About this episode
In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why Moby-Dick is still worth reading. (Part 3 of " Everything You Never Knew About Whaling. ") SOURCES: Michele Baggio , professor of economics at the University of Connecticut. Mary K. Bercaw-Edwards , professor of maritime English at the University of Connecticut and lead foreman at the Mystic Seaport Museum. Hester Blum , professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis. Eric Hilt , professor of economics at Wellesley College. Kate O’Connell , senior policy consultant for the marine life program at the Animal Welfare Institute. Maria Petrillo , director of interpretation at the Mystic Seaport Museum. Joe Roman , fellow and writer-in-residence at the Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont. RESOURCES: Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World , by Joe Roman (2023). “ Racial Diversity and Team Performance: Evidence from the American Offshore Whaling Industry ,” by Michele Baggio and Metin M. Cosgel ( S.S.R.N., 2023). “ Why 23 Dead Whales Have Washed Up on the East Coast Since December ,” by Tracey Tully and Winston Choi-Schagrin ( The New York Times, 2023). “ Suspected Russia-Trained Spy Whale Reappears Off Sweden’s Coast ,” by A.F.P. in Stockholm ( The Guardian, 2023). “ International Trade, Noise Pollution, and Killer Whales ,” by M. Scott Taylor and Fruzsina Mayer ( N.B.E.R. Working Paper, 2023). “ World-First Map Exposes Growing Dangers Along Whale Superhighways ,” by the World Wildlife Fund (2022). “ Lifting Baselines to Address the Consequences of Conservation Success ,” by Joe Roman, Meagan M. Dunphy-Daly, David W. Johnston, and Andrew J. Read ( Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2015). “ Wages, Risk, and Profits in the Whaling Industry ,” by Elmo P. Hohman ( The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1926). Moby-Dick , by Herman Melville (1851). EXTRAS: “ Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? (Update) ” by Freakonomics Radio (2025). “ How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy? ” by Freakonomics Radio (2021). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.