In New York, Austin works as a bicycle messenger, weaving through the city’s relentless traffic to make urgent deliveries. He’s good at his job too, having recently won the world championship for couriers! He explains what he enjoys about his work, and why the bridges are significant to the city’s cyclists.

Austin’s passion for cycling doesn’t stop when work ends. As a bike messenger, he’s found a freedom few city jobs can offer. Across town on Coney Island, we meet another New Yorker with a creative streak: photographer Nigel Morris, who scouts the boardwalk for spontaneous open-air portraits of people who catch his eye.

Photographer Nigel has fond childhood memories of New York's Coney Island amusement park. His subject today—a woman recently returned from traveling the world—shares that same sense of nostalgia. New York draws dreamers, and Nigel is no exception, aiming to make his mark in the upper echelons of photography.

Long Island’s beaches attract vacationers and New York City residents, and the seabed supports healthy stocks of oysters, both farmed and wild. They are ready to be collected by dedicated oyster divers and supply the restaurants of New York.

Blue Point Oyster Farm on Long Island provides oysters for restaurants and special events like parties and weddings. Kevin grew up in the area, and it was his love for the sea that brought him back. In this video, he explains some of the process involved in raising oysters.

The Hamptons are a series of wealthy beachside neighbourhoods at the farthest end of Long Island. Angela Boyer-Stump is a real estate agent and long-time resident who knows this exclusive area very well. Today, we join her as she shows a potential buyer around a multi-million-dollar house that’s just been put on the market.

New England is a region made up of six northeastern states: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. In New Haven, Connecticut, we visit one of the world’s finest universities, and meet Maddie, a student who excels in her chosen sport of rowing.

Every year, crews from the ivy league universities Yale and Harvard compete in a rowing regatta. For students like Maddie, the weight of responsibility for their university’s reputation spurs them on in tough training for the annual race. Continuing northeast, we find New England’s largest estuary, a vast number of lighthouses, and a naval shipyard that has been producing submarines for over a hundred years.

Lighthouse keeper Dave McCurdy loves the solitude and connection to the past that comes with his job. The lighthouse on Rose Island in Narragansett Bay was built in 1870.

In an area of Rhode Island better known for historic mansions and more recent luxury homes, Ann and Kevin Tarsagian have established an alpaca farm. With enthusiasm and determination, they’ve learned to care for these special animals and built up a thriving business. When we visit, the farm has just welcomed a new and very cute arrival.

Ann loves working with her alpacas on the farm. She explains a little about their breeding process, and the remarkable qualities of alpaca fleece. Then, it’s onwards to Massachusetts and the vacation paradise of Martha’s Vineyard, an island retreat favoured by several American presidents.

The sandy cliffs of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are being eroded by an advancing sea that threatens to wash away rows of beachside properties. On Nantucket, we meet Alan Reed, a man who visited the island and stayed, becoming a master craftsman in the intricate art of basket weaving.

Alan’s basket-making skills are highly prized on the island and by collectors, but he fears for the future of the craft. Moving on from Nantucket, we join a small team of scallop fishermen setting out from port on Cape Cod for a day’s dredging.

A long day at sea results in a large haul of scallops, which then need to be shucked by Bob and his crew. On the way back to shore, dolphins splash around them and a large group of seals are sighted on a sand bar.

Andrea Bogomolni works as a pathobiologist at a renowned oceanographic institute in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Today she’s collecting seal “scat” to analyse and learn more about their diet and the ocean. She must also perform a necropsy on a seal found dead on the coast.