Casey shares personal and historical highlights of the complexity and ecological importance of the ocean's depths. She reports on her dive to the Twilight Zone (600-3300 feet) that is filled with bioluminescent creatures that sparkle and glow. Despite these delights, Casey points to the terrestrial bias and lack of funding for ocean exploration compared to space.  Susan Casey is a premiere chronicler of the aquatic world. Most recently she traversed the globe and gives first-hand accounts of joining scientists and explorers on dives to the deepest places on the planet. She stands in for us with her insightful questions of the lives and motivations of marine geologists, marine biologists, and oceanographers who are searching for knowledge in this vast unseen realm. She takes us on a fascinating journey through the history of deep-sea exploration, from the myths and legends of the ancient world to storied shipwrecks, to the first intrepid bathysphere pilots, to the scientists who are just beginning to understand the mind-blowing complexity and, most importantly, the ecological importance of the home of the quadrillions of creatures who live in realms long thought to be devoid of life. She is the author of several books including Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Survival and Obsession Among American’s Great White Sharks (Henry Holt 2005), The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean (Doubleday 2010), Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins (Anchor 2016) and Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean (Doubleday 2023)

Interview Date: 8/5/2024.    Tags: Susan Casey, ocean, bathysphere, bathyscaphe, submersibles, ocean depths, twilight zone, William Beebe, Otis Barton, Mariana Trench, Wyville Thompson, John Murray, deep sea mining, bottom trawling, ghost nets, Patrick Lahey, Victor Vescovo, Tonga Trench, hydrothermal vents, Ecology/Nature/Environment, History, Science, Technology, Travel