Jellyfish or simply “jellies” have been around for more than 500 million years. That means, jellies were here before dinosaurs! This resilient species has a simple, but astounding makeup. Jellies don’t have a brain or a heart. They have a single cavity for eating and expelling waste. This hour, we learn about the jellies off Long Island Sound and how climate change affects their population. Have you seen any jellies on the coast of Connecticut? Their population is growing, creating consequences for our ecosystem here at home. With only a handful of species that prey on them, jelly blooms can be a real problem—impacting species around Long Island Sound, including the seafood industry. We’ll also talk about what to do if you come across one of these ethereal creatures and are stung. A spoiler alert for our listeners:don't do what you saw on Friends! What questions do you have about the jellies off our coastline? GUESTS: David Cochran: Director of Fish and Invertebrates, Mystic Aquarium Rachel Stein: Associate Director of Animal Husbandry, Maritime Aquarium Sarah Battistini: Water Safety Coordinator at the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Dive into all of the nautical themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

Sturgeon have existed for millions of years. These prehistoric fish, often described as "hardy" and "charismatic," are largely endangered. Atlantic sturgeon were thought to have disappeared from the Connecticut River. In 2014, local researchers with the state discovered a hatchling Atlantic sturgeon up-river, marking the first time they'd seen this species alongside its river-faring cousin, short-nosed sturgeon. This hour, Jacque Benway and Tom Savoy join us to discuss their sturgeon-focused research. Plus, the Maritime Aquarium recently opened a "touch tank" where the public can interact with Atlantic and lake sturgeon. GUESTS: Jacque Benway: Biologist, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Fisheries Division Tom Savoy: Sturgeon Monitoring Program, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Tom Naiman: Vice President of Education, Maritime Aquarium Dive into all of the nautical-themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

We’ve wanted to hook chef Reneé Touponce for an interview for a long time! She’s the executive chef at Oyster Club and The Port of Call, a nautical-themed cocktail lounge and restaurant in Mystic. She’s also the Connecticut Restaurant Association’s “Best Chef” of 2022 and a James Beard Award-nominee. She joins us to talk about her approach to cooking seafood and how it serves as a creative muse. Plus, Valentine Thomas, a professional spearfisherwoman, ocean conservationist, and sustainability-focused cook, discusses her book Good Catch. She’ll share tips for grilling fish and explain why we might want to eat more of it. And, Carolyn Wyman, author of The Great Clam Cake and Fritter Guide offers her picks for Connecticut’s seafood shacks making the tastiest clam cakes and fritters. GUESTS: Reneé Touponce: Executive Chef at Oyster Club and The Port of Call in Mystic. (@reneetouponce) Valentine Thomas: Author of Good Catch: A Guide to Sustainable Fish and Seafood with Recipes from the World’s Oceans(@valentinethomas) Carolyn Wyman: Author of The Great Clam Cake and Fritter Guide: Why We Love Them, How to Make Them, and Where to Find Them from Maine to Virginia FEATURED RECIPES: Fish Puttanesca Oysters, Three Ways Corn Chowder LEARN MORE: Reneé Touponce shouted out a trio of local seafood sources who’ve given her a deeper appreciation for the ingredients she cooks with every day: Sea Well Seafood (want to see a monk fish?) Will Ceddia – Sixpenny Oyster Farm (@sixpenny_oysters) Suzie Flores – Stonington Kelp Co. (@stoningtonkelpco) Listen to Will and Suzie talk about ocean farming in Connecticut in an episode from Seasoned's archive. In her segment about spearfishing and seafood, Valentine Thomas referenced this recent study about the connection between seafood consumption during pregnancy and IQ. Want to go on a clam cake crawl? Here are Carolyn Wyman’s picks for the best clam fritters in Connecticut: Deary Brothers/Mike’s Stand in Putnam Hank’s Dairy Bar in Plainfield Johnny Ad’s in Old Saybrook The Lobster Shack in East Haven Sea Swirl in Mystic This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Catie Talarski, Meg Dalton, Katrice Claudio, Stephanie Stender, Meg Fitzgerald, Tagan Engel and Sabrina Herrera.Our interns are Carol Chen and Stacey Addo. Dive into all of the nautical themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email: seasoned@ctpublic.org.

Today, the sea chantey is something people listen to while having a good time in bars or at festivals, but its roots are more complex, stretching into the hard labor performed by sailors on 19th century merchant vessels and having ties to Black work songs. During the first year of the pandemic, there was a sea chantey craze on TikTok as people found joy and connection in the songs. In this hour, we’ll treat you to the joy of the chantey form and some of the pain that lies behind it. Connecticut Public’s talk shows have teamed up to bring you a full week of stories exploring the state’s shoreline and beyond. You can find all of our NautiWeek coverage at ctpublic.org/nautiweek GUESTS: The Jovial Crew: A group of musicians and historians that’s been performing chanteys, forebitters, and other traditional old songs in Essex, CT since its founding in 1986. On the show today is Joseph Morneault, Rick Spencer, Michael Hotkowski and the group’s founder, Cliff Haslam. Dr. Maya Angela Smith: Associate professor of French at University of Washington who wrote the essay “A People’s Song Upon the Waters” Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode. Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

