After the Fact

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a considerable toll on the nation’s mental health: The percentage of Americans experiencing symptoms of depression has tripled since 2020, and many of these people lack access to mental health care. In a new season, we speak with experts about how the national conversation on mental health is changing, and with people working in communities to find meaningful solutions to this burgeoning crisis.

Stat: $2.5 trillion—The estimated GDP of the ocean, according to a 2015 report by the World Wildlife Fund, making it the seventh-largest economy in the world. Story: In this episode, we speak with Ashlan Cousteau and Philippe Cousteau Jr., who, inspired by the legacy of Philippe’s grandfather, undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau, have dedicated their careers to ocean conservation. They discuss how they’re continuing that legacy through their work with EarthEcho International and educating the next generation about the vital role that the ocean plays in our planet’s health and the global economy. We also hear from a member of EarthEcho’s OceanEcho 30x30 fellowship, Salma Macías Torres, from Bahía de Los Ángeles, Mexico, about her efforts to engage youth to build a sustainable future for our ocean.

Stat: 680 million—According to the United Nations, about 680 million people live in low-lying coastal zones around the world, a number expected to increase to 1 billion by 2050.  Story: In this episode, we explore how communities that rely on a healthy ocean are working to create marine protected areas (MPAs) to preserve biodiversity—and their livelihoods. In addition to hearing from Ludovic Burns Tuki, a community leader on Easter Island, home to the Rapa Nui MPA, we speak with Johnny Briggs from the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy about the role of MPAs in restoring the ocean and safeguarding cultural traditions tied to the seas.

Stat: 2.1 feet—Scientists have forecast an increase of as much as 2.1 feet in the Chesapeake Bay by 2050. Story: In this episode, we travel to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, where the refuge is losing ground to climate change and rising sea levels. Through interviews with experts—including Joseph Gordon, who directs Pew’s work on coastal marine life in the U.S.; Marcia Pradines Long, manager of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge; Kristin Thomasgard,  program director with the Department of Defense; Julie M. Schablitsky, chief archaeologist at the Maryland Department of Transportation; and Kate Larson, a historian and author—we explore the threats facing this refuge because of the changing climate, and the path ahead for its environmental, cultural, and economic future.

Stat: 51% of Americans say the U.S. is doing a very bad or somewhat bad job of addressing climate change. Story: Amid growing public concern about rising seas, extreme weather, and disappearing biodiversity, we speak with Michael Oppenheimer, the Albert G. Milbank professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University and a longtime participant in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. He explains the science behind the planet’s changing environment, its effects on the ocean, and possible solutions to avoid “the climate danger zone.”

Stat: 11 million metric tons—the amount of plastic that enters the ocean each year. Story: We continue our “Ocean, People, Planet” season with a discussion of one of the largest threats facing the ocean: plastic pollution. Winnie Lau, who is the project director of Pew’s preventing ocean plastics project, and Richard Bailey, professor of environmental systems at Oxford University, discuss ways to reduce the amount of plastic entering the ocean and highlight a new analytical tool that nations can use to take action.

Story: “Crisis and Change: Conversations With Leaders” is produced in partnership by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. In the series, leaders from across the social sector share insights about how they are innovating during challenging times. The COVID-19 pandemic shook the world, challenging public health systems and communities. In this final episode of this special series, Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, and Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, share how they’re redefining the role of philanthropy in addressing public health crises and preparing for future pandemics.  

Story: “Crisis and Change: Conversations With Leaders” is produced in partnership by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. In the series, leaders from across the social sector share insights about how they are innovating during challenging times. The increasing wealth gap is a symptom of larger inequities facing Americans today. And 61% of Americans say there’s too much economic inequality in the U.S., according to a 2020 Pew Research Center survey. In this episode, Larry Kramer, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, discuss the origins of wealth inequality and its impact on American democracy. They also share how their institutions are creating new pathways for all communities to access secure and vibrant futures.

Story: “Crisis and Change: Conversations With Leaders” is produced in partnership by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. In the series, leaders from across the social sector share insights about how they are innovating during challenging times. In this episode, Tonya Allen, president of the McKnight Foundation, and John Palfrey, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, address the growing threat of a changing climate. They discuss how they’re answering the global call for solutions that promote equity and protect vulnerable communities, and encourage others in the philanthropic sector to act at this critical time.   

Stat: 3 times: The Arctic is warming three times faster than the planet as a whole. Story: The ocean is important for the health of the planet, and coastal communities around the world rely on it for their way of life. In Part II of “The State of Our Ocean,” we speak with Sheila (Siila) Watt-Cloutier, an environmental, cultural, and human rights advocate, about the value of the ocean to the Inuit in the Arctic and how challenges such as climate change and rising tides affect her community and its traditional ways of life. “What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic,” says Watt-Cloutier. Many of the threats emerging in her people’s culture from climate change are reflected across the world in other coastal towns.