Episode 2000: The Story Behind How to Protect the Ocean

Two thousand episodes. When Andrew Lewin recorded episode one of How to Protect the Ocean, he had no way of knowing it would eventually lead to TV offers, podcast hosting offers, job offers, and his current dream job. In this milestone episode, he pulls back the curtain on how it all happened.

The Accidental Start

Andrew's path into podcasting began around 2010, while he was working a day job and looking for a way to get into science communication. He tried blogging first, inspired by sites like Southern Fried Science and Deep Sea News, but writing five posts a week wasn't sustainable for him. He moved on to YouTube videos, recording in front of his fish tank after his kids went to bed, editing and posting the same night, four days a week. That schedule wore him down too.

A conversation with an old high school football teammate introduced him to podcasting, through a now largely forgotten entrepreneurship show. Andrew started listening on dog walks and realized there was no strong, consistent presence for ocean content in the podcasting space. He decided to fill that gap himself.

The Names, the Frequency, and the Grind

The show started life as Speak Up for Blue, named after what became the network site, SpeakUpForBlue.com. Andrew later renamed it Speak Up for the Ocean Blue for search engine optimization purposes, since the word "blue" alone wasn't surfacing the show for ocean-related searches.

Format and frequency shifted constantly over the years. Andrew began with weekly interviews, added solo episodes after his 10th or 11th episode, and eventually built out a Friday segment called Ocean Talk Friday with the help of Nathan Johnson, who wrote show notes and blog posts for a stretch. Frequency moved from three days a week, to seven days a week when Andrew went into podcasting full time, back down to three when he took on a job, and eventually up to five days a week, the pace that carried the show to episode 2000.

Andrew started recording in 2014 and published his first episode in 2015, after a year of hesitation driven by imposter syndrome. Across 11 years, the show has accumulated an estimated 3 million downloads. [VERIFY]

Beyond the Flagship Show

How to Protect the Ocean will always be Andrew's flagship show, but it is far from the only one he has built. He estimates he has helped launch somewhere between 20 and 25 podcasts over the years. [VERIFY]

The most notable spinoff is Beyond Jaws, a shark science podcast co-hosted with Dr. David Ebert. The show grew out of an HTPTO interview with Ebert about basking sharks that turned into hours of conversation before and after recording. Beyond Jaws has since featured shark scientists from the US, Canada, India, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Chile, and across Europe and Africa, including an episode marking the 50th anniversary of Jaws with members of what its subjects call the "Jaws generation" of shark science.

From Side Project to Dream Job

For years, podcasting existed alongside Andrew's day job, often eating into evenings and early mornings. It led to real opportunities along the way, including TV documentary appearances and a multi-year run hosting the Toronto Zoo podcast. But none of those opportunities became a full-time role until this year, when Andrew joined Pisces Oceans as their ocean communications manager, a job that finally let him stay in Ontario while working full time in ocean conservation.

A Major Announcement

Alongside the job, Andrew is announcing that How to Protect the Ocean is now officially licensed to Pisces Oceans. He frames the deal around shared mission, since both the podcast and Pisces are focused on creating ocean impact through science, strategy, and story. Practically, it means Andrew can now work on the show during his actual work hours instead of late nights, which he expects will directly improve episode quality.

The licensing deal is also opening the door to a broader Pisces podcast network, which will include How to Protect the Ocean, Beyond Jaws, the new Ocean Leaders podcast, and an upcoming season of Polar Bears and Flip Flops with Angelo Villagomez. [VERIFY]

What Comes Next

Andrew is clear that 2000 is not a stopping point. He already has episodes planned well beyond this milestone and expects the show's frequency to keep evolving, but the mission stays the same: talk about the ocean, and use that conversation to drive real impact.

Takeaways:

• How to Protect the Ocean began as Speak Up for Blue in 2010, later became Speak Up for the Ocean Blue for SEO reasons, before settling on its current name
• The show has generated an estimated 3 million downloads over 11 years of consistent publishing
• Andrew has helped launch an estimated 20 to 25 podcasts, including Beyond Jaws with Dr. David Ebert
• Podcasting led to TV documentary appearances, podcast hosting offers, and ultimately Andrew's current role at Pisces Oceans
• How to Protect the Ocean is now officially licensed to Pisces Oceans, with the goal of improving show quality and increasing ocean impact
• The Pisces network is expanding to include Ocean Leaders podcast and Polar Bears and Flip Flops with Angelo Villagomez [VERIFY]
• Ocean Decoded Live continues weekdays at 4pm Eastern on YouTube