Episode #61 Show Notes

To Spend One Day in Her Shoes: Stories from a Marine Biologist with Christine Figgener, PhD

February 1, 2022

Headshot photo of Christine Figgener
Christine FiggenerPhD, Marine Biologist, Director of Science & Conservation Coasts

Episode #61 Summary

Today’s guest you’ve heard of but probably don’t know her full story. Remember the viral video from a few years back of a group of researchers pulling a straw out of a sea turtle’s nose that subsequently launched the massive anti-plastic movement? Well, the woman behind the camera was Christine Figgener, Ph.D., and for this week’s episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with her and explore her work from the past 15 years. Chris is a marine biologist and has spent her career on the beaches of Costa Rica researching and saving Leatherback and Hawksbill sea turtles. 

You might be asking yourself but, Brooke, didn’t you already have on a sea turtle expert? You are correct, which is why Chris and I talk about a wide range of different topics including how she left Germany and moved to Costa Rica to be a marine biologist; the fateful day in 2013 in which her close friend was murdered while patrolling a sea turtle beach and what she decided to do afterward; how the organization COASTS came to be; how the plastics crisis is affecting our oceans and what we all can do to help; and, lastly, battling sexual assault against women in conservation.

Yes, we touch on all of these topics and so much more. Chris is an open book and doesn’t hold anything back, which I absolutely adore. Because of her openness, we were able to talk about several taboo topics that need to be addressed if things are to change for the better.

Alright, let’s get to today’s episode with Christine.

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