Record-setting endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh is this week's guest on the Awake At Night podcast hosted by UN communications chief Melissa Flemming.
Pugh, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ocean advocate, has swam in every ocean of the world, often in freezing conditions, in an effort to raise awareness about the mounting threats to the world’s seas.
In Awake at Night, he speaks about his passion for the ocean, how it feels to be the first person to swim beneath the Antarctic ice sheet, and more.
“The first thing that happens is I can't breathe and I’m gasping for air,” says Pugh about diving into near-freezing water. “The cold just grips its way around you. And you just got to try and control your mind.”
Pugh uses what has been called "Speedo diplomacy" to bring attention to the damage that climate change, biodiversity and pollution are doing to the planet's rivers and oceans.
“Everything relies on us being able to drink clean water and breathe fresh air,” says Pugh. “Everything else is secondary. This is about sustaining life on Earth.”
