This episode we speak with Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the New York Times, "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, and first "Hero for the Planet" by Time magazine.

Dr. Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has experience as a field research scientist, government official, and director for corporate and nonprofit organizations. Earle has led more than a hundred expeditions and logged more than 7,000 hours underwater, including leading the first team of women aquanauts in 1970. She is the subject of the Emmy Award-winning film Mission Blue.

As the founder of Mission Blue, an organization uniting a global coalition to inspire an upwelling of public awareness, access and support for a worldwide network of marine protected areas, or Hope Spots. These habitats or ecosystems are home to rare, threatened or endangered species. Nominated and protected by civilians, all of these Hope Spots will create a global wave of community support for ocean conservation that leaders and policy makers can’t ignore.

♫ Music featured in this episode includes "Standing On The Shore" by Anne Briggs, "Careless Love" by Lulu Jackson, and "There's a Sunny Side to Everything" by Cab Calloway.