<description>&lt;p&gt;In 1897, a Swedish engineer set out to reach the North Pole ... by balloon. With two companions, a crate of champagne, and the faith of a nation, he rose into the Arctic fog &amp;mdash; and vanished. Decades later, their frozen journals and undeveloped film emerged from the ice, revealing the haunting truth behind one of exploration&amp;rsquo;s great mysteries.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;*&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On the &lt;strong&gt;Very Special Episodes&lt;/strong&gt; podcast, Dana Schwartz tells one incredible story each week. Follow her down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. New episodes starting February 4th!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;See &lt;a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener"&gt;omnystudio.com/listener&lt;/a&gt; for privacy information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Astray

iHeartPodcasts

The Disastrous North Pole Balloon Mission of 1897 [from Very Special Episodes]

JAN 24, 202653 MIN
Astray

The Disastrous North Pole Balloon Mission of 1897 [from Very Special Episodes]

JAN 24, 202653 MIN

Description

In 1897, a Swedish engineer set out to reach the North Pole ... by balloon. With two companions, a crate of champagne, and the faith of a nation, he rose into the Arctic fog — and vanished. Decades later, their frozen journals and undeveloped film emerged from the ice, revealing the haunting truth behind one of exploration’s great mysteries. * On the Very Special Episodes podcast, Dana Schwartz tells one incredible story each week. Follow her down a different rabbit hole every Wednesday. New episodes starting February 4th! This episode is a production of iHeartPodcasts and School of Humans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.