NPR science podcast dives deep to explore mysteries of the sea

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we are talking about a new NPR podcast that explores the depths of the sea. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Living in San Diego means being close to the Pacific Ocean and close to many of its wonders. But if you've ever wanted to know more about the science behind our seas , you're in luck. Our oceans are the focus of a new eight part series from the NPR science podcast Short Wave , called Sea Camp. Joining me now are the two hosts of Short Waves Sea Camp , Regina Barber and Emily Kwong. Regina , Emily , welcome to Midday Edition.

S2: Thank you so much. We're excited to be here. I'm from San Diego. I was born there , so I spend every summer there. Wonderful.

S1: Wonderful. Does this. Emily. Regina.

S2: Regina. Regina. I grew up in la mesa. Fantastic.

S1: Fantastic. So , I mean , last year , you all had a series called Space Camp where you looked. You looked to the stars , but this time , you're really looking into another vast area of the unknown right here on the planet. Tell me about that.

S2: Yeah , we know less about the ocean than we do about space , which is pretty shocking considering that the ocean is what is like the lungs of the planet. The ocean is producing half of all the oxygen we breathe. The ocean is sequestering carbon. If the ocean did not exist , climate change would have cooked us a very long time ago. But that's not reason to fear. It's just reason to appreciate and understand and protect. And Gina , my colleague here , is an astrophysicist , and she likes to compare Earth to Venus because Venus doesn't have oceans , right ? Yeah.

S3: Venus used to be almost like us , you know ? It's it's around the same size. It probably had oceans , and now it doesn't anymore. And that is why it's one of the hottest planets in our solar system. It is the hottest. And it has this , this runaway greenhouse effect. So our oceans are very , very important. Yeah.

S2: Yeah.

S1: Well , and it makes you wonder what happened to Venus. And if that's our fate.

S2: I would like it not to be closer. Yeah.

S3: Yeah. Venus is a lot closer to the sun. But yes , we it won't get that bad , but we don't want to get close. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. And then there's the fact that , you know , you you all listening ? I'm sure living in San Diego. I mean , I've , I've , uh , reported there and done some reporting at Seaforth Landing. And I know the fishing is incredible and the quality of the seafood is gorgeous. And then , of course , there's all the recreating on the water that happens in an area like San Diego. So there's a lot to love. Beach. Yeah , there's a lot to love about the ocean. And Gina and I both , I guess , are just kind of ocean people and the team is too. So we went for it.

S1: Well , it gives us so much so , you know. Emily. The first episode focuses on ocean currents. So what's happening under the surface there ? Yeah.

S2: So the top. You know how when you go to a swimming pool in the summer , an outdoor swimming pool , the top layer will be hot , but the bottom layer might be cool because it won't warm as quickly. Right. That's happening with our oceans. Under climate change , the top layers of the ocean are warming faster than the cool core at the bottom. What is that doing ? It's shifting our ocean currents in ways that hasn't happened for literally hundreds of years. So the Gulf Stream , that's this big current that goes from Mexico up the eastern seaboard to Europe , that's been the same since the time of Benjamin Franklin. He was one of the first people to actually map the Gulf Stream because of his cousin , who was like a whaling captain. And the whales follow the Gulf Stream because that's like their superhighway across the Atlantic. Yeah.

S3: Yeah. His cousin got to the UK , like , way faster than other boats. And they're like , but why ? Right.

S2: So currents rule our lives. I mean , currents are deciding storm patterns , but with currents shifting under climate change , what we're going to see are rising sea levels. We're going to see , uh , storms behaving in different ways than we're used to. Um , so I didn't I didn't fully understand this until we did this reporting. And then what's cool about the series is we start at the surface and then we just go deeper and deeper. So every episode goes to a different zone of the ocean. So it's like you're going to be in a submarine as a listener and , uh , you'll get to go further down and new episodes that come out every Monday on the shortwave feed , wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. You all cover so much ground with this podcast. I mean , you , you've got the great , uh , Pacific Garbage patch and so on. Yes. I mean , you know , it really makes what would otherwise be complicated science stories. You all break it down in a way that's just really accessible.

S3: I think our enthusiasm is infectious. I , um , I was talking to Emily well , before I actually did the reporting on one of the episodes about hydrothermal vents. And there are these chimneys , um , near , like , at very deep levels of our ocean that are like these hot spots where there's , like , very cold. No , really life. And then there's these hot spots where there's like these , these critters and there's , you know , um , thermal heat coming out of these little chimneys. And I was obsessed with them because I was like , could life have started at these , at these locations ? It's it's another hypothesis other than the tide pools or , and , uh , I just really was excited about this story. And so I think because we're excited about telling these science stories , I think that makes it approachable.

S2: That's my. Guess.

S3: Guess.

S2: And Gina. Gina is a former educator. Um , so you taught physics as an astrophysicist. You taught physics to students for years. And I feel like all those we kind of are sneaky. We're science reporters , but we're also sneaky science educators , so we're all about making it fun.

S1: You have a knack for this. You know , when we talk about the oceans , we're also talking about climate change. And the reality around that doesn't really have a good outlook. But you all are still somehow able to make that conversation encouraging.

S2: That's just not an acceptable stance for our next generation. Um , and I think what really got me to this place is I reported for many years for a member station in rural Alaska , and I saw the ways that climate change was affecting the fishing industry. Uh , how permafrost is melting and causing communities to relocate. But what Alaskans taught me is just how to be resilient in the face of it , right ? Because it's not acceptable to give in to despair. You got to live your life. You got to learn how to adapt , and you got to live with respect for the ocean. You know , there's indigenous communities up there that have been the stewards of their land for a really long time. And and there's a lot of community can do when it comes together to create change locally , like good local policies , sustainable fishing practices. Um , as consumers , we actually have a lot of power in what we choose to buy. Do we buy sunblock that is good for coral reefs or not ? Um , do we put plastic into the ocean or do we not ? Um , there's a lot that can be done locally as the climate warms , which it will. Uh , you can still create , like , safe havens within your own area. So if you're listening to this and you care , I think actually getting involved is one of the best ways to make the despair monster less loud. Because then at least you know you're doing something and you have some agency there.

S1: Well , there's a lot of great perspective and information in this podcast. I've been speaking with Regina Barber and Emily Kwong , host of the NPR science podcast Short Wave , and its new series C Camp Nou. Camp episodes are already out , with more on the way , and you can find them on the Short Wave Podcast feed. wherever you listen. You can also sign up for their newsletter at npr.org. Regina. Emily , thank you so much for being here.

S3: Thank you.

S2: Thank you so much. Much love to San Diego and your station. We really. Padres.

S3: Padres.

S2: We love the work you do.

S1: Thank you so very much. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.