There's still beauty and wonder in the world - like humpback whales / From the archive

Scientists have been trying for decades to understand these magnificent creatures, which can grow longer than a typical house. Michelle Fournet and her colleagues at the University of New Hampshire have been breaking new ground: They record the whales' daily communications in Alaska, and then send whale recordings back to the giant animals to see if and how they respond. Some of Michelle's latest findings suggest that they can identify individual whales by their sounds. Michelle tells us the moving story of how she morphed from broke actor to internationally-respected whale researcher, and how she hopes research on humpbacks' "language" can help humans protect them - and respect the natural world better.