Explorers sought new passages to the Far East in the far north for centuries before reaching the North Pole became an end in itself. It took until the twentieth century for the first person to reach the North Pole, but exactly who that was and when it happened…well, that’s a tricky question.
Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening Theme
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, (“Pathétique”)
Composed in 1893 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Public domain.
Performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.
Closing Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
It’s the first time I’m listening. So far I love the spin. Question you mentioned Tom Nast create the democratic donkey or did he popularize it? I was under the impression Andrew Jackson took that on when his critics called him a “jackass.”
You are correct. It goes back to Jackson, though Nast popularized it.
Nicely thought out introduction to the exploration of the Arctic. Not sure why no word about Shackleton (I know he’s about 1914 but still) or we look north first. But as usual a concise summary of the events of the day, including the disputes about who was first to the pole and the coincidence about who confirmed Perry’s claim.
Thanks. And don’t worry; Shackleton will be making appearances in the next two episodes.
Happy new year.
Thank you for a very interesting podcast. I like the socio-cultural perspective the podcast often gives to listeners.
As a suggestion, I would love any future reference to the history of 20th c. Spain. I find most of non-spanish history works only focus on the same topic (Spanish Civil War 1936-1939).
Well, we did talk a bit about Picasso. I plan to come back to Spain, most definitely for the Civil War, but hopefully more.