<![CDATA[Crossing the Tideline]]>In 2023, Brett Burcher had a close encounter with a Great White Shark while surfing at his local beach in Forster, NSW. The entire incident was captured on drone, in clear blue water, from directly above.

That experience became the catalyst for Crossing the Tideline — an observational documentary and podcast exploring fear, risk, trauma, perception and our evolving relationship with the ocean.

Sharks dominate conversation in coastal communities. Sightings, encounters and near misses sit alongside uncertainty, conflicting opinions, media noise and the emotional weight of wanting to keep using the ocean, but not knowing how to cope.

Behind the headlines are real people navigating not just uncertainty, but the reality of everything that ripples out after a shark encounter. Through conversations with survivors, scientists, victims' families, surfers, conservationists, first responders, policy makers and community members, this podcast explores one question: what does coexistence actually look and feel like?

]]>https://www.brettburcher.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Sat, 23 May 2026 19:48:18 GMTSun, 17 May 2026 06:28:06 GMT60Brett Burcher<p>In 2023, Brett Burcher had a close encounter with a Great White Shark while surfing at his local beach in Forster, NSW. The entire incident was captured on drone, in clear blue water, from directly above.</p><p></p><p>That experience became the catalyst for <i>Crossing the Tideline</i> — an observational documentary and podcast exploring fear, risk, trauma, perception and our evolving relationship with the ocean.</p><p></p><p>Sharks dominate conversation in coastal communities. Sightings, encounters and near misses sit alongside uncertainty, conflicting opinions, media noise and the emotional weight of wanting to keep using the ocean, but not knowing how to cope.</p><p></p><p>Behind the headlines are real people navigating not just uncertainty, but the reality of everything that ripples out after a shark encounter. Through conversations with survivors, scientists, victims' families, surfers, conservationists, first responders, policy makers and community members, this podcast explores one question: what does coexistence actually look and feel like?</p>episodicBrett Burcherbrettburcher@hotmail.comno<![CDATA[Ep 4 | Prof. Charlie Huveneers | Great White Research and Human Encounters | Crossing the Tideline]]>In this conversation we are speaking to @charliehuveneers

Charlie is a researcher and lecturer at Flinders University. He’s a name that pops up a lot in literature in regards to Great White populations and deterrent testing.

He’s worked extensively out of South Australian waters and most deterrent testing that happens in Aus is done with Charlie and his team.

He discusses the complexities surrounding shark population debate and we go through the everyday effectiveness of available deterrents and how they are actually studied and tested.

He also discusses his opinions on species management and it’s interesting to hear his views on certain issues after close to 20 years of research in the industry.

]]>e68b1686-9bc8-49ae-abb5-a5321466cd5bTue, 19 May 2026 02:28:53 GMT<p>In this conversation we are speaking to <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/charliehuveneers/" target="_blank">@charliehuveneers</a><br /><br />Charlie is a researcher and lecturer at Flinders University. He’s a name that pops up a lot in literature in regards to Great White populations and deterrent testing. <br /><br />He’s worked extensively out of South Australian waters and most deterrent testing that happens in Aus is done with Charlie and his team.<br /><br />He discusses the complexities surrounding shark population debate and we go through the everyday effectiveness of available deterrents and how they are actually studied and tested. <br /><br />He also discusses his opinions on species management and it’s interesting to hear his views on certain issues after close to 20 years of research in the industry.</p>no01:20:064Ep 4 | Prof. Charlie Huveneers | Great White Research and Human Encounters | Crossing the Tidelinefull<![CDATA[Ep 3 | Brinkley Davies | Shark Conservation and Swimming in Fear | Crossing the Tideline]]>This ep I’m chatting to surfer, diver, marine biologist and conservationist Brinkley Davies.

Brinkley shares her perspectives and stories as a surfer raised in South Aus.

Loved some of her stories about the lax protocols in place during her junior surfing days.

We talk through shark behaviour, environmental change, the deeper effects of shark encounters on surfing communities, mental health, and the desperate need for better risk awareness, communication, and practical safety measures.

It’s interesting where Brinkley sits in being from south Aus and having that intimate understanding on the everyday realities of shark presence that only someone from that area can have, but now living away and also getting to reflect on how it feels when she returns home.

When you’re in something day in day out, it can be hard or impossible to get a broader lens sometimes. Brinkley really gives an insight into both.

]]>288a8cbe-59b0-4cfe-82a9-f05f53c49501Mon, 18 May 2026 20:14:12 GMT<p>This ep I’m chatting to surfer, diver, marine biologist and conservationist Brinkley Davies. <br /><br />Brinkley shares her perspectives and stories as a surfer raised in South Aus. <br /><br />Loved some of her stories about the lax protocols in place during her junior surfing days. <br /><br />We talk through shark behaviour, environmental change, the deeper effects of shark encounters on surfing communities, mental health, and the desperate need for better risk awareness, communication, and practical safety measures. <br /><br />It’s interesting where Brinkley sits in being from south Aus and having that intimate understanding on the everyday realities of shark presence that only someone from that area can have, but now living away and also getting to reflect on how it feels when she returns home. <br /><br />When you’re in something day in day out, it can be hard or impossible to get a broader lens sometimes. Brinkley really gives an insight into both.</p>no01:29:403Ep 3 | Brinkley Davies | Shark Conservation and Swimming in Fear | Crossing the Tidelinefull<![CDATA[Ep 2 | Dave Rastovich | Ocean Activisim, Fear and Coexistence | Crossing the Tideline]]>Episode 2 of Crossing the Tideline Podcast is here, featuring Dave Rastovich.

