Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? (Update)

For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for whale products is at a historic low. And yet some countries still have a whaling industry. We find out why. (Part 2 of “ Everything You Never Knew About Whaling .”) SOURCES: Jay Alabaster , doctoral student at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Bjorn Basberg , professor emeritus of economic history at the Norwegian School of Economics. Eric Hilt , professor of economics at Wellesley College. Kate O’Connell , senior policy consultant for the marine life program at the Animal Welfare Institute. Paul Watson , environmental activist and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. RESOURCES: “ The Soviet Union Killed an Appalling Number of Whales. I Wanted to Know Why ,” by Ryan Tucker Jones ( Slate, 2022). “ Behind the Smile: The Multi-Billion Dollar Dolphin Entertainment Industry ,” by World Animal Protection (2019). “ Japan to Resume Commercial Whaling, Defying International Ban ,” by Daniel Victor ( The New York Times, 2018). “ Why Is There Not More Outrage About Japan’s Barbaric Practice of Whaling? ” by Boris Johnson ( The Telegraph, 2018). “ Margarine Once Contained a Whole Lot More Whale ,” by Sarah Laskow ( Gastro Obscura, 2017). “ 3 Million Whales Were Killed in the 20th Century: Report ,” ( N.B.C. News, 2015). “ The Spectacular Rise and Fall of U.S. Whaling: An Innovation Story ,” by Derek Thompson ( The Atlantic, 2012). In Pursuit of Leviathan: Technology, Institutions, Productivity, and Profits in American Whaling, 1816-1906 , by Lance E. Davis, Robert E. Gallman, and Karin Gleiter (1997). “ Norway Is Planning to Resume Whaling Despite World Ban ,” by Craig R. Whitney ( The New York Times, 1992). EXTRAS: “ The First Great American Industry ,” by Freakonomics Radio (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.