On expedition in Svalbard we encountered the circa 1930s cabin that pioneer female big game hunter and writer Wanny Wolstad lived in during five overwinters. Literature scholar Dr. Ingrid Urberg contextualizes Wolstad and her writings within the works of other „Svalbard Daughters“ whose narratives collectively challenged the overtly masculine storytelling about the Arctic landscape all the while asking us to reconsider how we imagine the polar north.
In Asking Svalbard we begin to move beyond generalization about the Arctic. By digging deeper we interrogate a place that might only exist on the fringes of our imaginations-Svalbard, Norway. Located in the Arctic Circle, this archipelago is home to over 2,500 people. Guiding us in this radio expedition is Rolf Stange , author of the top-selling guidebook for this country of the cold shores.
How does one prepare for an expedition to the Arctic North? In Don’t Feed the Bears we speak with Ann Christin Auestad, project manager at the Arctic Safety Centre to learn more about the different training available for risk management and planning for expeditions within the polar north. We also revisit with Patrick Schaudy (EPISODE TWO) to discuss his summer employment as a polar bear guard. What is that? Listen.
In Arctic Fever we embark on our multi-episode explorations of “The Arctic.” Joining us is historian Michael Robinson—creator, host and producer of Time to Eat the Dogs, a weekly podcast about science, history, and exploration. We discuss his book, The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture, unpack what it means to go on expedition and outline the impact Arctic explorers had on the American imagination of this polar region.
In EPISODE FIFTY TWO we track down Andy Merrifield, a well-published UK-based geographer who left academia in 2003 to do what he loves. We discuss his writings on William Bunge, Guy Debord, Henri Lefebvre and John Berger and engage in a wide-ranging conversation that explores the expedition, the amateur, walking with a donkey and the pilgrimages geographical imaginations.
