Introducing SNAFU with Ed Helms - history’s greatest screw-ups

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Fiasco
Episode: Introducing SNAFU with Ed Helms – history’s greatest screw-ups
Air Date: October 16, 2025
Host: Ed Helms
Guest: Nick Kroll

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Overview

This special episode of Fiasco doubles as an introduction to “SNAFU with Ed Helms,” a podcast exploring infamous historical screw-ups with humor and insight. In this installment, Ed Helms and guest Nick Kroll unearth the ill-fated 1914 Antarctic expedition led by Ernest Shackleton—a monumental disaster-turned-triumph that tests the boundaries of endurance, leadership, and survival, all rendered in the duo’s signature witty banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Establishing the SNAFU Vibe – Comedic Chemistry (01:05-03:39)

• The episode opens with Helms and Kroll joking about dire hypothetical choices (“If you had to eat a man or a dog first...”) and their long-standing friendship formed on the New York comedy ‘bringer show’ circuit. This sets a warm, irreverent tone.
  • Kroll recalls his first standup show and being starstruck by Helms, who was then “flying high” after a Super Bowl commercial (02:07-03:06).

2. Personal Snafus – The Tuna Sandwich Disaster (03:40-05:44)

• Kroll shares a childhood vacation horror story: a deep-sea fishing trip gone awry where everyone in the family, except his physically ill-looking dad, throws up hotel-made tuna sandwiches in rough seas—a lively metaphorical prelude to Shackleton’s travails on the ocean.

  “All of us just absolutely ralphed all over this boat. And it was like, happy birthday, Mom.”
  — Nick Kroll (05:11)

3. The Shackleton Expedition—Setting the Stage (06:51-10:02)

• Helms introduces Ernest Shackleton, emphasizing his adventurous, stubborn nature and the sheer number of early 1900s Antarctic expeditions.

  • Notable banter about badass explorer names:

    “Get me Shackleton.”
    — Ed Helms (07:05)

• Kroll mentions visiting Ushuaia in Argentina, driving home the daunting proximity to Antarctica (10:02).

4. The Mission & Miseries Begin (11:17-13:56)

• The plan was epic: cross the entire Antarctic continent from sea to sea.

• The 28-man crew (plus 69 dogs and a famous tomcat “Mrs. Chippy”) faced almost immediate adversity when Endurance got stuck in the ice, described evocatively as:

  “Frozen like an almond in the middle of a chocolate bar.”
  — quoted by Ed Helms from crew member Thomas Ordley (13:56)

5. Survival in Darkness—The Ordeals Deepen (15:29-16:20)

• As they’re trapped overwinter, the sun disappears for four months.

• Kroll jokes about blackout states and navigation woes in polar extremes, engaging their comedic dynamic.

  “It just sounds like a nightmare to be in the dark, going across a continent nobody has ever been to…”
  — Nick Kroll (15:38)

• Helms quizzes Kroll on his “crisis management”—prompting stories of accidental edible consumption and onstage improv (16:07-17:47).

6. Crushed Hopes—Abandoning Ship (19:38-23:09)

• By October, Endurance is crushed by ice, and Shackleton orders the crew onto the floes, setting up “dogloos” for their canines (20:23).

• The expedition is documented by photographer Frank Hurley.

• To survive, the crew hunts seals and penguins; tough choices are made, including putting down some dogs and Mrs. Chippy.

• When Endurance finally sinks, Helms notes:

  “If my one mode of transportation out of certain death is just sinking before my eyes, I'm probably a little upset. I might have a little panic attack.”
  — Ed Helms (23:02)

7. The Trek for Survival—Dragging Lifeboats & Diminishing Hopes (23:09-25:44)

• The crew attempts, with agonizing slowness, to traverse the ice hauling lifeboats as sleds (only seven miles in seven days).

• Shackleton orders another hunker—then a stroke of luck: their ice floe drifts toward Elephant Island.

• Despite appalling conditions (seasickness, dysentery), they row for survival.

  “Add to that dysentery and now you know that it ain't just seawater sloshing around in those boats at this point.”
  — Ed Helms (25:12)

8. Rescue Against Odds—Sailing for Salvation (28:02-31:57)

• Landing on the desolate Elephant Island is a miracle, but escape is far from assured.

