Edited interview was published in the December 1969 SciQuest. The recording begins with Ballard providing his background: born December of 1942 in Kansas, grew up in San Diego, got married in 1966 or 67. His grandfather was U.S. Marshall of Wichita, Kansas. His dad's family had a homestaded in Yellowstone, Montana. Ballard had to learn how to compete somehow with his brother who got straight A's, so he developed other strengths. Gravitated towards outdoors science and teamwork -- oceanography. He went on his first oceanographic cruise at age 17 and says he's now 37 which places this circa 1979 (six years before he became famous for discovering the wreckage of the Titanic.) While in the Navy he was stationed at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, using the Alvin deep sea exploration submarine.

Ballard's discussion of optimism vs. pessimism con't. from Side A, along with the personal philosophy he utilized for dealing with bureaucrats wrt obtaining funding for Woods Hole's research initiatives. Discovery of the mid-ocean ridge (underwater mountain range); explanation of plate tectonics; the earth as a dynamic, living organism. 1974/75 Alvin explorations of the mid-Atlantic Ridge. This interview is taking place at Stanford University where Ballard is currently teaching and also reflecting on what should be explored next and how. Discusses the quality of new color digital imaging technology, and describes his future vision of a "psychic transporter" that will allow you to have a meeting with someone else virtually as if you're in the same room.

Ballard continues with his concept of moving a person around to different places virtually from the end of tape 06, and says that the beauty of future exploration is that you will go there only mentally/visually by controlling a robot or something like that which is what's actually there at the place you are exploring. He names the Argo as his project currently in development to achieve these goals (the Argo, an unmanned deep-towed undersea video camera sled, would later be used in Ballard's 1985 discovery of the Titanic wreck and also of the batttleship Bismarck wreck in 1989.) Followed by a discusson of the potential benefits from knowledge of plate tectonics (e.g. prediction of earthquakes, and possibly their prevention; a better understaning of earth's natural resources and their amounts/limits.)

Ballard explains the advent of new digital camera technology, developed by RCA and which he says will replace film cameras within the next decade. And how it will change his own deep sea exploration, along with fiber optic cables to transmit the images. Discusses his family and current worklife at Stanford, and provides a chronological summary of his previous sea explorations and discovery of hydrothermal vents. Discussion of human effects on the earth's ecosystem.

Ballard discusses what conservation of the earth means to him. At Kent's request Ballard describes a typical deep sea dive in great detail. He shares that his favorite music to put on for the 2 hour submarine descent to the sea floor is John Denver's ""Rocky Mountain High"" because they are in fact going to visit a mountain range (on the sea floor.) Discusses funding sources, and more about the exploration technology and geophysics.

Interview continues from Side A, and concludes with a discussion of the level of difficulty inherent in earthquake prediction.