The Shark Attacks That Made Us Fear the Water

HISTORY This Week

Content provided by The HISTORY® Channel and The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The HISTORY® Channel and The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

20d ago 32:53

MP3•Episode home

August 15, 1915. American diplomat J. T. Du Bois publishes a letter in The New York Times. It’s not about diplomacy or foreign affairs. This letter is about sharks. It’s Du Bois’ attempt to prove to the American public that “Man-Eating Sharks” - as he calls them - are real.

Because in 1916? Most people think they’re a myth. Experts say that sharks aren’t dangerous. That they’re “rabbit” tame and too weak-jawed to pose any real threat to humans—at least, in the North East.

But the following summer, a series of mysterious attacks in New Jersey will radically change the conversation and lead to a giant sea change in our feelings about sharks. What happens when the myth of the man-eater becomes real?

Special thanks to Richard G. Fernicola, author of Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks, and Dr. Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History. We also referenced the book Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

278 episodes

#History #Society #Podcasting Education