Originally published on July 23, 2025 (Episode 416)
Introduction
“Shipwrecks as events are probably humanity’s most common form of disaster,” writes my guest James Delgado.
“As such, shipwrecks—aside from epidemics, warfare on land, or great natural disasters—have been the cause of the greatest number of human deaths throughout history. Thanks to ships and other watercraft, humanity did not just walk across the globe from its ancestral home in Africa. We made use of the ocean as a source of food and as a means of travel on our global journey. Humanity’s relationship with the water has also been shaped by the reality that for as much as is taken from the sea, something is lost. Those losses are ships, the goods on them, and people. Shipwrecks as events therefore have inspired one of the oldest genres of human reflection on the nature of life; they have been and remain a muse for religious thought, literature, music, and art.”
These are some of Delgado’s opening observations in his new book The Great Museum of the Sea: A Human History of Shipwrecks (OUP, 2025), a deep dive into the history of human disaster at sea, and what wrecks can tell us—about the past, and about ourselves. From the causes of shipwrecks to the beginnings of maritime archaeology, Delgado offers a history, a meditation, and fragments of a maritime archaeologist’s autobiography.
About the Guest
James Delgado is Senior Vice President of SEARCH, Inc., the leading cultural resources firm in the United States. He has previously been Director of Maritime Heritage for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; President and CEO of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA); and host of the National Geographic international television series The Sea Hunters. He was last on the podcast to discuss his book The Curse of the Somers—a conversation during which he became the only guest in the podcast’s history to break into song. He has a very pleasant baritone.
For Further Investigation
James Delgado, The Great Museum of the Sea: A Human History of Shipwrecks (OUP, 2025)
—, The Curse of the Somers: The Secret History behind the U.S. Navy's Most Infamous Mutiny (OUP, 2022)
Delgado, J.P. “The Blake Ridge Wreck: A Deepwater Antebellum American Fishing Craft.” Journal of Maritime Archaeology 19, 291–326 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-024-09402-w
Related Episodes
“Mutiny”: James Delgado on the curious case of the USS Somers
“Inventing Disaster”: Cynthia Kierner on disasters, including shipwrecks, in antebellum America
Listen & Discuss
What shipwreck story do you think deserves to be remembered—and why? Share this episode with someone who’s fascinated by disasters, archaeology, or the mysteries beneath the waves.
