Oceanography | Marine Science and Ocean Stories

Bioluminescent water that glows brilliantly to the human eye, but nearly disappears on camera. Why is something so spectacular so difficult to film?
In this special crossover episode from our sister podcast Green Frequency, environmental filmmaker and researcher Dr. Isabelle Carbonell takes us to Bio Bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico, one of the brightest bioluminescent bays on Earth.
Through the science of bioluminescence and the history of underwater cinema, we explore how marine organisms produce light, why cameras struggle to capture it, and what happens when the ocean resists our attempts to make it visible.
But there's more to this story than filmmaking. From the colonial history and military contamination of Vieques to questions of environmental justice, perception, and wonder, Dr. Carbonell challenges us to think about what it really means to see, understand, and protect the ocean.

Episode Guest: Dr. Isabelle Carbonell
Discover more of Dr. Carbonell's work on her website.

Explore Pine Forest Media
Discover our podcasts and projects at pineforestpods.com.
Watch the full-length video version of this episode on YouTube @PineForestPods.
Follow us on social media @pineforestmedia.

Production Credits
Audio Editing: Clark Marchese
Video Editing: Madelyn Choi Weir
Videography and Set Design: Le Studio Du Passage
Cover Art: Jomiro Eming
Theme Music: Nela Ruiz
Originally produced for Green Frequency, a Pine Forest Media podcast, with support from the American University of Paris.

Support our science communication directly by donating to Pine Forest Media or directly on PayPal
Episode Guests: Dr. Isabelle Carbonell
Listen to Pine Forest Media’s NEWEST PODCAST GREEN FREQUENCY
Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz
Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below
Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plastic is everywhere. We know that. But what can we actually do about it? In this episode of Oceanography, host Clark Marchese speaks with Dr. Anja Brandon, Director of Plastics Policy at Ocean Conservancy, to work backwards through the lifecycle of plastic and ask which solutions can actually make a difference.

Starting with plastic already in the ocean, they explore why targeted cleanups still matter before moving upstream to recycling, reuse systems, product design, Extended Producer Responsibility, reductions in single-use plastics, and policies designed to turn off the plastic tap altogether. They also look at where negotiations for a global UN plastics treaty stand and what needs to happen next.

From the plastic bottle on the beach to the systems that produced it in the first place, this episode is about moving beyond awareness of plastic pollution and toward what we can actually do about it.

Support our science communication directly by donating to Pine Forest Media or directly on PayPal

Episode Guests: Dr. Anja Brandon
Visit Dr. Brandon’s website, follow on Instagram @plasticfreeanja, or connect on LinkedIn
Review Dr. Brandon’s publications on Google Scholar
Visit the Ocean Conservancy website and get involved here

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and find our episode on the Plastics Treaty: Busan and Beyond - A UN Treaty on Plastics

Listen to Pine Forest Media’s NEWEST PODCAST GREEN FREQUENCY

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below
Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plankton made life on Earth possible. So why do we know so little about them? In this episode of Oceanography, Clark speaks with Vincent Doumeizel, Senior Adviser on the Oceans to the United Nations Global Compact and author of The Power of Plankton. Together, they dive into the extraordinary world of organisms drifting through our oceans, from their role in producing oxygen and shaping evolution to their influence on the carbon cycle, marine food webs, and ocean health.
They also explore how new tools like environmental DNA, satellites, and AI are transforming plankton research, why plankton remain largely absent from environmental policy, and how understanding this mostly invisible ecosystem could reveal new ways to protect our oceans and our planet.

Support our science communication directly by donating to Pine Forest Media or directly on PayPal

Episode Guests: Vincent Doumeizel
Find the book, The Power of Plankton
Read the Plankton Manifesto
Connect with Vincent Doumeizel on LinkedIn or follow on social media @theseaweedrevolution
Listen to Pine Forest Media’s NEWEST PODCAST GREEN FREQUENCY
Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz
Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we measure the ocean? Nicolas Pade, executive director of the European Marine Biological Resource Centre, joins Oceanography to explore the technologies making ocean observation possible, from satellites and autonomous floats to biological sensors, imaging and AI. We examine what scientists can already measure, why marine biodiversity remains so difficult to observe, and how individual data points become baselines, models and predictions. Grounded in Blue Tech Europe 2026, the conversation also reveals what it takes to move an idea from the laboratory into an observing system operating at scale.

Continue the conversation on Green Frequency with the companion episode, What Does Ocean Technology Need From Us?

Support our science communication directly by donating to Pine Forest Media or directly on PayPal

Episode Guests: Nicolas Pade
Visit the EMBRC website or follow the EMBRC on LinkedIn

Listen to Pine Forest Media’s NEWEST PODCAST GREEN FREQUENCY
Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz
Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to be queer in oceanography? In this special episode, nine LGBTQ+ scientists and ocean professionals share, in their own words, what it has meant to build lives and careers around the sea. Their work stretches from phytoplankton, deep-sea food webs, marine bioacoustics, and microbial ecology to ocean acidification, coastal pollution, fisheries, and marine protected areas. Across very different lives and disciplines, certain experiences begin to echo.

They remember the first queer scientist who made another future imaginable. They reflect on joy, friendship, and uncertainty aboard research vessels; the daily calculations surrounding visibility and safety; and the mentors, labmates, and chosen communities that helped them find their place in science. They also consider what universities, laboratories, and research leaders can do to make ocean fieldwork and life at sea safer and more inclusive.

But Queer Voices in Oceanography is not only a conversation about barriers. It is a portrait of nine people who love the ocean and have built their lives around understanding and protecting it. Together, their stories reveal why representation matters, what becomes possible when scientists can bring their whole selves to their work, and how the people who once needed to see a queer scientist are becoming the people a younger generation can see.

Support our science communication directly by donating to Pine Forest Media or directly on PayPal

Episode Guests:
Dr. Erin Jones
Jacob Snyder
Lee Miller
Jamie Blatter
Dr Jesus Alcazar Trevino
Nicolas Storie
Dr. Michael Henson
Dr. Marina Sanz-Martín
Dr. Tristan Mckenzie

To connect with more queer scientists visit 500 Queer Scientists

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz
Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.