Send us a textA murder mollusk, a fabled pearl, and a potentially clam-shaped future. After a two-year hiatus, let's talk GIANT CLAMS. -----Episode 13 - Shell Yeah!-----Supplementary Material and External Links[Please refer to the show notes for full attribution and licensing information.]Picture 1 – The (Real) Pearl of Lao TzuPicture 2 – The Stunning Species and Color Diversity of Giant Clams Article 1 – Read the Full Story of the Pearl of Lao TzuArticle 2 – More on the History, Myth, a...

Send us a textEpisode 5 – Life In Plastic, Not So FantasticPlastic can brush your hair, today it’s everywhereWithout cessation, we’re hurt by our creationIn our final episode of Peak & Plunge, we talk to special guest Dianna Cohen, a visual artist and co-founder/CEO of Plastic Pollution Coalition. A fierce advocate for “shutting off the tap” of plastic pollution, her personal journey actually began with an immense appreciation for plastic as a material. Though plastic started off as...

Send us a textEpisode 4 – Ancient Oceans, Modern ConsequencesEvery time we make our morning coffee, jump in a car, or turn on a light, we have prehistoric oceans to thank. In episode 4 of Peak & Plunge, we talk to special guest Joanie Kleypas, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research based in Boulder, Colorado. As an inlander climate AND coral scientist, she’s the perfect person to help illuminate how fossil fuels, climate change, inland choices, and ocean h...

Send us a textThe show where the word is made up and your seafood choices matter!In episode 3 of Peak & Plunge, we talk to special guest Cory Nash, Outreach Manager at the esteemed Monterey Bay Seafood Watch program, about our relationships with seafood. In a world where overfishing threatens not only the ocean's health but the lives and rights of us humans - this relationship holds a lot more weight that most realize.What the heck does sustainable even mean, and who is it for? Does the s...

Send us a textLet’s remember… everything goes somewhere. In episode 2 of Peak & Plunge, we talk to special guests Seth Watkins and Mia Glover about how inland agriculture, our food systems, climate, and the oceans all relate. Seth is the owner of Pinhook Farm, where he raises beef cattle, hair sheep, chickens, bees… and where he challenges agricultural convention daily. He sees the connections between what he does on the farm and the oceans of the world - and strives to steward and b...

Send us a textAin't no mountain high enoughAin't no deep sea low enoughAin't no potato large enoughTo keep me from talking bout you, sea~In episode 1 of Peak & Plunge, we talk to special guest Mark Haver about the controversial practice of Deep Sea Mining. As Global Policy Advisor for the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, an environmental consultant, and advocate for action on our oceans and our climate, Mark helps us ask… do our future cell phones, cars, and green energy lie at the bottom of t...

Send us a textFrom our mountain peaks, let's plunge into the sea.Introducing my latest podcast project - Peak & Plunge: Diving Into the Inland-Ocean Connection! In collaboration with the Inland Ocean Coalition, Peak & Plunge examines the ties between the ocean and those people that live miles away from it. Each episode, I talk to an expert in the field to examine inland-ocean ties through our seafood, our agriculture, our climate, our use of plastics, and even how, from the top of a m...

Send us a textAwww, baby's first geomagnetic waypoint <3-----Episode 12 - Are You Turtle Enough For The Turtle Club?-----Supplementary Material and External LinksPicture 1 – Leatherback Turtle Esophagus - https://bit.ly/36Oib8w Picture credit: Mdomingoa. Used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 License.Picture 2 – Example of Bony Plates with Scutes Overlain - https://bit.ly/3DFQvys &n...

Send us a textNo one suspects a crab could be the culprit.-----Episode 11 - A Thief in Coconut Couture-----Supplementary Material and External LinksPicture 1 – Distribution Map of Birgus latro - https://bit.ly/3ESHpP8 Picture credit: Pinpin. Used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License.Picture 2 – Life cycle diagram of Birgus latro - https://bit.ly/2WiuLaK Picture credit: Helagi, e...

Send us a textMove over, Sharknado. There's a new apex whirlpool in town. -----Episode 10 - This Podcast Will SHOCK You-----Link 1 – Miguel Wattson’s Twitter Account - https://twitter.com/EelectricMiguel/Picture 1 – Rough Diagram of the Three Electric Organs - https://bit.ly/3kQgqfw Picture credit: Miropa01. Used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 License.Picture 2 – Schematic of the In-Series electrocyte arrangement in an electric eel - https://...

Send us a textAnd I'm HereTo tell all youOf the fluffy pups living in the bayThey're out thereIn the cold seaDiving through the kelp, oh they're so carefreeYou, you, you, otter know-Alanis Morisette, Probably-----Episode 9 - You Otter Know-----Supplementary Material and External LinksPicture 1 – Microscopic look at sea otter fur - https://bit.ly/2T5qvte Picture Credit: Heather Liwanag/Adelphi University. Retrieved from: ...

