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Activists Around the World: Emily Penn · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Anny and Samantha and welcome to Stephane.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Never told you but actually I Heeart Radio. Yes, and
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: welcome to another episode of Activists Around the World. Um,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: and today we're gonna We're gonna go to the oceans. Annie,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: We're going to like it's warm and tropical here, rainy
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: and disgusting. Right, this is finally kind of sunshining, but
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: it's been rain and disgusting in Atlanta in the past
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: few weeks. Yeah, weeks actually. Um, so we're gonna go
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: and travel the ocean maybe. Actually, have you ever been sailing? Annie,
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: I have been sailing. Um, yes, yes I have. It
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: was kind of a disastrous, which is probably because we
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: didn't I went with some of my cousins who were
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: from from Florida, and so they knew they knew what
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  Speaker 1: they were doing. I had never been, and I think
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: I was like, I don't know, ten or something, and
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  Speaker 1: something wasn't attached correctly, and the big, the big you
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  Speaker 1: know what I'm talking about, pole thing. Any sailors are
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: listening or like gritting their teeth. I'm sorry, but it
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: swung around and hit me in the hid and knocked
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: me into water. That is only in common and somehow
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: it happened to you, like I see this, like what
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: about Bob Classic? But I'm like what of course? Of course, well,
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  Speaker 1: I was going to ask, do you have any interest
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  Speaker 1: in continuing sailing or going sailing again? I have an interest.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't say it's a strong interest, but I have
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: an interest in the university I went to had a
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: had a program which was pretty cool, and I had
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  Speaker 1: some friends that did it. But um, it was one
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  Speaker 1: of those things where I was like, oh, that's cool,
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: maybe I'll do it one day. I think it was expensive,
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: and so I was like probably, but an old money
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: right exactly, Like I guess that's like the limit of
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: my motivation to do it. I'm interested in it, but
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  Speaker 1: then you show me like all the things that it requires,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: and like, okay, yeah. I actually had a good friend Hayley,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: who doesn't listen to the show, but uh, and she
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: actually took lessons the last year and I think she's
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: still taking lessons apparently, like fall is in winter are
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: actually great times to take lessons. I had no idea,
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: And I'm like, we you live in Atlanta, where are
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: you going in Lake Laniar? Yes, The Haunted lake. Laniar
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  Speaker 1: apparently has offerings um, and she's been going and she
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: loves it. She's really excited. Her family that lives so
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: like on the coast, so she's really excited about this prospect. Okay,
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: so we're about to talk about our activists and there's
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: an actual documentary for their one of their travels, and
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: I was getting ceasick just watching it. I was like,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: what is happening? But it was interesting and they were
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: having fun. Uh, And I was like, yeah, I can't
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  Speaker 1: do that, can barely be on a boat, so this
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: will not be my dreams. But I thought it was
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: fascinating because we've talked about a few women who are
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: in the sailing world and really doing those adventures really big,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: and today we were talking about explorer and climate activists
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  Speaker 1: and apparently a skipper. I didn't like, that's one of
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: her titles. I was one of that in there. Uh.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Emily Penn um and Emily penn is originally from South
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  Speaker 1: Wales and she graduated from Cambridge University with a degree
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: in architecture. But after graduating, penn went by boat to
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Australia for a job opportunity um that she never took,
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: so she went by boat because she was trying to
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: do zero carbon admissions, and so she just literally hitchtike
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: on boats, which I thought, it was fascinated. Now you
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: could do this, and as in fact, she took a
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: job on a bio fuel boat called earth Race. It
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: was during this trip that pen was confronted with the
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: growing issue of pollution in the ocean. She recalled being
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: quote shocked by finding plastic and some of the most
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  Speaker 1: remote places in the world um and decided to move
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: to the Pacific Islands to organize a clean up for
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: a little while as well. Right, And that's how she
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  Speaker 1: began her her very exciting career, first organizing community cleanups
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: where she would do research and learn more about the problem,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: and then going on expeditions around the world with an
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  Speaker 1: all women crew. One thing she discovered as she took
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  Speaker 1: a deep dive at the issues of plastics and plutant's
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: was how much plastic she had in her body. As
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: she observed the water, she started to realize that the
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  Speaker 1: fish were being physically affected as well, and upon that realization,
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: she tested her own blood. She said this about her experience,
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  Speaker 1: quote I went to have a blood test to find
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  Speaker 1: out which of these chemicals often used in the production
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  Speaker 1: of plastic I might have inside my body. And it
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  Speaker 1: turned out I had twenty nine of these thirty five
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  Speaker 1: chemicals in my system. And the thirty five chemicals she
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  Speaker 1: was looking for actually banned by the United Nations as
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  Speaker 1: they are hazardous for a person, right, which is really
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  Speaker 1: a arming And now I'm like, oh God, what's in
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  Speaker 1: my body? And in Penn co founded Expedition which is
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  Speaker 1: e x X P E D I T I O N,
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  Speaker 1: which is an organization that is a quote all female
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  Speaker 1: sailing research Expeditions UM and according to the website expedition
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  Speaker 1: dot com again that's with two x is. They say,
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  Speaker 1: quote we empower multi disciplinary all women crews on voyages
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  Speaker 1: by conductive scientific research, exploring solutions and understanding how their
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  Speaker 1: unique skill sets can intersect the issue. Each expedition voyage
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  Speaker 1: is designed to encourage collaboration between crew members and community
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  Speaker 1: groups and to open conversations around women leadership, personal and
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  Speaker 1: environmental awareness, and cultural and societal shifts UM. And since
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  Speaker 1: starting they've continued in their work. Again from their website
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  Speaker 1: that says, quote founded in we have run expeditions all
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  Speaker 1: over the world. Previous scientific research has highlighted the endemic
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  Speaker 1: nature of microplastics within our ocean environments globally. Our focus
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  Speaker 1: now is to advance a better understanding of the plastic
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  Speaker 1: issue as a whole, and to work with individuals and
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  Speaker 1: industries to pinpoint solutions and policy at a global level
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  Speaker 1: by addressing knowledge gaps and delivering evidence to inform effective solutions.
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  Speaker 1: And Penn talked about her experience on the initial voyage
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  Speaker 1: in she said, I realized the incredible power of bringing
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  Speaker 1: a diverse group of women together to do something extraordinary.
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  Speaker 1: People did question in all women crew, but they weren't
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  Speaker 1: the people on the boat at the very beginning. There
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: were definitely some comments, won't everyone just be at each
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  Speaker 1: other's throats? But at the beginning I wasn't expecting the
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  Speaker 1: first all women voyage to be different from the mixed
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: voyages I had done, but the positive, supportive atmosphere on
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: board completely surprised me. It was the magic of the dynamic,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: which is why we continued. Probably more chocolate consumed than
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: ever before, though right Apparently they keep a lot on
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: both because during the documentary I saw on outside TV
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  Speaker 1: they kept talking about the chocolate like needing that chocolate.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: So oh hey, they're they're they're ready with that chocol
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  Speaker 1: I would be a part of them. That's how they're
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: going to get you on board. Then the sea sickness
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  Speaker 1: its um and Penn continued in an interview in People magazine.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: Since the first voyage, I have also been blown away
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  Speaker 1: by how key the all women aspect of these voyages
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  Speaker 1: has become. I started working off with mixed groups and
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: it was great, we were productive, we got out there.
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  Speaker 1: But when I started working with women only, there's always
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: a different atmosphere. There's this fast track of bonding of
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  Speaker 1: connection between everybody, and perhaps more so because it's all women.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: And she has since added more programs to help with
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: the pollution in the sea. In the same People magazine interview,
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: she said, the more time I spend that see, the
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  Speaker 1: more I realized the solutions to plastic pollutions start on land.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: There's no silver bullet to solve the problem, but there
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: are hundreds of ways to tackle it. A big challenge
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: for many people is knowing where to start, and that's
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: why I first developed the shift methodology for people to
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: understand the crux of a problem and way up where
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: they have the biggest Opportunity to make an impact and
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Shift is a program PIN started in twenty nineteen. It
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: is a digital tool that's designed to help people find
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  Speaker 1: their role in solving the world's most pressing issue. That's
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: according to their site UM and the platform allows us
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  Speaker 1: to choose how and where to quote create a shift
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  Speaker 1: from seed to source. It's very interesting site if you
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  Speaker 1: want to check it out. And it's not surprising to
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: see that her hard work has been noticed. In Penn
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  Speaker 1: was named one of People's Women Changing the World and
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  Speaker 1: in the same year was honored with the British Empire
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  Speaker 1: Battle in the Queen's New Year's Honors as in the
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  Speaker 1: Queen of England. UM. She was awarded with the Hotengue
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  Speaker 1: Medal of the Scientific Exploration Society and in sixteen was
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  Speaker 1: given the fitz Roy Award at the Year's Ocean Awards.
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  Speaker 1: Oh and she was also the youngest and only female
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: recipient of the Yacht Master of the Year and the
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Sea Master of the Year. So there's that, Yeah, there
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  Speaker 1: is that. And when she was asked if she had
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: any advice for young girls and women around the world,
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  Speaker 1: she said, chase your dreams. When we're young, we're full
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  Speaker 1: of ambition, but can sometimes get held back by other
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: ideas in society. So be strong enough to set that
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  Speaker 1: aside and try and follow your heart. I say try
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: because it's not actually as straightforward as it sounds. A
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: lot of my philosophy towards life has actually been shaped
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  Speaker 1: by the time I've spent on the ocean. You're constantly
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: out there reacting to what's around you. The wind changes direction,
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  Speaker 1: the ways pick up, and you have to respond. You
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  Speaker 1: have to shift your sails, shift your course, and often
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  Speaker 1: your life depends on that response. And it certainly made
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: me think about how I picked my course through life
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  Speaker 1: and how I'm constantly responding to what I'm learning every day.
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  Speaker 1: That's what's allowed me over these last twelve years to
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: get to this point by constantly reacting and reshaping the path.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: But yeah, she's been exploring throughout the world, has many
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  Speaker 1: trucks across the oceans, and she has done some amazing
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: work and brought in a lot of women um to
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  Speaker 1: be a part of this work. You can go check
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: them out on the expedition dot com e x X
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  Speaker 1: P E D I T I O N and you
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: can see more about what they've been doing, how you
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: can get involved and if you want to go sailing professionally,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: go for Okay, there you go, there you can do
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  Speaker 1: this my time. Maybe this is my course. My my
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: path is shifting and it's towards sailing. Are you just
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: trying to get rid of me? I'm thinking no, I'm
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: trying to see like you're trying to bring the dream
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: of going to Antarctica, sale to Antarctica. Okay, I feel
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: like that's probably impossible because I know there's one passage
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: where people die constantly, so but you know, just in case,
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: maybe maybe trying to kill me? Then I see, well, no,
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: this is really cool. I this is right up my alley. Honestly,
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: I love this stuff. So we will be checking in
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: on pen later I'm sure, And as always, listeners, if
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: you have any suggestions for anyone we should highlight on
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: this segment, please let us know. If you've gone sailing,
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, Well, all of the language around sailing, let's
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: teach us. Please teach us. You can email us at
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: Stepan your mom Stuff at iHeart media dot com. You
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: can find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast or Instagram.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: A stuff one ever told you? Thanks as always to
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: our super producer gos Data, Thank you and thanks to
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: you for listening stuff I never told you this production
• 11:24
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• 11:26
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