2025-10-18
31 分钟This is Planet Money from NPR.
Until a few years ago,
Bjarné César Skynaroup always thought of his work as a ship pilot as straightforwardly good for the world.
In his small way,
protecting his stretch of the Danish coastline from environmental and financial catastrophe.
His job, whether there is rain or shine or freezing Nordic sleet, is to suit up,
get into a little boat, and motor out into the Straits of Denmark.
The highly trafficked waters that connect the Baltic Sea to the rest of the world.
Our job is to bring ships through dangerous waters.
Bjarne will sidle up to say a giant cargo ship and scale a rope ladder sometimes 20 or 30 feet long up onto the deck.
And for a few hours,
he'll take control of the ship and guide it safely through this busy thoroughfare in the global economy.
His goal is to prevent the boat from hitting another ship or running aground.
Are there any maritime nautical characters from literature,
a pop culture that you identify with strongly?
Are you more of a like a Popeye guy or like a Captain Haddock type?
If I'm bad-timbered, I am most likely like Captain Haddock,
but I don't have the same kind of drinking problem as he has.
Captain Attic is pretty constantly drunk in the Tin Tin books, it is true.
And it's sort of a relief that Bjarne doesn't drink that much,