In the latest episode, David Helvarg & Vicki Nichols Goldstein talk with the Reverend Robert Wilkins about how his faith led him to his work with the Seafarers Ministry, serving ship crews arriving at the Port of Oakland, California. Wilkins and his team make ship visits, help crew members connect with families in places like the Philippines and Bangladesh, and check in on conditions such as time spent at sea and food quality — often doing follow-up when issues arise.

They also support mariners on shore leave with recreation, transportation, and other needs, and even coordinate doctor visits when necessary, frequently working with Customs and Border Protection to make it happen. 

Each holiday season, the ministry delivers gift bags to seafarers and continues to grow its volunteer program, expanding ship visits from 250 vessels to 370 this year — supporting the people responsible for moving more than 90% of the world’s goods.

Wilkins also shares his perspective on shipping automation and decarbonization, exploring how these changes are already affecting seafarers and may reshape their livelihoods in the future.

Tune in to this insightful conversation with Rev. Wilkins and gain his unique perspective.

** Additional Resources **

Blue Frontier / Substack — Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Inland Ocean Coalition — Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios — Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

In the latest episode of Rising Tide: The Ocean Podcast, hosts David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldstein speak with Chef Andrew Zimmern — the award-winning host and producer of numerous acclaimed radio and television programs, including the Food Channel’s Bizarre Foods and the PBS documentary series Hope in the Water, which explores ocean farming and restoration.



Zimmern, who began working in the food industry at age 14, has authored several books, including the forthcoming Blue Food Cookbook, co-written with Cod and Country author and longtime Blue Frontier friend Barton Seaver.

A recipient of multiple James Beard Awards and a founding member of the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture, Zimmern brings deep expertise and passion to the conversation. This episode offers a rich and flavorful exploration of food, sustainability, and the future of our seas — an audio feast not to be missed.

** Links & Resources **

Pre-Order The Blue Food Cookbook — Is farmed or wild-caught salmon better? Is tuna being overfished? Do I have to worry about mercury poisoning? Is seafood high in protein? Is industrial aquaculture sustainable? How can I do anything to address the climate change and food security crises? Is it okay to eat raw fish? How do you shuck an oyster? Is frozen seafood good? How do you cook mackerel without it stinking up the kitchen?

Blue Frontier / Substack — Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Inland Ocean Coalition — Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios — Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

In the latest episode of ‘Rising Tide, the Ocean Podcast,’ David and Natasha speak with Dr. Ben Halpern. Along with being a past Peter Benchley Ocean Award winner, Ben serves as Director of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, a research center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is also a professor of marine biology and conservation science. Among his numerous honors and research papers, he’s contributed to a new report published in Science magazine warning that the world’s ecosystems could be permanently altered – meaning degraded - by mid-century if the present trend in greenhouse gas pollution, industrial overfishing, and coastal development continues unabated. Ben also offers some ideas on how each of us can act in ways that can help reverse that trend. So, give a listen, learn a bit, and visit the ocean when you can.  

** Links & Resources **

Cumulative impacts to global marine ecosystems projected to more than double by mid-century.

Blue Frontier — Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Blue Frontier on Substack

Inland Ocean Coalition — Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios — Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

In the latest episode of ‘Rising Tide, the Ocean Podcast,’ David speaks with Erica Hammond, Legislative Director of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO.  They represent most of the roughly 1,000 workers who’ve been out of a job since the Trump administration issued a stop-work order in August on the ‘Revolution’ wind farm project.  That’s a 5 billion-dollar 80 percent completed offshore wind farm that was slated to bring clean power to New England next year while saving ratepayers money. 

Erica talks about how groups like ‘Climate Jobs Rhode Island’ helped bring unions, environmentalists and low-income communities together to promote an energy transition for ‘the Ocean State.’  She’ll also talk about how labor and its partners including the state government and Orsted, the Danish company building ‘Revolution,’ plan to fight back against the Trump administration’s pro-oil attacks on clean energy and particularly on offshore wind.  This is one you won’t want to miss.  

** Links & Resources **

Blue Frontier: bluefront.org — Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Blue Frontier on Substack: https://davidhelvarg.substack.com/

Inland Ocean Coalition: inlandoceancoalition.org — Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios: fluidstudios.org — Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

In the latest episode of 'Rising Tide, the Ocean Podcast,' hosts David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldstein of the Inland Ocean Coalition interview Dr. Drew Harvell, an esteemed professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University. The discussion delves into the recent breakthrough in identifying the bacteria responsible for sea star wasting disease, which has decimated starfish populations and kelp forests on the West Coast. Dr. Harvell reveals her journey into marine biology, highlights her research on marine ecosystem health, and discusses her influential books, including 'A Sea of Glass' and 'The Ocean's Menagerie.' Dr. Harvell emphasizes the impact of pathogen pollution on marine life, the interconnectedness of human and environmental health, and the therapeutic potential of marine organisms. The episode underscores the critical need for better ocean management and the role of art in translating scientific knowledge to foster public interest and understanding. 

** Links & Resources **

Catherine Drew Harvell of Cornell: https://ecologyandevolution.cornell.edu/catherine-drew-harvell

Check out her books, Sea of Glass (https://a.co/d/41kufFg), Ocean Outbreak (https://a.co/d/ihQpRi5), and her latest Ocean's Menagerie (https://a.co/d/0R5dK53)

Blaschka Glass Collection: https://digital.library.cornell.edu/collections/blaschka

World Bank Project: https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/projects-home

Blue Frontier: bluefront.org

Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Blue Frontier on Substack: https://davidhelvarg.substack.com/

Inland Ocean Coalition: inlandoceancoalition.org

Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios: fluidstudios.org

Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

The latest episode of Rising Tide: The Ocean Podcast features a conversation with Kirsten Donald, a marine mammal biologist, educator, and ocean advocate with the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, California. This renowned rescue center responds to whales and dolphins in distress while rehabilitating and releasing hundreds of sick and injured seals and sea lions each year.

