Doug Allan

This episode is dedicated to the late Doug Allen, our expert guest on Jacques Cousteau, who sadly died while trekking in Nepal in the weeks after our interview was recorded.

One of the great wildlife cameramen of his generation, Doug devoted his life to filming the natural world with skill, bravery, and deep humanity.

We were honored by his contribution to this episode and we dedicate it to his memory.

It is a summer morning in June 1943.

Outside the railway station in the seaside village of Bandol on the French Riviera, a car pulls up.

Its driver, a tall, lean naval officer by the name of Jacques Cousteau, jumps out and strides towards the station.

In the railway's freight yard, a wooden crate waits for him, sent by express from Paris.

Cousteau signs for it and takes it to his car.

Back at the villa, where he is staying with friends and family, there is an air of anticipation.

He unpacks the parcel with his two closest friends, Philippe Talier and Frédéric Dumas, whose weather-beaten faces and sinewy bodies betray a love of diving as deep as Cousteau's own.

The parcel contains a new kind of equipment, which he has co-invented with an engineer in Paris, something that might change the way humans explore the sea.

Excitedly, he lifts out three moderately-sized cylinders of compressed air, linked to a small regulator about the size of an alarm clock.

From the regulator, two hoses extend, joining at a mouthpiece through which, it is hoped, a diver might be able to breathe underwater.

It's been months in development, but finally it's time to test it out.

Early the next day, the group of friends with Cousteau's wife, Simone, head out to a nearby beach.

The men help Cousteau strap on the harness, securing the three-cylinder block to his back, and perform their final safety checks.

He rinses his mask, then slides it into place and positions the mouthpiece between his lips.

Staggering under the weight of the 50-pound apparatus, he wades into the sea.

Wearing her snorkel and mask, Simone slips into the water so she can keep an eye on him.

Frederic Dumas, the group's best diver, remains on the shore, keeping warm and rested so he can move quickly if Jacques needs help.