Sharks On The Big Screen And In The Big Blue Sea
1A
NPR
4.3 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 22 July 2025
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Sharks have been around for nearly 450 million years – a lot longer than humans. And in the relatively short time we've shared the planet with them, they've become a part of some of our most treasured pop culture moments. But that also means they've fallen victim to pop culture narratives.
Since the release of "Jaws" in 1975, sharks – especially great white sharks – have endured a reputation as aggressive and violent. But however we're thinking about them on land, they're struggling to survive at sea.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, nearly a third of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction – with overfishing and harmful fishing practices at the top of the list of hazards.
We get into all things sharks, from the so-called "Jaws-effect," to all the things we get wrong about this fascinating fish.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, |
| 0:07.1 | working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. |
| 0:11.5 | On the web at theshmit.org. Great whites are patient and have explosive acceleration, |
| 0:31.0 | hitting top speed with just five swipes of their tails. |
| 0:35.4 | Sharks have been around for nearly 450 million years, a lot longer than |
| 0:39.6 | humans. In that time, they've become part of some of our most treasured pop culture. |
| 0:44.3 | Right then, the meeting has officially come to order. Let us all say the pledge. |
| 0:49.2 | I now a nice shark, not a mindless eaten machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. |
| 0:58.0 | Fish are friends, not food. Except stink of dolphins. |
| 1:02.0 | Dolphins, yeah, they think they're so cute. But they've also fallen victim to pop culture narratives. You know where this is heading. |
| 1:22.4 | Since the release of Jaws in 1975, sharks, especially great white sharks, have endured the Jaws effect, a reputation as aggressive, violent eating machines. The movie's popularity, while inspiring |
| 1:28.9 | fear in some, has also inspired love and reverence for these sea creatures and others. But no matter |
| 1:35.0 | your feelings toward them, sharks are struggling to survive in our oceans. According to the World Wildlife Fund, |
| 1:41.2 | nearly a third of all shark and race species are threatened with extinction. |
| 1:45.8 | Overfishing and harmful fishing practices are at the top of the list of threats. |
| 1:50.1 | While the Discovery Channel kicks off its 37th annual shark week, we feel inspired here at 1A |
| 1:55.4 | to bring you our very own shark day and get into all things sharks, from the so-called Jaws effect to all the things |
| 2:03.0 | we get wrong about this fascinating fish. After 50 years of Jaws, how has the narrative on sharks |
| 2:08.6 | changed? And how does that narrative affect conservation efforts? We get into it after the break. |
| 2:14.3 | I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast. Back with more in a moment. |
| 2:21.9 | This message comes from Wise, the app for doing things and other currencies. With Wise, |
| 2:27.2 | you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate, no markups, |
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