Episodes

In this episode, I speak with Hugh Pearson , the underwater filmmaker behind some of the most iconic ocean sequences ever captured, and director of portions of " Blue Planet ," and more recently, both underwater episodes for Netflix's " Our Planet ." When we did our interview Hugh spoke openly about the challenges of the career he had chosen, told a story behind one of the most recognizable ocean film sequences of the past decade , and related a very open-hearted story about his connection to th...

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza , Executive Director of the Ocean First Institute , an organization dedicated to preserving the world's oceans, and a woman with a deep passion for sharks and particularly hammerheads. When I spoke with Mikki , I found her to be not only a dedicated shark researcher but also an entertaining interview. And she talked openly about how her life has been shaped by a few seminal moments, from seeing a movie with her brother as a child to a chance e...

In this episode, I speak with Aaron James, a philosophy professor who's also an avid surfer. As a lifelong Buddhist myself and an avid scuba diver with a profound connection to the ocean, I was interested in exploring what deeper meanings a philosopher might find simply by being in the ocean. What I found was not only was Aaron thoughtful and open, and very smart, he was also a lot of fun to talk to. And he shared his story of why he connects to the ocean, what it meant to be a surfer, and how o...

In this episode, Part Two of my conversation with Jill Heinerth , cave diver, underwater photographer, and explorer-in-residence for the Royal Canadian Geographic Society . As we discussed in Part One, there's a visceral thrill for Jill in terms of pushing the limits of what she and humans might think they can do, as well as a sense of exploration and discovery that extreme cave diving brings. But as we kept talking, Jill opened further about a time she was unsure she might get back out of a cav...

In this episode part one of my conversation with Jill Heinerth , cave diver, underwater photographer, and Explorer-in-Residence for the Royal Canadian Geographic Society . I first met Jill at a dive industry convention, where she was promoting her book, "Into The Planet", which details her passion for exploring underwater caves around the world. The book is incredible and has some pretty crazy intense stories. So I wanted to talk with Jill about what drives her to such an extreme way of living a...

In this episode, my conversation with Captain Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd , the environmental organization known for interventions with whaling ships around the world. Paul has been at the forefront of the ocean environment for years and was seminal in the foundation of two renowned organizations, Greenpeace, and then years later, Sea Shepherd. Sea Shepherd - and Caption Paul himself - can evoke strong feelings from people, particularly as Paul himself has been at the helm of ships that...

Season Two Is Coming! And the newest episode premieres on Tuesday December 15th. Big Deep is a podcast is about people who have a deep connection to our world’s oceans, connections strong enough that they have dedicated some part of their lives to being in or working on behalf of the water. So please join us as as we continue our exploration of a deep connection to the world’s oceans through the stories of people who love it. Welcome to Season Two of Big Deep. Scuba Diving, Free Diving, Ocean E...