• Shackleton and a small team set out in a tiny boat for South Georgia—800 treacherous miles away.

• After 16 days at sea, they land but on the wrong side of the island, and must climb a mountain to reach help.

• Eventually, against astronomical odds, they save the entire crew; not a single human life lost.

  “Every single member of the crew survived.”
  — Ed Helms (31:43)

• Brief but black-humored aside about whether the dogs had been eaten, revisiting their earlier “who would you eat first?” banter (31:58-32:33).

9. SNAFU Reflections—Failure or Triumph? (32:45-35:05)

• Helms frames the event as both a grand fiasco and heroic achievement.

• Kroll reflects philosophically:

  “...to have every one of them survive is a triumph of organization and leadership and adaptability.”
  — Nick Kroll (34:09)

• They note the exploratory bravado of the British “tradition of ego-driven explorers” versus the real necessity of boundary-pushers.

10. The Endurance Rediscovery & Finale (35:12-39:23)

• Helms recounts the astonishing 2022 discovery of the intact Endurance shipwreck using Shackleton’s team’s astronomical logs. Even 100-year-old Scotch bottles were found preserved.

• Ernest Shackleton died at 47, possibly from a heart defect—his last words:

  "You always want me to give up something. What do you want me to give up now?”
  — Ernest Shackleton, as reporting by Ed Helms (38:17)

11. Takeaways—Humor, Humanity, and Hope (39:23-40:51)

• Kroll’s tongue-in-cheek lessons: “Don’t go to Antarctica... Dogs are delicious...”

• Helms concludes:

  “It makes me hopeful for human potential... All the things that we can do and deal with. And that, unfortunately, TikTok and Instagram is slowly sapping out of us.”
  — Ed Helms (40:05)

• Closing mutual appreciation and Kroll’s upcoming projects (41:04-41:48).

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Notable Quotes

• On enduring hardship:
  "It just sounds like a nightmare to be in the dark, going across a continent nobody has ever been to...”
  — Nick Kroll (15:38)

• On the SNAFU spirit:
  “This is a crazy story and it’s an interesting one in the SNAFU category because it obviously it’s a failed mission... yet it then kind of takes this positive turn in the end.”
  — Ed Helms (32:45)

• On Shackleton’s leadership:
  “...to have every one of them survive is a triumph of organization and leadership and adaptability.”
  — Nick Kroll (34:09)

• On the point of historical survivor tales:
  “If he could do that, it makes me hopeful for human potential. Like, all the things that we can do and deal with.”
  — Ed Helms (40:05)

• Shackleton’s supposed last words:
  “You always want me to give up something. What do you want me to give up now?”
  — Ed Helms quoting Shackleton (38:17)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Banter & Friendship: 01:05-03:39
• Personal Snafu (Tuna Sandwich Story): 03:40-05:44
• Shackleton Introduction: 06:51-10:02
• Setting Sail & Early Disaster: 11:17-13:56
• Winter Darkness & Survival: 15:29-16:20
• Ship Destroyed, Forced to the Ice: 19:38-23:09
• Deck to Lifeboat – Survival Trek: 23:09-25:44
• Elephant Island & Escape Attempt: 28:02-31:57
• SNAFU Reflection: 32:45-35:05
• Endurance Rediscovery: 35:12-39:23
• Final Takeaways and Wrap-up: 39:23-41:48

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Tone & Style

• The episode is rich in comedic asides, self-deprecating humor, and warm mutual ribbing, all underscored by genuine awe at Shackleton’s resilience and leadership.
• The banter renders the grim survival tale accessible, while the historical narrative is clear, engaging, and factually sound.

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Conclusion

This Fiasco/SNAFU crossover achieves a perfect blend of historical education and comedic storytelling. Ed Helms and Nick Kroll bring the calamitous but heroic saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition roaring back to life, making hard history entertaining and humane, with an undercurrent of respect for human grit—and a sharp eye on the absurd.

