In this episode of the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast, hosts David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldstein welcome Tom Ford, CEO of the Bay Foundation and Director of the Santa Monica Bay National Estuary Program. They discuss Ford's journey from his first ocean encounter in high school to his extensive work in kelp forest restoration. Ford shares insights into the Bay Foundation's efforts, including restoring 75 acres of kelp forest off Palos Verdes, California, reintroducing endangered white abalones, ...
Jun 16, 2025•28 min
In the latest episode of Rising Tide, the Ocean Podcast David Helvarg and Natasha Benjamin talk with Kim McIntyre, the Executive Director of the Aquarium Conservation Partnership, a coalition of 35 aquariums working together to increase their collective impact. Along with helping revive the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards that took place at the National Aquarium in May, the 9-year-old coalition is involved in educating its members’ 40 million annual visitors around issues of sustainable seafood, cli...
Jun 02, 2025•29 min•Ep. 136
Our latest episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast ranges from Palau in the central Pacific to Washington D.C. After a short Blue News update with Congressman Jared Huffman in his DC office we go to the shark enhanced – not infested - waters of Palau where Blue Frontier's David Helvarg interviews Tiani Dun an underwater photographer who also organizes dive charters, part of the multi-billion-dollar global scuba diving industry. Co-Owner of Dive and More, a company that focuses its dive trips ar...
May 19, 2025•28 min•Season 5Ep. 135
On Friday April 25 the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast recorded our show with a live audience during SF Climate Week – one of the largest climate gatherings in the world. From the downtown studios of KALW – “The Voice of the Bay Area,” David and Natasha discussed global and Bay Area aspects of the Ocean and the Climate Crisis with guests Rod Fujita, a marine consultant and recently retired director of ocean research and development for the Environmental Defense Fund and Sejal Choksi-Chugh an attorney ...
May 05, 2025•28 min
In the latest and award-winning Rising Tide: the Ocean Podcast, David Helvarg, and Vicki Nicholas Goldstein speak with Jeremy Rifkin, who wants us to rethink our home in the universe. He is a best-selling author of 23 books translated into 35 languages and a major climate advisor to the European Union and China. He has returned to basics with his newest book, "Planet Aqua," about how water is the animating force of life, something the team at Blue Frontier has long known and believed. Jeremy Rif...
Apr 21, 2025•29 min•Ep. 133
In the latest episode of the award-winning Rising Tide: the Ocean Podcast David and Vicki talk with retired NOAA Captain Craig McLean about the Trump administration’s attacks on the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. 20 percent of its workforce including weather forecasters and ocean and climate scientists have already been laid off and more than 10 percent of the budget cut and things could get worse. Having spent his career as a ship’s master in the uniformed NOAA Corps and...
Apr 07, 2025•29 min•Ep. 132
In our new episode of Rising Tide - the Ocean Podcast David Helvarg & Vicki Nichols Goldstein talk with friends Natasha Benjamin of Blue Frontier and Ana Blanco of the International Ocean Film Festival about their new role as co-directors of ‘Sequoias of the Sea.’ SOS as it’s also known is a 54-minute documentary film about the global crisis facing Kelp Forests. It tells that story through the lens of the people of Fort Bragg California, a former timber town on the state’s north coast. Natas...
Mar 24, 2025•28 min
This fall NASA launched the Europa Clipper spaceship on a mission to the Jupiter moon of Europa to see if life might exist in its subsurface ocean. In this episode or ‘Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast’ we interview Dr. Kathy Crane who was key to the discovery and mapping of hydrothermal vents in the deep Pacific 45 years ago when new ‘chemosynthetic’ life including giant clams and tubeworms were discovered. These are the kinds of deep ocean life that might exist on Europa and elsewhere in the unive...
Mar 10, 2025•29 min
In our latest episode of ‘Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast’ David and Vicki check in on Nat Herz founder and reporter at The Northern Journal. After covering our 49th state (including one third of America’s coastline) for the Alaska Daily News and Alaska Public Media Nick set out on his own in 2022, creating an Anchorage-based investigative newsletter covering issues from public lands and water, energy, mining, fisheries, politics, dog sled racing, everything the Alaskan public has a right to know....
Feb 24, 2025•29 min•Ep. 129
In this episode of 'Rising Tide, the Ocean podcast,' hosts David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldstein interview Melanie McField, the founder and director of Healthy Reefs for Healthy People. Melanie shares her journey from a childhood interest in marine biology to her work in Belize with the Peace Corps and beyond. She discusses the creation of the world's first science-based coral reef report card, which evaluates the health of the Mesoamerican Reef, the second-largest coral reef system globally...
