Mental Floss Presents: The Quest for the North Pole

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Theodore Roosevelt loved Christmas, but the Roosevelt family never had a Christmas tree. If you believe the stories, it's because TR, an avid conservationist, had banned them—and that ban is supposedly what led his son, Archie, to sneak a tree into the White House, a stunt that reportedly earned him a stern lecture. That's what the stories say, but what actually happened? In this episode, we'll reveal the fact, and fiction, behind this pervasive Theodore Roosevelt Christmas tale.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Between all of his writing, ranching, and governing, Theodore Roosevelt made time to maintain close relationships with his many family members—all of whom led vibrant, adventurous lives of their own, and also helped establish TR’s legacy. From sister Bamie’s restoration of TR’s birthplace to son Ted Jr.’s heroic efforts on D-Day, this episode explores the stories of the Roosevelts that we didn’t get to cover in season 1. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his 1893 book The Wilderness Hunter, TR wrote about what he called "a goblin story that really impressed" him. Mental Floss Science Editor Kat Long joins Erin to discuss "The Bauman Incident." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A book must be interesting to the particular reader at that particular time,” and other tips about reading from one of history's greatest bibliophiles. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Famed illusionist Harry Houdini might have been one of the only people to succeed in leaving Theodore Roosevelt truly dumbfounded. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Theodore Roosevelt used his big stick diplomacy to make the most of an international incident in an election year. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The demise of the Franklin Expedition remains the most compelling puzzle in Arctic exploration. Sir John Franklin was a veteran of three previous polar voyages, recognized for his bravery and resourcefulness, and admired for his grit. The British Admiralty chose him to lead what it hoped would be its last stab at finding the Northwest Passage. In 1845, two lavishly provisioned ships with 129 crew members entered Lancaster Sound, the pathway toward solving the mystery of the Passage. Then, they seemed to vanish into the Arctic labyrinth.Not a single person survived. What catastrophe had befallen Britain’s best-prepared polar expedition? And what tantalizing clues are still being uncovered? That’s what we’ll explore in this special bonus episode of The Quest for the North Pole. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole, he led several expeditions to northern Greenland. But they were more than just scouting trips. He brought back three legendary meteorites from the Arctic, which are still on display in the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Peary also brought people—six Inughuit who had helped him retrieve the meteorites, including a young boy named Minik. In this special bonus episode of The Quest for the North Pole, host Kat Long speaks with Kenn Harper, author of Minik: The New York Eskimo, about the boy’s experience with the museum, how he came to feel betrayed by those he trusted, and how his fate intertwines with the legacy of Arctic exploration. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On their many attempts to reach the North Pole, Robert Peary and Matthew Henson spent a lot of time in northwest Greenland. So much time that they, like many explorers before them, formed intimate relationships with Inughuit women. Their sons from those unions, Kali Peary and Anaukaq Henson, grew up in their Arctic communities never knowing their fathers.But in the 1980s, an ambitious Harvard neuroscientist brought Kali and Anaukaq to the United States to meet their American relatives. It was a joyous, unforgettable experience—but the family reunion also brought up some painful memories and uncomfortable questions.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the final bonus episode of The Quest for the North Pole, we travel to far northwestern Greenland to see the changing Arctic firsthand. We explore the long history of this area, from its settlement by Indigenous people, to the expeditions of Peary and Rasmussen, to secret military operations during the Cold War. With scientists from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, we visit a climate-monitoring station atop the Greenland ice sheet, which gathers the data scientists need to model future changes in the Arctic—and the rest of our planet. Along the way, we'll see amazing wildlife, get frostbite, and realize how lucky we are not to be man-hauling thousand-pound sledges across the ice. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1912, after Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest, he proceeded to deliver a 90-minute campaign speech before allowing someone to take him to the hospital. Was it for patriotism’s sake, or a bull-headed refusal to show weakness? Given his history, perhaps the latter. Mental Floss editor-in-chief Erin McCarthy traces Roosevelt’s battle against weakness back to his childhood as an asthmatic, wildly energetic boy determined to overcome his poor health with a commitment to “the strenuous life,” which essentially became his life philosophy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When he was president, Theodore Roosevelt could fit eight meetings in an hour—that’s 7.5 minutes for each one. By the time he entered office, Roosevelt had had a fair bit of experience racing against time and coming out ahead: From studying under tutors to attending Harvard to campaigning for William McKinley, TR was a master at making every minute productive. We might not all have TR-level time management skills, but this episode will inspire you to try. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Theodore Roosevelt’s reputation as a bull moose didn’t exempt him from the emotional desolation of losing a family member—and he lost several. First the death of his father, then his mother and first wife on the same day, followed by his brother, and finally his favorite son, Quentin, in World War I. Erin explores how each death affected Roosevelt’s state of mind, sometimes in surprising ways. Why did he omit his first wife, Alice, from his autobiography? Why did he sob unabashedly after the death of his brother, with whom he often clashed? Did Quentin’s death catalyze Roosevelt’s own death, just six months later? All of this and more on this week’s episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roosevelt studied wildlife as a child, shot wildlife as a young adult, and saved wildlife as president (and beyond). How did he reconcile his passion for hunting with his deep belief in conservation as our national duty? In this episode, we’ll analyze TR’s multifaceted relationship with nature and emphasize just how much he did to preserve it in the United States. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.