Ping-pong sponges, ‘black smokers’ and floating somethings: the secrets of the deep sea

The bottom of the ocean has barely been explored, but every journey to the deep reveals wondrous new lifeforms. As underwater mining gains momentum, we risk destroying one of Earth’s last great wildernesses By Jacob Mikanowski. Read by Lincoln Conway. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod