To The Best of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio

A giant sperm whales destroys a whaling ship, leaving the crew afloat for months. The survivors are discovered sucking the marrow from the bones of their shipmates. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the tale of the Whaleship Essex, the true story that inspired Moby Dick. Also, the salmon crisis, why our efforts to save them are failing. And the story of the Coelacanth. Its rediscovery almost killed it.

Nathaniel Philbrick tells Jim Fleming a horrifying tale, one that gave Herman Melville the idea for "Moby Dick." Philbrick is the author of "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex." The Essex was the first whaling ship known to have been attacked and sunk by a whale. Also, travel writer Edward Marriott talks with Judith Strasser about the ferocious Nicaraguan bull shark. His book is "Savage Shore: Life and Death with Nicaragua's Last Shark Hunters."

Fish geneticist Anne Kapuscinski tells Jim Fleming why the prospect of genetically engineered salmon worries her, and poses a huge threat to wild salmon populations. Also, Joseph Taylor is an environmental historian and author of "Making Salmon: An Environmental History of the Northwest Fisheries Crisis." He talks with Steve Paulson about the complex lives of wild salmon.

Samantha Weinberg tells Steve Paulson about the re-discovery in 1930 of the coelacanth - a prehistoric fish believed to be extinct. Because of the ensuing mania to find more, (in the interest of science, of course!) the coelacanth now really is in danger of extinction. Weinberg's book is "A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth."

Distribution dates:

• week of 07/29/2001 - hour 1
• week of 06/11/2000 - hour 2