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Big Picture Science

Shipwrecks

Big Picture Science

Big Picture Science

Science, Technology

4.6986 Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Shipwrecks are scenes of tragedy, but they are also bits of history frozen in time that can provide insights into events and ideas from long ago. That is, if we can find them.  From an 11th century Viking sailing ship to a WW II era British cargo ship with a mailbag of letters onboard amazingly preserved, an underwater archeologist takes us on a deep dive into history. Guest: David Gibbins - underwater archeologist, novelist, and the author of nonfiction, including his latest book, “The History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks”. Descripción en español Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake Originally aired September 9, 2024 Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact [email protected] to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science. You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.

0:04.6

From the terrifying power of tornadoes to sizzling summer temperatures,

0:09.4

Acuweather Daily brings you the top trending weather-related story of the day, seven days a week.

0:14.7

You can learn a lot in just a few minutes with stories about impending hurricanes, winter storms,

0:20.3

or even what not to miss in the night sky.

0:23.0

So listen and subscribe to Accuether Daily, wherever you get your podcasts.

0:28.1

That's Accuweather Daily, anywhere, in an instant. Online purchases might arrive at your door within days, air travel, puts friends, family,

0:54.7

or foreign places only hours away. If the trip is long, well, they may be long sleepless

1:00.5

hours, but often still within a day.

1:03.0

However, there was a time when the long-distance transport of letters, goods, and people

1:07.8

took months, that is, the time that it often took to cross an ocean by ship.

1:13.4

Some of those journeys are known to us, but many have been lost in the waters.

1:18.0

Shipwrecks are, by definition, scenes of tragedy, but shipwrecks are also bits of history,

1:23.5

frozen in time, that can provide insights into events and ideas from long ago.

1:28.3

That is, if we can find them.

1:30.3

I was toying with diving down and having a closer look,

1:34.3

and everything was covered in kelp, so you couldn't really see much.

1:36.3

And I swam down, and parting the fronds of kelp,

1:40.3

there suddenly was this sort of carpet of ironwork, iron ingots and bits of ship in this gully.

1:48.7

I'm Seth Shostak, and this is Big Picture Science from the SETI Institute.

1:54.5

I'm Molly Bentley, and in this episode, as new technology allows us to explore wrecks in the darkest

1:59.7

depths of lakes and oceans.

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