The Innerview

Issue 48

About this special edition: What happens when we enter the ocean? Not observe it, not cross it - but truly enter it? We believe something shifts. A profound cognitive change, akin to the Overview Effect experienced by astronauts seeing Earth from space - but in the opposite direction, into the blue. We call it the Innerview. In this special edition, produced in partnership with Nekton, we have gathered more than 50 of the world's leading ocean voices to recall their personal Innerview experiences, from presidents to philanthropists, and professors to philosophers. It is an edition of deep exploration - and contemplation.

When did you experience YOUR Innerview moment?

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Pillar Essay #1

In the first of five pillar essays, American explorer Victor Vescovo dissects the Innerview Effect, comparing it with its foil, the Overview, and considers how the elemental experience of being submerged in water transforms our perspective on how to protect the planet.

Pillar Essay #2

NASA astronaut, oceanographer and former NOAA Chief Scientist Kathy Sullivan was the first American woman to walk in space, and the first woman to reach the Challenger Deep. She muses on her experience of the Innerview, and what it taught her about our place in an intrinsically interconnected natural world.

Pillar Essay #3

Marine conservation biologist, oceanographer and author of The Ocean Life, Callum Roberts reflects on his Innerview, the ocean’s extraordinary bounty and the collective action it will take to protect it.

Pillar Essay #4

Brianna Fruean is a Samoan environmental advocate, a member of the Council of Elders for Pacific Climate Warriors and a pivotal youth voice in climate diplomacy. Here, she writes about Indigenous communities’ innate connection to the ocean, and the central place their wisdom must hold in the fight to protect it.

Pillar Essay #5

Physical oceanographer and executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute Dr Jyotika Virmani interrogates why space, not the ocean, has captured the romanticised attention of the masses – and suggests democratising the Innerview could spark a New Age of Ocean Enlightenment.

Short Essays from:

H.E. Danny Faure, Fourth President of the Republic of Seychelles; African Union Champion for the Blue Economy.
Prof Enric Sala, Marine conservationist and National Geographic Explorer in Residence; Founder and Executive Director of Pristine Seas.
H.E. Surangel Samuel Whipps Jr, President of Palau; first world leader to sign the UN High Seas Treaty.
Sir Richard Branson, Ocean Elder, entrepreneur, explorer; Founder of Virgin Group.
Alexandra Cousteau, Filmmaker and environmental advocate; Co-founder of Oceans 2050.
Trev Munkenbeck, Musical director: Mariners Away.
Dr Joe MacInnis, Physician, diver, explorer; first person to dive under the North Pole.
David Evans Shaw, Ocean Elder, entrepreneur and film producer; Co-founder of the Sargasso Sea Alliance.
Phil Short, Cave, technical, and saturation diver; Underwater Mission Lead at DEEP.
Ambassador Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean and former President of the UN General Assembly.
Dr Diva Amon, Caribbean marine biologist, National Geographic Explorer and Founder of SpeSeas.
Prof David Gruber, Marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer; Founder of Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative).
Kristen Kilgallen, Cognitive psychologist and researcher; author of The Underview Effect.
Steve Backshall MBE, BAFTA-winning naturalist, author, and explorer; broadcaster and host of Deadly 60, Shark (BBC/Sky), Expedition (BBC).
Federica Pellegrini, Olympic swimming champion, world record holder, and broadcaster.
Lieutenant Commander Hugo Mitchell-Heggs, Royal Navy Submariner; record-breaking ocean rower; co-founder of HMS Oardacious.
Dr Dawn Wright, Geographer and Chief Scientist at ESRI; first Black person to visit the Challenger Deep.
Wendy Schmidt, Philanthropist and Co-founder of the Schmidt Ocean Institute and Schmidt Family Foundation.
Jason deCaires Taylor, Sculptor and environmentalist; creator of the world’s first underwater sculpture parks and museums for reef restoration.
Hanli Prinsloo, World-record-breaking freediver; Founder of the I AM WATER Ocean Conservation Foundation.
Dr Helen Scales, Marine biologist, broadcaster, and author of The Brilliant Abyss and Eye of the Shoal.
Dr Andrew Forrest, Marine ecologist, businessman and philanthropist; Founder and Executive Chairman of Fortescue and Founder of Minderoo Foundation.
Dr Carmody Grey, Philosopher, theologian, and Professor of Integral Ecology, Radboud University; Broadcast: BBC’s The Moral Maze.
Patrick Lahey, Submersible pilot; CEO of Triton Submarines; five-time pilot to the Challenger Deep.
Hugo Tagholm, Environmentalist and Executive Director of Oceana UK; former CEO of Surfers Against Sewage.
Sonia Kwami, head of Oceana’s Ghana office and a major voice of influence across African and global policy making.
Dr Helen Czerski, Physicist, oceanographer and BBC broadcaster; author of The Blue Machine.
Robert Calcagno, Chief Executive of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco.
Sir Robin Knox Johnston, Sailor; first single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe (1969).
John Fugelsang, Actor, comedian, and broadcaster; host of Tell Me Everything and political commentator.
Lewis Black, Grammy-winning comedian, actor and author.
‘Aulani Wilhelm, Chief Executive of Nia Tero.
Jialing Cai, Underwater photographer; winner Ocean Photographer of the Year 2023 & Female Fifty Fathoms Award 2025.
Tessa Campbell Fraser, Sculptor and painter.
Rob McCallum, Ocean advocate, Founder of EYOS; 1,500 global missions including all 10,000m ocean trenches; first New Zealander to the Challenger Deep.
Richard Bailey, Ocean Elder; Founder of The Brando and the Blue Climate Initiative.
Dr Tim O’Hara, Evolutionary marine biologist and Senior Curator at Museums Victoria.
Dr Ken Takai, Extremophile microbiologist and Director at JAMSTEC.
Dr Asha de Vos, Marine biologist & Founder of Oceanswell.
Phallon Taylor Joyce, Professional goalkeeper (Manchester United / USA), marine scientist, and scientific diver.
Jenny Packham, British fashion designer.
Sheena Talma, Seychellois marine biologist & expedition leader.
Dr Dawn Kernagis, Neuroscientist; NASA-NEEMO Aquanaut; Director of Scientific Research at DEEP.
Dr Wendy Darke, Marine biologist and former Head of the BBC Natural History Unit (including Blue Planet II).
Dr Nicole Yamase, Marine biologist and first Micronesian to reach the Challenger Deep.
Noam Yaron, World-record ultra-swimmer and environmental advocate.
Paul Rose, Explorer and BBC broadcaster; National Geographic Pristine Seas Expedition Leader and former Base Commander at Rothera Research Station, Antarctica.
Dona Bertarelli, Record-breaking offshore sailor, philanthropist; founder of Dona Bertarelli Philanthropies and Sails of Change; Patron of Nature, IUCN.
Ok Kim Ja, Elder and traditional Haenyeo diver, Jeju Island.

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Oceanographic Magazine uses beautiful photography and captivating storytelling to transport both the wonder and plight of the ocean into people’s homes. It is a magazine that aims to bring our blue planet to life, to connect and inspire.
About the ocean. For the ocean.