About Hidden Ocean:

Hidden Ocean is a thematic podcast that connects the scientific process of chemical oceanographers to interested people through storytelling. The podcast endeavors to inspire listeners to connect their experiences with the natural world with the lens of science.

Hidden Ocean Season 1 consist of five episodes ranging from carbonate chemistry to reef aquarium chemistry. The podcast is produced by host Alex Taylor for his honors thesis at the University of Vermont in the Chemistry and Film departments utilizing two advisory boards: a scientific and storytelling advisory board. Each advisory will help to iteratively create each episode of the season. Outside consultants including podcast production companies, nonprofits, and storytellers will be utilized to help define the storyline for each episode. Hidden Ocean will be distributed on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Spotify, and other platforms. If the first season (the scope of this thesis project) is successful, additional seasons may be created with alternate themes.

Goals of Project:

Hidden Ocean has three distinct goals

1. Communicate sophisticated oceanographic chemical concepts through storytelling to anyone with a high school level of chemical knowledge and leverage this understanding to inspire action
2. Connect leading scientific research to activist / stakeholder perspectives via storytelling to demonstrate the process of using science to guide decision-making
3. Generate a sense of wonder and excitement for our oceans: the largest object on our planet but also the least understood.

The Team:

Podcast Host: Alex Taylor is a Chemistry student at the University of Vermont as well as Freelance Industrial/Theatrical Lighting Designer and User Experience Specialist at Step Ahead Innovations, in Burlington Vermont. He has been curious long before he knew that he was interested in science:

My world is filled with questions, and often when I answer a question it’s followed with many more questions. The people who encouraged me to think of this worldview with humility and awe (and not a crushing sense of overwhelm!) were my teachers. My teachers also taught me the skills to go about answering my questions in a process that I now know as science.

My chemistry studies at UVM have helped me answer many questions (and ask even more) about my favorite area of study: the ocean. I’ve had opportunities to conduct original research aboard a research ship as an NSF REU student, connect aquarists to marine chemistry concepts at the startup Step Ahead Innovations, and develop an original podcast on marine chemistry for my senior thesis. I’ve found that in these experiences I enjoyed communicating the science as much as I’ve enjoyed asking more questions.

One way that I hope to share my passion for asking and answering questions is through teaching and communicating the power of the scientific mindset with the Hidden Ocean Podcast. I’ve been lucky to find the ocean as a place where I have an infinite number of questions to ask and a passion for going about answering them; I’d like to help students find the place or concept where they are so curious it makes them constantly pursue new questions as well. Using the science communication skills I’ve been developing as well as my chemical acumen, I hope that I can provide a similar sense of inspiration to ask new questions that my teachers did for me with the podcast.

Scientific Advisory Board:

Professor Petrucci, UVM, Department of Chemistry (link)

Professor Goldberg, UVM, Department of Chemistry

Storytelling Advisory Board:

Professor Ellis, UVM, Department of Film and Television Studies (link)

Scott Stokoe – scientific philosopher

Advisors: