There is a complex and fascinating relationship between humans and the ocean, how people and cultures across the world know and understand the sea, whether through myths and legends, through trade or fishing, exploration or entertainment. 

This episode explores one particular aspect of all this - our relationship with the undersea, what lies beneath the surface of the oceans.  It is the 4th place in a loose miniseries of literary locations: Antarctica, the desert, the forest, and now the undersea.

From early myths and legends to the naturalists of the 19th century; from the first transatlantic cables to the underwater habitats of the 1960s; from scientific attempts at a "homo aquaticus" to science fiction tales of underwater civilizations, there's plenty to explore in the ocean depths. 

Joining me on this deep dive episode is Prof Helen Rozwadowski, Professor of History and Maritime Studies at the University of Connecticut.

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