Matthew Hayes, better known as Fish Shop Matt, has spent most of his life around aquariums. In this episode, we explore why aquariums are far more than decoration. Matt talks about building living systems, choosing the right species, understanding water chemistry, and why fish behaviour often reveals when something is wrong before anything else does. We also discuss the calm aquariums can bring, the responsibility of caring for contained ecosystems, and what small tanks can teach us about the wider natural world.

Beneath the surface, water behaves very differently. In this episode, Stuart Sutcliffe shares what it’s really like to work inside it. From commercial diving operations to subsea infrastructure, we explore how water moves, how it creates risk, and why experience matters when conditions change fast. This is a conversation about pressure, safety, and responsibility in an environment most of us will never see.

In the final part of this conversation, David Bracey moves from fountain systems and public space into a bigger question: how do we work with water responsibly? We discuss conservation, sustainability, rainwater, the hidden cost of filtration, and why the industry needs to rethink how it uses and values water. David reflects on public water play, cultural attitudes to water, and what decades of working with it has taught him about restraint, respect, and long-term thinking.

David Bracey, Managing Director and co-founder of The Fountain Workshop Ltd, shares how he found his way into the fountain industry and why working with water became a lifelong pursuit. In this first part, we explore how fountains shape public space, why people are instinctively drawn to water, and what separates features that simply look good from systems that work over time. David explains the hidden complexity behind successful fountains, from flow and circulation to planning, durability, and the unpredictable behaviour of water in the real world.

Seventy one percent of our planet is covered by water.

But water shapes far more than geography.

It shapes our cities, our livelihoods, and the places we care about. Yet most of the decisions that shape water are made far from the water itself.

71% is a conversation-led podcast exploring how water influences the systems, environments, and responsibilities that define our world.

Through thoughtful discussions with people who live and work alongside water, the series examines stewardship, innovation, design, risk, and long-term thinking.

Water shapes our world. The question is how we choose to respond.