Hal Whitehead - The Secret Cultures of Whales
Marine biologist Hal Whitehead has spent more than four decades studying whales, pioneered research on sperm whale culture, helped transform how scientists understand whale societies, and authored groundbreaking work on animal culture and cultural evolution.
In this conversation, we explore whether whales have culture, how sperm whales pass knowledge between generations, why some scientists resist applying the word "culture" to animals, how whale clans develop distinct traditions, what whale sounds actually communicate, how menopause appears in some whale species, the surprising history of…
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