Season 1
Sept. 10, 2025
Advocacy for Scientists: How to Speak Up for the Ocean
Advocacy for scientists is a skill that can transform how research impacts the real world. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean , host Andrew Lewin reflects on an article by Melissa Varga from the Union of Concerned Sc...
Sept. 8, 2025
Sustainable Fashion with Courtney Barriger: Protecting the Ocean Through Clothing Choices
Sustainable fashion is more than a trend, it is a movement that connects what we wear to the health of our planet. In this episode, Andrew Lewin speaks with Courtney Barriger , CEO of Holding Court Inc., about how clothing de...
Sept. 4, 2025
Terracycle: Recycling Everything from Plastics to Global Waste Solutions
Terracycle is proving that almost anything can be recycled, from cigarette butts to ocean plastics, transforming how the world thinks about waste. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean , Andrew Lewin speaks with Tom Sza...
Sept. 2, 2025
Shark Meat Fed To Students: Brazil’s Hidden School Lunch Scandal
Shark Meat Fed To Students in Brazil’s public institutions has sparked outrage after Mongabay uncovered thousands of tons of mislabeled shark meat, including endangered species like angelsharks, being served in schools, hospi...
Sept. 2, 2025
Oceana Working to Protect Endangered Species: How Legal Action Safeguards Whales and Sea Turtles
Oceana, working to protect endangered species, is at the heart of this powerful episode featuring Tara Brock, an environmental lawyer advocating for ocean life. Tara unpacks how the Endangered Species Act is used to protect h...
Aug. 28, 2025
Starting an Environmental Nonprofit: The Balean Founders Story with Bart Oor and Sander Brienen
Starting an environmental nonprofit often begins with a vision and the determination to make a difference, but it also comes with challenges in funding, community support, and long-term sustainability. In this episode of How ...
Aug. 26, 2025
Pacific Islands Marine Monument Rollback and Court Reversal Explained
Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument : For over a decade, these waters stood as one of the largest no-take zones on Earth, safeguarding corals, fish, and migratory species. But on day one of his presidency, Donal...
Aug. 21, 2025
Less than 400 Left: How Media Coverage Shapes the Fate of North Atlantic Right Whales
Less than 400 left — that’s how many North Atlantic right whales remain in the world. These critically endangered whales are at the center of an urgent conservation story, but how the media communicates about them plays a pow...
Aug. 16, 2025
Managing Fishing Vessels: Uncovering the Hidden Ownership of Industrial Fleets
Managing fishing vessels goes far beyond tracking where a boat is registered. In this episode, we dive into Oceana’s Beyond the Flag report to explore how large-scale fishing vessels are often flagged in one country but owned...
Aug. 14, 2025
Plastic pollution in the ocean: How the Global Treaty Could Change Everything
Plastic pollution in the ocean is no longer just an environmental issue—it’s a public health crisis and an economic threat. In this episode, I break down the latest updates from the UN negotiations on a global plastics treaty...
Aug. 12, 2025
How 5 billion sea stars died and what we can do to save them
How 5 billion sea stars died is a story that shook marine ecosystems along North America’s Pacific coast. This episode dives into the groundbreaking discovery of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida , the pathogen responsible for...
Aug. 9, 2025
Scientist Identifies New Manta Ray Species: Dr. Andrea Marshall’s Discovery of the Atlantic Manta
Scientist Identifies New Manta Ray Species —the Atlantic Manta Ray, Mobula yarae —in a groundbreaking announcement from Dr. Andrea Marshall and her team at the Marine Megafauna Foundation. In this episode, Andrew Lewin shares...
Aug. 6, 2025
Climate Crisis and Capitalism: David Suzuki on Why We Must Rethink Everything
Climate Crisis and Capitalism are at the heart of David Suzuki’s powerful message in this episode. In a candid and impassioned reflection, Suzuki warns that if we continue to prioritize politics and the economy over protectin...
Aug. 3, 2025
Map the Deep Sea: How Ocean Mapping Drives Conservation, Equity, and Innovation
Map the Deep Sea to protect what we don’t yet understand. In this episode, Andrew Lewin speaks with Tim Kearns from Map the Gaps , a global initiative working to close the knowledge gap beneath the waves. With over 75% of the...
July 31, 2025
Ocean Books and Solarpunk Stories: Todd Medema’s Climate Heist Novel to Inspire Action
Ocean Books can do more than entertain—they can inspire action, hope, and a fresh way of thinking about climate change. In this episode, Todd Medema introduces his new novel, How to Surf a Hurricane , a solarpunk heist that i...
July 29, 2025
Coffee and the Environment: The Hidden Cost of Your Daily Brew
Coffee and the environment are deeply intertwined, yet few consumers realize just how damaging the coffee industry can be. In this episode, Etelle Higonnet, a Yale-trained human rights lawyer and founder of Coffee Watch, join...
July 27, 2025
Plastic Pollution in the Ocean: Why It’s Time to Ban Styrofoam for Good
Plastic foam pollution continues to be a widespread and dangerous threat to ocean health. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean , Oceana’s Christy Leavitt breaks down their 2025 report exposing the true environmental co...
July 24, 2025
Shark Week 2025 Why Shark Week’s “Dancing With Sharks” Episode Got It So Wrong
Shark Week 2025 opened with a spectacle that left many conservationists and shark advocates frustrated. The premiere episode, Dancing With Sharks , featured handlers hugging, hand-feeding, and even riding sharks—behaviors tha...
July 22, 2025
How to Protect Sharks: What Actually Works (and What Doesn’t)
How to Protect Sharks isn’t just about banning shark finning or posting awareness videos. It’s about understanding what really works—supporting science-based policies, enforcing marine protected areas, backing local researche...
July 20, 2025
How Marine Conservation Works: From Community Action to Global Policy
How Marine Conservation Works is the foundation for protecting our oceans, but it’s often misunderstood. In this episode, we break down how marine conservation really happens—from grassroots community efforts and local fisher...
July 17, 2025
Texas Flood 2025: Smarter Tools Needed To Save Lives
Texas Flood 2025 revealed just how urgently we need smarter tools in disaster response. In this episode, Dave Jones, founder of StormCenter Communications, explains how his team used satellite imagery and real-time mapping to...
July 15, 2025
Conservation Is About Collaboration And Balean Is All About Collaboration
Conservation is about collaboration, and collaboration is what we are discussing today. Ocean collaboration is at the heart of many conservation success stories, but what happens when it breaks down? In this episode of the Ho...
July 13, 2025
Orca Allokelping: Newly Documented Mutual Grooming Tool Use in Marine Mammals
Orca Allokelping is the newly documented behavior where southern resident killer whales use bull kelp as a tool to rub against each other—possibly to remove dead skin and soothe irritation. Captured via drone, this social spa...
July 10, 2025
All The Sharks Netflix Review: It's A Must Watch
All The Sharks Netflix finally delivers what ocean lovers and science communicators have been asking for: a show that gets shark science right. In this episode, Andrew breaks down how the new game show sets itself apart from ...