Nome Serum Run: Race Against Death | The Final Miles | 3

Against The Odds

Wondery

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

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

With a blizzard gaining force, the Mayor of Nome decides the safest choice is to halt the relay, rather than risk losing lives and the serum itself. But the storm makes it hard to spread the news of the Mayor’s order. Musher Gunnar Kaasen and his unlikely lead dog Balto decide to push ahead, battling whiteout conditions and 80-mile-an-hour gusts in their quest to make it to Nome.

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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.
0:14.9	Dr. Curtis Welch sits in a meeting room at the Maynard Columbus Hospital in Nome, Alaska,
0:23.1	watching as snow and ice pelt the window.
0:25.8	His face is pinched with worry.
0:28.3	He knows no one will want to hear what he is about to say.
0:32.3	One by one, other members of the Emergency Board of Health enter the room, including Mayor George Maynard.
0:39.0	It's Sunday, February 1st, 1925, 12 days since the beginning of the diphtheria outbreak,
0:45.3	and six days since the start of the dog sled relay to deliver life-saving serum to the town.
0:51.4	Five children have died so far, and the total number of cases has risen to
0:56.0	28. Welch gets right to the point. Gentlemen, I think we need to suspend the relay. This is
1:04.4	turning out to be the worst storm that we've seen in years. If one of those mushers gets blown
1:09.7	off the trail, we're in serious trouble.
1:13.6	Mayor Maynard stands up. What do you mean suspended? Are you crazy? They could be here tomorrow.
1:19.6	Yes, I know, but the temperature keeps dropping and the snow is coming down harder. It's too dangerous for them to continue.
1:26.6	In these conditions, they could easily crash
1:29.1	or lose the trail. No, these men are the best mushers in Alaska. They know what they're doing.
1:35.1	Mr. Mara, I'm sure they do, but it's not just them I'm worried about. What if the serum freezes?
1:40.9	It's better to lose a few hours or even a couple days than to lose the whole batch.
1:47.0	After more discussion about the blizzard, everyone agrees that they should send messages out
1:51.0	to the roadhouses along the mail trail, and order the relay to wait until the weather clears.
1:57.0	Welch then sends a cable to the public health office in Washington, D.C.
	...

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