In this eighth episode of ''If Oceans Could Speak'', we are delighted to have Lisa Sofian and Nabil Aouad with us, who show that arts, sports and ocean activism go hand in hand. In this episode you will learn about the Sustainable Waste Intercity Marathon’s creation (SWIM), and its development into a nation wide beach cleaning campaign, bringing together - almost spontaneously - over 2700 people from local communities, researchers, activists, civil society, and more! In addition to their spor...

Have you ever wondered what it means to eat sustainably on the Mediterranean coasts? Today's episode explores this question from an Italian perspective with our guests Stefano Pedone and Mattia Borroni. Stefano is a marine biologist and project officer at Worldrise association and Mattia is a chef in his own restaurant, “Alexander”. Both young ocean lovers at heart, our guests followed different walks of life to join forces in promoting the consumption of sustainable, local seafood in the ...

Sports are without a doubt a vital component that shapes our connection with the ocean. Yet, when talking about ocean literacy and ocean conservation per se, we tend to think less about professional sportsmen, sportswomen, and athletes. We were therefore delighted to discuss with Federico Morisio about the place professional sports has, and should have, in promoting ocean literacy. Federico is a 26-year-old professional windsurfer. Internationally recognised, he won, among other, ...

In our fifth episode, we reach the French Mediterranean coast and Greg Lecoeur, who shares with us his journeys, his experiences with marine wildlife, the power of images and how raising awareness begins with individual actions. A lover of the Mediterranean Sea since early childhood, Greg became interested in marine biology and diving at a very young age. At the age of 32, with a diving instructor's certificate in his pocket, he sold his company and lived his dream: a year around...

In our fourth episode, we will go to Spain to talk to María del Carmen García-Martínez, who is a researcher and director of the Spanish Oceanography Institute in Malaga. Among her many commitments, María Carmen is involved in Océanicas, a project that visualises the role of women in oceanography. Pursuing a career in science can still pose many challenges to women, but maybe even more so in a very masculinized territory such as the sea? María Carmen will explain to us the 'leaking pipel...

As we are surfing the Mediterranean, we come across our dear guest Jina Talj, a marine ecologist, founder and executive director of the Lebanese NGO 'Diaries of the Ocean'. In this third episode, Vera interviews Jina Talj to learn more about the Mediterranean marine environment, with a particular focus on the Invasive species actions related to the NGO's lionfish campaign. You don’t know what invasive species are? No problem, you can tune in to learn about what they are, where they come...

Today we dive into the turquoise waters of Greece, where innovative solutions and traditional fisheries are working together to make a difference to the people and the environment of the Mediterranean. In our first full length episode of this season we meet Lefteris Arapakis, a young social entrepreneur and the 2021 UNEP-MAP Ambassador for the Mediterranean Coast. Lefteris talks to us about Enaleia, a social enterprise he co-founded with a mission to make the marine ecosystem sustainabl...

Building on the Mediterranean’s rich cultural identity, this season we will be multi-lingual featuring stories in French, Italian, Spanish and Arabic. To capture these voices, we have new hosts on board that help us dive into these new perspectives and communities. In this episode, we will introduce our new hosts and navigate together the first waters of this season, learning more about the people behind the voices. What is their relationship with the sea? What makes the Me...

We are delighted to reveal that If Oceans Could Speak is returning with a new and exciting second season. After our first season highlighted the mighty Arctic Ocean, this summer we are heading south - to the shores of the majestic Mediterranean sea. The Mediterranean brings new ideas, cultures, voices, and a whole new line-up of hosts and guests to bring this truly diverse part of the world to life, no matter which language you speak. With episodes spanning English, French, Italian, Ara...

We have reached the final episode in our Arctic-focused series of If Oceans Could Speak. And what a finale it is! Today’s conversation is with Iñupiaq Inuit and conservation biologist Dr Victoria Qutuuq Buschman. Victoria joined us from her office in Nuuk, Greenland, just a few days before her journey to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. Victoria describes, so wonderfully, the relationship between her Inuit community and the Arctic Ocean, its sea ice and its whales, and explains ...

Today’s conversation is with Kimberly Aiken, Research and Policy Associate for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC). Kimberly previously worked on Arctic issues as a Policy Intern with the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany and on the Polar and Climate Programme at GRID-Arendal in Norway. We are delighted to hear her perspective on both poles! In her refreshing and poetic way, Kimberly retells the journey to her polar career so far, the idols that inspired her, and the actions t...

In this episode we are delighted to talk with Professors Rachael Lorna Johnstone and Mia Bennett. Mia is an Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong and Rachael is a Professor of Law at the University in Akureyri in the North of Iceland and at Ilisimatusarfik, the University of Greenland, in Nuuk. What exactly does the Arctic Ocean provide people and nations? How do people access these resources? and how are they shared amongst us? These are key questions for the sustainability of d...

Today our guests are Dr Tymon Zielinski and Dr Volker Rachold. Volker is Head of the German Arctic Office based at AWI, working at the science-policy interface. Tymon is a leader of the Climate and Ocean Research and Education Unit at IOPAN, Poland. This episode is particularly special to us as our guests are not only esteemed Arctic researchers, they also represent the EU4Ocean - the very initiative that brought us together and brought this podcast to life! Together, Tymon and Volker l...

We are thrilled to reveal that Lera Auerbach - celebrated conductor, pianist, composer, poet, and visual artist – is our guest on today’s episode. Lera joins us to explore her perspective of the Arctic Ocean through the power of art, music, and storytelling. She is well placed to do so: her award-winning Symphony No.4 “ARCTICA”, is a boldly imaginative piece, commissioned by the NSO, The Oslo Philharmonic, and the National Geographic Society, and in collaboration with renowned Nat Geo explore...

Today we take a journey up into the Arctic sky! At least, that’s the viewpoint of our guests, who we think have one of the coolest jobs around… In this episode we are joined by Dr Hannah Cubaynes from the British Antarctic Survey and WWF and Dr Kim Goetz from NOAA in the United States. Hannah and Kim are marine mammal biologists who use images from planes, drones, and satellites to spy on the whales and walrus below. We discuss how exactly you spot a whale from space and the multitude o...

We are delighted to be joined by acclaimed political scientist Dr Gosia Smieszek in today’s episode. Gosia works at Norway’s Arctic University in Tromso, researching issues of Arctic Ocean governance. She is also passionate about gender equality and representation, and has co-founded the successful association “Women of the Arctic”. We talk openly about the complexity of governing the Arctic Ocean, and the added challenges (and opportunities) that climate change brings. We also explore the ex...

In this first episode we have a wonderful conversation with Thomas Wunderlich and Felix Lauber - Captain and First Officer of Germany’s Polar Research Vessel, “Polarstern”. Thomas and Felix take us inside the Polarstern, revealing her history, operations, and what makes her such a dependable ship for undertaking vital scientific research in the Arctic and Antarctic. Captain Thomas shares his personal account of the Polarstern’s most ambitious voyage yet - the largest polar expedition i...

Polar biologist Dr. Jen Freer introduces this new podcast - If Oceans Could Speak. In this podcast we listen to the ocean through the stories of our guests who have shared their life with the sea around them. In this premiere series we focus on the Arctic Ocean. Each week our conversations explore a different perspective of the Arctic Ocean, from the adventures of Thomas Wunderlich, Captain of the icebreaker ‘Polarstern’, to the musical journey of award-winning composer Lera Aurbach, which l...