Sea Change

What if we get it right? That's the question marine biologist, climate expert, and writer Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson explores in her new book. Ayana joins us to talk about climate solutions we have right now and what's possible for the future of our planet.  

Looking for a link to the book? "What If We Get It Right? Visions of a Climate Future"

This episode was hosted by Eva Tesfaye and cohosted by Halle Parker. Our managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. To help others find our podcast, hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. 

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

TV Weather Gets Heated. In a world where weather is getting more extreme, the role of meteorologists is becoming more important—and controversial—than ever. Meteorologists have been fired over reporting on climate change, and others have left stations because of death threats.

 But that hasn’t stopped Jeff Berardelli, Chief Meteorologist for Tampa Bay’s WFLA News. He’s leaning in. In this episode, Jeff Berardelli tells Carlyle what it’s like to be a weatherman in the time of climate change. And answers questions like: why do certain spots get hit by more hurricanes? And what do changing weather patterns fueled by climate change mean for our favorite olive oil?

This episode was hosted and reported by Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux and cohosted by Halle Parker. Johanna Zorn edited this episode. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste. Our managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. To help others find our podcast, hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. 

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

Our oceans are heating up—what does that mean for all the life that lives in the sea...and us?

Today we’re going on a trip to Florida…we’re hanging out in the Keys, and we're going fishing, and scuba diving all to find out what’s going on beneath the surface. Just how bad is hotter water for sea life in South Florida, and for the people that depend on it? And how are scientists leading the charge to save this ocean ecosystem?

This episode was reported and hosted by Jenny Staletovich and co-hosted by Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux. Editing by Johanna Zorn and Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux with additional help from Halle Parker, Eva Tesfaye, and Ryan Vasquez. Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux is the managing producer. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. SeaChange is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO's Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. 

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

The home insurance market is collapsing all across the country. Big, brand-name insurance companies are walking away from the riskiest states. And, the companies that are sticking around are often doubling and tripling rates over just a few years. Nothing like this has ever happened before. And nowhere is this crisis worse... than Florida. In fact, Florida is the origin story of this crisis: the home insurance market in every other state seems to be headed down the road that Florida has paved. 

This episode was hosted by Jessica Meszaros and Carlyle Calhoun. This episode was written and reported by Jessica Meszaros and Jack Rodolico. Editing by Jack Rodolico, and Carlyle Calhoun with additional help from Halle Parker, Eva Tesfaye, Ryan Vasquez. This episode was fact-checked by Garret Hazelwood. Carlyle Calhoun is the managing producer. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. SeaChange is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO's Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. 

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

Even though New Orleans has water in every direction, it’s hard to access. And for a city with increasingly sweltering summers, this irony is painful.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about the uncomfortable history of Lincoln Beach, how it led to New Orleans not having any public beaches today, and how a community has rallied together to get their beach back. We start in the era of segregation, where if you were Black, the only place to soak up sun and sand was Lincoln Beach. 

This episode was reported and hosted by Eva Tesfaye. Carlyle Calhoun is the managing producer. This episode was edited by Rosemary Westwood and Carlyle Calhoun with additional editing help from Halle Parker, Tyler Pratt, and Ryan Vasquez. Joseph King voiced WEB Dubois. Garrett Hazelwood is our fact-checker. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste. 

Special thanks to the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University and Sage Michael Pellet for sharing their archives.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. SeaChange is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO's Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. 

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

It's summertime! Otherwise known as prime reading season. And in this episode, you're going to meet the people behind a couple of the summer's hottest books. 

We talk with Boyce Upholt about his new bestseller, The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi. The book tells the epic story of the Mississippi River, and he writes about how centuries of human meddling have transformed both the river and America. 

And we also meet Mary Annaise Heglar, who tells us about her new novel, Troubled Waters.  It’s a distinctly Southern story about family, Black resistance, and the climate crisis.

Eva Tesfaye and Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux host this episode. Eva and Garrett Hazelwood interviewed the authors. Sea Change's managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski, and our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

The shrimp industry has a long history on the Gulf Coast. And, today we bring you a story about one of the industry's oldest traditions: the blessing of the boats. This episode is from the podcast Gravy, produced by our friends at Southern Foodways Alliance. 

