Do Shark Stories Help Sharks?

Overheard at National Geographic

National Geographic

Science, Society & Culture

4.5 • 10.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 July 2022

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Our obsession with sharks has generated folklore around the world for thousands of years. But a series of attacks at the Jersey shore in 1916 would forever change the way we tell stories about sharks. We trace how attitudes toward sharks shifted in the past century—from stoking our fears to emboldening some to ride on their backs—which directly affects the future of one of the most evolved species on the planet. For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard. Want More? SharkFest returns! For more great stories on sharks and for our programming schedule, check out natgeo.com/sharkfest. Read about camo sharks that change the color of their skin, scientists who are using drones to expand our understanding of shark behavior, and discoveries on the shark superpowers of speed and bite force. Also explore: The attacks on the Jersey Shore in 1916 were captured in the newspapers at the time; the fear generated was instantaneous. Read more about that here. “Sharkzilla” was not a thing. But that didn’t stop many people from believing in it. What was the real story behind the Carcharocles megalodon? Read about it here. If you like what you hear and want to support more content like this, please consider a National Geographic subscription. Go to natgeo.com/exploremore to subscribe today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is brought to you in part by Geico, proud sponsor of National Geographic.
0:05.1	Geico, 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.
0:14.0	Oh my god, it smells so good.
0:19.2	That was the thing when you were driving down the shore as a kid and you had the windows down
0:23.5	and all the saltwater.
0:24.4	I'm standing on a beach at the Jersey Shore looking out at the Atlantic Ocean.
0:30.9	So on a typical summer day, this place is packed with people.
0:35.2	There are makin' sand castles, they're diggin' giant holes with giant shovels,
0:39.4	and then the water.
0:40.2	The water's packed too with surfers and swimmers.
0:43.2	People who seem to enjoy just getting knocked over by the waves.
0:47.3	But there probably isn't a person on this beach who doesn't have something nagging at them in the back
0:53.0	of their mind. What's swimming out there under the waves?
0:58.0	Certainly didn't want to conceive of a man eating shark actually, could cause into horrible death.
1:06.5	I grew up going down the shore every summer. It was everything.
1:10.8	But I can still remember waiting out into that water and trying to get a certain movie out of my mind.
1:16.3	He was ferociously struck on the right side. He was spun around twice,
1:24.4	taken up, pulled down, kicking, punching, and full view of everyone.
1:28.9	His buddy actually saw the entire contour of the shark.
1:34.4	Stories about sharks. They're usually terrifying, right?
1:38.4	I am Richard Fernacola. I'm a New Jersey physician and I have a research
1:45.5	of the 1916 New Jersey shark attacks fairly extensively over the last 30 or more years.
	...

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