David Shiffman: On Jaws, Sharknados, Megalodon-Mania and Shark Week Vs. Sharks

Author and marine conservation biologist David Shiffman (Why Sharks Matter) talks about Sharkweek, Sharknados, megalodon myths, Jaws and junk science with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young (author of Sharks Forever & Big Sharks, Small World). “More people are bitten by other people on the New York city subway system every year than are bitten by sharks in...

Continue reading


Gloria Pancrazi: On Endangered Orcas, Endangered Humans and Making Movies that Change the World

Filmmaker Gloria Pancrazi (Coextinction) talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young about red herrings, fishy fish farms, whale watching, whale saving and Coextinction. “Orcas are telling us something. They’re showing us something. You can learn a lot about the things we’ve got to do in the world right now by looking at these orcas.” Shownotes: 3:35...

Continue reading


Danna Staaf: On Alien Octopuses, Squid Squads and Why Baby Animals Rule

Cephalopod expert Danna Staaf (author of The Lady and the Octopus and Monarchs of the Sea) talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young about the alien world of octopuses, the secret lives of squid and her two new books Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World and...

Continue reading


Jason Colby: On the Capture of Toki/Tokitae/Lolita/Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut and How Penn Cove Almost Ended the Southern Resident Orcas

Jason Colby (author of Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean’s Greatest Predator) talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young about the capture of Toki/Tokitae/Lolita/Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut and how Penn Cove almost ended the southern resident orcas and was the beginning of the end of the capture era. “It’s worth remembering that the argument at...

Continue reading


Howard Garrett: On the Life and Death of the Orca Toki/Tokitae/Lolita/Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut

Howard Garrett (Orca Network) remembering the southern resident orca Toki/Tokitae/Lolita/Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut and his nearly thirty year fight to bring Toki home to the Salish Sea. “Toki’s legacy is building, building, building by the day… She wasn’t just a circus animal. She was a member of the southern residents.” Shownotes: 0:00 The voice of Toki. 4:57 How...

Continue reading


Rowena Rae on How We Can Save Salmon, the Fish Farm Jail-Break & Unlocking the Mysteries of a Keystone Species

Author and biologist Rowena Rae on swimming with salmon, threats to this essential species and their incredible resilience with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young. “Salmon can thrive if we just give them a chance… if people would just get out of the way, they can thrive”. Shownotes: 3:54 On becoming a biologist and leaving biology for...

Continue reading


Alessandro De Maddalena on Hunting for the Perfect Shark Photo and the Orcas Hunting Great White Sharks

Shark expert Alessandro De Maddalena talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young about hunting for the perfect shark photo, the two orcas who are hunting great white sharks in South African waters, what makes great whites great and so much more! “The reason I love sharks is that they are a perfect art form. I consider Mother...

Continue reading


Sean Holman on Fighting for Facts and Holding Onto Hope as the World Burns

Sean Holman @Seanholman founder and lead of the Climate Disaster Project @cdp_community talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young @leirenyoung about the past and future of the media’s climate coverage, fighting fires with facts and sharing stories to save the future. Shownotes: 5:00 Welcome Sean Holman. Why he challenged journalists to do better in their climate...

Continue reading


Decimating the Deep: The Dangers of Ocean Floor Mining With Jonathan Mesulam

Jonathan Mesulam @MesulamJonathan Founder and Coordinator of the West Coast Development Foundation in New Guinea talks with Skaana host Mark Leiren-Young @leirenyoung about the crucial fight to stop Deep Sea Mining in his home – New Guinea – and around the world. Shownotes: 5:00 Welcome to Jonathan Mesulam 10:00 The importance of the church in...

Continue reading


Multi-talented writer Mark Leiren-Young dives into the world of sharks

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.yammagazine.com/multi-talented-writer-mark-leiren-young-dives-into-the-world-of-sharks/ “The National Post once described Mark Leiren-Young as someone with a background in pretty much everything. That’s fairly accurate. Leiren-Young is a playwright, author, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, editor, podcaster, producer, director, documentarian, comedy performer, satirist, memoirist, university lecturer, occasional actor and full-time environmentalist.” -David Lennam, Yam Magazine.

Continue reading