The Story presents: Planet Hope - Protecting Australia’s Ningaloo Coast
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 17 October 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This is Planet Hope, a podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times in paid partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative. Each episode is hosted by The Story released as a bonus weekly series on Saturdays.
Marine scientist Ben Fitzpatrick is fighting to protect the Ningaloo Coast and Exmouth Gulf – one of Earth’s last wild marine frontiers, home to whale sharks, dugongs, manta rays and vibrant coral reefs. Speaking with Adam Vaughan, he reflects on growing up in Western Australia and why safeguarding this rare ocean wilderness matters for future generations.
Planet Hope is brought to you in paid partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative.
Guest: Ben Fitzpatrick, Marine Scientist and Mission Blue Hope Spot Champion
Host: Adam Vaughan, Environment Editor, The Times
Series Producer: Priyanka Deladia
Sound Designer: David Crackles
This podcast is advertiser funded.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Manveen. On the story today, we're bringing you something a little bit different. |
| 0:05.4 | It's from another Times podcast, Planet Hope. And in each episode, our environment editor, Adam Vaughn, |
| 0:12.1 | meets the people on the front line of science and conservation, from penguin gardens in Patagonia |
| 0:18.5 | to pioneering neuroscientists in Switzerland, to see how people are trying to help the world. |
| 0:24.6 | And we think you'll really enjoy it. |
| 0:31.6 | Planet Hope is brought to you in paid partnership with Rolex and its perpetual Planet Initiative. |
| 0:40.3 | In the 1930s, Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf saw the world as a testing ground, |
| 0:48.3 | sending watches to the highest mountains or the deepest oceans, and supporting explorers who pushed the limits of what was possible. |
| 0:57.0 | Over time, the company is moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery |
| 1:05.0 | to protecting the planet by supporting individuals and organisations working to safeguard the natural world. |
| 1:12.0 | From ocean conservation to wilderness restoration, |
| 1:15.4 | it's a long-term commitment towards the planet's future, |
| 1:18.4 | which includes the work we'll hear about in this episode. |
| 1:40.4 | Thank you. I'm Adam Vaughan, Environment Editor for the Times, and this is Planet Hope. |
| 1:46.0 | Last time, we heard from motionographer Sylvia Earle, who first championed hope spots, special places in the ocean that are vital to the health of our planet. |
| 1:54.0 | Today we meet someone inspired by her work and protecting one of those hope spots in Australia. |
| 2:02.1 | Ben Fitzpatrick is a marine scientist on the Ningaloo Coast and Exmouth Gulf. |
| 2:06.9 | Imagine whale sharks, dugongs, mantarais, and coral reefs all sharing the same waters. |
| 2:14.2 | That's what it's like there. |
| 2:16.3 | It's one of the last pristine marine ecosystems left on |
| 2:19.2 | earth, but it's also a place that's changing. We can't afford to lose these special places. |
| 2:24.9 | It provides so much inspiration to people that it provides so much wonder and awe in tourists and kids. |
... |
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