In the Netherlands, water has always been both a threat and a triumph. A quarter of the country lies below sea level, and for centuries the Dutch have engineered their way to safety. It’s a place not unlike New Orleans: a delta shaped by risk, resilience, and the belief that with enough ingenuity, water can be controlled. But as sea levels rise, that centuries-old confidence is beginning to crack.

In this episode of Sea Change, reporter Jonathan Groubert takes us to the Netherlands to explore a relationship in turmoil. From floating farms to visions of entire cities on water, the Dutch are beginning to rethink everything they thought they knew. The question is no longer how to win the war against water—but whether it’s time to learn how to live with it.

This is part 3 of our three-part series about elements. And today is a biggie: carbon. When we hear about carbon, it's usually about its role in heating up the planet. And while that's an absolutely critical part of the story, the story of this most miraculous of substances is so much larger. 

We talk to Peter Brannen, author of The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything, about how carbon has always been central to just about every major turning point in the history of life on Earth...including why life is here in the first place. 

CREDITS

This episode is hosted by Executive Producer Carlyle Calhoun. Editing help from Eva Tesfaye and Jack Rodolico. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste, and our sound design by Dennis Funk. 

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. 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.

This is part 2 of our 3-part series about elements.  Last time we met nitrogen, today, it’s partner in crime and in life – phosphorus.  

WLRN Environment Editor Jenny Staletovich has gotten to know the main character of this story pretty well after reporting on the environment in South Florida for more than a dozen years. Bone Valley in Central Florida has quietly fed the world’s hunger for phosphorus, even as its waters, in particular the Everglades, suffer from the fallout. 

In this episode, you'll meet fishing captains turned environmental crusaders, hear about Guano Wars fought over this "Devil's Element," and learn how some are figuring out how to fix our phosphorus paradox.

CREDITS

 WLRN Environment Editor Jenny Staletovich reported this story. The episode was hosted by Executive Producer Carlyle Calhoun. This episode was edited by Eve Abrams. Editing help from Carlyle Calhoun, Michael McEwan, Ryan Vasquez, Alana Schrieber, and Eva Tesfaye. Sound design by Dennis Funk, and our theme music is by John Batiste. 

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. 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. 

In this three-part series, we’re giving some of the most misunderstood characters on the periodic table a fuller story. We dive into the fascinating double lives of these elements that are both the makers and unmakers of our world. 

In part one, reporter Olga Loginova travels to Cape Cod to meet nitrogen. In this episode: we trudge through the marsh, avoid great white sharks, and find out how we harnessed the power of nitrogen, why that power turned against us, and what we can do about it. 

CREDITS

 This episode was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Olga Loginova. Olga also reported the story. This story was edited by Jack Rodolico. Editing help from me, Eve Abrams, and Michael McEwan. The episode was fact-checked by Philip Kiefer. Sound design by Dennis Funk, and our theme music is by John Batiste. I'm the executive producer. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. And 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. We'll be back with another element in two weeks.

Want to feel better? Get unstuck? Be inspired? Remake the world? Then this episode is for you. We talk with Katherine Wilkinson,  author of the book Climate Wayfinding, and Colette Pichon Battle, lawyer and co-founder of Taproot Earth, about finding our way through the climate crisis.

To read more about Climate Wayfinding, or order a copy of the book, click here. 

This episode was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Eva Tesfaye.  Eva conducted the interview. Sound design by Kirk Kohnen, 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. 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.

Why are fishermen being arrested in Louisiana? An epic battle over "Sportsman's Paradise" is being waged on Louisiana's water. This is a story about public rights and private power colliding. As more and more of Louisiana’s coast disappears underwater, the state’s two most powerful and iconic forces – fishing and fossil fuels – are waging war over who owns the drowned land.

Check out a print version of this story in Southlands Magazine. Read and subscribe here.

Want to dive even deeper into the legal issues surrounding this story? Beginning with how private ownership of wetlands traces back to the Swamp Land Grant Acts in the 1800s? Then check out property law scholar John Lovett's legal paper.

