Euan Rannachan / Face To Face with an Apex Predator

·1 hr 16 min·5 clips

A photographer explains how staring a great white shark in the face rewired his brain and made him quit his job.

The episode begins with hosts Kris Clewell and Jake Solberg expressing their childhood fascination with sharks, setting the stage for guest Euan Rannachan. Euan explains he is an artist and photographer first, drawn to sharks after a life-changing encounter where he realized the animal was not there to eat him. This experience led him to move his family to the countryside and start a company, Be A Shark, taking people on expeditions to Guadalupe Island, Mexico, to cage-dive with great whites. He describes the intense preparation, the 22-hour boat journey, and the emotional impact on clients, ranging from soccer moms to individuals with terminal illnesses. The discussion delves into shark biology: their electrical sensing, silent movement, and status as mysterious, lone predators. Euan details the specific location—Guadalupe Island, a volcanic rock 150 miles off Baja—and its role as a feeding ground due to seal colonies. A significant portion focuses on the ethics of eco-tourism and the current closure of Guadalupe Island to diving operations by the Mexican government. Euan argues this closure removes oversight, enabling poachers to fin sharks and sell jaws on the black market. The conversation shifts to other marine life, including orcas, which Euan has snorkeled with in the Sea of Cortez. He describes orcas as inquisitive but details their brutal hunting technique: working in groups to crucify great whites and eat only their livers. Euan also talks about shark identification via unique counter-shading patterns, naming individuals like Deep Blue and Ret. He touches on shark reproduction, including intrauterine cannibalism and the rough mating ritual where males bite females. The episode concludes with Euan answering listener questions about his dream to photograph polar bears and the most underrated shark species.

As heard by us

A shark episode about perfect photos, real fear, and the people still drawn into the cage.

Sharks finds an easy current between childhood fascination and genuine unease. It begins with rubber shark puppets and the animal's familiar place on shelves, then moves into cage encounters, apex-predator proximity, and the kind of person willing to step into that space.

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Why you'd press play

You want a shark story that gets past the teeth and into the people chasing one unforgettable photo.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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