Skip to content
PodcastsDocumentaryWhat to Carry, What to Burn

What to Carry, What to Burn

Blair Braverman
What to Carry, What to Burn
Latest episode

13 episodes

  • What to Carry, What to Burn

    Ep 12: The Raft

    2026/09/29 | 48 mins.
    When honeymooners Holly and Fitz miss their boat ride out of a Peruvian village, they think they'll be stuck for weeks--until a stranger offers a bold alternative.

    Sources:

    Ruthless River by Holly Fitzgerald

    Holly Fitzgerald: Lost in the Jungle Again
    https://www.guernicamag.com/holly-fitzgerald-lost-jungle/

    TEDx: What the Jungle Taught Me About Inner Strength
    https://www.ted.com/talks/holly_fitzgerald_what_the_jungle_taught_me_about_inner_strength
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  • What to Carry, What to Burn

    Ep 11: The Second Shipwreck

    2026/09/15 | 42 mins.
    21-year-old Violet Jessop goes to sea to support her family--and ends up caught in two major maritime disasters.

    (Spoilers below, in the source list.)

    Sources for this episode include the book Titanic Survivor: The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop who Survived Both the Titanic and Brittanic Disasters, by Violet Jessup, introduced, edited, and annotated by John Maxtone Graham.
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  • What to Carry, What to Burn

    Ep 10: Jan Baalsrud

    2026/09/01 | 44 mins.
    In 1943, Jan Baalsrud and his friends sneak into northern Norway on a fishing boat to blow up a Nazi air base—but when the Nazis catch them first, Jan ends up barefoot in the snow on an arctic island, trapped and alone.

    Sources:
    We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance, by David Howarth
    Defiant Courage: Norway’s Longest WWII Escape, by Astrid Karlsen Scott and Dr. Tore Haug
    The Fugitive, published in The New York Times, by Robert Kolker
    Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube by Blair Braverman

    Irene by Sofia Jannok: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU-np8zS4HQ
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  • What to Carry, What to Burn

    Ep 9: Juliane Koepcke

    2026/08/18 | 31 mins.
    Juliane Koepcke had an unusual childhood, helping her biologist parents with fieldwork in the Amazon. At seventeen, after surviving a two-mile free fall from a broken plane, she has to lean on everything she learned from her family to survive the jungle.

    Sources for this episode include the book When I Fell From the Sky by Juliane Koepcke, the film Wings of Hope by Werner Herzog, and the New York Times story “She Fell Nearly 2 Miles, and Walked Away,” by Franz Lidz.
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  • What to Carry, What to Burn

    Ep 8: Valerian Albanov

    2026/08/04 | 1h
    Navigator Valerian Albanov escapes an icebound ship--and ends up the reluctant leader of a desperate trek across the frozen sea.

    Sources for this book include the book In the Land of the White Death by Valerian Albanov, translated from Russian to English by Alison Anderson, and the book The Riddle of Navigator Albanov, by Mikhail Andreyevich Chvanov.
    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More Documentary podcasts
About What to Carry, What to Burn
Edge-of-your-seat survival stories, as told by adventurer and dogsledder Blair Braverman.How did Ada Blackjack endure a brutal Arctic winter alone? Why did one shipwreck crew work together to survive, while another crew–on the same island–hunted each other for food? What can we learn from survivors about getting through the impossible–in the wilderness, and in our own lives?New stories every other week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Podcast website

Listen to What to Carry, What to Burn, Danny Jones Podcast and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app

Get the free radio.net app

  • Stations and podcasts to bookmark
  • Stream via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
  • Supports Carplay & Android Auto
  • Many other app features