Whether you know the Shackleton saga or not, this episode distills its harrowing details, heroic moments, and lingering mysteries into an engaging, hilarious, and strangely uplifting adventure in survival and storytelling.

Transcript

[Nick Kroll]

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[Ed Helms]

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[Nick Kroll]

If you had to eat a man or a dog first, where would you go?

[Ed Helms]

Dog. I mean, if you're gonna put me in that like, Sophie's Choice situation.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, yeah, me def. Oh, yeah, me too.

[Ed Helms]

You're thinking real hard about that. But we're gonna let it go. All right? Today I am hilarious, inimitable Nick Kroll. Nick, welcome to snafu. Thanks so much for coming on.

[Nick Kroll]

Thanks for having me, Ed. And thanks for using the word inimitable.

[Ed Helms]

Yeah. In. In im. It should be in imitate able.

[Nick Kroll]

Is that what it is?

[Ed Helms]

That's what it means. That's what it means. But it. But it. It's inimitable, which is a weird one.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah. And I'm so excited to be here on SNAFU as well.

[Ed Helms]

We are so. I'm so glad to have you. Obviously, we. We have been. Long time. I was trying to trace back the origin of our friendship and I can't. I couldn't do it.

[Nick Kroll]

Well, I. I have a memory that you don't have, which is we. In New York, when you. We were starting out, you would do these shows at clubs called like bringer shows. You'd have to bring five to 10 people to a comedy club so that you could like get a tape made of you at a comedy club to prove that you had. And I did my first bringer show ever at the Boston Comedy Club in New York City, ironically named. And you were the host of that show. At this point, Ed, you were already flying high. You had been in a Dale Earnhardt super bowl commercial. You were, you were big. You were big time. You had been in a national. You had been in a network national TV commercial. You were a big deal.

[Ed Helms]

That was a Super bowl commercial.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was a big deal.

[Ed Helms]

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. That was my first, like, big acting booking of my life.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, trust me, it was. It was a big deal for me too, Ed, just to be in the same room as someone who had been in the same room as Dale Earnhardt Jr. But I. You were incredibly nice to me that day, as you have been every day since then. And it really, it still tickles me that, like, that we're friends and, and that I am doing you this massive favor of being on the podcast.

[Ed Helms]

I mean, this is, you know, this is payback for your first staged tape, your first standup taping or whatever the hell it was.

[Nick Kroll]

Absolutely.

[Ed Helms]

Before I get into the tragedy, the story, the snafu that I am going to tell you, do you have any major snafus from your life that you would like to share?

[Nick Kroll]

So I was away with my whole family. We were in, I think, Puerto Rico, go on a family vacation around, I think, you know, like, Christmas vacation. And so my dad thought that a cool thing to do would be to organize a deep sea fishing trip for my mom's birthday because my dad knows nothing about what is my mom would enjoy. So they packed us, like, the hotel packed us a bunch of, like, tuna sandwiches because, you know, Puerto Rico is famous for its tuna fish sandwiches. My family ranged from about 8 to 15. Four of us, my parents, and.

[Ed Helms]

And you're the youngest, right?

[Nick Kroll]

I'm the youngest, yeah.

[Ed Helms]

So you're. You're eight.

[Nick Kroll]

I'm eight or nine years old. And we get on the boat, we're going out to the deep sea, and the waves are horrible. Like, we later found out that a tanker had capsized that day in the Atlantic. So the waves were massive. We were just getting pummeled. And we all were sitting there and the entire family puked our tuna fish sandwiches out all over, all over the place. Except for my dad, who just sat in the captain's chair gripping, like, the chair turning. I'd never seen, you know when people say, like, he turned green? Like, I've never seen it really, since before, since. But my dad turned fully, like a chartreuse. And all of us just absolutely ralphed all over this boat. And it was like, happy birthday, Mom.

[Ed Helms]

This is perfect. And the best part is like, a tuna fish sandwich. A tuna fish Sandwich smells horrendous to begin with. Fresh. Like a fresh sandwich right out of the deli. It's like, it's kind of a gross thing already. And then to eat it and then to regurgitate it is a. Is just an unthinkable stench. It's not ideal, no. Well, that's very tragic and I'm very, very sorry, but this is a perfect lead in to our snafu for today. I'm gonna tell you the story of Ernest Shackleton's fate. Full expedition to Antarctica. Do you know much about this? To begin with, I have heard of.

