Richard J. King is the author of Ahab's Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick and other books of nonfiction, as well as articles, reviews, and interviews. His works often explore the history of our relationship with marine life and the sea, and Rich has been sailing on tall ships for over twenty years, traveling throughout the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as both a teacher and a sailor. In this episode, Richard discusses the historical context of Moby-Dick, its place in the fabric of American culture, and why it is still in many ways as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1851.