Take a deep dive into the sonic realms of the sea. With natural soundscapes recorded beneath the surface, this is a journey of discovery into how important sound is for all sea creatures - from whales, dolphins, and porpoises, to the smallest invertebrates, sound is an essential part of their being.

Since the discovery that whale song can be heard across entire oceans, many researchers have been exploring how human-produced sounds and frequencies may affect communication among the mammals. But as we on the surface can’t hear the sounds beneath the sea, we can be oblivious to the devastating effects some of these noises can have on underwater life. As humans we bring to the vast arena of the oceans much louder sounds than would occur naturally on the evolutionary scale - shipping, sonar used for underwater navigation, and the loud seismic gun testing blasts produced when surveying the ocean bed for oil and gas.

Do we need to start listening to our oceans?

With contributions from: Professor Volker Deecke, marine pollution consultant Tim Deere-Jones, researchers Sarah Dickson, Jordan Burgess, Jo Garrett, and writer Jay Richardson.

This series of New Storytellers features the winners of this year’s Charles Parker Prize 2023 for the Best Student Radio Feature. Out at Sea, Out of Mind was produced by recent University of Sunderland MA Radio, Audio and Podcasting student Lottie Steele and the feature is, in the words of the judges, “skilfully creative” and “expertly montaged so that there is a great sense of flow”. And they admired the “beautiful use of sound and music. A shocking and important programme.”

Producer: Lottie Steele
A Soundscape production for BBC Radio 4 Show less