Deep North: Stories from Iceland

A tale of love and power in mediaeval Iceland.

It was inevitable: Deep North dips its toes into the world of True Crime podcasting. 

Iceland has shortened its work week and it's been a resounding success. Kind of.

Under the regular ascent and descent of Keflavík jet traffic, out past the old American radar stations, at the northwestern tip of the Reykjanes peninsula, sits the Suðurnes Science and Learning Centre. Much like the airport terminal a few kilometres from here, this spit of low-flung land is a place where many visitors to this island come and go. Along with an international team of ecologists, Sölvi Rúnar Vignisson has been working here for the past 10 years studying the oystercatcher (in Icelandic, tjaldur), a distinctive shorebird whose migratory patterns may serve as a good indicator of climate change.

Last spring, journalists and activists gathered in a quiet fjord an hour’s drive north of Reykjavík. There was a small harbour, but no fishermen bringing in the day’s catch. For what these guys were fishing, they needed a bigger boat. The whaling ships of Hvalur were preparing for a season of fin whale hunting, planning to sail out and harpoon 160 animals in what was to be Iceland’s last whaling season.
There had been talk of halting the controversial practice after results from the 2022 whaling report found that current whaling methods violated Iceland’s animal welfare regulations. On June 20, just as the whaling season was about to start, Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries Svandís Svavarsdóttir instituted a temporary halt on the hunt in order to further assess the situation. At the time of writing, the future of whaling in Iceland is uncertain. Has the last whale already been harpooned, flensed, and frozen? Only time will tell. 

The remarkable story of a 17th-century Icelander who travelled the world.

For the third year in a row, there’s a volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, only a stone’s throw away from the city centre. This eruption marks a pattern, with around 300 days between eruptions, geologists’ predictions of a new eruption phase for the long-dormant volcano system seem to be coming to fruition. For visitors to the island, as well as the locals themselves, this series of “tourist-friendly” eruptions has been welcomed, with thousands of hikers making their way up to see lava gushing forth from the crater down into the field below – the freshest rock on earth.

The rangers of Iceland's many parks are protecting the land and keeping visitors safe.

Archaeologists are digging deep at Oddi.

The 1783 Laki eruption was one of the worst eruptions in modern history, with global consequences.