August 15, 2025 Niki Roderick is the founder and CEO of Free Dive Safe and is the NZ record holder for free diving. A dedicated ocean woman, she is also a strong advocate for water safety in schools. But not only for children, for adults and all ocean lovers. Her work supports free divers, paddlers, spear-fishers, boaters and more. She is currently working to get water safety as standard curriculum in Hawaii middle schools.

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Margaret invites North Shore lifeguard Chris Pico in studio to share about the importance of water safety from the lifeguard’s perspective and to share about the free app Pulse Point. What’s charming is that Chris’ daughter, Harper, was in studio as well, watching her show and petting the dog and you can hear it a bit. Chris said, before we started the show, that he sought out Pulse Point on Kauaʻi for her.

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July 18, 2025 Full On-Air Show: Duane DeSoto called in to the studio. He is instrumental in the Hawaii nonprofit Nā Kama Kai, which focuses on connecting keiki to the ʻāina and the kai. Duane is working hard to promote a safe water culture among the people of Hawaii and his message is broad and applicable for all water people.

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Drasko Bogdanovic is a California State Parks ocean lifeguard, flight paramedic, educator, and the founder of The Lifeguard Project, a national storytelling and advocacy platform focused on reframing how lifeguarding and drowning prevention are understood. His work aligns closely with Hawaiʻi, widely recognized as the epicenter of water safety, where the ocean demands exceptional expertise, vigilance, and cultural awareness.

Drawing from frontline experience, Drasko approaches drowning prevention not as a series of isolated accidents, but as a predictable and preventable public health issue. Through The Lifeguard Project, he emphasizes that prevention happens long before a rescue, elevating the role of lifeguards as professional risk managers and educators, a perspective long held in Hawaiʻi.

In the interview, Drasko stressed the urgent need to modernize water safety messaging. Traditional signs and warnings alone are no longer effective, particularly in visitor-heavy destinations like Hawaiʻi. He advocates for human-centered, digital storytelling that uses authentic lifeguard voices to cut through modern noise and connect emotionally with the public.

The conversation also highlighted the importance of global collaboration, linking Hawaiʻi with water safety leaders in California, Australia, the UK, and beyond. The guiding philosophy of The Lifeguard Project, “By Lifeguards, For Life,” reflects a belief that the most effective drowning prevention strategies are shaped by those closest to the water and strengthened through shared knowledge worldwide.

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January 14, 2026. George Centeio works with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education as an Educational Specialist for Physical Education, supporting schools across the state in helping students build healthy, active lives. His work connects physical education, student well-being, and real-world safety, especially important in a place like Hawaiʻi, where water is part of everyday life.

In this conversation, we talk about how education, particularly physical education, can help keep Hawaiʻi’s keiki safer in and around the water. It’s a discussion grounded in the reality of growing up surrounded by ocean, rivers, and pools, and why water awareness is truly a life skill here.

George explains why water safety is about much more than swimming lessons. It’s about understanding conditions, recognizing risk, knowing your limits, and learning how to respond when something goes wrong. These are skills that build confidence, not fear—and when they’re taught early and reinforced over time, they can prevent tragedies.

We also explore how schools can play a meaningful role by weaving water safety into education standards and everyday learning. Physical education offers a natural place for these lessons, especially when schools partner with lifeguards, community groups, and programs like Nā Kama Kai on the west side of Oʻahu, bringing learning out of the classroom and into real environments.

The takeaway is hopeful and clear: drowning is preventable, and education is one of our strongest tools. By starting early, working together, and connecting learning to life in Hawaiʻi, we can better prepare our keiki to enjoy the water safely and create a stronger culture of water safety for everyone.

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January 13, 2026. This show brings the conversation home to Kauaʻi. Iʻm honored to be joined by four professional female lifeguards who protect our islandʻs beaches every day: Sanoe Hookano, Lei Deguchi, Lemon Holliday, and Aarya DeBaldo. Each of these women brings deep local knowledge, strong ocean skills, and constant vigilance to their work on the tower. They read conditions, watch people, and make decisions that prevent emergencies long before a whistle is blown or a rescue is needed.

Femal lifeguards like Sanoe, Lei, Lemon and Aarya are an essential part of water safety on Kauaʻi. They are often the first point of connections for families, visitors, keiki, and kūpuna, offering calm guidance, clear warnings, and reassurance in a powerful ocean environment. Weʻll hear directly from the about what they see on our beaches, how they approach prevention, and what they want the public to understand about staying safe in Kauaʻi waters.

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October 23, 2025 Adrian Mayhew brings insight into the latest research and applied physiology in flood rescue, technical rescue, and water safety management. He is deeply involved in bridging operational lifesaving practices with research and evidence-based training across international contexts. Working with Mike Tipton on “lab to lifesaving” has made an impact worldwide. Adrian says Drowning is a global issue; we need legislation, manufacturing, and clear messaging. Drowning data is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a need to collect non-fatal drownings worldwide. His research is insightful, and as he says,” By creating what will be the International Lifesaving Federation, there will be one standard approach: everyone is trained the same, everyone has the same PPE, and everyone knows the terminology and training skills. This will mean for the first time globally we as a world can do good things when the bad things happen”.

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July 18, 2025: Professor Mike Tipton MBE is a Professor of Human & Applied Physiology at the Extreme Environments Laboratory, School of Sport, Health & Exercise Science at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. He was kind enough to speak with us about the physiology of drowning. This is a hard interview to hear, but oh so important as we take on the topic of water safety. Check out this video on the Float to Live project.

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