Carried by Water

Carried by Water explores stories of movement revolving around water as a force of nature, a resource and a pillar of well-being. Season One explores the legacies and lessons learned from Super typhoon Haiyan / Yolanda, which made landfall in the Philippines on November 8, 2013. Season Two travels to the mid-Atlantic region of the United States—where communities in New Jersey and Delaware along with scientists are grappling with questions of relocation in the face of increasing flooding and sea level rise. Through stories of people making real-time decisions of whether the advantages of remaining in place outweigh the risks of repeated disaster, we consider evolving ideas of climate adaptation, home, identity and resilience. Created and hosted by Mario Soriano with research, writing and production support for Season Two from Asela Perez-Ortiz, Hannah Riggins, Farah Arnaout and Jayme Collins and for Season One from Patrick Jaojoco and Braeden Carroll. A production of Princeton University’s Blue Lab, which is co-led by Allison Carruth and Barron Bixler. Additional support at Princeton has come from the High Meadows Environmental Institute, the Humanities Council and the Office of the Dean of Research. Copyright 2023-2025 Mario Soriano and Blue Lab. All rights reserved. To learn more about Carried by Water and Blue Lab’s other original media projects and series visit: http://bluelabmedia.org/.

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Episodes

Saturday Jun 14, 2025

What do scientists make of retreat? We hear from researchers Lisa Auermuller and Ken Able of the Rutgers University Marine Field Station, an institution at the literal edge of coastal erosion, sea level rise and sunny day flooding. We discuss the research station’s history as a former Coast Guard facility and consider its vital long-term monitoring efforts, which serve as a bellwether for understanding climate change impacts. The episode concludes with real-time climatic threats to on-site station operations that the scientists are now regularly grappling with and the scenarios they are mapping out to chart their future. 
Carried by Water is created and hosted by Mario Soriano. It's a production of Blue Lab at Princeton University. 
Copyright 2025 Mario Soriano and Blue Lab (bluelabmedia.org). All rights reserved.
 

Saturday Jun 14, 2025

Coastal wetlands are crucial ecosystems. They sequester significant amounts of carbon and provide a buffer against storms and erosion. Salt marshes, in particular, are known for their ability to retreat inland in response to rising sea levels. And yet, the presence of human infrastructure blocking their paths and the accelerating rate of change put this natural adaptation into question, posing the threat of marshes drowning and decomposing in place. In this season’s final episode, we hear how scientists are racing to better understand and predict the fate of these vital systems and consider how their survival could protect human communities .
Carried by Water is created and hosted by Mario Soriano. It's a production of Blue Lab at Princeton University. 
Copyright 2025 Mario Soriano and Blue Lab (bluelabmedia.org). All rights reserved.
 

Saturday Jun 14, 2025

Just as we did last season, we wrap up Season 2 with a montage of our interviewees’ perspectives on resilience. The term continues to prove to be a complicated word, eliciting responses that range from simply utilitarian to aspirational. 
Carried by Water is created and hosted by Mario Soriano. It's a production of Blue Lab at Princeton University. 
Copyright 2025 Mario Soriano and Blue Lab (bluelabmedia.org). All rights reserved.
 

Copyright 2023 Mario Soriano and Blue Lab. All rights reserved.

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