Episode · Freakonomics Radio · 2023-07-20
Books mentioned on 550. Why Do People Still Hunt Whales?
For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Moby Dick
Moby Dick by Herman Melville is a classic American epic chronicling Captain Ahab's obsessive, self-destructive pursuit of the titular white whale.
Recommended“Also, why is it still a good idea to read Moby Dick? There's a headline early in the novel that says bloody battle in Afghanistan, grand contested election for the presidency of the United States—and is a 19th-century whaling crew more ethnically diverse than your 21st-century office?”
Where to get it