In “A Shrimp Boat Blessing with no Shrimp Boats,” Gravy producer Irina Zhorov takes
listeners to Bayou La Batre, on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Long known as the seafood
capital of Alabama, Bayou La Batre has hosted a Blessing of the Fleet – a festival to
bless local commercial shrimp and fishing boats – since the 1940s.
Fishing has long been a dangerous and capricious industry, where luck – in harvests,
weather, accidents – has almost as much to do with a captain’s success as his skill. The
annual blessing, an old European tradition established in Bayou La Batre by a Catholic
family of transplants from Louisiana, was a bulwark to ever-present risks. Shrimp boat
captains would decorate their boats with festive flags and parade along the bayou,
receiving a blessing from the Archbishop of Mobile, a little courage to go back out to
sea.

But as the industry changed and evolved, what the Blessing could do seemed less
obvious. Boats were built bigger and with refrigeration, so people could stay at sea
longer and bring in bigger harvests. At the same time, systemic threats emerged to the
shrimping industry. Competition from imports and farm-raised shrimp is keeping shrimp
prices unsustainably low while prices for gas, insurance, and maintenance grow. The
Blessing hasn’t kept up with the changes. Many captains are too busy hustling for
economic survival to show up. Not a single commercial shrimp boat attended the 2023
Blessing of the Fleet.

In this episode, Zhorov talks to Vincent Bosarge, Deacon at St. Margaret’s Church,
which hosts the Blessing, who grew up going to the festival; Rodney Lyons, a fisherman
whose family once supported the Blessing by donating food but who no longer attends;
Jeremy Zirlott, a younger shrimper who says he’s struggled to make ends meet in the
industry’s current state and who’s never put his boats in the Blessing; and Tommy
Purvis and Kimberly Barrow, who shrimp on the side but for whom the Blessing is a vital
tradition.

Listen to more episodes of Gravy and follow the podcast:
​​https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gravy/id938456371

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

Most of the world's biggest cities are on the coast. As sea levels rise and storms worsen, how can we reimagine our coastal cities so that they can survive and thrive in the face of climate change? Today we talk with leaders across 3 continents about how they are fighting for the future of their cities. 

Thank you to our panelists:

Dr. Fola Dania - the Chief Resilience Officer of Lagos, Nigeria

Felipe Araujo - the Vice Mayor of Porto, Portugal, and City Counselor for Environment, Climate, Innovation, and Digital Transition

Casi Calloway -  The Director of Operations at the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network, and former Chief Resilience Officer of Mobile, Alabama

Janelle Kelman - former mayor of Sausalito, California, founder of Sea Rise Solutions and she's also currently running for Lieutenant Governor of California. 

And, to Sheetal Shah, program director of Urban Ocean Lab. 

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

In Vietnamese culture, water and home are so linked that they share a word. The Vietnamese word for water is nước. But nước also means homeland.

Today–how the Vietnamese community has to reimagine its relationship with water as Louisiana’s coastline changes. In this episode, we’ll travel to a shrimp dock, a tropical garden, and a neighborhood surrounded by canals to examine one question: What does it mean to live with water in a place where everything about water is changing? 

This episode was supported by the journalism non-profit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. The episode was reported and hosted by Anya Groner. Sea Change’s managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun. This episode was edited by Rosemary Westwood and Carlyle Calhoun, with additional help from Halle Parker. The episode was fact-checked by Garrett Hazelwood. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski. And our theme music is by Jon Batiste. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production.

Special thanks to Marguerite Nguyen and Daniel Nguyen.

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

It started in states like Florida and Louisiana. And, now it's spreading. The home insurance market is crumbling as climate-fueled disasters increase. Premiums are skyrocketing, and already, insurance is playing a role in determining where we can live, and who can afford to live there.

So we decided to host our very first Sea Change Live event dedicated to understanding what is going wrong, and how we can fix it. And, guess what? The event sold out! Join us as we dive deep into the insurance crisis—and possible solutions—with a panel of experts.

PANELISTS

Guillermo Franco: Head of catastrophic risk research for Guy Carpenter, an international reinsurance broker. 

Haley Gentry: Senior Research Fellow at Tulane University's Institute on Water Resources, Law and Policy. 

Jason Lewis:  President of Noah W. Lewis and Associates, an insurance brokerage firm based in New Orleans.

Andreanecia Morris: Executive Director of Housing NOLA and President of the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance.

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].