Cephstravanganza with Professor Kat Bolstad

Episode Summary In our newest episode, we join roving reporter Kat Bolstad at the Cephalopod International Advisory Council in Okinawa and hear from some of the most interesting people in Cephalopod research. Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading. In this episode… Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea! The Professor is still down under, organizing conferences and recuperating from Old Mate’s Classic Aussie Sausage Sizzle, a robust event filled with friends of the podcast and still felt 24 hours later. Thom is freshly back from another big ocean/small boat adventure, in which the ocean always wins and his stomach always loses… everything. He is also stretching his creative muscles and curating an exciting new museum exhibit called Breathe | Mauri Ora at Te Papa, an examination of science into art by Marshmallow Lazer Feast . Our episode this month is a fascinating collection of interviews from the Cephalopod International Advisory Council Meeting that took place Oct-Nov in Okinawa Japan. Join Kat Bolstad, our roving reporter, as she takes time between bug hunting, seeing her first wild cuttlefish and shaking hands with a new octopus friend to collect interviews with some of the coolest names in Ceph science with a focus on the deep-sea. We hear from 12 Cephalopod experts on a wide variety of topics, including the preferred snacks for cephalopods, the effects of oxygen depletion on egg hatching, water temperature and acidification effects on cephalopod populations, and of course, the correct answer to the viral question: are octopuses actually ALIENS? In the news, get ready for updates on: Deep diving manta rays using the ocean bottom to navigate A newly launched AI tool to map the Deep- Sea Bright blue mud filled with fat molecules indicating life in the deep Corals and Crinoids sharing symbionts and cycling nitrogen And an update from the Unseen Ocean Collective about the work they are creating for a show in Juneau Alaska in 2026. On the Discord, we’ve been busy with: Voting on the Holiday Party movie Started a long overdue ART channel, and a new Pets channel Photo tours of submersibles and Okinawa Early Holiday celebrations by one of our hosts Great feedback and conversation on our last episode. Support the show The podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us: Elisabeth Grace Diemer Nes Morgan Check out our podcast merch here! Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on: podcast@deepseapod.com We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone! Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time! Find out more Social media BlueSky: @deepseapod.com Twitter: @DeepSeaPod Instagram: @deepsea_podcast Keep up with the team on social media Twitter: Alan - @Hadalbloke Thom - @ThomLinley Instagram: Thom - @thom.linley Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions BlueSky: Thom @ thomaslinley.com Alan @hadalbloke Reference list News Deep-Sea News World's largest rays may be diving to extreme depths to build mental maps of vast oceans China launches AI tool for deep-sea research Fat Molecules in Deep-Sea Mud Volcanoes Reveal How Microbes Survive Extreme Conditions | Discover Magazine Putative promiscuous symbionts in deep-sea corals and crinoids may contribute to nitrogen cycling | Microbiome Unseen Ocean Collective Unseen Ocean Collective. Unseen Ocean Collective (@unseenoceancollective) • Instagram photos and videos Discord Updates Holiday Party! Join Patreon here to get access to the Holiday party! Interview Links Kat’s Socials Bluesky: @autsquidsquad.bsky.social Sarah McAnulty Skype a Scientist SkypeAScientist.com Squidfacts.net Kristina Fleetwood Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Décima lab website Meg Mindlin Invertibabe Toni’s socials Twitter, ResearchGate ORCID Toni’s Research Group Funcionamiento y Vulnerabilidad de Ecosistemas Marinos | Institut de Ciències del Mar Other Links Breathe | Mauri Ora | Te Papa @Tailsfromthedeep Global biodiversity of the genus Ommastrephes (Ommastrephidae: Cephalopoda): an allopatric cryptic species complex Mitochondrial genome diversity and population structure of the giant squid Architeuthis Spatial ecology of Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus in Mediterranean deep-water environments: implications for designing no-take marine reserves (MEPS) Diel and seasonal patterns of Nephrops norvegicus (Decapoda: Nephropidae) catchability in the western Mediterranean Antarctic octos as records and predictors of climate-related changes in the Antarctic “Emerging evidence of abrupt changes in the Antarctic environment“ Danna Staaf books Cephalopod camouflage bibliography on Zotero AUT Lab for Cephalopod Ecology & Systematics aka AUT ‘Squid Squad’ Cephalopod Images and Footage Keishu Asada Instagram CIAC 2025 website, programme, book of abstracts Keishu Asada Marine Videos Keishu Asada Instagram @PeterandtheOctopus Credits Song of the month: Tornado of Souls, by Megadeth, performed by medium-sized Jamieson. Logo image: Photo credit to Peter Morse @PeterAndTheOctopus Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel

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Cephstravanganza with Professor Kat Bolstad is an episode from The Deep-Sea Podcast by deepseapod.

This episode is 114:48 long.

This episode was published on Dec 6, 2025.

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