[Nick Kroll]

This, but I have no recall of.

[Ed Helms]

Is a fascinating and wild story. Are you ready to jump in, Nick Kroll?

[Nick Kroll]

I'm strapped into the captain's chair. The waves are big. I finished my tuna sandwich and I'm ready to go.

[Ed Helms]

All right, let's do it. Let's do it. I hope this story is good enough to get you to toss that sand. Let's start out by getting to know our protagonist, Ernest Shackleton. First off, can we talk about the name? Because it is such an inherently badass name. I mean, he sounds like a 70s action movie star that should be played by Charles Bronson or like the President's fixer. Get me Shackleton.

[Nick Kroll]

I agree. I mean, and, but then the, but then the first name being Ernest also speaks to, like a sense of character inside of that.

[Ed Helms]

There you go. I always thought Nick Kroll was kind of a badass name.

[Nick Kroll]

Get me Nick Kroll.

[Ed Helms]

Get me Kroll.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ed Helms]

Ed Helms is like the guy peeling turnips on the porch. Ed here.

[Nick Kroll]

Hey, Ed. Yeah, I, yeah, but like I'd say one of the top turnip tossers in the, in the county.

[Ed Helms]

Well, thank you. Well, as, as we will soon learn, Ernest Shackleton very much lived up to that badass name. Born in 1874 in Ireland, Shackleton moved to London at age 10. But the whole sitting in a classroom thing, not so much for young Ernest. By the age 16, he bailed on formal education and just like set out to sea. Because I guess that's what you did in the 1890s when you had a short attention span and there was no Adderall, hadn't been invented yet. Now, Shackleton had a pretty striking appearance. I think we have a picture of him. Can we take a look here? I'm seeing less polar adventurer and more junior high music teacher.

[Nick Kroll]

Uh huh. Ed, can I ask how many of the people that you have traced in this show look like they could be relatives of Yours.

[Ed Helms]

That's fair. He does look like my dad a little bit. He actually looks a lot like my grandfather. I might be related to Ernest Shackleton. I gotta, I gotta dig into this.

[Nick Kroll]

I would not put it past you.

[Ed Helms]

All right. But to answer your question, it's a prerequisite. We only talk about people who look vaguely like me or my relatives. So let's set the stage a little bit. Get a little historical context. Now, you might think that in the early 1900s, a harebrained scheme like crossing Antarctica would be a crazy outlier like Elon Musk trying to go to Mars or me trying to take my kids on any 10 minute hike. But actually, you'd be wrong. Because around this time, no less than 10 different countries sent out 17 major expeditions. In fact, Antarctica was so infested with explorers, this period became known as the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. I. I'm sad we missed that age, Nick.

[Nick Kroll]

I will say I've been to Ushuaia, which is in the southernmost tip of Argentina.

[Ed Helms]

Oh, very close. All right.

[Nick Kroll]

Which was like less than 500 miles from Antarctica. I could see Antarctica.

[Ed Helms]

You could see it?

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah.

[Ed Helms]

Wow. Oh, that's cool.

[Nick Kroll]

And it was not hard at all. So whatever is about to happen to Shackleton, like, no big deal. Get a grip, bro.

[Ed Helms]

Yeah. All right, well, let's get into it. Ernie was, was on a lot of these early expeditions and he even set some impressive records marching further south than anyone had before him. He was even knighted for some of his early exploration down there. But then Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen would become the first to reach the south pole in 1911. So Shackleton then set his sights on the next prize, which was to be the first person to cross the entire continent from sea to sea. Now, I don't know about you, Nick, but I'm. I'm concerned about Shackleton's odds here. It's like the early 1900s. This is not an easy trek, Ed.

[Nick Kroll]

I have enough problems getting across town.

[Ed Helms]

Okay, can we talk about the bumper to bumper or shall I say bow to stern traffic all around Antarctica? It is a doozy down there.

[Nick Kroll]

It's a doozy of a continent to cross, I will tell you that.

