The Whalenerd‘s Podcast

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The Whalenerd‘s Podcast is a science communication podcast about whales and other ocean related topics.

Whalenerds


    • Apr 18, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 52m AVG DURATION
    • 166 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Whalenerd‘s Podcast

    Episode 151 - Maui Reunion

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2025 55:09


    Slater is back! We caught up this winter in Maui and had a nice chat about our impressions and experience on the island for the first time in several years. Also we may or may not be bird nerds instead of whale nerds these days...

    Episode 150 - Special Guest Chelsi Napoli

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2025 41:23


    Katlyn and Chelsi chat about east coast humpbacks! Chelsi Napoli is currently a PhD candidate at Stony Brook University in the Thorne Lab. In the lab, she studies the health and conservation of humpback whales in the New York Bight. She uses drone photogrammetry to assess body condition of New York Bight humpback whales inter-annually and across foraging grounds, and to model the growth relationship between body length and age. Additionally, she's using AIS data to examine how the risk of vessel strike to humpback whales on the East Coast has changed in both space and time. 

    Episode 149 - Southern Ocean Adventures

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2025 83:01


    Katlyn is back from Antarctica with more stories from her time as an expedition guide this season. Hear about sightings of penguins, seals and whales as well as some of the challenges Antarctica is facing.

    Episode 148 - Summer in Svalbard

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2024 57:08


    Katlyn shares some of her encounters and adventures working in Svalbard this past summer.

    Episode 147 - Special Guest Kayah George

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2024 46:19


    We had special guest Kayah George, a Coast Salish matriarch in training, on this week to chat about some of her passions and knowledge about killer whales and the waters around what we now call British Columbia. 

    Episode 146 - Special Guest Alex Brash

    Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2024 58:00


    This week's episode we had Alex Brash join us to talk about his new book: A Whaler at Twilight: A True Account of Whaling and Redemption in the South Pacific. We chatted about the family history that led up to writing the book, whaling history, conservation and more!

    Episode 145 - Last Call on the Peninsula, South of the Circle

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2024 67:09


    This is the last episode of Antarctica trip reports! Hear about Katlyn's adventures in Argentina during her break, and the last two trips of the season. Hundreds of whales, seals and penguins - even South of the Antarctic Circle! It's not the winter (summer?) she expected, but it is a winter to remember.

    Episode 144 - A little bit of Chile

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2024 71:38


    With some down time from the ship, Katlyn took an adventure in Chile with her family before embarking again for the Southern Ocean. Hear about her trips with a new species of penguin, seals, boat rides and more. Her last South Georgia combo trip was also quite challenging in the midst of site closures on the island due to avian flu.

    Episode 143 - Holidays on the Peninsula

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2024 43:46


    Three Antarctic Peninsula trips in one month. Whew! It was a lot but there were so many whales and cool science! Hear more about Katlyn's time in the ice and what it's like to spend Christmas and New Year's in the Drake Passage.

    Episode 142 - South Georgia Developments

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2024 65:27


    As avian flu continued to spread on the island of South Georgia, trips became more challenging. Listen to Katlyn's stories of the next month worth of trips in this region and how things developed on the island for the summer season. She also had some awesome whale sightings - including killer whales twice!

    Episode 141 - Introduction to the Kingdom of Penguins

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2024 82:32


    After a small break - Katlyn is back with updates from the Southern Hemisphere. Hear about her first trip of the season to South Georgia and Antarctica. More to come!

    Episode 140 - End of Alaska Summer

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2023 35:45


    Katlyn gives a review of the last part of her Alaska season and talks about a few bonus trips at the end.

    Episode 139 - Aleutians & Bering Sea Updates

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2023 53:56


    Episode 138 - Killer Whales Are Winning The Internet

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2023 40:38


    Killer whales are winning the summer of 2023 online. In the midst of heavy news coverage of the Iberian orcas interacting with boats making headlines - memes and tiktoks have gone viral about the events. We have covered this topic several times in the past, but with new data we decided to revisit the topic. There are up to 15 Iberian orcas interacting with boaters near the coast of Spain and Portugal. Katlyn also gives an update on her season in Alaska and her visit to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) where there is a killer whale exhibit covering our history since time immemorial with these animals.

