November 20, 2025

The Whaleship Essex

43 minutes

This is the true story of the 1821 whaleshipÂ Essex, the doomed Nantucket vessel whose catastrophic encounter with a massive sperm whale helped inspireÂ Moby-Dick. After the Essex was rammed by the massive whale, the Essex was destroyed, leaving its crew stranded thousands of miles from land.
During their harrowing struggle for survival in their open-boat journey. Some of the men would survive, but only by engaging in the "custom of the sea." The story of the whaleship Essex is one of the most haunting tales from maritime history, and was the inspiration behind Herman Melville's novelÂ Moby Dick.
**No AI was used in the production of this podcast.

Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano.

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Original theme music byÂ â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â Sean Sigfriedâ â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â .

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By Rich Napolitano

4.9

104104 ratings