An Ocean Love Story 🐠

An Ocean Love Story 🐠

From WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

April 17, 2026 · 29 min · Season 4 · Episode 3

About this episode

This episode features an excerpt from the audiobook 'What If We Get It Right?' focusing on Ayana's personal connection to coral reefs.

In the spirit of the What If We Get It Right? paperback launch, sharing an excerpt of the audiobook. The heart of this audiobook is 20 interviews with people who have shaped my understanding of the answer to the titular question. It’s kind of like a whole season of a podcast packaged up with essays by me and poetry by others. Also, ahem, the audiobook was a finalist for the Audie Award. (If you’re gonna lose, lose to Stephen King.) Order the full audiobook here . The prelude, the first chapter, is “ An Ocean Love Story .” It’s about how I fell in love with coral reefs at 5 years old, and how the ripples that flowed from that have shaped the unfurling of my life ever since. This chapter is my origin story, in brief. From Brooklyn, New York, to Key West, Florida, to Washington, DC, and the Caribbean. It's one of the most personal things I’ve ever published. A little funny. A lot honest. It’s the start of my quest to understand how we, humans, can get it as right as possible here on this magnificent planet. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it has similarities with your story, too. ____ CREDITS: This podcast is ad-free thanks to the support of Future Being, a grant making and special…

People in this episode

Host: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Topics covered

  • ocean conservation
  • personal narrative
  • coral reefs
  • audiobook
  • environmentalism

Keywords

  • coral reefs
  • audiobook
  • environment
  • personal story
  • nature

Sponsors

Future Being

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Penguin Random House

Books & works: What If We Get It Right?, An Ocean Love Story

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