PodcastsLife SciencesThe Deep-Sea Podcast

The Deep-Sea Podcast

Thomas Linley
The Deep-Sea Podcast
Latest episode

146 episodes

  • The Deep-Sea Podcast

    What is the Deep-Sea Even Like? With Dr. Thomas Linley - Oceanography Podcast

    2026/06/28 | 58 mins.
    C-C-C-C-CROSSOVER!
    What is the Deep-Sea Even Like? With Dr. Thomas Linley
    Join Dr. Thom Linley, one of our venerated hosts, for a special cross over episode with our friends at Oceanography. This deep-sea primer episode is a great overview for a first time deep-diver, taking you to the very heart of our favorite habitat. 

    What is the deep sea — really? Deep-sea researcher Dr. Thom Linley (Curator of Fishes at Te Papa Tongarewa, National Museum of New Zealand) breaks down the deep ocean as a connected world with distinct zones, ecosystems, and rules — not one mysterious “blob.” From the bathyal and abyssal to the hadal trenches, this conversation maps what’s down there, how life survives crushing pressure and perpetual darkness, and why the deep sea functions as the engine under the hood of the entire planet.

    This episode explores:

    What counts as “deep sea” (and why the definition is changing)

    The major deep-sea zones and how they blend into each other

    Whale falls — the deep ocean’s sudden “feast events” and the strange life they power

    Why trenches can be food-rich funnels (and why that matters)

    How deep-sea animals adapt at the molecular level (cells, fats, enzymes)

    The technology that makes deep-sea science possible: landers, traps, cameras, and autonomous systems

    The reality of deep-sea pollution: plastic and “forever chemicals” showing up even at extreme depths

    Why museum collections are time capsules for future ocean science

     

    If you’re into thoughtful mythbusting, weird deep-ocean ecology, and the real logistics of studying a place humans can barely access — you’re in the right place.

    Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

    Episode Guests: Dr. Thomas Linley

    Browse Dr. Linley’s publications on Google Scholar

    Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

    Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

    Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

    Cover art by Jomiro Eming

    Theme music by Nela Ruiz
  • The Deep-Sea Podcast

    PRESSURISED: 069 – The Anglerfish Files

    2026/06/19 | 38 mins.
    Welcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 69. Just the science, none of the chit-chat. 
    Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.

     
    Episode Summary
    This month on the Deep-Sea Podcast we are honored to host a 3 expert superfan session for one of our favorite little devils of the deep- Anglerfish. Join Thom as he chats with James Maclaine Senior fish curator at the Natural History Museum London and our own Andrew Stewart, curator of fishes at Te Papa, all about some of their favorite fishes, the ceratioid anglerfish (Ceratioidei) or deep-sea anglerfish. 

    Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.

    In this episode…
    Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea! 

     

    This month Alan has been working on getting a Nova Canton Trough organism menu prepared while Thom has been appearing on and hosting numerous podcast episodes while planning a workshop, fostering kittens and taking a good look at the newest snailfish. 

     

    For our interview we are honored to host a three expert superfan session for one of our favorite little devils of the deep- Anglerfish. Join Thom as he chats with James Maclaine Senior fish curator at the Natural History Museum London and our own Andrew Stewart, curator of fishes at Te Papa get together  about some of their favorite fishes, the ceratioid anglerfish or deep-sea anglerfish. 

     

    Listen-in to back-stage fish curator chat all about the wide variety of Anglerfish shapes and sizes, lures and lights, feeding preferences, reproduction habits, feminist archetypes, game show personalities, and a memorable experience of "pass the football fish". Including Vantablack, pharyngeal teeth, Dreamers, Wonderfish, sideways anuses, love bites, and an epic battle resulting in both combatants being “locked together in death”, this episode will scratch your Anglerfish itch in the most satisfying way. 

     

    We also hear from friend of the show Kat Bolstad with her professional opinion on the recently released giant cretaceous octopus paper, and Kat gives a lovely reading from Prema Arasu’s new book of poetry titled Vampire Squid. 