[Ed Helms]

On December 5, 1914, Shackleton sets sail for Antarctica from South Georgia, which is a tiny British territory deep in the southern Atlantic Ocean. His ship is the HMS Endurance, which is another badass name, if I may say. The plan was to establish a land base on the Weddell Sea coast and then just start sledding across the Antarctic. Now, let's keep in mind it is 1914. You can't just run to REI and like pick up some Capeline base layers and a Gore Tex shell. No, you are headed to Antarctica and all of your clothes are basically made out of like leather, wool and wood. So I, it's. It ain't comfy, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. What would you pack on this trip, Nick Kroll? What would you bring?

[Nick Kroll]

I would bring my hypoallergenic pillow. I would bring my penguin Duolingo.

[Ed Helms]

Did you say penguin Duolingo?

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, if you gotta talk to penguins. Antarctica famous for its.

[Ed Helms]

The language. So you can learn penguin language?

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, so I can learn penguin language.

[Ed Helms]

I thought you actually had a penguin named Duolingo.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, hug. I wish.

[Ed Helms]

So the crew of this expedition consists of 27 men. Actually it's 28 because there was a stowaway. There's 69 sled dogs and a single tomcat that they named Mrs. Chippy. So yes, that is a male cat with a female name because Shackleton was evidently very progressive. Any, anyone, like jump to mind, like, who you would want to bring on this trip? Who would be in your crew?

[Nick Kroll]

You're going to have to have some people who know how to take care of dogs. You want some people who can read a, you know, a compass. Although I don't know what happens to your compass when you go to a pole. I wonder if it goes haywire when you go to a pole.

[Ed Helms]

It's probably not super helpful down there. That's a good point. But it's all like celestial navigation down there, I think.

[Nick Kroll]

Oh, that's cool.

[Ed Helms]

All right, so they're off and running on this expedition. Two days in, they encountered a huge barrier of ice surrounding Antarctica, which is usually there, I gather, but this one was particularly bad. They were expecting to be able to sail all the way to land, but they didn't get there. And by the following month, on January 18th, the HMS Endurance got completely stuck in the ice. As one of the crew members, Thomas Ordley's put it, they were frozen like an almond in the middle of a chocolate bar. Delicious, right? It's a kind of a weirdly yummy metaphor for a life threatening situation. Yeah, I would have gone with something a little darker, maybe. Maybe an almond stuck in dark chocolate. Jackleton. Yeah, there you go. Shackleton, his men, all the dogs, and of course Mrs. Chippy had no choice but to simply hunker down and wait out a very long winter. Winter in Antarctica. Probably not real mellow and just to make things a little more dire, on May 1st, the sun fully vanished for four whole months. Now, Nick, I know you're a flat Earther, but this is actually a crazy phenomenon due to the Earth's tilt, wherein the north and South Poles at certain times of the year have either total sunlight or total blackout for months on end. So in the wintertime, total blackout.

[Nick Kroll]

I am in a total blackout right now. Absolutely.

[Ed Helms]

I've known you a long time. Like, a good 60% of your day is blackout.

[Nick Kroll]

God. And I'm just following the celestial signs to get through the day. No, it just sounds like a nightmare to be in the dark, going across a continent nobody has ever been to and trying to guide yourself, hoping that you're going in the right direction.

[Ed Helms]

But also, you're not even on land yet. Like, you're in the. You're still in the ocean, just stuck on ice like that. That doesn't feel safe, even in the boat, right?

[Nick Kroll]

Like, no.

[Ed Helms]

Are you, Nick Kroll? Are you good in a crisis? Like, if this. If you're in this situation, are you just, like, freaking out, breaking out in hives, like, panicking, screaming at everybody? Are you, like, pitching in? Like, staying optimistic?

[Nick Kroll]

I don't know if I'm good in a crisis, but I do not freak out. My blood pressure drops. I get very calm. I don't know if I'm effective or helpful, but I am definitely. I don't like panic.

