Why Sharks Matter
Going off the deep end with Dr. David Shiffman
This week we continue to push the bounds of our discussions by going off the deep end with Dr. David Shiffman. If you don’t know David, you probably will eventually. He has one of the largest social media profiles of any scientist in the world. He also has this really cool career trajectory. Feeling that academia limited the work he wanted to do in the world, David chose the path of an independent researcher and a policy advisor, working out of Washington D.C. to help inform decision makers on the role sharks play in our global ecosystems and why it is critical for us to protect their habitat and their numbers on a global level.
In today’s conversation, David and I talk about a host of ideas, from how to become a marine biologist to the biggest dangers to shark populations, the role of social media in educating the public, and what Shark Week gets wrong. It’s a really fun conversation with a guy doing both really cool and important work.
In the clip below, David talks about the lack of representation of women during Shark Week, even though there are more women in the field than men.
About our guest:
Dr. David Shiffman is an interdisciplinary marine conservation biologist who studies sharks and how to protect them. His work has been cited in endangered species act status reviews, and contributed to Florida changing state laws concerning recreational fishing for endangered hammerhead sharks. He works with a variety of scientific groups and environmental nonprofits to better perform, understand, and use science in creating management plans for marine life of conservation concern. In addition to his scholarship, he is a leader in public science engagement, and has bylines with National Geographic, Scientific American, the Washington Post, and a monthly column in SCUBA diving magazine. He is the author of “Why Sharks Matter,” published in 2022 by Johns Hopkins University Press, and he is one of the most-followed scientists in the world on social media. Follow him on Blue Sky at https://bsky.app/profile/whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Find David’s book here:
https://amzn.to/3AS7kcv
And without further ado, here is the episode. If you dig it, like and subscribe. And help us get the word out on social media by sharing on Blue Sky and elsewhere.
Thanks for being here. Go slay your Tuesday.
Jason