I'm Aisha Roscoe and this is The Sunday Story.

You may have heard of Thweight's Glacier before, rolling stone called it the Doomsday Glacier.

It's a massive body of ice and Antarctica that currently acts like a quirk in a wine

bottle, holding back the rest of the western Antarctic ice sheet.

But if it melts so much that it begins to break apart into the ocean, it could destabilize

the entire basin.

That could ultimately lead to a 10 foot rise in sea levels, drowning coastal communities

across the globe.

Four years ago, the ice in the southern ocean that surrounds Thweight's glacier loosened

up, allowing an ice breaking research vessel to go to a part of the glacier that had been

inaccessible before, the calving edge, where the glacier meets the sea.

Fifty-seven people, including climate scientists, support technicians, crew, and a handful

of journalists, made the 60-day journey.

Elizabeth Rush was among them as a fellow with the National Science Foundation's Antarctic

Artists and Writers Program.

Her latest book, The Quickening, Creation, and Community at the Ends of the Earth, is

about her journey to Thweight's and also towards Motherhood.

She spoke with producer Ariana Garib Lee about her trip and what the ice has to teach us

about life on shore.

Hi Elizabeth, thank you so much for joining us.

My pleasure, thanks so much for having me.

So in 2019, you joined 56 scientists and crew members on a research vessel that was

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