[Ed Helms]

I've seen you in a crisis. I've. I've actually. I remember we were set to do some shows at the Telluride Comedy Festival, and we went to dinner ahead of time, and you were acting a little strange, and you got a little quiet at dinner, and that's when you told us that your edibles were kicking in. You'd had some of that sweet Colorado edible, and I started to panic. I was like, we gotta do these shows. We're improving together. A lot of us are counting on each other. You were so chill, and you wrote it so beautifully. You were having fun. You got real giggly. But it was, like. It was definitely a lot more than you were expecting.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, just one of the last times I probably did edibles, because every time I've ever done edibles, it's a massive snafu. It's just, like, you cannot.

[Ed Helms]

Can't go well. Hey, Ed Helms here.

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To play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. So now, by September, the pressure of the ice all around the HMS Endurance is getting even more intense because they're just these huge ice floes that are, that are being pushed by the wind and the currents, and they're starting to crush the ship. And by October, as the ice constricted the ship more and more, it began to list over dramatically to one side and was even taking on water. So Shackleton orders everyone to abandon ship. They set up camp on the ice. And here's a fun detail. They even made little dog igloos for the dogs, which they called dog glues.

[Nick Kroll]

Oh.

[Ed Helms]

If you live in a winter climate, think about making a dog glue, because it's, it's unbelievably adorable.

[Nick Kroll]

Well, there is a dog glue housing shortage right now, of course, that I feel like we, we should address. Yeah, and I just want to talk, I want to be able to talk about that. Have this be a space where we can talk about that kind of stuff.

[Ed Helms]

Let's do it. Now here's another cool, weird detail is you might be wondering why, how do we have a picture of the actual dog glue? Well, there was a photographer on this expedition and he, his name was Frank Hurley and it was his job to document everything. But they're just pictures of all this stuff we're talking about and I would encourage our listeners to check them out because it's very cool. Okay, so they have shelter, but what are these guys eating? The crew is hunting seals and penguins to feed themselves and the dogs. What do you think? Are you more of a seal or penguin guy?

[Nick Kroll]

I, I love, frankly, both. I find seals to be like just about the cutest.

[Ed Helms]

It's hard to eat cute things. I think penguins are unbelievably cute.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, I think penguins are funny to me. I don't know if they're. Yeah. I don't know how good the meat is on a penguin. You know what I mean?

[Ed Helms]

It's not a delicacy.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah.

[Ed Helms]

If all of this is not bad enough, things are about to get way worse for Ernie Shacky and all his buddies. The Endurance wedged in the ice hasn't sunk yet, but it's not looking good. And they know that they need to lose as much weight as possible. So they begin unloading and discarding whatever they can sacrifice. Books, bibles, personal belongings. Sadly, this also meant putting down some of the smaller dogs that they knew wouldn't survive, which must have been really tough in those circumstances. And yes, even Mrs. Chippy was put down. RIP. Mrs. Chippy. Oh yeah, this is hard. I mean, they're in survival mode here. It's pretty, it's pretty brutal. Then it happened. On November 21, Shackleton and his crew watched as the Endurance sank. And apparently Shackleton yelled out, she's going, boys. I don't, I don't know if, if that was like sort of like a funny thing to say at the time or, or like it was through tears. But all I know is if my one mode of transportation out of certain death is just sinking before my eyes, I'm probably a little upset. I might have a little panic attack.

[Nick Kroll]

It would be a bad vibe. I think it's fair to say pretty bad vibe.

[Ed Helms]

Now obviously their game plan has now shifted dramatically. It's gone from let's make a heroic crossing of this continent to basically let's just try to get the hell out of here alive. And yeah, so basically they just start walking across this never ending ice flow towards land. I Mean, what else are you gonna do? But they're not just walking. They're also hauling the lifeboats that they salvaged from the Endurance and they're using as sleds to carry their supplies. So needless to say, this is very slow going. They only managed to walk seven miles in seven days. So Shackleton gives the order. He's like, this is hopeless. We got to just hunker down and wait for conditions to get better.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah.

