The WeWhale Pod – Details, episodes & analysis

In today’s episode of the WeWhale Pod, we speak with Alexandra Johnston, filmmaker and dolphin advocate. 

She shares her lifelong admiration for orcas and how her career has evolved towards the conservation and protection of these magnificent animals through the power of video and storytelling. Alexandra is part of the Dolphin Project team, a renowned non-profit organisation dedicated to the welfare and protection of dolphins worldwide, where they actively campaign against the captivity of cetaceans.

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

In today’s episode of the WeWhale Pod, we speak with Thomas Le Coz, captain of the Sea Shepherd France vessel Walrus and campaign leader. 

Thomas shares his journey in marine conservation, his work on the bycatch campaign in northern Spain, and his involvement in Save the Iberian Orca — a joint project by WeWhale, Iberian Orca Guardians and Sea Shepherd France. 

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Our guest for this episode of The WeWhale Pod is Billy Heaney, zoologist, wildlife presenter and filmmaker. 

Billy talks about his path to becoming a zoologist, his time spent researching grey seals in Cornwall, and his film 'In Search of the Killer Whale' which captures a pretty spontaneous trip he and two friends made to see orcas in the wild in Iceland. 

He also chats about his work with Whale and Dolphin Conservation's campaign 'EndCaptivityForever'. While dolphinariums have been closed in the UK since 1993, they aren't actually illegal in the country. The campaign seeks to make them illegal, meaning they can never happen again. 

Billy also talks about ending whaling and the need for more ocean sanctuaries for whales and dolphins. 

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Our guest for this episode of The WeWhale Pod is Dr Vanessa Pirotta, wildlife scientist and science communicator. 

Vanessa talks about how the film Free Willy inspired her (and a generation of marine scientists) to get involved in working with whales. 

She also chats about the work she does with a citizen science marine programme in Australia and her fascinating research work focusing on whale snot and using drones. 

The conversation also delves into southern right whales and Migaloo, the famous albino whale! 

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Our guest for this episode of The WeWhale Pod is Finn van der Aar. She is a marine scientist, sustainability expert and bestselling author. 

Finn tells us about growing up close to the ocean in Ireland, her love of surfing (including an epic experience when a bottlenose dolphin surfed alongside!) and why she thinks we connect so deeply with whales and dolphins. 

She also talks to us about research into marine noise pollution and what can be done to reduce the noise, for the health and wellbeing of marine mammals. 

Finn also fills us on her upcoming book, a novel that's been informed by her real life experiences at sea!

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Our guest for this episode of The WeWhale Pod is Hanne Strager, biologist, whale researcher and author of the recently published book The Killer Whale Journals: Our Love and Fear of Orcas 

Hanne tells us about her early interest in animals and also how she ended up volunteering to cook on a small fishing boat in northern Norway and how that decided what the rest of her life would be about. 

She also shares some of the insights and impressions she gained on her travels over the years to learn more about orcas and the relationships that people have with them. This included travels in Australia, Greenland and to the black market 'whale jails' in the Russian wilderness of Kamchatka. 

Hanne also talks about some of the close encounters she's had with orcas and the intriguing connection that humans have with the whale species. 

"They are mammals just like us - they live in family groups, they take care of their young, they are affectionate, they are playful," she says.

"There are so many things that I think we recognise from ourselves and still their life is just so different because they live in the sea - it's dark, it's cold, it's hard to understand what kind of life it is and that dichotomy that it's both something we recognise and it's something that's very foreign, I think is part of what makes them so intriguing."

Hanne's book is available now. You can find out more about Hanne's work on her website.

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Our guest for this episode of The WeWhale Pod is Nadea Nabilla, Co-founder of Azura Indonesia. 

The initiative focuses on converting traditional Indonesian fishing boats to being 100% solar powered, which is more sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost effective than using combustible engines. 

Nadea, who first studied electronic engineering, is also a passionate advocate for our ocean, and has a huge love of scuba diving.

You can find out more about Nadea's work on Instagram. 

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Our guest for this episode of The WeWhale Pod is Jennifer Lonsdale.

Jennifer is a co-founder of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), an international NGO that investigates and campaigns against environmental crime and abuse.

Jennifer has close to 40 years’ experience working in the field, particularly focused on and leading the organisation’s Ocean Campaign. In 2016, she was awarded an OBE for services to the environment, particularly the protection of whales and dolphins. 

Amongst the topics, Jennifer talks about how her early childhood in Uganda informed her love of wildlife, how she got involved in witnessing and documenting whale hunts in Norway and the Faroe Islands and how the investigative work of the EIA has helped to create public awareness and to effect change.

You can find out more about EIA's work on its website.

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Our guest for this episode of The WeWhale Pod is Alex Lewis. 

Alex is a co-founder of Fins and Fluke, a cetacean advocacy non-profit established in 2012 which particularly focuses attention on the plight of captive whales and dolphins. 

Amongst the topics, Alex talks about how watching the documentary The Cove moved her to become an anti captivity activist for whales and dolphins and how social media is a valuable tool to spread the word about the plight of captive cetaceans. 

She also chats about how marine parks in the U.S. are seeing their entry numbers drop, as public sentiment continues to change. And she says, "I cannot wait to see them close their doors forever!"

You can find out more about Fins and Fluke's work on its Facebook and Instagram pages:
https://www.facebook.com/FinsAndFluke
https://www.instagram.com/finsandfluke/

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Our guest for this episode of The WeWhale Pod is Femke den Haas, Indonesia Campaign Director for Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project.

Amongst the topics, Femke talks about being fascinated by dolphins and any creatures living in the ocean whilst growing up, her work with wildlife rescue groups around the world and the important rehabilitation and rescue work for dolphins taking place in Indonesia. 

You can find out more about Femke and her colleagues' work on the Dolphin Project website. 

Find out more about WeWhale at wewhale.co and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.