The Surfrider Podcast

Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert joins Surfrider CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen to confront the federal government's push to expand offshore oil drilling off California, Florida, and Alaska. As the new five-year offshore leasing plan takes shape, they cut through the "energy emergency" narrative, explain why more domestic drilling won't lower prices at the pump, and trace the real cost of oil spills — from Santa B...

In 2005, a proposed six-lane toll road threatened to pave through and destroy San Onofre State Beach and its world-famous break, Trestles. This episode reveals how the Save San Onofre Coalition, Surfrider Foundation, and the Acjachemen Nation joined forces to stop it — protecting a coastline shaped by nearly 10,000 years of Indigenous history. Host David Scales talks with Surfrider's Coastal Adapt...

A "Super El Niño" is building in the Pacific, and forecasters warn the 2026–27 winter could bring some of California's most powerful storms, highest seas, and worst coastal erosion in decades. But the greater long-term threat isn't the waves — it's how we respond to them. Surfrider CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen and Dr. Charles Lester, director of UC Santa Barbara's Ocean and Coastal Policy Center, unpack wh...

In this episode, join the Surfrider Foundation's Healthy Beaches Program Manager Jenny Harrah and Plastic Pollution Initiative Sr. Manager Miho Ligare as they break down the data behind the organization's 40-year beach cleanup program — including the 2025 Beach Cleanup Report, which tracked the efforts of 34,000 volunteers at over 1,000 cleanups to remove 340,000 pounds of trash from beaches acros...

Sun protection is important to protect your health, but depending on what type of sunscreen you use, it could also be harming marine life while also exposing you to chemical sunscreen ingredients. Y   In this episode, we're joined by Katie Day, Surfrider's Senior Manager of Science and Policy, to unpack the concerning science behind the active ingredients in chemical sunscreens that are shown to b...

Clean water is essential for healthy beaches, but across the country, aging infrastructure, population growth, and climate-driven storms are pushing our wastewater systems past their limits. In this episode, we're joined by Surfrider's Clean Water Initiative Associate Director, Mara Dias, and Blue Water Task Force Volunteer Mitch Milligan to dig into what's really behind the rise in sewage spills...

Legendary pro surfer Rob Machado is widely regarded as one of the most influential and stylish surfers of all time. But Rob's relationship with and impact on surfing and the ocean run much deeper than his professional career.  In this episode, Rob shares about his deep family roots in Southern California and traces his personal journey as an ocean advocate —  from taking water samples for Surfride...

In this episode, we're joined by Surfrider's Ocean Protection Manager, Pete Stauffer, and Surfrider's CEO, Dr. Chad Nelsen, to learn more about what will happen next in the complicated and consequential offshore oil drilling process unfolding now that the initial public comment period has ended. We also discuss what obligation, if any, the federal government has to listen to and "consider" the ove...

Despite federal environmental rollbacks and budget cuts to NOAA and EPA, the Surfrider Foundation secured more than 40 coastal victories in 2025 — proving that grassroots activism and community-level action can still deliver real results for ocean protection. CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen and senior staff Emma Haydocy and Miho Ligare reflect on groundbreaking wins, including the completion of the 30-year Su...

The January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires didn't just devastate communities — they unleashed a cascade of toxic contamination into Southern California's coastal waters. When flames consumed over 16,000 structures in the Palisades and Eaton fires, they created a new environmental crisis: ash, heavy metals, PFAS chemicals, and hazardous debris washing directly into the Pacific Ocean. In this episode, w...

When half of America's beaches could vanish by 2100, what's the solution? Join Surfrider's Climate Action Program Manager Carla Avila-Martinez and Coasts & Climate Initiative Sr. Manager Emma Haydocy as they reveal how Surfrider's network is restoring America's coastlines using nature-based solutions like planting mangrove forests, removing invasive plant species , and restoring coastal dunes. Thi...

In this episode, we explore Surfrider's decades-long campaign against offshore drilling and the devastating environmental costs of our dependence on fossil fuels with Surfrider CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen and Surfrider's Ocean Protection Manager, Pete Stauffer. We also hear from Violet Sage Walker, the Chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council — nominators of the Chumash Heritage National Marine S...

Over 40 years ago, a group of surfers from Malibu, California, were concerned about escalating coastal development at their favorite surf spot, and they took action. In this episode, we hear from Surfrider's co-founder Glenn Hening, world champion surfer and Surfrider's first ambassador Shaun Tomson, and current CEO Dr. Chad Nelsen to explore the motivation behind and the evolution of Surfrider's...

Montauk, known locally as "The End," is a historic fishing village at the eastern tip of Long Island that boasts some of the finest surf beaches on the East Coast — many now threatened by serious water quality and beach erosion issues. In today's episode, we speak with Taylor and Liev Schreiber, exploring their special connection to the town, the ocean, and their long-standing support of Surfrider...

The Tijuana River is poisoning San Diego residents. Every day, millions of gallons of untreated sewage, toxic chemicals, and trash are crossing the international border, and the problem is spreading to an increasingly greater area of San Diego County. In today's show, we talk to Surfrider's Clean Border Water Now Program Manager Sarah Davidson, Doctor Kimberly Dickson, who is treating local reside...