Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. On There's More to That, meet the magazine's journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time. Every two weeks, There’s More to That will give curious listeners a fresh understanding of the world we all inhabit.
Host and Smithsonian magazine editor Chris Klimek is a longtime public radio contributor and a frequent panelist on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. His substantive conversations with journalists and culture-makers will make There’s More to That an essential listen for anyone seeking to understand today’s most pressing issues.
Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. On There's More to That, meet the magazine's journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time. Every two weeks, There’s More to That will give curious listeners a fresh understanding of the world we all inhabit.
Host and Smithsonian magazine editor Chris Klimek is a longtime public radio contributor and a frequent panelist on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. His substantive conversations with journalists and culture-makers will make There’s More to That an essential listen for anyone seeking to understand today’s most pressing issues.
It’s not the most urgent news story that’s gripped the world since 2020, but it might be the weirdest: The last three years have seen more 400 “encounters”— many reports have used the word “attacks”—between orca whales and boats in the Strait of Gibraltar. Because the orcas are particularly fond of tearing the propellers off of yachts, the temptation to characterize these six-ton, pack-hunting, demonstrably intelligent mammals as class warriors fighting back against the 1 percent is strong, and the memes have been fun. But trying to understand animal behavior in human terms is a mistake.
In this episode, we speak with Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian’s assistant digital science editor, about why stories about animal behavior are so popular with our readers, and how she decides which ones deserve more scrutiny. Then, I speak with Lori Marino, a biopsychologist with a specific focus on whale and dolphin intelligence, about what’s really happening between the orcas and the yacht set.
Dr. Marino invites you to learn more about The Whale Sanctuary Project at their site. You can also see Dr. Marino in the documentary films Blackfish (2013), Unlocking the Cage (2016), and Long Gone Wild (2019).
Find prior episodes of our show here. And read the transcript of this episode here.
There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions.
From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly.
From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Rye Dorsey, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.
Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson.
Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz.
Music by APM Music.