We've arrived out our final story in the frozen saga of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration - we've talked about our subject before, many times; he participated in more expeditions than anyone else, and led three himself! An open-ocean voyage of 800 miles, across the worst seas in the world, with almost no shelter and the lives of dozens of men depending on you. Imagine that pressure! No small surprise that the saying goes "Give me Scott for science, Amundsen for speed, but when all has gone to hell you'd better get down on your knees, and pray for Shackleton".
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49:53
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49:53
The Silent Ranges
Amundsen. Shackleton. Scott. A veritable triumvirate of famous Antarctic explorers. But for all those others in the Heroic Age who made great strides in the fields of science, and whose stories of adversity are rivalled only by legends of Greek heroes, one stands tall above them all. An Australian who was seemingly made of titanium, whose resolve was matched only by his tenacity and ingenuity, but a man who has somehow evaded the history books... why is that? And what did it cost him, as well as those around him?
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53:46
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53:46
There Can Be Only One
It's come to this - a final race to decide, once and for all, the man who'll go down in the history books. The two contenders have their own impressive resumes, but very different ways of doing things. One prefers what he knows, the other is a bold experimenter willing to try new ideas. In the end though, there can be only one... or is that too simplistic? Is that just the mindset that led to disaster?
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55:35
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55:35
Going South
What was almost a false-start has now begun a race, the prize being a place in the history books. Last week's look at the Belgica may have started off on a bad foot but today we look at three expeditions that would set the tone going forwards. Whilst the race to the Pole is the main event, we need to understand why it happened the way it did, and these stories will give some much needed context; we're looking at three stories of record breakers, and the trends that were set going forwards. Believe me, things will go south very quickly...
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53:09
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53:09
Disposable Heroes
The Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration by its very name promises a lot. Our popular conception of it seems to deliver, too - frozen heroes in big coats frozen stiff as they trudge through a blizzard, some stiff-lipped soldier making a heroic sacrifice to save his fellows, and flags planted in places that are generally hard to reach. All of that is true... but there's a whole other side to the story that never gets told, names you won't recognise from any history class. Today, we begin with one of the least prepared expeditions of all time from a place that generally doesn't produce Polar explorers...
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Ghost ships, lost cities, unsolved crimes and mysteries, ancient mythology, disappeared explorers - if it’s a historical mystery, it’s going under the microscope. History has always been fascinating, but more fascinating than what we know is what we don’t; in this podcast Ashleigh Stiles looks into famous and obscure episodes of folklore, unexplained circumstances, and unsolved mysteries from around the world and throughout time. Taking a modern lens to these ancient puzzles, she uses all the evidence and findings to try and piece together what really happened, or as close a picture as we can get, to both entertain the listener, and inspire interest in these lesser-known chapters of the human experience. So sit back and listen along, and join us in pondering the great unsolved questions of history.
South Africa