This hour, we listen back to a panel discussion that Khalilah hosted for The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut’s annual Nature Talks series. The discussion was called “Oceans: Our Global Watchdog.” It was recorded in front of a live audience at Grace Farms in New Canaan, CT. The panelists talked about topics like how some communities are disproportionately affected by climate change and why we need to act now to protect the planet. Connecticut Public’s talk shows have teamed up to bring you stories exploring Connecticut's shoreline for the first ever Nautiweek, short for Nautical Week. You can find all of our NautiWeek show coverage at ctpublic.org/nautiweek. To learn more about the impact of climate change on our state, watch Cutline: Climate Change Along Connecticut's Coast. GUESTS: Dr. Sylvia Earle: Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, first woman Chief Scientist at NOAA, Founder of Mission Blue / The Sylvia Earle Alliance, Founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research and Time Magazine’s first “Hero for the Planet” Dr. Camille Gaynus: Board Chair of Black in Marine Science, Assistant Teaching Professor of Biology at Penn State Brandywine and Co-founder of A WOC Space Dr. Lizzie McLeod: Global Reef Systems Lead at The Nature Conservancy Dr. Tiara Moore: Founder and CEO of Black in Marine Science, the Black in Marine Science Program Lead at The Nature Conservancy and Founder of A WOC Space Special thanks to our interns Melody Rivera, Elizabeth Van Arnam, Carol Chen and Stacey Addo. This episode originally aired on March 22, 2023.

All week long, Connecticut Public’s talk shows are celebrating all things nautical with its first-ever NautiWeek. So, on The Wheelhouse, we’re going big on some sea creatures getting attention at the State Capitol. In recent years, state lawmakers have put in place a number of protections for both horseshoe crabs and shellfish — including a ban on hand-harvesting horseshoe crabs just this past year. This hour, learn all about efforts to preserve both of these creatures in Connecticut. GUESTS: Jo-Marie Kasinak:Director, Project Limulus at Sacred Heart University John Moritz: State Reporter, CT Insider Tessa Getchis: Aquaculture Extension Educator, Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn Extension Program Special thanks to our colleague Jeni Ahrens for contributing to this episode. Dive into all of the nautical-themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

Searching for sunken treasure? Long Island Sound is hardly the place to look. But what can be found in its murky waters are ample remains of Connecticut’s once prominent shipping industry, and perhaps evidence of early Native American villages from around 20,000 years ago when the Sound was a glacial lake. This hour, we survey shipwrecks and other bits of history resting off Connecticut’s coast, as well as at the bottom of some lakes and rivers. From dugout canoes and mastodon molars to the more than two dozen ships set ablaze in Essex harborduring the War of 1812, it’s an underwater adventure not to be missed. GUESTS: Nicholas Bellantoni: Emeritus Connecticut state archaeologist who has investigated shipwrecks in Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River Christopher Goodwin: President and CEO of R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, which was contracted by the State Historic Preservation Office to survey shipwrecks along the Connecticut coast Kevin McBride: University of Connecticut archaeology professor specializing in the Native American history of Connecticut and former director of research at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Scott Brede, Betsy Kaplan, Carolyn McCusker, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Larry Roeming, Jesse Steinmetz, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 9, 2019. Connecticut Public’s talk shows have teamed up to bring you stories exploring Connecticut’s shoreline and beyond. You can find all of our NautiWeek show coverage at ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

As part of NautiWeek, you’ll meet two people who broke world records while underwater on this episode of Audacious. Budimir Šobat won a world record for holding his breath underwater for almost 25 minutes! What advice on breathing does he have for the rest of us? Then, we connect with Dr. Joe Dituri, first as he was living in a hotel 30 feet below sea level for 100 days… And then after he resurfaces, setting the world record for the longest time living underwater. GUESTS:  Budimir Šobat: Beat the Guinness World Record for Longest time breath held voluntarily underwater (male). He used 100% oxygen and went 24 minutes and 37.36 seconds without breathing Dr. Joseph Dituri: To research the effects of long-term compression on the human body, he lived 30 feet underwater for 100 days at the Jules Jules’ Undersea Lodge. This made him the Guinness World Record-holder for longest time spent living underwater Dive into all of the nautical themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

Diamondback terrapins, a species of small turtle along the coastline and marsh of Long Island Sound were once near extinction, but they’ve made a great comeback in our state. This special species was once hunted to make turtle soup, to the point that there were no terrapins left in Sound. Now that hunting the terrapins has become illegal, they have started to return. This tenacious little guy is the only turtle that lives in brackish waters - a mix of fresh and saltwater. And we are right in the middle of their migratory season. This is the time when they are especially vulnerable to being run over when they cross the road. Preserving their population is no easy task. Nature centers around our state are looking for volunteers and citizen scientists to help track the local terrapin population in our state. Have you seen a terrapin where you live? GUESTS: Jenny Hall: senior aquarist at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk Tim Abbott: Manager of High School and Adult Science Education at Soundwaters in Stamford, Connecticut Mike Ravesi: Wildlife Biologist and Herpetologist at the Connecticut Department of Environmental and Energy Protection Dive into all of the nautical themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

Just off the coast, in Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay, northern star coral flourishes. Scientists where we live hope this could be good news for its tropical relatives, increasingly threatened by warming waters. Clusters of this native coral, also known as Astrangia poculata, are being studied for their ability to survive winter through dormancy and thrive through what might be considered bleaching in more tropical regions. Researchers along the coast of New England formed the Temperate Coral Research Group to focus on this species and the insights it may offer on climate resilience. This hour, we hear from them. Plus, Long Island Soundkeeper Bill Lucey helps us kick off NautiWeek at Connecticut Public, offering the latest on warming in the Sound, his priorities and concerns. GUESTS: Bill Lucey: Long Island Soundkeeper, Save the Sound Sean Grace: Marine Ecologist; Professor of Biology, Southern Connecticut State University; Co-Director, Werth Center for Coastal and Marine Studies Koty Sharp: Associate Professor of Biology, Marine Biology & Environmental Science at Roger Williams University Amy Apprill: Associate Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Dive into all of the nautical-themed stories airing this week on Connecticut Public's original talk shows by visiting ctpublic.org/nautiweek.