and San Francisco Bay. And she was the first Asian woman and the youngest to set a record for swimming in the extreme conditions of the sea around Antarctica, breaking previous records.

DR. JO GARRETT

Dr Jo Garrett’s research at the University of Exeter is focussed on the interactions between human health, wellbeing and nature with a particular focus on blue spaces such as the coast. Jo chats to us about the science she has carried out to prove that we really do feel better when we are by the sea.

Episode 4 – Art

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ART

On Catch Our Drift this week Helen and Oliver are talking all about art – how art can inspire and challenge our perceptions of the ocean, our planet and ourselves and also be a driver for conservation and change. They are talking to some influential artists who are leading the way, showing us how art is not only something to enjoy and ignite people’s imagination, but it can also create spaces out in the real world where conservation takes place.

CONTRIBUTORS

JASON DECAIRES TAYLOR

Environmentalist and artist Jason deCaires Taylor creates underwater sculptures and installations that help restore equilibrium to deteriorating marine ecosystems. His beautiful and hard hitting installations integrate his skills as artist, marine conservationist, photographer and scuba diver.

Cannes Underwater Museum

“Crossing the Rubicon” Canary Islands.

MARKUS REYMANN

Markus Reymann – set up the Ocean Space in Venice to inspire both ocean imagination and action. Based in the San Lorenzo church , the biggest exhibition space by volume in Venice, the museum is dedicated to scientific, academic and artistic engagement with the ocean encouraging collective action on the most pressing issues facing the ocean today. He talks to us about the powerful actions that can result when scientists and artists come together.

JOAN JONAS

Visionary artist Joan Jonas is a true original whose multimedia approach to art has had a groundbreaking impact on the world of video and performance. Her work retells fairy tales and myths from a fresh perspective, creating emotional and visual landscapes which tune into our subconscious experience of the world. Her exhibition at The Ocean Space investigated the current state of the sea’s vast ecosystem through video,drawing, sound and spoken word. She joins us on the pod to talk about how the ocean has inspired her work.

Joan Jonas, TBA21–Academy. Photo: Nicolò Miana.

Graphic of Catch Our Drift Episode 2 Guests, Nico Rosberg, Miranda Merron and Alenka Artnik

Episode 2 – Sport

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SPORT

This week on Catch Our Drift we are focussing on the ocean and sport. Oliver and Helen are interviewing some of the world’s greats about their relationship with the ocean. Formula One champion Nico Rosberg tells us about his new sustainable racing venture, Extreme E, and his own drive to improve the planet. We talk to Miranda Merron from the middle of the Atlantic as she races in the solo round the world yacht race, the Vendée Globe and World Freediving Champion Alenka Artnik tells us about how it feels to be diving alone on just a single breath of air at tremendous depth.

CONTRIBUTORS

MIRANDA MERRON

Professional sailor Miranda Merron started crewing for her father in international sailing events at the age of 9. After a career in advertising she became a professional sailor in 1998 and has competed in some of the world’s most challenging and prestigious events. In Nov 2020 she set sail on the Everest of the seas, the Vendee Globe, a solo nonstop around the world sailing race. We catch up with her in the Atlantic.

ALENKA ARTNIK

World Freediving Champion, Alenka Artnik, took her first freedive at the age of 30. Just 8 years later she had broken a world record for diving at depths with no oxygen. She finds a peace and tranquility underwater that she cannot find on the surface. The Slovenian diver is now the 2 world titles with her eyes on more.

NICO ROSBERG

Former F1 racing World Champion and sustainability entrepreneur Nico Rosberg chats to Helen and Oliver about his latest venture to drive awareness and inspire action in the fight against climate change . He is founder and CEO of Rosberg Xtreme Racing in the new electric off road racing series Extreme E.