The Whaleship Essex & The Real Life Story of Moby Dick

Dark Histories

Ben Cutmore

History

4.8 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2025

⏱️ 77 minutes

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Summary

In the summer of 1819, the whaleship Essex set sail from Nantucket, chasing fortune across the vast and indifferent Pacific. What began as a routine whaling voyage soon veered into a nightmare, however, when the hunted became the hunter, and the ship, until now known as one of the luckiest around, was smashed to splinters, leaving her crew adrift in an ocean without mercy. Their struggle was a descent into fear, hunger, and the raw edge of human endurance that would go on to inspire the story of Moby Dick, though much of the darker elements would be left at sea, where such stories belonged. SOURCES Chase, Owen (1821) Narrative of the Wreck of the Whaleship Essex. Wesleyan University Press. NH, USA. Heffernan, Thomas (1981) Stove by a Whale: Owen Chase & The Essex. Wesleyan University Press, NH, USA. Philbrick, Nathaniel (2000) In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. Viking Press. NY, USA. ------ For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://author.to/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3GChjk9⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or find us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://twitter.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠ & Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ or join our Discord community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger, and creator of the podcast, What Should I Read Next?
0:06.1	Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives.
0:10.9	Every week, I attack all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read.
0:15.7	They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately.
0:19.5	And I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy,
0:25.6	troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years, and possibly the
0:29.5	rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment, whether they
0:33.7	are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change, or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything.
0:42.5	You'll learn something about yourself as a reader,
0:44.3	and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read
0:47.3	with a whole list of new books and authors to try.
0:49.7	So join us each Tuesday for What Should I Read Next?
0:53.2	Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website
0:56.8	What Should I Read Next? Podcast.com to find out more.
1:00.4	In the summer of 1819, the whale ship Essex set sail from Nantucket, chasing fortune
1:06.6	across the vast and indifferent Pacific.
1:09.4	What began as a routine whaling voyage soon veered into a nightmare, however, when
1:14.4	the hunted became the hunter, and the ship, until now known as one of the luckiest around,
1:20.2	was smashed as splinters, leaving her crew adrift in an ocean without mercy.
1:25.1	Their struggle was a descent into fear, hunger and the raw edge of human
1:29.2	endurance that would go on to inspire the story of Moby Dick, though much of the darker elements
1:34.5	would be left at sea, where such stories were thought to belong. These are dark histories,
	...

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