logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
12m 30s

Where are the whales? Scientists find cl...

NPR
About this episode
Endangered North Atlantic right whales are disappearing from their native waters, a serious danger for a species with only 340 animals left. The mystery behind this change took NPR's climate reporter Lauren Sommer 2,000 miles away to the world's second-largest ice sheet, sitting on top of Greenland.

On today's episode, Lauren takes Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong on an expedition to Greenland's ice sheet and then to the Gulf of Maine to break down the ripple effects of climate change.

Reach the show by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Today
This is your brain on pleasure (even the guilty kind)
It’s likely you have at least one “guilty pleasure.” Maybe it’s romance novels. Or reality TV… Playing video games… or getting swept into obscure corners of TikTok. Neuroscientists say the pleasure response helps us survive as a species. So why do we feel embarrassed by some of t ... Show More
13m 41s
Mar 13
An icy mystery: What are lake stars?
When producer Berly McCoy was out on her local frozen lake, she saw something she'd never seen before. There were dark spidery, star-shaped patterns in the ice and they freaked her out. So, we called an expert to find out more about them. In today’s episode, geophysicist Victor T ... Show More
12m 20s
Mar 11
We saved gray whales from extinction. Why are so many dying again?
In 1999 hundreds of gray whales washed up along the west coast of North America. More in 2000. They lost an estimated 25% of their population. But then the whale population recovered and people moved on. Until it happened again in 2019. And 2020, and 2021. It’s still happening to ... Show More
13m 11s
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
How Changing Ocean Temperatures Could Upend Life on Earth
<p>While many of the effects of climate change, including heat waves, droughts and wildfires, are already with us, some of the most alarming consequences are hiding beneath the surface of the ocean.</p><p>David Gelles and Raymond Zhong, who both cover climate for The New York Tim ... Show More
26m 45s
Jun 2024
On Thin Ice: Supercharged Phytoplankton (Part 1)
All aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer, a research vessel making its way through the waters of West Antarctica. Journalist Sofia Moutinho is joining a team of chemists trying to find out how glacial melting is changing ocean chemistry—and what those changes might mean for the global ... Show More
21 m
Jul 2020
The Canary of the Sea
Chirp. Whistle. Creak. Beluga whales, the canaries of the sea, have a lot to say. But noise from ships can drown out their calls, putting calves in danger. What happens when humans press pause during the coronavirus pandemic—and finally give ocean life some peace and quiet? For m ... Show More
18m 30s
Nov 2023
Why does it matter that Greenland is melting?
Greenland is an island covered in a sheet of ice that is over 3km thick in places, containing 7.4 metres of average global sea level rise. Due to climate change, it’s melting at an astonishing rate. We meet some of the people being forced to rapidly adapt their traditional ways o ... Show More
27m 27s
Aug 2020
Trouble in Greenland
Has the loss from Greenland’s vast ice sheet reached a tipping point? According to glaciologist Michalea King, the rate at which its ice flows into the sea stepped up about 15 years ago. The process of glacial retreat is outpacing the accumulation snow and ice in Greenland’s inte ... Show More
32m 24s
Mar 2023
Antarctic Ice Special
Sea ice coverage hit a recording-breaking low in the Antarctic this week, but what does this mean for the rest of the world? Why is the region so difficult to predict? And what could further changes in climate mean for the South Pole? Often the Arctic dominates conversations arou ... Show More
32m 17s
Aug 2023
Drowning coastal ecosystems
Global sea levels are rising more than 3mm per year under current climate conditions. At this rate we are due to hit an alarming 7mm rise per year by the end of the century. If this is not slowed, it could lead to the drowning of essential coastal ecosystems like mangroves and la ... Show More
28m 5s
Apr 2023
Why Melting Ice In Antarctica Is A Big Problem For Coastal Texas
As Earth's climate warms, more ice is melting near the poles. And that is a huge driver of sea level rise around the globe. But some coastal communities are threatened by this more than others.Places like the Gulf coast of Texas, for example, are feeling the impact of melting ice ... Show More
11m 6s
Aug 2023
Why the Coral Reef Crisis in Florida Is a Problem for All of Us
<p>A marine heat wave is warming the waters off the coast of Florida, pushing temperature readings as high as 101 Fahrenheit and endangering a critical part of sea life: the coral reef.</p><p>Catrin Einhorn, who covers biodiversity, climate and the environment for The Times, disc ... Show More
28m 12s