Before joining the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Kirsten spent 18 years at the Dolphin Research Center in the Florida Keys, where she also co-founded and directed the College of Marine Mammal Professions.

Learn about the current state of marine mammals, the impacts of climate change, and challenges facing gray whales. Kirsten shares memorable release stories—including a group of sea lion pups who checked in on each other before re-entering the ocean—and discusses why now is the time to strengthen, not weaken, marine mammal protection.

** Links & Resources **

Pacific Marine Mammal Center

It’s Time To Save The Whales Again

Blue Frontier: Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Blue Frontier on Substack

Inland Ocean Coalition: Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios: Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

The latest episode of the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast features an excerpt from a recent conversation between David Helvarg and Chris Clarke of the desert podcast 90 Miles from Needles. Clarke discusses Helvarg’s first book, The War Against the Greens (1994), which was highly influential in exposing a violent environmental backlash funded by western industries such as hard-rock mining, beef, and timber.

Helvarg draws parallels between that earlier backlash and today’s top-down right-wing attacks on environmental laws and agencies under President Trump. He explores how violent rhetoric and climate denial merged within a Republican Party that once championed both environmental protection and democracy. He also explains how the oil and gas industry applied lessons from the past to obstruct the growth of clean energy, and reflects on what he now believes is most effective in the fight to protect the planet’s blue world—and humanity itself.

** Links & Resources **

90 Miles From Needles Podcast

https://www.90milesfromneedles.com/

Blue Frontier: bluefront.org

Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Blue Frontier on Substack: https://davidhelvarg.substack.com/

Inland Ocean Coalition: inlandoceancoalition.org

Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios: fluidstudios.org

Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

Unpacking Trump’s Ocean Rollbacks

In the latest Rising Tide: The Ocean Podcast David and Vicki talk with former Ocean Conservancy Chief Scientist and policy expert George Leonard about the Trump administration’s approach to our public seas. In taking a closer look at the BBB (‘Big Beautiful’ or ‘Big Brother’) mega-bill that Congress just passed, George breaks down many of the vital services from ocean observation and weather labs to protection of salmon, parks in the sea and public education, fishing regulation, beach pollution warning systems, deep-sea exploration and coastal management that will be gutted or terminated under this law. 

Listening to area experts like George you realize not only will this legislation blow a hole in the deficit and untax the rich, it will expand offshore oil drilling and put more mercury in tuna.  It may even mark the end of right whales along with many of our own rights.  So, tune in to hear what George has to say about Trump 2.0 policies and his major new law that treats the Ocean as little more than a gas station and a garbage dump. Also, hear what he thinks you can still do about it.   

** Links & Resources **

Blue Frontier: bluefront.org — Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Blue Frontier on Substack: https://davidhelvarg.substack.com/

Inland Ocean Coalition: inlandoceancoalition.org — Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios: fluidstudios.org — Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

Protecting Wildlife, Enforcing Change: A Global Dive with WildAid’s Meaghan Brosnan

In the latest episode David & Vicki talk with Wildaid CEO Meaghan Brosnan who, when it comes to marine wildlife and protected areas, is all about the enforcement. Wildaid is a leading international non-profit dedicated to saving the world’s declining wildlife species, perhaps best known for its decade-long media campaign that helped turn China from a consumer to an opponent of shark finning. 

Since taking over in 2017, Meaghan has expanded Wildaid’s ocean programs 10-fold with an emphasis on putting the bad guys away. No surprise, given her 20 years of service in the US Coast Guard, much of it in the Marine Resources Enforcement program. David & Vicki talk to her about her blue background, how a non-profit can help locals enforce protection of their (more than 20 nations’) waters and much more. And of course, Blue News You Can Use. Dive in with us.

** Links & Resources **

Wild Aid: https://wildaid.org/

Blue Frontier: bluefront.org

Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Blue Frontier on Substack: https://davidhelvarg.substack.com/

Inland Ocean Coalition: inlandoceancoalition.org

Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios: fluidstudios.org

Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

In the latest episode of Rising Tide: The Ocean Podcast, David & Vicki bring you some of the news that other media may not have. Earlier in June there was a United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France attended by thousands of people including many heads of state. While a lot got done there, there was little coverage of it in the United States.

That’s why Rising Tide Ocean Podcast recently talked with Mike Sutton, Executive Director of the Goldman Environmental Prize and Lindsay Gordon, head of Global Programs at Parley for the Oceans, both of whom were there in Nice. They’ll give us their impressions about what worked and what didn’t in terms of a global High Seas Treaty, new Marine Protected Areas including the world’s largest, what was said about Deep Sea Mining and what role climate change and industrial overfishing played. The changing positions of government delegations and citizen groups is also worth hearing about.  So, Join us and dive in for a lively and hopeful world-spanning discussion. 

** Links & Resources **

Goldman Environmental Prize: https://www.goldmanprize.org/

Parley For The Ocean: https://parley.tv/

UN Ocean Conference: https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/ocean2025

BB NJ Deep Sea Mining Global Plastics Treaty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBNJ_Agreement

White Shark Cafe: https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/rivers-oceans/white-shark-cafe-the-mysterious-meeting-spot-for-great-whites-in-the-middle-of-the-pacific-ocean

Blue Frontier: bluefront.org

Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.

Blue Frontier on Substack: https://davidhelvarg.substack.com/

Inland Ocean Coalition: inlandoceancoalition.org

Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protection

Fluid Studios: fluidstudios.org

Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.