Mental Floss Presents: The Quest for the North Pole

Latest Episodes:

The Turning Point Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

By the second half of the 19th century, British explorers had competition from Americans and Norwegians in the race to claim the North Pole. Nowhere was the contrast in expedition styles more evident than between British naval officer George Strong Nares and Norwegian adventurer Fridtjof Nansen. While Nares stuck to tradition, Nansen ushered in a new era of polar exploration that favored tested theories over wishful thinking, self-organization over government sponsorship, and minimalism over the idea that bigger was better. The international competition to be the first at the Pole was on.

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Go North, Young Man Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we’ll dive into the first real attempts to conquer the North Pole in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As explorers pushed farther into uncharted territory, they encountered dangerous icebergs, Arctic mirages, Indigenous communities, and extreme hardship. British explorers like William Edward Parry, John Ross, and John Franklin didn’t have any idea what they were getting into—and paid the price. The learning curve for explorers who wanted to go north would be steep. But that definitely didn’t prevent people from trying.

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Why Go to the North Pole? Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

The North Pole has attracted explorers for centuries. They faced an unbelievably harsh and dangerous climate, lost fingers and toes to frostbite, or even cut off their own body parts to survive. Many adventurers risked everything to claim it—but why? In our first episode, we’ll meet the generations of explorers who searched for passages to Asia, like Martin Frobisher, William Barents, and Henry Hudson. And we’ll examine how, by the mid-19th century, those quests had turned into an all-out race to the North Pole led by Robert Peary and Matthew Henson.

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Mental Floss Presents: The Quest for the North Pole Trailer Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

In this new podcast, Mental Floss Presents: The Quest for the North Pole, we’ll dive into the adventure, excitement, and danger surrounding our obsession with the North Pole. Hosted by Kat Long, the science editor at Mental Floss and obsessive fan of polar history, this show will analyze the motives and celebrate the triumphs of the people who sought the northernmost point on the globe. Many wanted to claim its discovery—but only one could be the first.

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Fact Checking TR Oct 23, 2020

Show notes

In this final bonus episode of History Vs., Erin and Mental Floss fact checker Austin Thompson discuss the challenges and delights of tracking down the truth about Theodore Roosevelt—and bust some TR myths, too.

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TR and the Perdicaris Affair Aug 28, 2020

Show notes

How Theodore Roosevelt used his big stick diplomacy to make the most of an international incident in an election year.

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The Statue Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

Recently, the American Museum of Natural History asked that the city of New York remove the famous equestrian statue of TR—which also features an African figure and a Native American figure in positions submissive to Roosevelt—from the steps outside its Central Park West entrance. In this special episode, we’re taking a look at the statue: Its history, what the artists intended, and why it’s controversial today. Plus, we’ll revisit Roosevelt’s thinking on race and discuss his views of legacy.

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TR vs. Houdini May 29, 2020

Show notes

Famed illusionist Harry Houdini might have been one of the only people to succeed in leaving Theodore Roosevelt truly dumbfounded.

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Theodore Roosevelt and the Round-Robin Letter Incident Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

Theodore Roosevelt has been in the news lately, thanks to a ship with a cargo of coronavirus and a leaked letter to the navy. But more than 100 years ago, TR—that ship's namesake—engaged in a controversial letter-writing campaign of his own, one that incensed the highest levels of government.

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The Case of the Missing Colt .38 Apr 03, 2020

Show notes

In 1990, Theodore Roosevelt's double action revolver—the one he'd used during the Battle of San Juan Heights—was stolen from Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. It wouldn't come back to the museum for another 16 years.

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