Deep Dive Into Water Safety

Episode Notes Beyond Swim Lessons: Building Lifelong Water Safety What does it really mean for a child to be safe around water? Chris Harkness , President of SafeSplash Swim School , talks about why learning to swim is only part of the answer. He explains the Safer Swimmer Promise, the self-rescue skills children should develop, and why becoming a capable swimmer takes time, repetition, and consis...

Episode Notes Beyond the Plan: Turning Water Safety Into Action Drowning prevention does not begin with a swimming pool. It begins with knowledge, local leadership, and the willingness to use the resources a community already has. Nathalie Martin discusses how her work in aquatics, research, humanitarian settings, and drowning prevention led to the creation of the Swim Global Project, a network de...

Episode Notes August 16, 2026 Before the Rescue: Can Hawaiʻi Become the World’s Model for Water Safety? Chief Kurt Lager on the Future of Ocean Safety in Hawaiʻi What if the future of ocean safety begins before anyone needs rescuing? Honolulu Ocean Safety is entering a new era. Now operating as an independent department, it has a greater ability to shape its staffing, equipment, facilities, budget...

Episode Notes What Nine Championships Teach You About the Ocean: Kanesa Duncan Seraphin Nine-time Molokaʻi to Oʻahu prone paddleboard world champion Kanesa Duncan Seraphin has spent a lifetime learning from the ocean. A Hawaiʻi Waterman Hall of Fame inductee, marine scientist, educator, and host of the award winning Voice of the Sea , Kanesa brings a rare combination of elite ocean experience and...

Episode Notes July 30, 2026: Alissa Magrum paddles with Kalani Vierra for Paddle for Life The conversation focuses on drowning prevention through awareness, collaboration, and data-driven solutions. Alissa Magrum ( NDPA ) discusses her participation in the Paddle for Life event, a 100-mile paddle around Kauaʻi led by Kalani Vierra, OSB Chief for Kauai, to raise awareness and funds for water safety...

Episode Notes Building Water Competence: What Hawaiʻi Can Learn from England Every child deserves the knowledge and confidence to make safe decisions around water. But what is the best way to teach it? This episode explores England's nationally coordinated approach to water safety education and the lessons it offers for Hawaiʻi. It examines why England developed a National Water Safety Competency...

Episode Notes **What's Your Kuleana? The Question Hawaiʻi Asks the World What does kuleana really mean? In this thought provoking conversation, award winning journalist Sara Kehaulani Goo , President of Creator Content at The Washington Post and author of Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawaiʻi, shares the story behind her family's effort to protect ancestral land on Maui and t...

Episode Notes Beyond the Rescue: What One Rip Current Incident Teaches Us About Saving Lives This episode features Sam Proffitt, Ocean Rescue Director for Wrightsville Beach, firefighter, paramedic, veteran lifeguard, researcher, and member of the International Drowning Researchers' Alliance (IDRA). His work bridges frontline rescue operations and drowning research, including studies on drowning c...

Episode Notes ** Eyes for Lives: Building the Next Generation of First Nations Lifeguards What if one of the most effective ways to prevent drowning is not a new rescue technique, but helping people reconnect with culture, community, and the ocean? In this episode of Deep Dive Into Water Safety, Bundjalung Saltwater People Brook Silvester and his son Zane join the program to discuss the work they...

Episode Notes June 4, 2026: Dr David Szpilman: Drowning Is Preventable: What if one of the biggest barriers to preventing drowning isn't a lack of rescue skills, but how we think about drowning itself? Physician, researcher, and drowning prevention pioneer Dr. David Szpilman joins Deep Dive Into Water Safety to discuss the science, data, and lifesaving strategies that have helped reshape drowning...

Episode Notes June 1, 2026: Dr Will Koon: Beyond Warning Signs: Rethinking Drowning Prevention in Hawaiʻi Dr. Will Koon is a drowning prevention researcher with Royal Life Saving Australia whose work focuses on understanding who is drowning, why they are drowning, and how communities can reduce risk through better data and targeted interventions. He has been involved in Australia's National Water...

Episode Notes David and Tia Samuel In this episode of  Deep Dive into Water Safety , Margaret Wright speaks with David and Tia Samuel from Brighton, England, about how surf lifesaving, family involvement, and early education are changing the way communities approach drowning prevention. David shares how Brighton Surf Life Saving Club grew into a major volunteer-driven organization and explains the...