Feb 10, 2025•28 min•Ep. 128
Last fall we spoke with a University of Alaska scientist about the state of salmon. Today we speak with Tim Bristol, the Director of ‘Salmon State’, a Juneau based environmental initiative to protect and sustain Alaska’s wild salmon that include some of the largest runs in the world. But all’s not well in their river and ocean home. Working with Alaska Native people, commercial fishermen, river guides, and conservationists Salmon State aims to protect and restore these iconic fish. We talk with ...
Jan 27, 2025•28 min•Ep. 127
In this episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast David Helvarg & Vicki N. Goldstein talk with longtime anti-offshore drilling activist Richard Charter about one of President Biden’s last acts in office, his January 6th ban on future offshore oil and gas drilling permits along the entire Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the U.S. in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the northern Bering Sea off Alaska. Richard, whose been a leader of citizen campaigns to protect offshore waters for 48 years discusse...
Jan 13, 2025•28 min•Ep. 126
In this episode of the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast, David Helvarg presents a compilation of the most impactful ocean voices of 2024. The episode features commercial fisherman turned journalist Nick Raheim discussing sperm whales in Alaska, artist Rachel sharing her fish-inspired art, Dr. Sarah Frees Torres on her marine biology journey, author Shelby Van Pelt on her book's influence, Nancy Rabley on the Gulf’s dead zone, Rear Admiral Andy Sugimoto on Coast Guard missions, Sherry Goodman on clean e...
Dec 30, 2024•28 min
Join hosts David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldstein as they dive into the decades-long grassroots effort to transform 413 acres of the San Francisco Bay headland in Richmond, California, into the new Point Molate Park. Featured guest André Soto, a musician and activist, recounts the struggle against plans for a massive casino and high-end housing development. Discover the rich history of the land, from its origins as Ohlone land to its time as a naval fuel depot, and learn about the importance ...
Dec 16, 2024•28 min
Destiny Bristol Kushin and Zinaida Melovidov, her grandmother, live in the Unangan community of St. Paul Island, Alaska. Destiny is a 20-year-old college student working towards her associates degree in environmental sciences. Zinaida is an elder who has lived on the island almost all her life. They talked with David and Natasha Benjamin about the environmental changes they've seen in their lifetimes and their impacts on St. Paul Island, the largest of the Pribilof Islands, The conversation delv...
Dec 02, 2024•28 min•Ep. 123
In this episode of the Rising Tide Ocean podcast, Vicki Nichols Goldstein discusses the return of the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards with co-founder Wendy Benchley and Rising Tide co-host and co-founder David Helvarg. After a 7-year hiatus, the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards are set to return on May 8, 2025, at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, backed by the nationwide Aquarium Conservation Partnership (ACP). Their conversation covers the origins of the awards, their impact on the ocean conservation...
Nov 18, 2024•29 min•Ep. 122
In our latest episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast David heads to Alaska to interview Dune Lankard, a member of the Eagle Clan of the Eyak tribal nation based in Cordova Alaska, on Prince Williams Sound. Dune talks about his life as a commercial fisherman and his response to the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill, the largest U.S. environmental disaster till that time. He talks about his founding of the Native Conservancy and its work with 32 tribes across Alaska, including protecting over a millio...
Nov 04, 2024•29 min•Ep. 121
In this episode of the Rising Tide Ocean podcast, hosts David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldstein speak with Sherry Goodman, former Pentagon Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security, about her new book 'Threat Multiplier Climate Military Leadership in the Fight for Global Security.' Goodman elaborates on the intersection of climate change and national security, emphasizing the concept of climate as a 'threat multiplier' that exacerbates global instability. The conversation cov...
Oct 21, 2024•29 min•Ep. 120
In this episode of Rising Tide David and Natasha Benjamin delve into the fascinating resilience of Pacific salmon, creatures that have thrived in dynamic landscapes shaped by natural forces like volcanoes, earthquakes, and landslides with the University of Alaska’s Dr. Peter Westley. As the environment changes at unprecedented rates, including the rise of hatchery-supported fisheries, we discuss how these shifts impact salmon populations in places like Alaska and California. From dam removals an...
Oct 07, 2024•28 min•Ep. 119
On the latest episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast, David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldstein talk with Mark Spalding, President of the Ocean Foundation and an expert on international law and policy about the Ocean and the Elections. They discuss how starkly different the two 2024 presidential candidates are when it comes to marine conservation and climate issues. Also why, after the hottest summer in human history, there’s been so little talk about climate and the environment. Vicki and Dav...