     

    In the news, get ready for updates on:

    The largest sponge ever found

    A thousand year coral crisis

    Mystery of the golden orb revealed

    Which fish is diving into the exit end of a manta-ray 

     Who is eating the English coast octopus bloom

     And real life Goblins

    Discord update

    Silk glands

    Behind the scenes fish curator photos

    Fossil hunts and Trawling adventures

    Alvin Submersible internship

    Wellington Board Game Festival in-person interview

    Merch from our friends, terrible Ai photos, new tattoos and more! 

     

    Support the show
    The podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:

    Lain Null, Семен Приймаченко, Prof.Bob-o-lo-po-lis, Jamie Morgan, Brent S, Ayla

     

    Check out our podcast merch here!

     

    Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:

    podcast@deepseapod.com

    We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!

    https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail

    Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!

     

    Find out more
    Social media
    BlueSky: @deepseapod.com

    Twitter: @DeepSeaPod

    Instagram: @deepsea_podcast

     

    Keep up with the team on social media
    Twitter: 
    Alan - @Hadalbloke

    Thom - @ThomLinley 

     

    Instagram: 
    Thom - @thom.linley 

    Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions

     
    BlueSky:
    Thom @thomaslinley.com

     Alan @hadalbloke

     

    Credits
    Image credit:

     

    References
    Appearances and Collaborations

    Reef Chats: Ocean Art & Science Conversations | Moku Art Studio

    Atacama Trench Snailfishes VS Abyssal Plains Assfishes! On Fish of the Week Podcast with Dr. Thom Linley

    Guest Speaker Links

    Giant, kraken-like octopuses may have ruled the Cretaceous deep

    Earliest octopuses were giant top predators in Cretaceous oceans | Science

    Vampire Squid - Fremantle Press

    Deep-Sea News

    Lost millennium of Galápagos deep-sea corals linked to major Pacific climate shift

    A millennium of cold-water coral habitat loss in the East Pacific during low ENSO variability in the mid- to late Holocene | PNAS

    Record-Breaking Deep-Sea ‘Ocean Monster’ the Size of a Car Stuns Scientists off Hawaii (Video)

    Drapery and the secret history of painting

    Scientists reveal identity of mysterious ‘golden orb’ collected during NOAA expedition | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Mitogenomics suggests a sister relationship of Relicanthus daphneae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: incerti ordinis) with Actiniaria | Scientific Reports

    Mystery Marine Organism Classified as Sea Anemone | AMNH

    Hiding in Plain Sight: Evidence of Echeneidae Cloacal and Gill Diving Behavior in Manta Ray Hosts - Yeager - 2026 - Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library

    Sucker fish are hiding in manta rays’ ‘butthole,’ new study reveals | Scientific American

    Octopus influx keeping deep sea dolphins inshore for longer

    Future rare octopus blooms 'likely' in UK seas

    First in situ observations of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni - Judah - Journal of Fish Biology - Wiley Online Library

     

    Discord Updates

    https://mateblog.unols.org/author/kencsukas/

    Inside the Sub That Reached Earth's Deepest Point | Bathyscaphe Trieste

    Support Skype a Scientist with the Squid Facts shop!

    Through the Darkening Sea

    Interview Links

    Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea

    Lasiognathus - Wikipedia

    Caulophryne polynema - Wikipedia

    Gigantactis - Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_seadevil

     

    Credits
    Image credit

    Logo image: Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
  • The Deep-Sea Podcast

    The Anglerfish Files

    2026/06/06 | 1h 27 mins.
    Episode Summary
    This month on the Deep-Sea Podcast we are honored to host a 3 expert superfan session for one of our favorite little devils of the deep- Anglerfish. Join Thom as he chats with James Maclaine Senior fish curator at the Natural History Museum London and our own Andrew Stewart, curator of fishes at Te Papa, all about some of their favorite fishes, the ceratioid anglerfish (Ceratioidei) or deep-sea anglerfish. 

    Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.

    In this episode…
    Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea! 