    Episode 137 - Getting Caught Up / One Month in Alaska

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2023 52:03


    After a longer break Katlyn is back with a recap episode from the spring trips and her first month at sea in Alaska. Listen in for a detailed recap of the two Monterey Bay trips and an overview of the Alaska route she traveled in May and June. There is also a small tribute to the late Roger Payne at the end of the episode.

    Episode 136 - North Atlantic Right Whales Moms & Calves 2023

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2023 35:07


    This week we checked in on the North Atlantic Right Whale breeding season. Meet the moms for this season and a little about their history!

    Episode 135 - Humpback whales in Japan

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2023 46:01


    There are multiple breeding areas off the Western North Pacific Ocean where humpback whales go to breed in the winter. We covered a recent paper that covers the use of Japanese waters by humpbacks in more detail.

    Episode 134 - Special Guest Belén García Ovide

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2023 65:03


    We were so excited to talk to Belén for this episode about her work in Iceland. Belén is a marine biologist, wildlife guide, and sailor who works in the whale watching industry and runs a non profit focused on ocean conservation and education. She has also been an integral part of establishing the first Hope Spot in Iceland.

    Episode 133 - Hippos are whales

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2023 56:21


    Slater is back from his safari trip to Kenya! After talking about whale sightings and safari sightings we chat about how hippos are indeed distant cousins of whales, how scientists figured that out, and what adaptations hippos and whales have to live their semi aquatic and marine lives.

    Episode 132 - Humpback Movements in the Southern Hemisphere

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2023 59:32


    This week Katlyn takes us through some information about humpback whale migration patterns in the Southern Hemisphere. After Slater came back from Tonga last summer we have been wanting to learn more about how the whales use Antarctica and travel between the feeding and breeding grounds.  Katlyn also added in a little snippet of whale song from Maui this season for you to enjoy during the sightings report.

    Episode 131 - 'Tis the Season for Baby Whales

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2023 36:26


    Happy New Year! Several birthing events for large whales in the North Pacific have been documented this winter. So we did a recap of the latest events in Mexico and California. We also covered a paper that gathered up reports over the past few decades of humpback whale births around the world.

    Minisode 14 - Early Season Maui Update

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2022 33:54


    This is our last episode of 2022. We talked through an early season update for Maui with some data from NOAA, observations on the water, and some news updates on Moon the humpback whale.

    Minisode 13 - Humpbacks Have NO Rules

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2022 29:55


    This week we get caught up on a few updates for everyone, including sharing some gratitude for you all. We are so grateful to everyone that listens to and supports the podcast! Also we chat about some interesting patterns of humpback whales moving around the Eastern North Pacific using some data from Happywhale and our observations on the water.

    Episode 130 - Special Guest Andy Rogan

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2022 55:50


    This week we had guest Andy Rogan on from Ocean Alliance. Andy is the Science Manager for the Ocean Alliance SnotBot program. We chatted about new technologies in whale research, drones and of course whale snot!

    Episode 129 - Whales in New York

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2022 48:18


    Whale sightings have still been going strong as whales are working their way South for winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. Katlyn took a trip to New York last week to be a part of the Safina Center annual gala event. We are so grateful to them for supporting the podcast this year. While she was there she went whale watching out of Brooklyn, so we took a little time to learn more about the whales that use the New York Bight.

    Episode 128 - Special Guest John Ryan

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2022 64:46


    We chatted all things hydrophone this week with John Ryan from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). As you know, we are huge fans of the soundscape live stream and it was super fun to chat with one of the scientists who is central to the program. They recently published a paper using the hydrophone data to learn about how blue whales might be using acoustics to find large aggregations of krill in Monterey Bay.

    Episode 127 - Close Encounters of the Whale Kind

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2022 63:26


    We have had quite a few friendly humpback whale encounters over the past month. So we wanted to chat more about what makes an encounter "friendly" with a whale and what the experience is like. There hasn't been much science done to explain these encounters currently, but we did discuss what little information there is available.

    Minisode 12 - How Sound Moves in the Ocean

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2022 26:32


    Katlyn takes us through the basics of how sound moves in water. You can learn the definitions of how sound is characterized and how it's measured. Feel free to reference this episode later if you need a refresh on how this all works when we talk about whale acoustics in other episodes.