Sep 23, 2024•29 min•Ep. 118
On this episode of Rising Tide David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldstein speak with Craig Foster, the Academy Award winning filmmaker of ‘My Octopus Teacher’ co-founder of the ‘Sea Change Project’ and the author of a new memoir – ‘Amphibious Soul.’ Craig discusses his daily underwater explorations of the ‘Great African Seaforest’ near his home and the importance of tracking skills in discovering life both within the kelp forest and on the shore. His encounters include not only octopuses and shar...
Sep 09, 2024•29 min•Ep. 117
On this episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast, David and Natasha Benjamin speak with Nick Rahaim, a former commercial fisherman, journalist, researcher, and now public spokesman for NOAA (though speaking on his own behalf). We'll talk about his adventures from the shocks of squid fishing to confrontations between fishermen and whales in Alaska (including a shooting incident), to whale intelligence, whale depredation, and what it was like in Southwest Alaska when migrating salmon met "the blob...
Aug 26, 2024•29 min•Ep. 116
On this episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast, David & Vicki speak with Florida-based oceanographer and marine ecologist Dr. Sara Frias-Torres about her life and work, the tragic “death by a thousand cuts” of the Florida Keys coral reef tract, and the more hopeful recovery of the “Lord of the Rocks” the Goliath Grouper. Despite poaching and pollution, this massive, curious fish is making an impressive comeback from near extinction. It’s essential for the ecosystem and inspiring for divers...
Aug 12, 2024•29 min•Ep. 115
On Sunday, July 21, Ocean Activist and Sea Shepherd Society founder Paul Watson was arrested in Greenland, a territory of Denmark, on an Interpol warrant issued by Japan. Japan claims he damaged one of their commercial whaling ships while protesting and helping to end Japanese whaling off Antarctica. France, where Watson now lives, has asked Denmark not to extradite him. We're replaying our October 2022 interview with Watson so you can better understand his perspective on fighting for whales, ag...
Jul 29, 2024•29 min•Ep. 114
On this episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast we speak with world-famous Ketchikan Alaska-based artist and illustrator Ray Troll about his art – from Tee-shirts to wall murals - highlighting ocean life present and prehistoric (he summers in the ancient seas of Kansas). Combining the sensibilities of Gary Larson and Winslow Homer he can take your breath away with laughter and beauty. We discuss his 40-year retrospective art book – ‘Spawn Till You Die – The fin art of Ray Troll,” his upcoming d...
Jul 15, 2024•28 min•Ep. 113
In this rebroadcast of episode 13 of the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast, we pay tribute to the late Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, a distinguished marine biologist, passionate water lover, and dedicated turtle advocate. In this poignant conversation, Dr. Nichols opened his heart and shared the deeply personal story of losing his home in the devastating California Lightning Complex fires. We felt his profound loss through his words and admired his unwavering resilience. Dr. Nichols also enlightened us with h...
Jul 01, 2024•28 min•Ep. 112
Join us on this episode of the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast as we dive deep with Curt Newport, an underwater salvage expert and author of the new book, 'Ready to Dive – Five Decades of Adventures in the Abyss.' Curt shares his incredible experiences using ROV robot submarines and advanced technologies around offshore oil platforms, fiber optic cable laying operations, military crash sites, and more. Curt recounts some of the most challenging recovery missions, including the 1986 Challenger Disaster...
Jun 17, 2024•28 min•Ep. 111
Join us for an inspiring episode of the Rising Tide podcast as David Helvarg & Natasha Benjamin sit down with Bob Shavelson, a seasoned conservationist with over 35 years of experience in the environmental field. Growing up along the shores of Atlantic City, NJ, Bob's journey has taken him from the east coast to the rugged beauty of Homer, Alaska, where he has led significant efforts in environmental protection and advocacy. In this 110th episode, Bob shares his rich history in conservation,...
Jun 03, 2024•28 min•Ep. 110
On this episode of the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast! Today, we sat down with Kiera Foti, the brand manager for Atlantic Sea Farms, the leading aquaculture kelp grower in the U.S. Based in Maine, this innovative company supplies edible kelp to stores like Whole Foods and numerous restaurants. They also produce branded products and sell kelp for cosmetics, fertilizers, and more. Discover how Atlantic Sea Farms collaborates with local lobstermen to cultivate kelp during their off-season and learn why ...
May 20, 2024•29 min•Ep. 109
On this, our latest episode we talk with Kate Toniolo, U.S. Fish & Wildlife’s project leader for Delaware’s coastal refuges including the 10,000 acre Prime Hook, an area devastated by 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Since then, she’s overseen restoration efforts that have seen the comeback of its sandy beaches, fresh and saltwater marshes and wildlife including threatened shorebirds, horseshoe crabs and their surrounding communities. We’ll talk about this and her past work in Hawaii, the remote Paci...
May 06, 2024•29 min•Ep. 108