     

    This month Alan has been working on getting a Nova Canton Trough organism menu prepared while Thom has been appearing on and hosting numerous podcast episodes while planning a workshop, fostering kittens and taking a good look at the newest snailfish. 

     

    For our interview we are honored to host a three expert superfan session for one of our favorite little devils of the deep- Anglerfish. Join Thom as he chats with James Maclaine Senior fish curator at the Natural History Museum London and our own Andrew Stewart, curator of fishes at Te Papa get together  about some of their favorite fishes, the ceratioid anglerfish or deep-sea anglerfish. 

     

    Listen-in to back-stage fish curator chat all about the wide variety of Anglerfish shapes and sizes, lures and lights, feeding preferences, reproduction habits, feminist archetypes, game show personalities, and a memorable experience of "pass the football fish". Including Vantablack, pharyngeal teeth, Dreamers, Wonderfish, sideways anuses, love bites, and an epic battle resulting in both combatants being “locked together in death”, this episode will scratch your Anglerfish itch in the most satisfying way. 

     

    We also hear from friend of the show Kat Bolstad with her professional opinion on the recently released giant cretaceous octopus paper, and Kat gives a lovely reading from Prema Arasu’s new book of poetry titled Vampire Squid. 

     

    In the news, get ready for updates on:

    The largest sponge ever found

    A thousand year coral crisis

    Mystery of the golden orb revealed

    Which fish is diving into the exit end of a manta-ray 

     Who is eating the English coast octopus bloom

     And real life Goblins

    Discord update

    Silk glands

    Behind the scenes fish curator photos

    Fossil hunts and Trawling adventures

    Alvin Submersible internship

    Wellington Board Game Festival in-person interview

    Merch from our friends, terrible Ai photos, new tattoos and more! 

     

    Support the show
    The podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:

    Lain Null, Семен Приймаченко, Prof.Bob-o-lo-po-lis, Jamie Morgan, Brent S, Ayla

     

    Check out our podcast merch here!

     

    Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:

    podcast@deepseapod.com

    We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!

    https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail

    Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!

     

    Find out more
    Social media
    BlueSky: @deepseapod.com

    Twitter: @DeepSeaPod

    Instagram: @deepsea_podcast

     

    Keep up with the team on social media
    Twitter: 
    Alan - @Hadalbloke

    Thom - @ThomLinley 

     

    Instagram: 
    Thom - @thom.linley 

    Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions

     
    BlueSky:
    Thom @thomaslinley.com

     Alan @hadalbloke

     

    Credits
    Image credit:

     

    References
    Appearances and Collaborations

    Reef Chats: Ocean Art & Science Conversations | Moku Art Studio

    Atacama Trench Snailfishes VS Abyssal Plains Assfishes! On Fish of the Week Podcast with Dr. Thom Linley

    Guest Speaker Links

    Giant, kraken-like octopuses may have ruled the Cretaceous deep

    Earliest octopuses were giant top predators in Cretaceous oceans | Science

    Vampire Squid - Fremantle Press

    Deep-Sea News

    Lost millennium of Galápagos deep-sea corals linked to major Pacific climate shift

    A millennium of cold-water coral habitat loss in the East Pacific during low ENSO variability in the mid- to late Holocene | PNAS

    Record-Breaking Deep-Sea ‘Ocean Monster’ the Size of a Car Stuns Scientists off Hawaii (Video)

    Drapery and the secret history of painting

    Scientists reveal identity of mysterious ‘golden orb’ collected during NOAA expedition | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Mitogenomics suggests a sister relationship of Relicanthus daphneae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: incerti ordinis) with Actiniaria | Scientific Reports

    Mystery Marine Organism Classified as Sea Anemone | AMNH

    Hiding in Plain Sight: Evidence of Echeneidae Cloacal and Gill Diving Behavior in Manta Ray Hosts - Yeager - 2026 - Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library

    Sucker fish are hiding in manta rays’ ‘butthole,’ new study reveals | Scientific American

    Octopus influx keeping deep sea dolphins inshore for longer

    Future rare octopus blooms 'likely' in UK seas

    First in situ observations of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni - Judah - Journal of Fish Biology - Wiley Online Library

     

    Discord Updates

    https://mateblog.unols.org/author/kencsukas/

    Inside the Sub That Reached Earth's Deepest Point | Bathyscaphe Trieste

    Support Skype a Scientist with the Squid Facts shop!

