Ocean Rising is an independent journalism publication tracking how power, policy, and profit shape the future of the ocean, in real time, while decisions are still being made.
Trusted by 30,000+ monthly readers in 80+ countries.
The focus is not awareness. It is accountability.
‘It’s like having a smart, honest friend in your inbox every week who actually gives a sh*t about the future’ - Subscriber
What We Publish
Ocean Rising works across three editorial lanes:
Investigations
Deep reporting on ocean harm, regulatory failure, and institutional accountability. These pieces are paid and permanently gated.
Monitoring & Analysis
Ongoing tracking of treaties, negotiations, policy shifts, and scientific signals, including explainers, timelines, and forward-looking analysis.
The Weekly Brief
What happened, what’s coming next, and what actually matters.
What’s Free
Breaking ocean news as it happens
The Deep Brief: weekly science and policy monitoring
Voice for the Blue podcast
What Paid Subscribers Get
Full investigations and long-form reporting
Extended Deep Briefs with additional analysis
Paid-only podcast episodes
Coffee Break videos: ten quiet minutes with the ocean
Behind-the-scenes updates from my work at Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Direct replies to reader questions
Early chapters from my upcoming book Finlay and the Whale
Subscriptions are £5/month or £50/year.
Founding Memberships are £100/year.
Who Writes This?
I’m Luke McMillan, a journalist published in The Guardian, BBC Wildlife Magazine, and Oceanographic Magazine.
I lead commercial whaling and captivity campaigns at Whale and Dolphin Conservation, which gives me access to policy rooms, negotiations, and evidence most reporting never sees.
I started Ocean Rising because many of the most important ocean stories are too slow, too complex, or too uncomfortable for the news cycle. Here, they get reported properly.
Why Some Work Is Paid
Ocean Rising keeps breaking news and weekly monitoring free.
Investigations and long-form reporting are paid because they require time, research, and independence. Paid readers fund that work directly.
This model protects editorial freedom and avoids reliance on sponsors, advertisers, or institutions being reported on.
“Grateful, as always, to Luke McMillan for bringing us some of the most critically important, up-to-the-moment reporting on the health of our planet.”
— Subscriber
