Imagine yourself immersed in a chilly, blue, three-dimensional world, one where vision isn’t much use but sound travels far. That’s the leap of the imagination demanded of scientists like Volker Deecke who study killer whales. Deecke and his colleagues must sort myth from science to learn the secrets of these consummate predators. Ari Daniel Shapiro reports from the Shetland Islands. Photo Credit: Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758). Public Domain. read moreDuration: 5:30Published: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:31:01 +0000
You have probably seen cans of tuna in your local supermarket marked “dolphin safe.” That label means the tuna was fished in a way that spares most dolphins from being killed in the tuna fleet’s giant nets. In this podcast, biologist and guest reporter Matt Leslie brings us a story about tuna, the intertwined fate of fisheries and dolphins, and the work of scientists. It’s a story that lies behind the label of every can of tuna. It spans two generations of scientists and a revolution in scientific methods. Matt reports from a dolphin morgue in La Jolla, California, USA. read moreDuration: 6:00Published: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 16:12:47 +0000
Hear how research unfolds at sea. Playing female whale calls into the water, researcher Susan Parks suddenly finds herself the center of attention of a group of male North Atlantic Right Whales. Will she be able to gather crucial data before a breaching whale crashes down on her boat? Download a transcript of this podcast Image Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) read moreDuration: 5:45Published: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 15:27:58 +0000
Writer Karen Romano Young takes an icebreaker to Barrow, Alaska, to join in the festival of Naluqatak and learn about the intimate relationship between the Inupiat Eskimos and the bowhead whale. Listen as she tells Ari Daniel Shapiro how the whole community turns out for whale hunt, how the bowhead nourishes the Inupiat, both physically and spiritually—and how the hunt is proving to be an unexpected gift to scientists. read moreDuration: 5:14Published: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:36:55 +0000
