A Voyage to Antarctica

Alok Jha revisits one of Antarctica’s most enduring tales of exploration with author and journalist Katherine MacInnes. Her book 'Snow Widows' tells the story of the race for the South Pole, from the perspective of the women whose lives would be forever changed by it: the wives and mothers that Sir Robert Falcon Scott and his expedition team left behind. Katherine MacInnes has been an arts journalist and commissioning editor and has gained an MSt from The University of Oxford. She has published plays and children’s books, as well as a biography of Oriana Wilson - 'The Woman With The Iceberg Eyes'. She is a regular on local BBC Radio and her journalism has appeared widely, including in the Times, Telegraph and Country Life. For more information about our guests and episode transcripts, click here To support the work of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, click here To buy 'Snow Widows' by Katherine MacInnes, click here Season 4 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to NASA astro-botanist Jess Bunchek about growing vegetables in Antarctica – and outer space. Jess started as a botanist and agronomist and, after completing her masters, worked as an astro-botanist at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where she researched space crop production and supported “Veggie” – a vegetable production chamber on the International Space Station. While at NASA, she proposed a new collaboration with Germany's space agency, DLR, on the EDEN ISS greenhouse project in Antarctica. For this, Jess overwintered for 14 months at Germany's Neumayer Station III in Antarctica from late 2020 to early 2022, where she operated EDEN ISS and contributed to multiple areas of Antarctic research. For more information about our guests and episode transcripts, click here To support the work of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, click here Season 4 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to Dr Peter Fretwell, award-winning cartographer and leading scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, about Antarctica’s most iconic residents – Emperor penguins – and the threats they’re facing from climate change. Peter pioneered the use of satellite imagery to find and monitor polar wildlife – a project that has led to him discovering almost half of the world's Emperor penguin colonies. He chairs the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Bedmap3 group and ‘Censusing Animal Populations from Space’ (part of the Southern Ocean Observing System) and heads BAS’s ‘Wildlife from Space’ group. He has completed five field seasons in Antarctica. For more info about our guests and episode transcripts, click here To support the work of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust - and adopt a penguin - click here Season 4 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to journalist and author Julian Sancton about the harrowing and epic survival story of The Belgica: an early polar expedition gone terribly wrong – with a ship frozen in ice and its crew trapped inside for months of endless polar night. Julian is an editor at The Hollywood Reporter. His writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ, The New Yorker, Wired, and Playboy, among others. He has reported from every continent, including Antarctica, which he visited while researching his New York Times bestseller Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night. A graduate of Harvard College, where he majored in History, Julian lives in Larchmont, New York, with his partner, Jessica, and their two daughters. For more info about our guests and episode transcripts click here To support the work of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust click here Buy Julian's book, Madhouse at the End of the Earth here Season 4 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Susannah Maidment, Principal Researcher in fossil reptiles at London’s Natural History Museum, takes us 100 million years back in time to when Antarctica was a rainforest and home to some of the biggest creatures to ever walk the earth – the dinosaurs! Susannah has a PhD in vertebrate palaeontology from the University of Cambridge and, prior to working at the Natural History Museum, was a Research Fellow at Imperial College and a postdoctoral researcher at the Natural History Museum. She appears regularly in the media talking about dinosaurs and has been a guest on BBC Radio 4’s The Life Scientific and The Infinite Monkey Cage. https://www.ukaht.org/antarctica-in-sight/podcasts/ Season 4 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to Guinness World Record-breaking polar explorer Preet Chandi MBE – known as Polar Preet – about her extraordinary, inspiring and boundary-breaking achievements in Antarctica. In 2022, Preet became the ninth woman in history to ski solo to the South Pole and the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition on the continent. The next year, Preet set out on another adventure: covering 922 miles in 70 days and breaking two Guinness world records for the longest solo unsupported one-way polar ski journey for a woman and overall. After we spoke to her, Preet went back to Antarctica – this time to attempt a speed record for the fastest woman to complete a solo South Pole ski expedition, covering 702 miles of Antarctic ice in 31 days, 13 hours and 19 minutes. www.ukaht.org Season 4 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to award-winning polar architect Hugh Broughton, to find out what it takes to design buildings where people can live – and even thrive – in the world’s most extreme conditions. In 2005 Hugh’s practice won an international competition to design the UK’s most southerly Antarctic research station – Halley VI. The modular elevated base was completed in 2012 and is the world’s first fully-relocatable polar research facility. Hugh’s practice has gone on to win a string of design competitions for remote projects and is now considered one of the world’s leading designers of research facilities in the Polar Regions. Hugh has won over 50 international awards for