Rhode Island Commerce has introduced the “Blue Economy Podcast,” the first podcast solely dedicated to covering the big-picture happenings of the world’s burgeoning ocean economy.

Comprised of a diverse range of industries operating in and around the world’s oceans, the “blue economy” is emerging as one of the fastest-growing industry clusters impacting the global economy. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the so-called “super-sector” is poised to double in size by 2030, generating more than $3 trillion in global economic impact and supporting more than 40 million jobs around the world.

The Blue Economy Podcast will feature in-depth interviews with influential leaders within this “super-sector” and cover the past, present and future of ocean-related industries such as naval defense, marine trades, tourism and recreation, commercial fishing, aquaculture, shipping, offshore renewable energy and many others.

“Rhode Island, the Ocean State, is home to America’s first offshore wind farm, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, and hundreds of homegrown maritime companies. Ours is truly a pioneering state in the blue economy space,” Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor said. “With the Blue Economy Podcast, our goal is to create a platform upon which Rhode Island leaders can join experts from across the country – and world – to share insights and success stories as we continue evolving the global ocean economy.”

The show’s first episode, available to download now, features an interview with New Localism Advisors founder Bruce Katz, who explored the still-developing definition of the blue economy and provided case studies on how specific countries, cities and states are establishing themselves as “first movers” in the sector.

Future guests will include Rhode Island Gov. Gina M. Raimondo; U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse; former Deepwater Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski; Naval Undersea Warfare Center Executive Director Donald McCormack; Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind CEO Thomas Brostrøm; and SeaAhead co-founder and board chair Jason Kelly.

The “Blue Economy Podcast” is recorded in downtown Providence and hosted by David Hirschman, a media entrepreneur and business journalist whose writing and editing credits include the New York Times, Wired, New York magazine and many more.

Hirschman co-founded Street Fight, a media/research/events company covering location-based marketing that was acquired in 2017. He also recently served as vice president of content at SeaAhead, a “bluetech startup platform” that brings together technologists, scientists, corporations and government.

The first episode of the Blue Economy Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and coming soon to Google Podcasts. Learn more at BlueEconomyPodcast.com.