Radiolab - Swimming with Shadows: A Radiolab Week of Sharks

Episode Date: June 13, 2025

In the summer of 1975, Jaws scared an entire generation out of the water. The film burned an idea into our cultural memory: they are mindless, man-eating monsters. We set out to tell a different story about sharks. Five stories over five days. We tear down deep-seated myths about sharks, plunge into the water with them, and find sharks that explode our sense of what they are – flying sharks, glowing sharks, baby sharks, sharks under attack, and sharks that may save millions of human lives.Look out for brand-new episodes in your podcast feed starting June 16th through June 20th. Visit our YouTube channel to check out the video trailer for the series and make sure to subscribe for more behind the scenes content throughout the week.  For more details about the series, visit radiolab.org/sharks Follow us on Instagram @radiolab

Babe, where are the bookie boards? Mom, did you pack my goggles? This summer... I have the cooler. Where's the sunscreen? As you stuff your car full of more crap than you could possibly use on a weekend trip to the beach. We have to go.

Traffic's just gonna get worse from here. Radiolab wants you to remember who you're sharing the water with. I looked down through pink water, which I realized was my blood. There was this great big head, these big white teeth. 50 years after Jaws struck fear into the heart of the entire nation. Never saw the shark coming.

At the time, it was one of the worst shark attacks that was ever survived. It was the biggest shadow that I have ever seen under the water. Don't just look at their teeth because everybody's frightened of their teeth. We want to show you sharks. Look at the rest of the body. The beauty of them is far greater than not. In a way you've never seen them before.

But, you know, in a radio lab-y way. These are like swimming fossils. But are they cloning themselves? I think so, yeah. Yeah, sharks are crazy. Yeah, Jaws turn sharks into monsters, so we're going to turn them back into animals. And we found so many wild stories that... We're going to need a bigger show.

Yeah, we are going to need five days of sharks. A whole shark! We're not allowed legally to going to need five days of sharks. A whole shark! We're not allowed legally to say that. A week of sharks. Let's just call it a week of sharks. A week of sharks. Okay, yeah, we have got stories about big sharks and small sharks. Baby sharks.

Ancestral sharks. Sharks that fly. Sharks that glow. Sharks that might even cure cancer. And lots of people. People who fear sharks. Love sharks. Study sharks. Love sharks. Study sharks.

Raise sharks. Yeah, it is gonna be a whole sharknado of big ideas, stories, surprises that make us completely rethink this amazing animal and our relationship to it. You don't wanna miss it. It starts Monday, June 16th. We'll have a new episode on the feed every morning all week.

It's called Swimming with Shadows. A radio lab. week of sharks. The water's sharky. Where's my swimsuit?