    Episode 126 - Slater's Tonga report

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2022 51:54


    Slater is back from his trip to Tonga and we couldn't wait to talk about it! Hear about his experience swimming with humpbacks in a Southern Hemisphere breeding ground. 

    Episode 125 - How Fin Whales Are Moving In The Southern Hemisphere

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2022 33:22


    This week Katlyn did a little follow up on the fin whale story from Antarctica that we have been talking about throughout the summer. For more background you can start with Episodes 117 and 119 as a primer.  New studies with satellite and scar pattern data are shedding light on where fin whales are going in the winter months. Are these waters safe to transit? That really is the question. 

    Episode 124 - The Basics of Humpback Competitive Behaviors

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2022 35:23


    Competitive behaviors are ramping up in the Northern Hemisphere! Humpback whales have started practicing and engaging in competitive behaviors while still on the feeding grounds, so Katlyn takes us through the basics of what is actually happening during these encounters. 

    Episode 123 - Remembering Fran

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2022 49:21


    It's been awhile since we had the chance to catch up on summer sightings in Monterey. We also had some sad news about a well known whale in California, Fran. 

    Episode 122 - Special Guest Katherina Audley

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2022 76:03


    This week we chatted with Katherina Audley about humpback whales in Southern Mexico. For almost the last 10 years she has fostered an incredible community based effort to learn about and protect humpback whales and other marine life along the shores of Guererro. The Whales of Guererro Project has been a labor of love for her and the local community as they foster the next generation of people, whales, and tourism on the shorelines of the state of Guererro. 

    Episode 121 - Big Surprises

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2022 42:43


    Our sightings report was a little bit shocking and has some adult humor. We talked quite a bit about what we think the killer whales off the California coast have been up to this summer. We also had some follow up information about the status of the vaquita population in Mexico. This weekend is international save the vaquita day.   

    Episode 120 - Lettuce Talk About Manatees

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2022 41:20


    After two rough winters in a row for the manatees in Florida around Indian River - we wanted to chat about the state of the response to help these animals. There has been money allocated to restore the sea grass beds in their habitat and supplemental feeding happened through the winter as well. What's next for conservation efforts? Time will tell. 

    Episode 119 - Special Guest Matthew Savoca

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2022 72:39


    We had a guest this week. Dr. Matthew Savoca joined us to talk about his work with marine plastics and baleen whale prey consumption. He is currently a post doc in the Goldbogen Lab at Hopkins Marine Station at Stanford University. The paper he was the lead author on in 2021 about baleen whale feeding capacity was one of the most mind blowing papers we have read in the past year.

    Episode 118 - The Southern Continent with Ted Cheeseman

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2022 58:57


    Ted was back for another episode with us this week. This time around we chatted with him about his background with Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris and our upcoming trip to Antarctica. This is a small preview of what is to come this winter on our expedition to the Southern Continent. Tickets are still available and you can find more information about the trip here: https://cheesemans.com/trips/antarctic-peninsula-feb2023

    Episode 117 - Fin Whale Party in Antarctica

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2022 51:14


    Hundreds of fin whales gather in Antarctic hotspots in large feeding aggregations. This story has been in the news cycle off and on for months now. Groups as large as 150 fin whales were observed around Elephant Island. The paper with the published results of these 2018 and 2019 surveys came out this month. Are fin whales recovering in the Southern Ocean? Things seem to be headed that direction. 

    Episode 116 - The Dolphin Spa

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2022 50:55


    This week we talked about Indo Pacific bottlenose dolphins and their unique spa treatments. These animals in the Red Sea have figured out how to use corals and sponges to take care of their skin. This is the first time a cetacean species has been documented self medicating in the wild - fascinating!  

    Episode 116 - The Dolphin Spa

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2022 50:55


    This week we talked about Indo Pacific bottlenose dolphins and their unique spa treatments. These animals in the Red Sea have figured out how to use corals and sponges to take care of their skin. This is the first time a cetacean species has been documented self medicating in the wild - fascinating!