Send us a textArmor? Check. Chivalry? Check. Maximum cutedorableness? Double check.-----Episode 8 - The Volcano Knight-----Supplementary Material and External LinksPicture 1 – Scaly-Foot Snail (White Variant) - https://bit.ly/3vhSDHq Image from Nakamura K., et al. Used under CC BY 2.5 License. Picture 2 – Scaly-Foot Snail (Black Variant) - https://bit.ly/32ObQE4 Picture cr...

Send us a textA ferocious dragon and a crafty assassin, all rolled into one invisible small fry.-----Episode 7 - The Dragon-----Supplementary MaterialPicture 1 – Deep Sea Dragonfish - https://bit.ly/31MHrG0 Image by Audrey Velasco-Hogan.Picture 2 – Diagram of hinged jaw of Malacosteus niger - https://bit.ly/3dyGoyP Image is from KENALEY, CHRISTOPHER P. “Exploring Feeding ...

Send us a textLet's talk about Neptune Balls. A direct to your ears SCIENCE UPDATE about the latest in seagrass science. -----Bonus Episode - BadGrass-----Supplementary MaterialMain Paper - Seagrasses provide a novel ecosystem service by trapping marine plastics, by Sanchez-Vidal et al. - https://go.nature.com/2MGvjCkPicture 1 – Posidonia oceanica, Neptune Grass - https://bit.ly/2MGoTDe Image is by Melin...

Send us a textAn anthology of tuna tales and a smattering of science.-----Episode 6 - Of Man and Fish-----Supplementary MaterialPicture 1 – Albert P. Halfhill, the “Father of Canned Tuna” - https://bit.ly/3pIk5eb Image is Public Domain.Picture 2 – W. Eugene Smith, American Photojournalist - https://bit.ly/3aDZmUj Image is Public Domain. Link 1 – The Commision for the Conservation...

Send us a text#LoveAllTunas-----Episode 5 - Tune in for the Tuna-----Supplementary Visual MaterialPicture 1 – Yellowfin Tuna, Thunnus albacares - https://bit.ly/2Z0e4hL Image is Public Domain.Picture 2 – Skipjack Tuna in a Shoal - https://bit.ly/2YTENN8 Image is Public Domain. Link 1 – FDA Guidance on Eating Fish for Pregnant Women and Growing Children - https://bit.ly/3q2iocgLin...

Send us a textRock ON wit' cha Badassfish self.-----Bonus Episode - BadAssfish-----Supplementary Visual Material:Picture 1 – Profile Drawing of the Bony-eared Assfish - https://bit.ly/3pIBfZtPicture 2 – Top-down and Bottom-up drawing of the head of the Bony-eared Assfish - https://bit.ly/38bSL2tPictures 1 and 2 are from the Report on the deep-sea fishes collected by H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-1876 Günther, Albert C. L. G. (Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf), 1830-1914, and are public d...

Send us a textKick some grass.-----Episode 4 - Honey, I Shrunk the Rainforest-----Supplementary Visual MaterialPicture 1 – Anatomy of Seagrass - https://bit.ly/3hgmUjLAlbum 1 – Videos and Pictures of Discoveries in or near a seagrass bed - https://flic.kr/s/aHsmT6SUd5Picture 1 is courtesy of the Texas Statewide Seagrass Monitoring Program, found at texasseagrass.org. It is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Album 1 is composed of pictures taken by me, Dane Whicker. ...

Send us a textPandemics don't just affect humans. We're just the only species who can do anything about them. -----Episode 3 - The Mystery of Stolen Stars-----Supplementary Visual MaterialPicture 1 – Starfish Water Vascular Diagram - https://bit.ly/37qkMSfPicture 2 – Visual Diagram of how microbes “choke” stars by Boundary Layer Oxygen Diffusion Limitation - https://bit.ly/33tPR6ePicture 1 is from the Freshwater and Marine Image Bank, and is Public Domain.Picture 2 is directly from: ...

Send us a textYou’re walking in the Himalayas, there’s no one around and your phone is dead. Out of the corner of your eye you spot him: and it’s not Shia LaBeouf.-----Episode 2 - The Yeti Is Real, We're Just Looking in the Wrong Mountains-----Supplementary Visual MaterialVideos 1 and 2, as well as ALL pictures are directly from:Thurber AR, Jones WJ, Schnabel K. Dancing for Food in the Deep Sea: Bacterial Farming by a New Species of Yeti Crab. Steinke D, editor. PLoS ONE. 2011 Nov 30;6(11):e2...