A Voyage to Antarctica

Alok Jha introduces the first series of UKAHT's new podcast A Voyage to Antarctica.To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first sighting of Antarctica, UK Antarctic Heritage Trust present A Voyage to Antarctica. Through conversations with experts including Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Professor Dame Jane Francis, Ruth Peacey, Klaus Dodds and Sara Wheeler, this podcast will reflect on how the world sees and understands Antarctica today, and explore how human interactions with this continent have shifted from discovery, expedition and exploitation to preservation, scientific advancement and hope for a future.UKAHT is the charity championing public understanding of, and engagement with Antarctica through the history of human endeavour in the region. The Trust was set up in 1993 and today looks after the UK’s Antarctic historic sites and objects and invests in global public programmes and education enabling a diverse audience to discover, understand, value and protect this stunning and important part of our planet.The Antarctica In Sight programme is supported by Arts Council England, Garfield Weston Foundation and Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to Sir Ranulph Fiennes about the explorers of the past, his experiences of Antarctica and what it actually takes to go there.Sir Ranulph Fiennes is an explorer, author, fundraiser and public speaker. He was described by The Guinness Book of Records as “the world’s greatest living explorer” in 1984, and, since then, he has broken many more world records and led many more expeditions to remote regions.  He became, with Charles Burton, the first man ever to have travelled around the Earth's circumpolar surface. His record-breaking expeditions include travel by riverboat, hovercraft, manhaul sledge, skidoo, Land Rover and ski, and have raised many millions of pounds for charity. He is the author of numerous books, including a biography of Robert Falcon Scott. He is also Vice Patron of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Antarctica is at the front line of the global climate crisis; in this episode Alok Jha talks to Professor Dame Jane Francis about the history of the continent, and the extraordinary climate research happening there.Professor Dame Jane Francis is a geologist by training, and a palaeobotanist at the British Antarctic Survey. Her research interests include ancient climates and fossil plants from the Arctic and Antarctic, which she uses to decipher ancient polar climates. She was awarded the Polar Medal for her contribution to British polar research and was appointed as Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George for services to UK polar science and diplomacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alok Jha talks to conservation filmmaker Ruth Peacey about the history of penguins in the Antarctic, and what studying penguins can tell us about the future of the planet. Ruth Peacey worked with the BBC for over ten years on series including Natural World, Springwatch, Life in the Air and Planet Earth 2. In her spare time, she started documenting the issues surrounding bird persecution in the Mediterranean, which led to a series of projects called ‘Massacre on Migration’. She now specialises in investigating conservation issues all over the world, using videos and social media to shine light on areas of concern. In 2017, Ruth won Birdwatch Magazine’s ‘Conservation Hero’ award for her work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hear plenty about the glories of men like Scott and Shackleton who lived in and explored Antarctica, but what about the women? This week, Alok Jha talks with travel writer Sara Wheeler and UKAHT CEO Camilla Nichol to find out the untold stories of the first women to engage with Antarctica — from the first explorers to the undocumented wives of whalers, and the struggles of women scientists, who were not allowed to conduct research there until the 1970s. Sarah was the U S National Science Foundation's first female writer in residence at the South Pole. She wrote international bestseller Terra Incognita, and Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Camilla is chief executive of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. She is a geologist and has worked in the museums and heritage sector for more than 20 years. She's held positions at the Leeds museums and galleries and New York museums trust. When she was working for the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University, she helped uncover a collection of Antarctic rocks collected by James Wordie on Elephant Island. Camilla is a fellow of the Royal geographical society Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this penultimate episode, Alok Jha talks with contemporary artists Peter Liversidge, Lucy Orta and Marc Rees to find out how Antarctica has inspired them in their work, and why the icy continent has been a particularly inspiring place for so many artists, even before the first sighting 200 years ago.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of the series, Alok Jha talks to Professor Klaus Dodds about Antarctica’s unique geopolitical position, The Antarctic Treaty, Antarctica’s potentially precarious future and what we can all do to protect it. Klaus Dodds is Professor of Geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. His many books and articles have been concerned with the geopolitics and governance of the Polar Regions as well as the cultural politics of ice. These include: The Scramble for the Poles,  Ice: Nature and Culture and The Arctic: What Everyone Needs to Know. He has visited Antarctica four times and also travelled extensively in the Arctic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second season of this podcast from the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, we’ll be delving further into the extraordinary human stories of the wildest, windiest place on our planet.  We’ll hear from explorers, scientists and writers who’ve built their lives around this incredible continent. Our guests include explorers Felicity Aston and Dwayne Fields, writer Philip Hoare and space scientist Suzie Imber. Together, we’ll uncover untold histories, and gain insight into the cutting-edge research happening here, on the front-line in the fight against climate change. All from the people who’ve been there and make it happen.  We hope that, like us, you’ll come to understand just how much Antarctica matters to us all. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.