Episode Notes March 3, 2026: Robin Baird, PhD Marine Mammal Researcher Robin Baird is a marine biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective who has been studying dolphins and whales in Hawaiian waters since 1999. During this interview, he discussed how little scientific information previously existed about many nearshore species in Hawaiʻi and how long‑term research has helped improve understan...

Episode Notes Research, CPSC Warning, and Manufacturer Responsibility Hanna Van Waart PhD  Exercise Physiologist at the University of Aukland discussed full face mask safety, her research and manufacturer’s responsibility The research article, “Full-face snorkel masks increase the incidence of hypoxemia and hypercapnia during simulated snorkeling compared to conventional snorkels,” was published i...

Episode Notes April 8, 2026 This episode of Deep Dive into Water Safety explores a critical truth: drowning is not random, rare, or inevitable; it is a preventable public health crisis. Alissa Magrum , Executive Director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance , will unpack why drowning continues to impact communities worldwide despite being largely preventable. Alissa shares her deeply perso...

Episode Notes Inside the Roundup: Drasko Bogdanovic and Dr. Justin Sempsrott on the Critical Minutes That Save Lives — “Micro Delays Matter” This episode of Deep Dive Into Water Safety focused on what happens in the first minutes after a drowning rescue and why those moments can determine survival long before someone reaches a hospital. Returning guests Drasko Bogdanovic and Dr. Justin Sempsrott d...

Episode Notes April 26, 2026 From Rescue to Prevention: Ralph Goto on Snorkeling Safety in HawaiʻiUnderstanding the risks behind snorkeling incidents and the future of ocean safety through research, education, and lifeguard leadership This episode explores the evolution of lifeguarding in Hawaiʻi and takes a deep dive into the growing concerns around snorkeling safety. Veteran ocean safety leader...

Episode Notes May 5, 2026 Kia Maanu, Kia Ora! Stay Afloat, Stay Alive ! Mark Haimona is a leading Māori water safety educator and researcher from Aotearoa New Zealand whose work has helped reshape Indigenous drowning-prevention strategies through culturally grounded education and community engagement. His career has focused on moving beyond traditional Western lifeguarding models toward approaches...

Episode Notes Standardization of Practice and Lifeguards should be First Responders and Families should know Pushy Pushy Blowy Blowy Sparky Sparky In this episode, internationally recognized experts Dr. Patrick Morgan Medical Director to His Majesty’s Coastguard. He has been a key contributor to advancing standardized drowning definitions and reporting frameworks, helping align global data and imp...

Episode Notes 4.17.26 For the live show, Margaret catches up with outgoing Kauaʻi Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami, an avid waterman and surfer, on the collaborations and progress that the Kauaʻi Lifeguard Association has made in the past year. Says Kawakami about the visit that the Okinawan Lifeguards made to Kauaʻi: “The exchange of lifesaving knowledge and culture strengthens our ability to protect ev...

Episode Notes Resident not just visitors account for nearly half of ocean drownings in Hawaiʻi, about 49 percent, challenging one of the most common assumptions about who is at risk. Even more sobering: drowning remains the leading cause of death for Hawaiʻi’s children ages 1 to 15. Allison Schaefers , a journalist with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and a key member of the Hawaiʻi Water Safety Coal...

Episode Notes Dr Laura Trapani The Safety Risks of Full-Face Snorkeling Masks, particularly for Children This interview is based on research presented by Dr. Laura Trapani a pediatrician and clinical researcher affiliated with the IRCCS Burlo Garofolo children’s Hospital and the University of Trieste in Italy. Where her work is helping to reshape how we think about child safety in the water. Full-...

Episode Notes “Drowning Isn’t Inevitable It is Preventable.”  - Dr. Colleen Saunders Dr. Colleen Saunders is a leading researcher in drowning prevention whose work is helping to reshape how we understand water safety on a global scale. Her journey into this field didn’t begin in a laboratory it began in the ocean. She spent nearly two decades as a voluntary lifeguard at Big Bay in Cape Town, where...

Episode Notes 2.15.26 Professor Rob Brander is an internationally recognized coastal geomorphologist and one of the world’s leading experts on rip currents and beach safety. His research has played a major role in reshaping scientific understanding of rip current behavior and how people respond when caught in them. Professor Brander is based at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, A...

Episode Notes 2.19.26 Taishi Otono is a respected leader in ocean safety and lifesaving in Okinawa, Japan, and an emerging international voice in collaborative drowning prevention. Through his work with the Okinawan lifesaving community, Otono has helped strengthen professional guard training, rescue operations, and cross-cultural partnerships aimed at improving coastal safety. Okinawa shares many...