Inside the Struggle to Save an Orca Community

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Science Quickly, we present an inside look at one of the world’s most endangered whale populations: the southern resident orcas. Senior multimedia editor Kelso Harper joins host Kendra Pierre-Louis to share the story of a rare encounter with these killer whales off of the San Juan Islands. Also, we discuss what researchers and scientists are doing to understand and protect this iconic population. Recommended Reading: These Orcas Are on the Brink—And So Is the Science That Could Save Them Killer Whales and Dolphins May Team Up to Hunt Salmon E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Think about cheese.
0:02.0	Make your thoughts cheesier.
0:04.2	Now add 100% chicken breast fillet, Chipoplae sauce and amadea cheese melt.
0:08.3	And it's giving the new cheesy chicken stack at McDonald's.
0:12.3	Did we mention it's cheesy?
0:13.9	Cheese.
0:15.8	Availments with the 4th of Jan, 2026 from 11 a.m.
0:18.1	Plus and participation may vary.
0:19.2	Subjects availability.
0:20.2	Hi, listeners. This is Kendra Pierre LewisLewis. Before you get started with today's episode,
0:25.4	I want to let you in on a little secret about Scientific American. As the holiday season rolls around,
0:30.7	Scientific American offers some of our best deals of the year on digital or print magazine subscriptions.
0:36.5	It's a meaningful gift for the science
0:37.8	lover in your life or a great way to treat yourself to endless stories about the wonders of our
0:42.2	world. Here's how you can get in on it. Head to Scientificamerican.com slash get siam and sign up for
0:48.5	our marketing emails. This way, you won't miss any of our exclusive holiday offers. You can also click the subscribe button if you're ready to treat yourself or someone special.
0:57.8	Again, that's Scientificamerican.com slash get siam.
1:01.1	I truly believe Siam has some of the best science reporting out there, and I love a good discount.
1:05.9	So I thought you might too.
1:07.7	Enjoy today's episode and happy holidays.
1:29.8	For Scientific American Science Quickly, I'm Kendra Pierluis in for Rachel Feldman.
1:38.8	If you're of a certain generation, you might be able to trace your affinity for Urquist to repeated viewings of a certain movie, the Seminole 993 film Free Willy.
	...

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