    Through the Darkening Sea

    Interview Links

    Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea

    Lasiognathus - Wikipedia

    Caulophryne polynema - Wikipedia

    Gigantactis - Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_seadevil

     

    Credits
    Image credit

    Logo image: Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
  • The Deep-Sea Podcast

    PRESSURISED: 068 – The Unseen Ocean Collective

    2026/05/15 | 39 mins.
    Welcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 67. Just the science, none of the chit-chat. 
    Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.

    Episode Summary
    This month on the Deep-Sea Podcast we are joined by The Unseen Ocean Collective, this art and science collective comprised of Meghan Jones, Lara Beckmann, Nilanjana Das and Kierstin Keller are bringing the beauty and wonder of the deep-sea to the public through international art and science events. 

    Support the show
    The podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:

    Amrei - is only known from a single specimen caught by the challenger expedition

    Diana Noto - was considered lost for decades until they were found at the back of the sponge collection

    Pedro - has been found to flouress under the right wavelengths of light, no one knows why

    Check out our podcast merch here!

     

    Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:

    podcast@deepseapod.com

    We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!

    https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail

    Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!

     

    Find out more
    Social media
    BlueSky: @deepseapod.com

    Twitter: @DeepSeaPod

    Instagram: @deepsea_podcast

     

    Keep up with the team on social media
    Twitter: 
    Alan - @Hadalbloke

    Thom - @ThomLinley 

    https://twitter.com/ThomLinley

    Instagram: 
    Thom - @thom.linley 

    Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions

    BlueSky:
    Thom @thomaslinley.com

     

     Alan @hadalbloke

     

    Reference list
    Interview Links
    Unseen Ocean Collective.

    Unseen Ocean Collective (@unseenoceancollective) • Instagram photos and videos

    Unseen Ocean Collective on Blusky

    America’s Hidden Deep-Sea Coral Gardens Come To Spokane - Trending Northwest

    Meghan Jones

    studio mbj

    Meghan Jones (@studio_mbj) • Instagram photos and videos

    Studio MBJ on Blusky

     

    Lara Beckmann

    Lara (@planulara) • Instagram photos and videos

    planulara | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

     

    Kierstin Keller

    Golden Spiral Studios

    Kierstin Keller (@golden.spiral.studios) • Instagram photos and videos

    Nilanjana Das

    Nilanjana (@highseas_sculptures) • Instagram photos and videos

    Nilanjana Das | Department of Microbiology

    Credits
    Logo image: “Snailfish Cupcake” by Meghan Jones

    Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
  • The Deep-Sea Podcast

    The Unseen Ocean Collective

    2026/05/01 | 1h 13 mins.
    Episode Summary
    This month on the Deep-Sea Podcast we are joined by The Unseen Ocean Collective, this art and science collective comprised of Meghan Jones, Lara Beckmann, Nilanjana Das and Kierstin Keller are bringing the beauty and wonder of the deep-sea to the public through international art and science events. 

     

    Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.

    In this episode…
    Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea! 

     

    This month Thom is freshly back from a 5 week expedition to  Antarctica with Aurora Expeditions, managed 4 ESCA deployments in 24 hours and watched in amazement while Kat fended off a large iceberg with her bare hands and a boat hook. Alan had a great time with old friends, may have played hookey on a podcast record, and spent 2 weeks in Antigua listening to ‘80’s hair metal. We get an update from Monty on Chimaera mating, and get to hear about the forever home for the “I am your tongue now” mug from @fibreandmud. 

