Doug Allan

No small thing in wartime.

But this new invention, which becomes known as the Aqualung, won't just feed his family.

It will change his life and reveal the treasures of the deep to the entire world.

Co-inventor of the Aqualung, the device that made modern underwater breathing practical, Captain Jacques Cousteau opened the ocean to the public like no one before.

An explorer, filmmaker and environmentalist, he led groundbreaking underwater expeditions and pioneered techniques for filming beneath the waves.

Through his documentaries and television series, he brought the mysteries of the sea into millions of homes, becoming known the world over for his trademark red knitted hat and his beloved ship, the Calypso.

But why did the ocean mean so much to him?

How did a French naval officer come to invent a device that would change humanity's relationship with the sea?

And what were the tragedies and controversies that marked the life of this charismatic adventurer?

I'm John Hopkins.

From the Noiser Podcast Network, this is a short history of Jacques Cousteau.

On June 11, 1910, in a small French market town not far from Bordeaux, Daniel Cousteau and Elisabeth Duranton welcome their second son.

The younger brother to Pierre Antoine, Jacques is born into an affluent family.

Doug Allen was an underwater cameraman for series such as Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Frozen Planet.

He was also a lecturer on conservation and climate change.

This interview was recorded shortly before he passed away, in April 2026.

After Jacques' birth in the village his parents come from, his mother and father returned to their home in Paris.

Often ill as a child, Jacques shows his determination from an early age.

During a family holiday at a Normandy seaside resort when he is four years old, he learns to swim.

The same summer, in 1914, the First World War breaks out across Europe.