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Polar Times

Polar Times

By: APECS
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 Science and stories from literally the coolest places on the planet! It’s said that the poles are the thermometer for the rest of the planet- what happens to the rest of us, has already been happening there for years. It’s easy with the state of the world currently to bunker down in a little private bubble, but its more essential than ever that we broaden our horizons and remember that there’s a world out there that is incredible- and needs us! And if that sounds too heavy for you then instead why not join us to escape as we take to on audial adventures to these strange and remote and beautiful places? We’ll speak to guests who’ve looked polar bears in the eye, who drive 12k ton ships through ice 9ft thick or who spend years doing science with no-one but three other people and thousands of penguins for company! These are Polar Times we live in. Join us, and we’ll take you there! An APECS Production (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists). Music credits: ”Scuba” - Metre Unaltered License: CC BY-NC-SACopyright 2020 All rights reserved. Science Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • Our changing oceans : from Ancient Waters to Modern Crisis - Episode 2/3

    Our changing oceans : from Ancient Waters to Modern Crisis - Episode 2/3
    Nov 28 2025

    Welcome back to our Polar Times mini-series: “Our changing oceans : from Ancient Waters to Modern Crisis” episode 2/3.

    In this episode, we are very happy to welcome post-docs Dr. Nan Wu and Dr. Emily Rowlands and PhD student Alena Sakovich from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), an UK-based organization!

    We discuss especially about the CUPIDO project that stands for CalcUlating the strength of the Plastic pump in counteracting the Deep export of Oceanic carbon.

    In our next episode, we will be joined by Dr. Melanie Bergmann, a professor at Alfred-Wegener Institut, Germany. Stay tuned!

    Technical details:

    Podcast host: Nadia Frontier, Nathalie Nickells, Nastasia Freyria and Emilie Pillon

    Guests: Nan Wu, Emily Rowlands and Alena Sakovich

    Editing: Emilie Pillon and Nadia Frontier

    Mastering: Nadia Frontier

    Recorded on Thursday 8th May 2025 with Riverside FM

    Covert art: modified by Nastasia Freyria from original idea by Matthew Nelson, Nicholas Parlato, and Damien Ringeisen

    Music: "Scuba" by Metre, Nul Tiel Records, UK (unaltered) CC BY-NC-SA

    This podcast is produced by APECS, the Association for Polar Early Career Scientists.
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    33 mins
  • Polar Plunge in the Science Beyond the Polar Bears - Episode 2/3

    Polar Plunge in the Science Beyond the Polar Bears - Episode 2/3
    Nov 13 2025

    Welcome back to our Polar Times mini-series: “Polar Plunge in the Science Beyond the Polar Bears” episode 2/3.

    In this episode, we welcome Adrian Heath, a past graduate student from Oregon State University, who has done research on coast erosion in the Arctic continental shelf.

    In our next episode, we will be joined by Dr Kim Bernard, a professor at Oregon State University's College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and a National Geographic Explorer in the Southern Ocean. Stay tuned!

    Technical details :

    Podcast host : Nastasia Freyria, Maria Cristina Alvarez, Mayra Meléndez, Varvara Kharlamova and Sneha Sivaram

    Guest: Adrian Heath

    Editing : Nastasia Freyria

    Mastering : Nastasia Freyria

    Recorded on Friday 27th June 2025 with Riverside FM

    Covert art : modified by Nastasia Freyria from original idea by Matthew Nelson, Nicholas Parlato, and Damien Ringeisen

    Music : "Scuba" by Metre, Nul Tiel Records, UK (unaltered) CC BY-NC-SA
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    24 mins
  • Our changing oceans : from Ancient Waters to Modern Crisis - Episode 1

    Our changing oceans : from Ancient Waters to Modern Crisis - Episode 1
    Oct 27 2025
    Our changing oceans : from Ancient Waters to Modern Crisis APECS Podcast - Episode 1/3 Welcome to the first episode from the Polar Times mini-series: “Our changing oceans: from ancient waters to modern crisis”. This three-episode podcast series explores the complex relationship between humans and our polar environments. In the next episode, four guests from the British Antarctic Survey will discuss microplastics. Technical details : Podcast host : Nastasia Freyria, Nadia Frontier, Nathalie Nickells, Emilie Pillon and André Reis Editing : André Reis and Nadia Frontier Mastering : Nadia Frontier and Emilie Pillon Recorded on Monday 31st March 2025 with Riverside FM (thanks to BAS) Covert art : modified by Nastasia Freyria from original idea by Matthew Nelson, Nicholas Parlato, and Damien Ringeisen Music : "Scuba" by Metre, Nul Tiel Records, UK (unaltered) CC BY-NC-SA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nadia: Hello and welcome to another episode of Polar Times, bringing you science and stories from literally the coolest places on the planet! I am one of your co-hosts, Nadia Frontier, a masters student at the University of Glasgow and I used to work at the British Antarctic Survey where I was studying the fate of coastal seaweeds and invertebrate biology. In this episode I will be joined by four lovely people, Emilie: Hi I’m Emilie Pillon PhD student in Anthropology from Paris Nanterre University. I’m exploring the relationship between scientists and Antarctica. Natalie: Hi I’m Natalie Nickells, PhD student from the British Antarctic survey. I specialise in humpback and fin whale foraging ecology:basically, what kind of krill swarms do they like to eat? Nastasia: Hi I’m Nastasia Freyria postdoctoral researcher from McGill university in Montreal. My research focuses on the natural attenuation of Arctic microbial communities and the development of optimal bioremediation strategies for the remediation of potential oil spills on Arctic beaches. André: Hello I’m André Torres Reis, I’m a marine arctic biologist and I am currently working as a cetacean wildlife guide and science communicator. Natalie: We will start with an opening quote to introduce the theme of our episode about polar microplastics from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Book written in 1962. Natalie: “The most alarming of all man's assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with dangerous and even lethal materials. This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable; the chain of evil it initiates not only in the world that must support life but in living tissues is for the most part irreversible. In this now universal contamination of the environment, chemicals are the “sinister” and little-recognized partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world--the very nature of its life.” (Carson, 1962: 6) Let’s reflect a little on that quote… André: Well, when hearing this passage from over 60 years ago now, it’s just only seems too unreal, to me, that we continue to remain plagued with the very nature of what Rachel “brought to light” so eloquently in her book- although, now, this has slightly shifted from major concerns around unknown ‘chemicals’ and radiation, to an increased concern around plastic pollution….What does that make you think Nadia. Nadia: When we think about plastic, we might conjure up the emotive images of plastic straws impacting turtles survivability which flooded social media after they were featured in Blue Planet 2’s final episode in 2017. This seemed to kick off public awareness of ocean plastic pollution, and individuals began to move towards reducing single use plastic in their daily lives in order to protect marine life. As scientists, we all are aware that what's visible is only the tip of the iceberg, see what we did there!, and that the causes and effects of environmental pollution are complex, multifactorial and deeply damaging to humans and the very ecosystem which supports us . Emilie: In the first episode of Our Changing Oceans, we will discuss issues surrounding sources of pollution impacting polar oceans. Nastasia: Today, we're diving deep into how human activities have transformed our oceans, from ancient times to our modern crisis. We will be your guides through this journey of discovery and science facing our uncertain futures. In this first episode, we will briefly retrace how scientists and the general public first became aware of pollution facing our oceans and the extending reach into the most inhospitable places on earth… the polar regions. André: It was in 1962, when Rachel Carson first published Silent Spring. A book, a journey where she unveils the impacts and damages of chemical products on bird ...
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    10 mins
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