     

    In the news, get ready for updates on:

    Redefining our understanding of sinking carbon

    Cancer-fighting sponges

    New branch of life discovered

    New film on bioluminescence

    Mystery whale revealed through skin fragment

    Discord update

    Tongue-eating louse asked for autograph, shyly declines

    The “I Am Your Tongue Now” mug finds new forever home

    Lost Alan- reward $100

    Baby Paddlefish, deep-sea dreams, Alvin maintenance

    Squid hunts, deep-sea accessories, shark cartoons and more!

    Support the show
    The podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:

    Amrei - is only known from a single specimen caught by the challenger expedition

    Diana Noto - was considered lost for decades until they were found at the back of the sponge collection

    Pedro - has been found to flouress under the right wavelengths of light, no one knows why

    Check out our podcast merch here!

     

    Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:

    podcast@deepseapod.com

    We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!

    https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail

    Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!

     

    Find out more
    Social media
    BlueSky: @deepseapod.com

    Twitter: @DeepSeaPod

    Instagram: @deepsea_podcast

     

    Keep up with the team on social media
    Twitter: 
    Alan - @Hadalbloke

    Thom - @ThomLinley 

    https://twitter.com/ThomLinley

    Instagram: 
    Thom - @thom.linley 

    Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions

    BlueSky:
    Thom @thomaslinley.com

     

     Alan @hadalbloke

     

    Reference list
    News 
    Deep-Sea News
    Oceanography Podcast

     

    Thom’s Episode

    Apple Podcasts: Oceanography Episode 27: What is the Deep-Sea Even Like? 

    Spotify Podcasts: Oceanography Episode 27: What is the Deep-Sea Even Like?

     

    Alan’s Episode

    Spotify Podcasts: Oceanography Episide 28: Ocean Trenches Explained

    Apple Podcasts: Ocean Trenches Explained with Prof. Alan Jamieson

     

    News from our Episode

    Extreme Ocean Pressure Is Feeding Deep-Sea Life in a Way Scientists Never Expected

    Deep-sea natural compound targets cancer cells through a dual mechanism

    Photoaffinity Labeling Strategy Reveals Tetraspanin CD9 as a Transient Target of Anticancer Yaku'amide B

    24 new deep-sea species found including a rare new branch of life | ScienceDaily

    dm, Europe’s Largest Drugstore Retailer, Drops All Krill Products

    Marine biologist Edie Widder chases bioluminescence in new ‘Life Illuminated’ film

    Tracked by Sound for Years, This Mysterious Deep-Sea Whale Was Finally Seen Alive

    Discord Updates
    Underwater Robot Resources for All Ages | Nautilus Live

    Kid Engineer: Underwater R.O.V. | Design Squad

    Sleeper Shark cartoon Post by @mossworm.bsky.social

    Best Ocean Documentaries, Books & Podcasts (Updated List)

    Laura :) (@fibreandmud) • Instagram photos and videos

     

    Interview Links
    Unseen Ocean Collective.

    Unseen Ocean Collective (@unseenoceancollective) • Instagram photos and videos

    Unseen Ocean Collective on Blusky

    America’s Hidden Deep-Sea Coral Gardens Come To Spokane - Trending Northwest

    Meghan Jones

    studio mbj

    Meghan Jones (@studio_mbj) • Instagram photos and videos

    Studio MBJ on Blusky

     

    Lara Beckmann

    Lara (@planulara) • Instagram photos and videos

    planulara | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

     

    Kierstin Keller

    Golden Spiral Studios

    Kierstin Keller (@golden.spiral.studios) • Instagram photos and videos

    Nilanjana Das

    Nilanjana (@highseas_sculptures) • Instagram photos and videos

    Nilanjana Das | Department of Microbiology

    Credits
    Song of the month:
    Cover of Hamilton’s You’ll Be Back by Punk Rock Factory.

    You'll Be Back - song and lyrics by Punk Rock Factory | Spotify

    Punk Rock Factory - You'll Be Back (from Hamilton)

    Logo image: “Snailfish Cupcake” by Meghan Jones

    Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
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About The Deep-Sea Podcast
A couple of deep-sea scientists talk everything deep sea! Interesting facts, recent news, myth-busting and interviews with the most interesting people we know.
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