Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Arts myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.When Keiko, a male orca, was cast in the film Free Willy in the early 1990s, it was largely because he was unemployed. The marine park where he lived in Mexico City had closed for renovation so he was on a break from performing in front of tourists.The film, which told of a captive whale that befriends a 12-year-old boy who helps him make a break for freedom, was a huge hit, spawning sequels, merchandise and an animated TV series. It also led to increased awareness of the plight of whales. Keiko, a performing orca, became famous not just as Willy but as a symbol of captive whales everywhere, of our declining oceans and our relationship with the natural world. The new podcast The Good Whale tells of the building public pressure to rewild Keiko, who had been captured near Iceland in 1979 when he was two. But rehoming an orca who has spent his life in an undersized tank getting belly rubs from humans turns out not to be straightforward. Keiko didn’t know how to hunt, feed, communicate with a pod or live amid other wildlife. Negotiations on how best to release him into the wild weren’t harmonious and soon a battle was being fought over how he should live out the rest of his life.The Good Whale is made by Serial Productions, the company founded by the creators of hit true-crime series Serial and, as such, has the feel of a big-budget yet tastefully unshowy production. The host is Daniel Alarcón, a Peruvian-American journalist and novelist whose literary chops are clear from the writing, which is atmospheric, expansive and lyrical. While the series talks to various people involved in Keiko’s journey back to the wild, for long stretches Alarcón’s voice is the only one we hear, which gives the project the immersive feel of an audiobook. Also worth noting is that a Spanish-language version of the series will be available on the feed of Radio Ambulante, a podcast for and about Latin America and international Spanish-speaking communities.But there is another unusual component which, having first listened late at night, had me wondering if I had dreamt it. In the penultimate episode, the storytelling takes a wild and wacky turn while attempting to get into the mind of Keiko as he returns to the ocean. It comes in the form of a song written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the EGOT-winning duo best known for The Greatest Showman, and performed by Broadway singer Jordan Fisher. Now I’m not keen on showtunes at the best of times. But not only is this stylistically weird, it also seems to go against the ethos of a series which cautions against trying to read the minds of animals or ascribe them human characteristics. A bold experiment, then, but one best not repeated. nytimes.com/interactive/2024/podcasts/serial-good-whale.html