his designs. His work has been published around the world and has been featured in numerous exhibitions and on television and radio. He has lectured worldwide on the work of his practice, and regularly sits on award and competition juries. https://www.ukaht.org/antarctica-in-sight/podcasts/ Season 3 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to climate scientist Dr Tamsin Edwards about how her pioneering work in modelling the impact of ice sheet and glacier melt on rising sea levels is predicting the future of the planet. Tamsin is an award-winning science communicator, including through her blog for the Public Library of Science, articles for the Guardian, and co-presenting the BBC Radio 4 series “39 Ways to Save the Planet”. She recently wrote an essay about the consequences of rising temperatures worldwide – and how to stop them – for Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book. Tamsin regularly provides advice on climate science to the public, policy makers, media, business and charities. She was a Lead Author of the Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was published in 2021. In 2023, Tamsin will be the first Parliamentary “Thematic Research Lead” for Climate & Environment, a role based on the concept of Chief Scientific Advisers – responsible for bringing about a step change in the way climate research feeds into Parliament’s scrutiny, legislation and debate. https://www.ukaht.org/antarctica-in-sight/podcasts/ Season 3 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to record-breaking explorer and UK Antarctic Heritage Trust's Head of Operations Sophie Montagne, one of the British Army’s Ice Maidens team, which in 2018, became the first all-female team to cross Antarctica using muscle power alone. Sophie trained in Arctic Norway with the Royal Marines and the Norwegian Army, learning how to survive, and be comfortable, in a frozen environment. She is now UK Antarctic Heritage Trust’s very own Head of Operations, running activities in Antarctica and managing the seasonal teams at the Port Lockroy base. Prior to joining the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, Sophie was the Director of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Polar Regions, helping to improve politicians' understanding of the Arctic & Antarctic, and has spoken to over 30,000 young people across the UK about Antarctica and exploration. Sophie is an Army Reservist, a military ski instructor and always happiest in the mountains. https://www.ukaht.org/antarctica-in-sight/podcasts/ Season 3 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to Marine Biologist Dr Huw Griffiths about the weird & wonderful life that is being discovered underwater in Antarctica; teaching us incredible things about our planet’s deep past, and even revealing some secrets of the universe. Huw has worked for the British Antarctic Survey for over 20 years, studying the animals that live at the bottom of the sea around Antarctica and the Arctic. He also studies the potential effects of marine protected areas, climate change, human impacts and pollution on these unique ecosystems, and has participated in and led multiple expeditions to both poles, studying everything from the beaches to the deep sea. https://www.ukaht.org/antarctica-in-sight/podcasts/ Season 3 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to Mya-Rose Craig, aka Birdgirl, the British-Bangladeshi birder, race activist and environmentalist, about travelling to Antarctica and the impact the frozen continent has had on her climate activism. Mya-Rose’s memoir, Birdgirl, published by Penguin in June 2022, shares her journey to activism and joy through birding, during a deepening family mental health crisis. When Mya-Rose was 11, she started her popular Birdgirl blog and, at age 14, she founded her charity Black2Nature, which engages VME young people in the UK with nature. At 17, she became the youngest person to see half the world’s bird species and the youngest person to receive an honorary Doctorate of Science in recognition of her pioneering campaigning work. In 2020 Mya-Rose shared a stage with Greta Thunberg and took part in the most Northerly Youth Strike for Climate in the Arctic with Greenpeace. In 2021, she spoke at COP26 on a panel with Emma Watson, Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai. https://www.ukaht.org/antarctica-in-sight/podcasts/ Season 3 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to award-winning history broadcaster and best-selling author Dan Snow about being part of the Endurance22 mission and what it was like to witness the extraordinary moment Sir Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship was found at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Dan has made dozens of TV shows for the BBC, Discovery, and other broadcasters and hosts one of the world’s biggest history podcasts, with millions of listeners every month. He is the founder and Creative Director of History Hit TV, an on-demand history channel that’s been described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘Netflix for History.’ With vast numbers of paying subscribers, Dan has proved a pioneer of digital history broadcasting; according to the Times is now "the Mark Zuckerberg of Spitfires, the Elon Musk of the King Tiger Tank.” Dan has worked on every continent, from the Yukon gold fields and Maori hill forts to the warzones of Syria and the Congo. When not making history shows, Dan hauls his three children around historical sites, preferably by boat. https://www.ukaht.org/antarctica-in-sight/podcasts/ Season 3 of A Voyage to Antarctica is made possible with support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Season three of A Voyage to Antarctica, presenter Alok Jha (The Economist) and guests including historian Dan Snow and birder, activist and environmentalist Mya-Rose Craig (aka Birdgirl), will delve into the extraordinary human stories of the wildest place on the planet. Unearthing Antarctica’s hidden treasures; telling untold stories of discovery and adventure; and exploring the amazing scientific discoveries being made across