World Ocean Radio - History Heritage and Cultural Traditions
In this fourth and final episode in a series on writers who have shaped his interest in the ocean and the natural world, host Peter Neill discusses the work of American author, essayist, and fiction writer Barry Lopez, whose “Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape” stands as a classic--one of the most encompassing and evocative portraits of a natural place ever written.
In the third of a four-part series on writers who have shaped his interest in the ocean and the natural world, host Peter Neill reads from essayist Robert Macfarlane's best selling non-fiction work "The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot", a blend of natural history, travel writing, and more. In it, Macfarlane encourages an understanding of the natural world as a means to discover better paths, new imaginings, and inspirational ways forward.
In the second of a four-part series on writers who have shaped his interest in the ocean and the natural world, host Peter Neill highlights the work of American author, poet, essayist, and literary critic Annie Dillard. As one of the preeminent naturalists of our time, Dillard’s close observations of nature remind us that to grasp the micro and macro cosmic elements of our lives requires a willingness to immerse oneself, to listen, and to observe.
In the first of a four-part series on writers who have shaped his interest in Nature and the ocean, host Peter Neill highlights the work of 20th century American writer Loren Eiseley. Eiseley was a researcher, teacher, scholar, essayist, and poet. He was an academic who was both a scientist and a humanist, one who maintains a place of eminence in the literary world, now more than 30 years after his death. His work was once described as delivering “science to non-scientists in the lyrical language of earthly metaphor, simile, and narrative…”
In October of 2015 Peter Neill, Director of World Ocean Observatory and host of World Ocean Radio, attended the bi-annual conference of the International Congress of Maritime Museums in Hong Kong to share his vision for maritime museums in the 21st century. His argument is that maritime history is not outdated, and that every theme evident at all maritime museums: fishing, immigration, trade, technology, etc. are all very relevant today and are perhaps best understood in the context of their history. In this episode of World Ocean Radio he asks for maritime museums to think of themselves less as homes for historical artifacts and more as places to make contemporary connections to the ways in which we relate to the ocean today.
A recent series of investigative stories entitled "The Outlaw Ocean" by Ian Urbina of the New York Times exposes the dark side of the deep sea, describing real abuses, crime and violence in international waters. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill summarizes the four-part “Outlaw Ocean” series, praising Urbina’s work to educate the public by exposing the labor, human rights, and environmental abuses occurring out of sight, on the high seas.
The Japanese word "Mottainai" refers to the essence of things, and suggests that objects do not exist in isolation, rather that they are intrinsically linked to one another. In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill will discuss this and other Japanese words and phrases which can be used to help us describe a new strategy for our relationship to the ocean, one which respects and sustains the values of Mother Nature so that we may rely on her natural resources for our future, and for our very survival.
Who has a right to life? Only one species? Do humans have the right to exterminate any species they wish? In an effort to combat climate change and the exploitation of the planet’s resources, Bolivia is becoming the first country on Earth to give comprehensive legal rights to Mother Nature. In 2010 the National Congress of Bolivia voted to support an act to protect the well-being of its citizens by protecting the natural world, its resources, sustainability, and value as essential to the common good. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill explores the language contained in the legislation and asserts that Bolivia may be inventing a social model that will show how we as a global community might transcend conflict and division toward a harmonious and sustainable future.
Rachel Carson and Jacques Cousteau's legacies have driven decades of new investigation, research institutes, conservation action and programs in the U.S. and around the world. Their work has inspired increased ocean observation and advocacy and has raised ocean knowledge and planning to its highest level. But is it enough? In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the initial phases of the Carson/Cousteau legacy and will argue that if the second phase of that legacy was the definition of questions, then the future of the world ocean will depend upon the next phase: the application and invention of answers.
