Best UKAHT Podcasts (2024)

1
Snow Widows 44:06

4M ago44:06

44:06

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 b…

1
The Space Gardener 31:48

5M ago31:48

31:48

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 ch…

1
Emperor Penguins 33:06

5M ago33:06

33:06

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 disco…

1
Into the Dark Antarctic Night 39:04

5M ago39:04

39:04

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, G…

1
Dinosaurs in Antarctica 34:12

5M ago34:12

34:12

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 …

1
Polar Preet 38:34

6M ago38:34

38:34

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. Th…

1
Extreme by Design 35:37

1+ y ago35:37

35:37

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 w…

1
All Models are Wrong 38:33

1+ y ago38:33

38:33

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-presen…

1
The Ice Maiden 33:50

1+ y ago33:50

33:50

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 surv…

1
Creatures of the Frozen Seas 34:54

1+ y ago34:54

34:54

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 …

1
Birdgirl in Antarctica 34:17

1+ y ago34:17

34:17

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 deepe…

1
Dan Snow: Searching for Endurance 44:24

1+ y ago44:24

44:24

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 hos…

1
Season 3 Trailer 3:22

1+ y ago3:22

3:22

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 discov…

1
From Seals to Stormzy 36:17

3y ago36:17

36:17

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 P…

1
Songs From the Deep 31:11

3y ago31:11

31:11

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 RISINGTIDEFALLIN…

1
Ancient Ice 32:06

3y ago32:06

32:06

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 reced…

1
The White Continent? - Part One 37:19

3y ago37:19

37:19

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…

1
The White Continent? - Part Two 35:50

3y ago35:50

35:50

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…

1
To Antarctica and Beyond 34:53

3y ago34:53

34:53

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: S…

1
Epic Endurance 36:15

3y ago36:15

36:15

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 …

1
Season 2 Trailer 3:03

3y ago3:03

3:03

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 Fie…

1
The Future of Antarctica 27:01

3+ y ago27:01

27:01

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 Scie…

1
Antarctica in Mind 21:50

3+ y ago21:50

21:50

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 mo…

1
No Shops and No Hairdressers 25:20

4y ago25:20

25:20

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 w…

1
How Penguins Can Predict the Future 32:30

4y ago32:30

32:30

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 …

1
Professor Dame Jane Francis: Clues to the Climate Crisis 31:12

4y ago31:12

31:12

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 i…

1
Sir Ranulph Fiennes: To the Ice 32:21

4y ago32:21

32:21

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 man…

1
A Voyage to Antarctica - Trailer 2:16

4y ago2:16

2:16

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 Wheel…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

UKAHT Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
A Voyage to Antarctica

UKAHT

1
Snow Widows 44:06

1
The Space Gardener 31:48

1
Emperor Penguins 33:06

1
Into the Dark Antarctic Night 39:04

1
Dinosaurs in Antarctica 34:12

1
Polar Preet 38:34

1
Extreme by Design 35:37

1
All Models are Wrong 38:33

1
The Ice Maiden 33:50

1
Creatures of the Frozen Seas 34:54

1
Birdgirl in Antarctica 34:17

1
Dan Snow: Searching for Endurance 44:24

1
Season 3 Trailer 3:22

1
From Seals to Stormzy 36:17

1
Songs From the Deep 31:11

1
Ancient Ice 32:06

1
The White Continent? - Part One 37:19

1
The White Continent? - Part Two 35:50

1
To Antarctica and Beyond 34:53

1
Epic Endurance 36:15

1
Season 2 Trailer 3:03

1
The Future of Antarctica 27:01

1
Antarctica in Mind 21:50

1
No Shops and No Hairdressers 25:20

1
How Penguins Can Predict the Future 32:30

1
Professor Dame Jane Francis: Clues to the Climate Crisis 31:12

1
Sir Ranulph Fiennes: To the Ice 32:21

1
A Voyage to Antarctica - Trailer 2:16

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