188. Legendary Undersea Explorer Robert Ballard — Into the Deep: A Memoir From the Man Who Found Titanic

The Michael Shermer Show

Michael Shermer

Dialogue, Science, Reason, Michaelshermer, Natural Sciences, Skeptic

4.4 • 921 Ratings

🗓️ 16 June 2021

⏱️ 120 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this conversation about his memoir and National Geographicspecial on his life, Robert Ballard takes us along his many journeys to find the Titanic, the Lusitania, the Bismarck, Nazi submarine U-166, the USS Yorktown, JFK’s PT 109, and two missing nuclear submarines under the cover of searching for the Titanic. Ballard is also a scientist, and he recalls his many important discoveries that include 750°F hydrothermal vents, undersea volcanoes, black smokers, and the confirmation of the theory of plate tectonics. Now the captain of E/V Nautilus, a state-of-the-art scientific exploration vessel rigged for research in oceanography, geology, biology, and archaeology, leads young scientists as they map the ocean floor, collect artifacts from ancient shipwrecks, and relay live-time adventures from remote-controlled submersibles to reveal amazing sea life. For the first time, Ballard gets personal, telling the inside stories of his adventures and challenges as a midwestern kid with dyslexia who became an internationally renowned ocean explorer. Here is the definitive story of the danger and discovery, conflict and triumph that make up his remarkable life. Among his many honors he holds the Explorers Club Medal, the National Geographic Hubbard Medal, and the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Michael Sherman Show.
0:08.8	My guest today is the legendary Robert Ballard, the Explorer andrer of the Titanic. He is also known for his
0:18.1	discovering of the German battleship Bismarck, many other ancient and modern shipwrecks around the world, including the
0:26.9	U.S.S. Yorktown at the Battle of Midway, JFK's PT 109, the Lusitania.
0:34.0	But more importantly, he's a world-class scientist.
0:38.0	And so we discuss as many important discoveries that he made
0:42.0	that include the 750
0:44.0	Fahrenheit hydrothermal vents, undersea volcanoes, black smokers,
0:49.0	and the confirmation of the theory of plate tectonics.
0:52.0	So we talk about how science
0:54.1	operates and his role in shifting theory to reality in that. And he also gets personal. He talks about his life growing up in Kansas and then the
1:08.1	influence of his parents and his siblings and peer group and mentors and teachers and so on and time in the Navy.
1:17.0	And then he also talks about the loss of his son at the age of 21 and it gets pretty
1:25.6	emotional it was kind of hard to keep it together during that he's just really a
1:29.2	great guy and and he also talks personally about what it was like to have dyslexia and earn a PhD in geophysics,
1:39.4	pretty amazing.
1:40.8	But he didn't discover he had dyslexia until he was 72 years old.
1:44.0	So that's pretty interesting.
1:46.0	So we kind of explore how people develop strategies
1:51.0	to work around their cognitive skills or lack thereof.
1:57.0	So he is also since 2008, the manager of the E.V. Nautilus is flagship for exploration, which is operated
2:06.4	by the Ocean Exploration Trust and funded in part by NOAA. Among his many honors, he holds the
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