[Ed Helms]

So they did. They set up camp again, and fortunately, the ice drifted in their favor. And finally, on April 7th, Elephant island came into view on the horizon. Now, it ain't Maui, but I'm pretty sure it was a lovely sight to see. Right. It's land. Like, they're just psyched to see some land at this point. But now their ice flow that they're riding on is starting to kind of break apart and it's no longer safe. Also just terrifying. Like, they're on. They're in the Antarctic Ocean, for God's sake. So on April 11, 1916, they're forced to pack up the boats and launch for Elephant Island. Now, these are tiny little lifeboats. They're like 22ft long, and they're basically like big canoes. And they're in very high seas with waves crashing around them. And that water is a little bit chilly, right? Probably one would think, like, it's ice water. It's literally like having a glass of ice water.

[Nick Kroll]

I love it at a restaurant. I don't necessarily want to go swimming in it.

[Ed Helms]

Ed, cold plunging is a delight when it is a choice. Yes, but these guys are just getting. Yeah, these guys are getting just slammed by huge waves and freezing water. And also at this point, a lot of them are suffering from seasickness and dysentery. So imagine your sickness that you had on your family vacation. But add to that dysentery and now you know that it ain't just seawater sloshing around in those boats at this point.

[Nick Kroll]

Oh, my God.

[Ed Helms]

I like to think I'd be one of the guys yanking on the oars getting us to Elephant Island.

[Nick Kroll]

I think you would be.

[Ed Helms]

I don't know, I might be balled up on the floor in fetal position.

[Nick Kroll]

But I don't see you that way, Ed. I think you're a. You're. You're a. You're a team player.

[Ed Helms]

I appreciate that.

[Nick Kroll]

I mean, when I was. When I was, like, losing my mind on edibles, all you did was poke me and make fun of me. So.

[Ed Helms]

We supported you.

[Nick Kroll]

You did you genuinely did.

[Ed Helms]

Okay. After six days and 30 miles of open ocean, they finally make landfall. Yes, they've been gone now for a year and a half, and they're finally on solid ground. But, hey, Ed Helms here.

[Ed Helms (Ad Segment)]

Now, if you're listening to Snafu, you probably love a good story, especially the kind that pulls you in, twists your brain a little, and leaves you wanting more. And you also like listening to that story. Well, if this describes you, I've got another podcast you should check out. It's called Irsay, the Audible and iHeart audiobook club, and I co host it with my good friend Cal Penn. Each week we dive into some of the most compelling new audiobooks from Audible. Thrillers, reimagined classics, comedies. And we bring in amazing guests to help us unpack them. Think of it like a book club, but with zero pressure to actually crack open the book. All you got to do is listen to it.

[Ed Helms]

And by the way, listening is reading.

[Ed Helms (Ad Segment)]

It is not cheating. So if you want more great stories in your life, listen to Hearsay now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Nick Kroll]

What kind of man would let this happen to his family?

[Patricia Arquette]

Inspired by shocking actual events, I'm working.

[Narrator/Reporter]

On a story about the Murdochs. Their abuses of power are playing out in real time time.

[Patricia Arquette]

Starring Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette and Jason Clark.

[Nick Kroll]

It's only cheating if you get caught.

[Patricia Arquette]

Hulu original Series Murdoch, Death in the Family. New episodes Wednesdays on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

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[Ed Helms]

Social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. Don't party yet, because I have a little bit of bad news. Which is that elephant. Yes, Elephant Island. Uninhabited, right? So you can't just check into a Hampton Inn and hit the Applebee's for a hot rack of ribs. This is. This. This ordeal is far from over. So they're on solid ground, which is. Which is great. And it's been a harrowing journey. Like they're basically heroes already. But there's so much more ahead, so Shackleton and his crew still need some serious help getting out of there. So after A few days recuperating and gorging on more of that delicious penguin jerky.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah.

[Ed Helms]

Me, Shackleton and four other men once again boarded one of those tiny little lifeboats. And it's just, this is. They basically are like sending off just a tiny crew to go get help. While the rest wait on Elephant island, they board a tiny lifeboat named the James Caird and set sail for South Georgia Island. No big deal, it's only 800 miles away.

[Nick Kroll]

Oh my God.

[Ed Helms]

But alas, after 16 brutal days, again, like incredibly high seas, like crazy stormy winds, they make it. They make it to South Georgia. Wow. But Nick.

