FAN FAVORITE: Teddy Roosevelt's Amazon Expedition | Headwaters | 1
Against The Odds
Wondery
4.7 • 7.2K Ratings
🗓️ 5 August 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1913, former President Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a perilous expedition to explore one of the last unmapped rivers in the Amazon. Roosevelt was joined by his son Kermit, famed Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon, and a team of naturalists and porters. But as the party sets off on a 400 mile trek across the highlands to reach the headwaters, they discover they are woefully unprepared for the dangers that await them in the wild.
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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. |
| 0:09.6 | Hey against the odds fans. As we entered the dog days of summer, we're hard at work on new episodes. |
| 0:15.4 | But in the meantime, we're revisiting a fan favorite. |
| 0:18.6 | Our series on Teddy Roosevelt's expedition to the Amazon. |
| 0:22.3 | When former President Roosevelt first began planning his fateful expedition in 1913, he had no |
| 0:28.4 | idea that his decision to venture into one of Earth's most unforgiving environments would test |
| 0:33.7 | the limits of human endurance and nearly cost him his life. |
| 0:38.8 | A listener note. |
| 0:43.1 | This episode contains scenes that depict racist attitudes and language. |
| 0:44.2 | Please be advised. |
| 0:58.6 | Theodore Roosevelt grabs a rope with both hands and pulls with everything he's got. |
| 1:03.5 | He's submerged up to his chest in the waters of a raging river. |
| 1:11.7 | Roosevelt feels his boots slip on the rocks and he almost falls, but his feet find new purchase, and he pulls again. |
| 1:15.9 | He turns to the men wading through the water towards him. |
| 1:17.4 | Don't let it get away, gentlemen. |
| 1:24.5 | A month ago, the former president embarked on a journey down an uncharted river in South America's Amazon basin. |
| 1:26.8 | Now, he and a dozen other members of the expedition are fighting to avoid disaster. |
| 1:33.1 | While navigating a set of brutal rapids, one of their canoes was caught in the current and |
| 1:37.9 | pulled under. Now, it's wedged between the rocks on the river bottom. |
| 1:42.9 | If Roosevelt and the other men can't save it, |
| 1:45.2 | they'll be stranded in the jungle with dwindling supplies and a slim chance of getting out alive. |
... |
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