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History Daily

Explorer Ernest Shackleton Escapes the Antarctic

History Daily

Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2024

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

May 20, 1916. Freezing, exhausted and starving, Ernest Shackleton and two other crewmen stumble back to civilization after a grueling escape from the punishing Antarctic conditions that crushed and sank their ship, the Endurance. This episode originally aired in 2022.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:17.0

It's October 24th, 1915 in the Waddell Sea in the Antarctic Ocean.

0:30.3

The famed Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton stands on the deck of his ship the endurance

0:36.1

as he looked out over the horizon.

0:38.0

All he can see from miles around is ice.

0:41.0

One year ago Ernest and his crew set sail for Antarctica, but on the journey there an

0:46.0

endless sea of ice trapped his ship in its frozen clutches. Many of his crew

0:50.5

wanted to give up on their journey but Ernest was determined to achieve his goal, so he decided to wait out the freeze.

0:57.0

Today Ernest wences as he listens to the sound of the ship.

1:02.0

He takes a swig from his flask to try to ease his nerves.

1:05.3

The wind has picked up and it whips through the upper deck whistling and rattling,

1:09.6

but Shackleton is listening for another sound, deeper, coming from the bowels of ship and far more dangerous.

1:17.0

Pushed by the wind, the ice that has surrounded the endurance for months is squeezing the ship like a vice.

1:22.0

The wooden vessel groans under the

1:24.4

torturous pressure, then begins to tilt and lean. There's a crack like a cannon.

1:30.1

Ernest second in command Frank Wild runs up in a panic and says the ship is punctured and taking on water.

1:37.0

Ernest orders his crew to do everything they can to plug the leak, but in his heart he knows the endurance has reached the end of her

1:44.7

journey.

1:45.7

He's more than 300 miles away from the nearest land, which leaves Ernest and his crew with only

...

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