the continent of climate science. All brought to you by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust: the charity championing the public understanding of, and engagement with, Antarctica; with this season made possible by support from Hurtigruten Expeditions. So please join us to find out just how much Antarctica matters to us all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of series 2, Alok Jha talks to Polar Conservationist and explorer Prem Gill to find out what Antarctic seals and Grime music have in common. Prem is a PhD candidate leading the "Seals from Space" project with the Scott Polar Research Institute, British Antarctic Survey & World Wildlife Fund, and a researcher working on Frozen Planet. Outside of this, Prem is interested in increasing opportunities for underrepresented and disadvantaged groups in polar and conservation science. As the founder of Polar Impact and British Antarctic Survey’s Diversity Champion, he has used his research to spearhead projects which attract and retain talent from non-traditional backgrounds. Additional music featured in this episode is by Marzmanj. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to the award-winning writer Philip Hoare about his life-long love for and obsession with whales and their history in Antarctica. Philip’s numerous books include Leviathan or, The Whale, which won the 2009 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize, and has been published all over the world. It was followed by The Sea Inside (2013) and RISINGTIDEFALLINGSTAR (2017). His latest book, Albert & the Whale, is published by 4th Estate in the UK. Philip wrote and presented the BBC Arena film The Hunt for Moby-Dick, and directed three short films for BBC’s Whale Night. He is co-curator of the Moby-Dick and Ancient Mariner ‘Big Reads’, and is professor of creative writing at the University of Southampton. Special thanks to The Dominica Sperm Whale Project for providing recordings of sperm whales for this episode. http://www.thespermwhaleproject.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to Dr Kelly Hogan, a Marine Geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey to find out what studying the remains of ancient ice sheets in Antarctica can tell us about climate change and the future of the planet. Kelly works on research vessels around Antarctica, looking for clues about how ancient ice sheets flowed and eventually receded back towards land but also what caused the ice to shrink. In addition to more than 10 trips to the Arctic, Kelly has been on 5 research cruises to Antarctica. Her most recent trips have been to study Thwaites Glacier. New research has revealed huge channels underneath the glacier, which funnel in warm ocean water towards it, and could speed up the melting of the glacier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part 1 of this special two part episode, Alok Jha talks to polar explorer Dwayne Fields: the first black Briton to walk 400 miles to the magnetic North Pole, in 2010. Born in Jamaica, Dwayne came to the UK at age of six. In his youth, he was a victim of knife and gun crime and as a result of his experiences, decided to change his life and become an explorer. He’s lived a life of adventure, inspiring young people nationwide to explore the ‘great outdoors’ – wherever that may be. He is currently planning two trips to Antarctica with his expedition partner Phoebe Smith and their #WeTwo foundation, including taking a group of under-privileged young people to Antarctica in 2021 on a specially chartered expedition ship. Dwayne has been awarded the ‘The Freedom of the City of London’ by the Lord Mayor, for his work with young people. He’s an Ambassador for the Scout Association, the National Trust, the Woodland Trust, Ordnance Survey and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part 2 of The White Continent? Alok Jha delves further into Antarctica’s colonial history with historian Dr Ben Maddison, to discover some untold stories of the continent. Ben’s book Class and Colonialism in Antarctic Exploration looks at the the discovery of Antarctica ‘from below’, focusing on the sailors, sealers, whalers, cooks and engineers, who were all essential in bringing the upper-class ‘hero explorers’ to the continent and supporting their expeditions. He is currently writing A History of the Southern Ocean, gazing out on his subject matter from Bruny Island, Tasmania, where he lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha goes to Antarctica and far beyond with space plasma physicist Dr Suzie Imber. Suzie is Associate Professor in Space Physics at the University of Leicester. She’s currently involved in the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, which launched in 2018, and will go into orbit around Mercury in December 2025. She’s also a high altitude mountaineer: Since 2014 she’s teamed up with highly-acclaimed mountaineer Maximo Kausch, firstly to discover and then to climb dozens of the most remote mountains on the planet. And, in 2017, Suzie was the winner of BBC2’s Astronauts: Do You Have What it Takes? After being put through her paces by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, she now has his backing for her application to the European Space Agency’s call for new astronauts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to legendary explorer Felicity Aston about what endurance means to her. In 2012, Felicity became the first woman to ski solo across the Antarctic landmass, a journey of over 1000 miles that took her 59 days and earned her a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Felicity has gone on to organise and lead numerous expeditions to remote places around the world, but particularly to the Polar Regions. Her expeditions have included the first British Women’s crossing of Greenland, a 6000km drive to the South Pole and leading international teams of women on ski expeditions to both the North and South Poles. She has been appointed MBE for services to polar exploration and awarded the Polar Medal for services to the Arctic and Antarctic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.