Swimming with Shadows: A Radiolab Week of Sharks

Radiolab

WNYC Studios

Science, Natural Sciences, History, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.6 • 43.5K Ratings

🗓️ 13 June 2025

⏱️ 2 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the summer of 1975, Jaws scared an entire generation out of the water. The film burned an idea into our cultural memory: they are mindless, man-eating monsters. We set out to tell a different story about sharks. Five stories over five days. We tear down deep-seated myths about sharks, plunge into the water with them, and find sharks that explode our sense of what they are – flying sharks, glowing sharks, baby sharks, sharks under attack, and sharks that may save millions of human lives. Look out for brand-new episodes in your podcast feed starting June 16th through June 20th. Visit our YouTube channel to check out the video trailer for the series and make sure to subscribe for more behind the scenes content throughout the week. For more details about the series, visit radiolab.org/sharks Follow us on Instagram @radiolab

Transcript

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0:00.0	Babe, where are the bookie board?
0:02.0	Mom, there you pack my goggles?
0:04.0	This summer,
0:05.0	I have the cooler. Where's the sunscreen?
0:07.0	As you stuff your car full of more crap than you could possibly use on a weekend trip to the beach.
0:13.0	Oh, we have to go. Trafford is just going to get worse from here.
0:16.0	Radio Lab wants you to remember who you're sharing the water with.
0:22.4	I looked down through pink water, which I realized was my blood.
0:28.0	There was this great big head, these big white teeth.
0:32.0	Fifty years after Jaws struck fear into the heart of the entire nation.
0:37.4	Never saw the shark coming. At the time, it was one of the worst shark attacks that was ever
0:42.3	survived. It was the biggest shadow that I have ever seen under the water. Don't just look at
0:46.7	their teeth because everybody's frightened of their teeth. We want to show you sharks.
0:52.9	Look at the rest of the body.
0:54.3	The beauty of them is far greater than not.
0:57.1	In a way, you've never seen them before.
1:01.8	But, you know, in a radio-labby way.
1:05.1	These are like swimming fossils.
1:06.6	But are they cloning themselves?
1:08.5	I think so, yeah.
1:09.5	Yeah, sharks are crazy.
1:11.3	Yeah.
	...

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