FAN FAVORITE: Teddy Roosevelt's Amazon Expedition | A Killer in Their Midst | 3

Against The Odds

Wondery

Cassie De Pecol, History, Society & Culture, Dolby, Mike Corey, Dolby Atmos, Atmos

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Challenges mount as the expedition travels farther down the river. With the end of their journey nowhere in sight, hunger and disease take their toll on the men. Colonel Rondon wonders if members of an indigenous tribe are following them … and waiting to attack. Tensions between the men simmer, until they explode in violence. In the midst of this turmoil, Theodore Roosevelt suffers an injury that initially seems small, but could bring him to the brink of death.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Against the Odds early and ad-free right now.
0:05.6	Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:18.9	Candida Rondon quietly pushes his way through a thick overgrowth of vines and branches.
0:25.8	His pulse quickens with each step as he moves deeper into the jungle.
0:30.8	He tightens his grip on his rifle, using the barrel to clear a path for himself and the
0:35.4	four men following behind him.
0:40.4	It's March 16, 1914.
0:46.5	Colonel Rondon has joined with former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to lead an expedition down the River of Doubt, a treacherous and unexplored river in the Amazon Basin.
0:52.7	They've encountered churning rapids that have destroyed some of their canoes and killed one of their porters.
0:58.0	They've battled endless rains and brutal swarms of insects. As the journey drags on, they've had to ration food supplies,
1:07.0	leaving the men emaciated and ravenous with hunger. And now, a new challenge has emerged.
1:14.2	Just 30 minutes ago, Rondon had ventured into the jungle to hunt for game.
1:19.0	His only companion was Lobo, his faithful dog.
1:23.3	When Lobo heard a noise ahead, the dog bounded forward, out of sight.
1:28.3	When Lobo returned, his body was pierced with two arrows.
1:33.1	Rondon heard voices from the trees around him, speaking an unfamiliar dialect.
1:38.6	He fired a warning shot into the air, but the voices drew closer.
1:43.5	Rondon knew he was outnumbered, so he fled back to
1:46.8	camp and assembled a search party to join him. Rondon spies something ahead through the brush.
1:52.8	Everyone hold. He pushes aside a branch. On the ground is the lifeless body of Lobo, an impossibly long arrow still piercing his side.
2:04.5	Behind him is a trail of blood on the jungle floor.
2:08.3	Rondon realizes Lobo had tried to make his way back to his master before finally dying.
	...

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