    Episode 115 - Introducing: Antarctica

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2022 42:44


    We are so excited about our trip to Antarctica this winter! In preparation for our trip with Cheeseman's we have started to learn about the southern continent and we wanted to share some of it with you. We will cover southern hemisphere topics throughout the summer and fall as we continue to prepare for our trip. In this episode we talked about some introductory information about Antarctica and the whales that can be found there.

    Episode 114 - Offshore Killer Whales of the Eastern North Pacific

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2022 53:07


    We have a couple announcements this week. The San Juan Islands trip has been postponed to October of 2023 - you can still book this trip on our website. We have also been invited to Antarctia! You can join us on this trip hosted by Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris. Check out more info about the trip here: https://cheesemans.com/trips/antarctic-peninsula-feb2023 Our topic this week was the latest information about offshore killer whales of the Eastern North Pacific. The paper we covered was information from a 26 year study period. Tagged whales and survey encounters show that they have an enormous range, varying group dynamics and incredible dive capabilities. 

    Episode 113 - Special Guest Dave Cade

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2022 42:29


    We had Dave Cade on this week to talk to us about whale and shark tagging. Dave has worked with rorqual whales all over the globe and is currently working on a basking shark project in Ireland. He also works with humpback and blue whales on the California coast most summers.   

    Episode 112 - Humpback Update for the US West Coast

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2022 53:09


    There are so many humpback whales on the California Coast right now! So it was only fitting that we talked about a new memo from NOAA about the status of humpback whales in the Mexico and Central American Distinct Population Segments (DPSs). The numbers have been adjusted and reanalysed to better reflect what is observed in movements of whales between the regions.   

    Episode 111 - Blue Whale Body Condition

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2022 60:39


    New mics! Can you tell the difference?  The nerds talk about recent sightings along the California coast including blue whales in Monterey! A recent paper from frontiers in marine science delves into blue whale body conditions and how it may be directly correlated to marine productivity. As blue whales stretch out along the west coast, and sightings become more unpredictable as they search for krill, what does this mean for the health of our marine ecosystems? 

    Episode 110 - Crazy sightings and Gray whale report

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2022 74:30


    This week we talked about the final report from the Baja Lagoons in Mexico. The gray whale breeding season is ending on a higher note than years past, but still is not back to "normal" by any means. We also had some incredible sightings to catch up on from Monterey Bay and Santa Barbara: basking sharks, huge numbers of humpbacks, blue whales and more!

    Episode 109: Special Guest Chase Dekker

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2022 61:20


    In Episode 109 We had a special guest Chase Dekker. Chase was born and raised in Monterey, CA. He attended college in Washington at Western Washington State University where he studied Organismal Biology & Zoology. After college he lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with daily access to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. He now calls the Monterey area home, but has traveled the world guiding photography trips for many years. You can regularly find him out with Sanctuary Cruises in Moss Landing, CA and his photography has been published all over the place including the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.

    Episode 108 - Spring Trip Recap

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2022 29:28


    We just finished up our three day weekend of trips in Monterey Bay! Thank you so much to everyone who attended. We were so fortunate that the weather and the wildlife cooperated all weekend for us to get out on the water. Listen in for our sightings report.

    Episode 107 - Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2022 60:57


    This is our last episode before our April Killer Whale Trips!  We caught up on a few sightings before talking about some of the latest news on Hawaiian spinner dolphins. There have been many changes with regulations in Hawaii about viewing this species. We learned about the background information that led to the ruling and how big of a problem it was causing for the dolphins. Not everyone is happy about the final ruling from NOAA, and there is now a lawsuit being filed against them. 

    Episode 106 - Baja Report

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2022 51:55


    Slater and Adam are back from Baja! We caught up on the long list of sightings we had from Baja, California, and Maui. Then we talked about an article that has been making the rounds on social media about conjoined gray whale twins. The original stranding happened back in 2014, but since it's been in the newsfeed lately we decided to talk about it more in detail. 

    Episode 105 - Lessons Learned from Hawaiian Humpbacks

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2022 77:02


    This week we talked about updated and new information in regards to humpback whales. Most of this information is from Hawaii, but some of it can be applied to humpback breeding grounds across the world. The most interesting new paper we talked about was the findings of two different humpbacks moving between Hawaii and Mexico in the same season! We still have spaces on all of our trips for April! Book tickets online at www.thewhalenerds.com

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