I was really stoked to get to sit down with Dave and just listen to what he has to say really. Ive always walked away from hanging with him feeling like ive just been shown the right way to do and say things.

His ability to put something you can only feel into words and to make it really hit home is what mostly sticks out for me.

Storytelling is so powerful, and Dave's stories are always entertaining and thought-provoking.

This ep discusses humans innate desires to try and control things and the complications around that, the differences surfing alone vs in a crowd, how Dave notices and deals with scenario building techniques in his mind, surfing with his son and his shared fears whilst doing so, and he also tells a few wild shark stories of his own. 

I chatted to Dave while I was up for the Adaptive Surf Titles in ByronBay. I support Cliffo Gralton in the prone division as his pusher and Dave was the catcher.

Pretty surreal to have someone like Dave in your corner in an event. His read on the ocean, little bits of advice without making it complicated and at just the right time, was so valuable.

He was dropping boards off for us in the dark, picking Cliffo up without any help, getting him back on the board and motoring him out, and just so enthusiastic while doing all this. You will hear more about this in the last 15 or so minutes of the podcast.

Dave spends a lot of time out there on his own, and this chat gives you a rare window into how he sees it all.

]]>a20aee38-410f-4ecb-a187-04fbc98e68f2Mon, 18 May 2026 19:58:50 GMT<p>Episode 2 of Crossing the Tideline Podcast is here, featuring Dave Rastovich. <br /><br />I was really stoked to get to sit down with Dave and just listen to what he has to say really. Ive always walked away from hanging with him feeling like ive just been shown the right way to do and say things. <br /><br />His ability to put something you can only feel into words and to make it really hit home is what mostly sticks out for me. <br /><br />Storytelling is so powerful, and Dave's stories are always entertaining and thought-provoking.<br /><br />This ep discusses humans innate desires to try and control things and the complications around that, the differences surfing alone vs in a crowd, how Dave notices and deals with scenario building techniques in his mind, surfing with his son and his shared fears whilst doing so, and he also tells a few wild shark stories of his own. 
<br />I chatted to Dave while I was up for the Adaptive Surf Titles in ByronBay. I support Cliffo Gralton in the prone division as his pusher and Dave was the catcher. <br /><br />Pretty surreal to have someone like Dave in your corner in an event. His read on the ocean, little bits of advice without making it complicated and at just the right time, was so valuable.<br /><br />He was dropping boards off for us in the dark, picking Cliffo up without any help, getting him back on the board and motoring him out, and just so enthusiastic while doing all this. You will hear more about this in the last 15 or so minutes of the podcast. <br /><br />Dave spends a lot of time out there on his own, and this chat gives you a rare window into how he sees it all.</p>no01:34:062Ep 2 | Dave Rastovich | Ocean Activisim, Fear and Coexistence | Crossing the Tidelinefull<![CDATA[Ep 1 | Dr Chris Lowe - Shark Lab CSULB | Shark Behaviour, Science and Risk | Crossing the Tideline]]>For over 27 years, Dr Chris Lowe has been studying Great White Sharks on the beaches of California - one of the most densely populated coastlines in the world. As director of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, his team uses drones, acoustic tagging and underwater cameras to track juvenile white sharks that spend their days metres from swimmers, mostly unnoticed.

What they've found might surprise you. Sharks and people are sharing the water far more often than anyone realised, and bites remain extraordinarily rare.

Brett sits down with Chris to unpack what the data actually shows: why juvenile whites behave the way they do, how California manages shark presence on public beaches, what research into shark hearing tells us about why attacks are so infrequent, and what Australia might learn from a system that has been doing this longer than anyone.

It's a conversation that raises as many questions as it answers, and that's the point.

]]>cea19d37-89d2-4b15-8f2c-21aafad7170aSun, 17 May 2026 07:17:34 GMT<p>For over 27 years, Dr Chris Lowe has been studying Great White Sharks on the beaches of California - one of the most densely populated coastlines in the world. As director of the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, his team uses drones, acoustic tagging and underwater cameras to track juvenile white sharks that spend their days metres from swimmers, mostly unnoticed.</p><p></p><p>What they've found might surprise you. Sharks and people are sharing the water far more often than anyone realised, and bites remain extraordinarily rare.</p><p></p><p>Brett sits down with Chris to unpack what the data actually shows: why juvenile whites behave the way they do, how California manages shark presence on public beaches, what research into shark hearing tells us about why attacks are so infrequent, and what Australia might learn from a system that has been doing this longer than anyone.</p><p></p><p>It's a conversation that raises as many questions as it answers, and that's the point.</p>no01:41:111Ep 1 | Dr Chris Lowe - Shark Lab CSULB | Shark Behaviour, Science and Risk | Crossing the Tidelinefull