Why Doesn’t the Ocean Kill Marine Mammals?

The ocean is a lethal place for mammals.
Saltwater dehydrates you. Sleeping too deeply gets you drowned. And yet dolphins, whales, and sea lions have mastered both challenges — turning themselves into the ultimate survival machines on Earth.

In this episode of The Curious Current, we explore the two superpowers that let marine mammals pull off the impossible:
(1) making their own freshwater from fat and other strategies, and
(2) sleeping with only half their brain at a time.

You’ll discover how dolphins stay hydrated in a world made of salt, how whales filter sodium better than any man-made desalination system, and why some species drift through the ocean with one eye open — literally. Along the way, we’ll dive into metabolic water, super-kidneys, unihemispheric sleep, predator avoidance, climate pressure, and what rising ocean salinity means for marine life.

If you love deep-sea mysteries, mind-bending biology, and creatures with abilities that feel almost impossible, this is your dive.

Stay Curious. Stay Current.