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Stephen 'Dr. Beach' Leatherman picks America's best beaches and worries about their future

Stephen Leatherman is a scientist and academic who has spent more than 50 years researching, writing and teaching about the constant evolution of our beaches.

But you might know him as “Dr. Beach,” the guy who comes out with a list every Memorial Day weekend of the top 10 beaches in America. This year’s top-ranked beach, FYI, is the one at Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks.

He still studies our beaches, and what climate change is doing to them. By now he’s been to just about every beach you could name.

But this whole thing of becoming Dr. Beach was purely an accident. It started a long way from the ocean, with a boy and his sandbox.

Show notes

Other music in this episode

  • Crowander, "Beach Party"
  • Lobo Loco, "Moonlight Beach Yami"
Tommy Tomlinson has hosted the podcast SouthBound for WFAE since 2017. He also does a commentary, On My Mind, which airs every Monday.