Why whales matter

Why whales matter

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Why you buy what you buy

We lift the curtain on how everyone from toothpaste brands to the United Nations is using science to influence your choices in ways you’re probably not aware of. Behavioural science has even made its way into TV drama. How does it work? And why is it so effective?If you'd like to ...  Show more

Copper theft: A growing economic problem

Demand has been surging for copper around the world - from renewable energy projects, to AI data centres, to infrastructure networks. Production, however, has struggled to keep pace, pushing prices close to record highs in late 2025 and early 2026.As the value of the metal has ri ...  Show more

Recommended Episodes

The Revenge of the Whales
Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in 1819, Owen Chase is standing on a slowly sinking ship. It's just been headbutted by an 85 foot whale. It's taking in water. And now the creature is coming back for another go. This is a whaling ship, and Chase is convinced that he observes " ...  Show more

Whales' Vital Role In Our Oceans
Short Wave

Whales are more than just beautiful creatures — they play a vital role in the ocean's ecosystem. Today, Asha de Vos, marine biologist and pioneer of long-term blue whale research within the Northern Indian Ocean, explains why protecting whales is crucial for protecting the entire ...  Show more

Tom Mustill, "How to Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication" (Grand Central Publishing, 2022)
New Books in Communications

What if animals and humans could speak to one another? Tom Mustill—the nature documentarian who went viral when a thirty‑ton humpback whale breached onto his kayak—asks this question in his thrilling investigation into whale science and animal communication. “When a whale is in t ...  Show more

Are orcas OK?
The Inquiry

Something strange started happening in early 2023 in the waters off south-western Europe, where the Mediterranean sea meets the Atlantic ocean. Orcas began slamming into the sides of fishing and sailing vessels. The killer whales then dived underneath to locate and destroy the ru ...  Show more