Synopsis
Hakai Magazine explores science, society, and the environment from a coastal perspective. This audio edition showcases readings of our long-form feature stories. New episodes are typically published Tuesdays.
Episodes
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The Slow-Motion Destruction of Tortoises’ Slow-Motion Migration
22/10/2024 Duration: 14minby Kevin Gepford • On the Galapagos’ most developed island, researchers are tracking a growing threat to the millennia-old migration routes of giant tortoises. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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The Coming Collision Between Whales and Tankers on British Columbia’s Coast
15/10/2024 Duration: 38minby Laura Trethewey • Decades after they were hunted to local extinction, fin whales are recovering in the Kitimat fjord system—only to be threatened by a booming LNG industry. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Where the Rivers Run Pink
08/10/2024 Duration: 40minby Jude Isabella • Non-native pink salmon have swarmed Norway’s rivers, prompting a relentless—and questionable—fight to beat back the invaders. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Trapped in the Tide of Organized Crime
01/10/2024 Duration: 20minby Kimberley Brown • How Ecuador’s growing armed struggle is affecting its traditional crabbing communities. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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The Poachers Who Could Save Mexico’s Vaquita
24/09/2024 Duration: 29minby Daniel Shailer • Vaquita have long been collateral damage for Mexico’s totoaba fishers, but conservationists believe there’s a solution. The only hitch? It’s illegal. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Neighborhood Digs
17/09/2024 Duration: 22minby Brian Payton • On the Pacific Northwest coast—and around the world—community archaeology is helping people reconcile with each other and their history. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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The Big Baltic Bomb Cleanup
05/09/2024 Duration: 18minby Paul Hockenos • The ocean became a dumping ground for weapons after Allied forces defeated the Nazis. Now a team of robots and divers are making the Baltic Sea safer. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Safety and Seaplanes
27/08/2024 Duration: 29minby Barbara Peterson • Floatplanes are ubiquitous on the coast and indispensable for remote communities, but they don’t need to follow the same regulations and reporting as commercial airlines. How do you keep pilots and passengers safe? The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Here a Bee, There a Bee, Everywhere a Wild Bee
20/08/2024 Duration: 34minby Anne Casselman • Biologists are finding new bee species all over the Pacific Northwest—highlighting how little we know about native pollinators. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Encounters with the Maverick Archaeologist of the Americas
13/08/2024 Duration: 25minby Ann Finkbeiner • It took a mountain of data to shake off the skeptics and rewrite the history of human migrations, but archaeologist Tom Dillehay was always interested in so much more than an argument. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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The Very Hungry Urchins
30/07/2024 Duration: 12minby Lisa S. Gardiner • Researchers are restoring the Caribbean’s surprising, spiky custodians, which gobble up the algae smothering coral reefs. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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The Social Cost of Carbon Credits
16/07/2024 Duration: 20minby Jack Thompson • Multinational companies funded a US $4.4-million carbon offset project. Senegalese locals did much of the work—and saw almost none of the money. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Blood in the Water, Food on the Table, Protestors on the Shore
10/07/2024 Duration: 26minby Paige Cromley • A centuries-old traditional whale hunt in the Faroe Islands remains in the crosshairs of animal rights activists. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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The Owls Who Came From Away
02/07/2024 Duration: 26minby Jude Isabella • Over the past 80 years, one of the most resilient and hearty owls has practically engulfed a continent. Not everyone is pleased. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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The Estuary Smothered by a Thousand Logs
25/06/2024 Duration: 19minby Larry Pynn • For decades, scientists have known that allowing the timber industry to store logs in estuaries kills marine life. Why does British Columbia still permit it? The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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A Dose of Antacids, a Quaint British Bay, and a Public Relations Fiasco
18/06/2024 Duration: 35minby Yannic Rack • Uproar over an ocean alkalinity enhancement pilot project in St. Ives Bay raises an important question: who gets to decide where climate change projects are tested? The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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A Step Forward in Stingray Science
11/06/2024 Duration: 11minby Katharine Gammon • A California researcher and his team simulate stepping on round rays to learn more about how, why, and when the animals strike. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Buying Baja
28/05/2024 Duration: 35minby Krista Langlois • On a storied stretch of Mexico’s Baja peninsula, locals fight rich outsiders and rampant development that threaten to transform the coast and dry up aquifers. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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Not Too Wet To Burn
14/05/2024 Duration: 30minby Madeline Ostrander • Amid an uptick in wildfires, scientists search for lessons on how to save old-growth from a fiery future. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.
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How Viking-Age Hunters Took Down the Biggest Animal on Earth
07/05/2024 Duration: 17minby Andrew Chapman • New research suggests that medieval Icelanders were scavenging and likely even hunting blue whales long before industrial whaling technology. The original story can be found on hakaimagazine.com.