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The Art of Adventure

The Art of Adventure

Arthur Beale 12 Episodes Aug 19, 2026

The Art of Adventure is a weekly podcast hosted by Hugh Taylor that explores extraordinary journeys, from historical figures to modern explorers. Each episode delves into the preparation, doubt, grit, and judgment behind these adventures, revealing the tiny choices that change everything. New episodes are released every Wednesday.

Episodes

Theodore Roosevelt's Last Great Adventure: The River of Doubt
Theodore Roosevelt's Last Great Adventure: The River of Doubt Aug 19, 2026 2640 In 1914, former US President Theodore Roosevelt nearly died in the Amazon. Feverish and delirious from an infected wound, he asked his son to leave him behind — and carried a lethal dose of morphine in case the end came.Roosevelt had gone to Brazil after losing the 1912 election, the strongest third-party run in American history. A planned speaking tour turned into an expedition to chart the River
Dismasted in the Southern Ocean: Lisa Blair's Solo Record Around Antarctica
Dismasted in the Southern Ocean: Lisa Blair's Solo Record Around Antarctica Aug 12, 2026 2969 Seventy-two days into her attempt to sail solo around Antarctica, more than 1,000 miles from the nearest land, Lisa Blair's mast came down in a storm. She was alone, outside rescue range, in the most hostile stretch of water on the planet. She fought through the night to save the boat and her life - and then, having lost the record she had spent years chasing, she had to decide what to do next.Lis
Scott vs. Amundsen: Triumph and Tragedy (Part 2)
Scott vs. Amundsen: Triumph and Tragedy (Part 2) Aug 5, 2026 2149 March 1912. Roald Amundsen has beaten Scott to the South Pole, outrun the winter ice, and telegraphed his triumph around the world. But back on the ice, Captain Scott and his men are still fighting for their lives — and no one yet knows their fate.In the conclusion of this two-part series, host Hugh Taylor is joined once more by historian Dr Max Jones - author of The Last Great Quest - to tell the
Scott vs. Amundsen: The Race to The South Pole Begins (Part 1)
Scott vs. Amundsen: The Race to The South Pole Begins (Part 1) Jul 29, 2026 2897 June 1910. Captain Robert Falcon Scott sets sail from Cardiff aboard the Terra Nova, convinced he has a clear run at the South Pole. Then a telegram arrives: "Beg leave to inform you Fram proceeding south. Amundsen." The race is on.In Part 1 of this two-part series, host Hugh Taylor is joined by historian Dr Max Jones - author of The Last Great Quest - to unpick the real story behind the Scott vs
Sailing Solo Around the World Like It's 1968: The Golden Globe Race
Sailing Solo Around the World Like It's 1968: The Golden Globe Race Apr 29, 2026 1629 In 1968, nine sailors set off on the first solo nonstop race around the world. Only one crossed the finish line. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston returned aboard Suhaili to claim the Sunday Times Golden Globe - while behind him, one competitor faked his positions, another sailed to Tahiti instead of the finish line, and a third pushed his boat so hard it fell apart 1,200 miles from home.Nearly fifty years
Gino Watkins: The Greatest Explorer You've Never Heard Of
Gino Watkins: The Greatest Explorer You've Never Heard Of Apr 22, 2026 3413 In 1930, a 24-year-old Cambridge undergraduate named Gino Watkins led fourteen men to the east coast of Greenland on one of the most ambitious Arctic expeditions of the twentieth century. Their mission: to prove that aeroplanes could fly the Atlantic by mapping an unmapped coastline, discovering unknown mountain ranges, and manning a weather station in the middle of the Greenland ice sheet — throu
Solo to the North Pole: Pen Hadow
Solo to the North Pole: Pen Hadow Apr 15, 2026 2940 Pen Hadow appears by arrangement with DBA Speakers www.dbaspeakers.comIn 2003, Pen Hadow became the first person to trek solo and without resupply from Canada to the North Geographic Pole - 770 kilometres across shifting sea ice, open water, and temperatures of minus 40. It is a feat that has never been repeated, and almost certainly never will be.But this is not the story of a single expedition.
The Lost Franklin Expedition: What Really Happened?
The Lost Franklin Expedition: What Really Happened? Apr 8, 2026 2594 In 1845, Sir John Franklin sailed from England with 129 men and two of the Royal Navy's finest ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, to chart the last unmapped stretch of the Northwest Passage. They were expected back within three years. They were never seen again.What followed became one of the greatest mysteries in the history of exploration. Scattered bones on a frozen island. Inuit testimony of st
Navigating the Grand Canyon Like It's 1869: John Wesley Powell
Navigating the Grand Canyon Like It's 1869: John Wesley Powell Apr 1, 2026 2550 In 1869, John Wesley Powell set off down the Colorado River with nine men, four wooden boats, and no idea what lay ahead. The Grand Canyon, 300 miles of unmapped canyon, unknown rapids, and sheer rock walls, was the last blank space on the map of the continental United States.Author John F Ross joins Hugh to tell the full story: how a one-armed Civil War veteran turned geologist became the first p
Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary: Helen Sharman
Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary: Helen Sharman Mar 25, 2026 2540 Helen Sharman appears by arrangement with DBA Speakers www.dbaspeakers.comIn 1989, Helen Sharman was driving home from work when a radio ad changed her life. Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary. Britain had no space agency, no human spaceflight programme, and no tradition of sending civilians into orbit. Helen was a 26-year-old food technologist from Sheffield with a chemistry degree and no
Climbing Mont Blanc like it’s 1838: Lise Wortley
Climbing Mont Blanc like it’s 1838: Lise Wortley Mar 18, 2026 1983 In 1838, Henriette d'Angeville became the first woman to climb Mont Blanc unaided - in a 12-kilogram wool dress, a matching bonnet, and hobnail boots, with 18 bottles of wine and a carrier pigeon tucked into her pack. Her name was largely forgotten until adventurer and filmmaker Lise Wortley decided to find out exactly what that climb felt like by doing it herself, in the same outfit, from the sam
The Endurance: How to Captain a Ship Like Shackleton
The Endurance: How to Captain a Ship Like Shackleton Mar 11, 2026 3310 In 1914, Ernest Shackleton set out to make the first land crossing of Antarctica. His ship never reached the continent. Within months, the Endurance was crushed by sea ice, leaving 28 men stranded in one of the most hostile environments on earth, with no hope of rescue.Historian of polar exploration Henrietta Hammant joins Hugh to unpick the legend of Shackleton: his rivalry with Scott, the 5,000

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