This episode was hosted and reported by Sea Change's executive producer, Carlyle Calhoun. The episode was edited by Eve Abrams. Additional help from Johanna Zorn, Drew Hawkins, Eva Tesfaye, and Michael McEwan. The episode was fact-checked by Philip Kiefer. Sound design by Dennis Funk, 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. 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. 

Carlos Rafael immigrated to the US from Portugal as a teenager, and over the years, built one of the country’s largest commercial fishing operations from scratch. Carlos owned the biggest fleet of boats in the most valuable fishing port in America. He became known as the Codfather. But it all came crashing down in a federal sting. 

Who is Carlos Rafael? Depending on who you ask, he's either a villain who robbed the ocean or a kind of folk hero who stood up for fishermen. 

Today, we’re bringing you the first episode of Catching the Codfather from our friends at GBH News.

It’s often said that the U.S. has the most sustainable fisheries in the world. Laws have been designed to prevent overfishing, rebuild stocks, and protect a shared public resource. But, for the people living inside that system, it can feel very different. And that tension isn’t unique to New England.

Along the Gulf Coast, we often hear from shrimpers, oystermen, and anglers who say they’re being regulated out of a way of life. At the same time, we know what’s at stake if those rules fail. So where is the line? Catching the Codfather doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it tells a story about power, policy, and the complicated reality of managing a shared resource.

Listen to the rest of the series, Catching the Codfather, wherever you get your podcasts. The series is part of an ongoing documentary feed from GBH News called The Big Dig.

This episode of Sea Change Live was hosted by executive producer Carlyle Calhoun. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste. This episode was reported by Ian Coss.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. 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. 

Two years ago, we investigated the Liquified Natural Gas export build out on the Gulf Coast. We followed those exports around the world from Louisiana to Germany to Japan to unravel the story of LNG. 

But that story isn’t over. Today, host Carlyle Calhoun returns to LNG with Gulf States Newsroom reporter Drew Hawkins. They talk about how people in Southwest Louisiana are still being impacted by this build out, how LNG exports are affecting your electricity bills and what the war in Iran means for this industry. 

“Carbon Coast” is part one of our three part series about LNG called “All Gassed Up,” reported and produced by Halle Parker and Carlyle Calhoun. You can listen to parts two and three by searching for “All Gassed Up” in our feed. 

CREDITS

 This episode of Sea Change was Carlyle Calhoun and Drew Hawkins. Our theme music is by John Batiste, and our sound designer is Kurt Kohnen. Carlyle Calhoun is the executive producer. 

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. 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 Miro Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. 

We’re in the beginning of spring bird migration here on the Gulf Coast, which means warblers, vireos, orioles, and thrushes coming through as they make their way up North. Around 2 billion birds make landfall along our coast from March to May after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. But even after the high-stakes crossing of open water, their next leg of the journey is no less perilous.

In this episode, our friends from Up From Dust tell us a story about a phenomenon threatening birds on their long flights, and we learn how we can all do our part to help them on their journeys. 

To hear more from Up From Dust, click here. 

CREDITS

This episode of Sea Change Live was hosted by Eva Tesfaye. Our executive producer is Carlyle Calhoun. Sound design by Kurt Kohnen, and our theme music is by Jon Batiste. 

This episode was reported by Up From Dust Host Celia Llopis-Jepsen. 

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. 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. 

Sea Change travels to the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, for a lively live panel discussion about the future of seafood. 

For more than a century, the Gulf seafood industry has shaped towns, cultures, and identities along the coast. Yet, if you talk to almost anyone who works on the water, they’ll tell you the Gulf seafood story has changed more in the last 30 years than the hundred years before that. If you care about what’s on your plate, what happens to this coast, or what kind of future we’re leaving to the next generation of fishers and eaters, you’re in the right place. 

CREDITS

This episode of Sea Change Live was hosted by Executive Producer Carlyle Calhoun. Eva Tesfaye edited the episode. Sound design by Kurt Kohnen. Live music performed by Grits and Greens.

We’d like to thank the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Eagle Point Oyster Company, Holy Ground Oyster Company, Grits and Greens, and the panelists Ryan Bradley, Matthew Mayfield, Boyce Upholt, and Alex Perry. 

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. 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.