[Nick Kroll]

Uh huh.

[Ed Helms]

Guess what?

[Nick Kroll]

Oh, and what?

[Ed Helms]

They're on the wrong side of the island.

[Nick Kroll]

Oh, my God. What do you mean?

[Ed Helms]

Well, because I think because the currents and the wind and the storms were so intense, they couldn't land at this little whaling station that they were aiming for and they actually landed on the exact wrong side of the island. So now they're exhausted, starving, frozen basically solid, and they have to climb over a mountain to get to this little whaling outpost. And guess what? They did it. They just did it. These guys are unstoppable. This is Ernest Shackleton and a few of his top crew. They get all the way over the mountain and they descend into this little whaling outpost. And the Norwegian, I think he's a Norwegian guy that kind of runs this place and he's just like, this is impossible. Like, humans can't just show up on South Georgia island with like inexplicably. And he's.

[Nick Kroll]

You don't know Ernie. You don't know Ernie.

[Ed Helms]

Have you met Ernie? Obviously this guy is super hospitable, gives them a warm welcome, they rest up, they recuperate. But now, of course, they have to go back and rescue everyone still on Elephant Island. But it takes a long time to get the resources together to do that. So it's another 126 days before they finally returned to Elephant island on August 30, 1916 and rescued the remainder of the crew and sailed back to civilization. They arrived in Chile 638 days after their initial voyage started. And Nick, brace yourself. Every single member of the crew survived.

[Nick Kroll]

That's crazy.

[Ed Helms]

There were, there was obviously very tragic loss of, of life with the dogs and Mrs. Chippy. But, but the crew, the human crew all survived.

[Nick Kroll]

Did they eat the dogs?

[Ed Helms]

I think that some of the dogs were consumed. But at that point you're like, hey, Billy, if you die, we're eating you, you know?

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah. If you had to Eat a man or a dog first. Where would you go?

[Ed Helms]

Dog. I mean, if you're gonna put me in that like Sophie's Choice situation.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, yeah, me def. Oh yeah, me too. Yeah, for sure.

[Ed Helms]

Okay, for sure. Yeah, really, you're thinking real hard about that. But, but we're going to let it go. You're, you're a recreational cannibal.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, I'm a fine young cannibal. I'm a fine middle aged cannibal.

[Ed Helms]

So this is a, this is a crazy story and it's an interesting one in the SNAFU category because it obviously it's a failed mission and it becomes this terrible, terrible, awful tragedy. All of which make it a complete snafu. And yet it then kind of takes this positive turn in the end. So what's your call on this? Would you say it's an epic fail or an epic win?

[Nick Kroll]

Well, I think it speaks to the larger point of view you have on life, which is ol Ernie Shackleton, one of the last remaining great two point scorers because they had not, and they had not put the three point line in. But ol Ernie Shackleton obviously was a motivated fella and was setting incredibly high standards and goals for himself. I'm going to cross all of Antarctica. He failed to do that and that must have been quite disappointing. However, to basically go two years with a crew of 27, 28 men, to have every one of them survive is a triumph of organization and leadership and adaptability. And he was tough on himself. But I hope that Ernest was able to sort of see what a, what a feat that that is to have, have brought everyone back.

[Ed Helms]

It is largely considered a very heroic occurrence in, in, in among historians. And, and it's funny because, you know, the, the British explorer tradition is so like ego driven. It's sort of like it's one of those things where it's like, well, you put yourself in that situation. Yeah, this whole thing was optional, but. Yeah, but, but that said, like, we do need people who push that envelope and like push humanity forward with these incredible daring explorations. And he, he's one of those people. It went, it went terribly wrong.

[Nick Kroll]

But by Jove, which I, you have to imagine that was said so much.

[Ed Helms]

And by the way, it would be another 50 years before anyone crossed Antarctica. So he was way ahead of his time. Like it wasn't, it wasn't actually accomplished for a long, long time after that. There's more to the story. On March 5, 2022, this is only a few years ago, the HMS Endurance was discovered 107 years later. Many said the ship would be impossible to find because the Weddell Sea is permanently covered in so much thick ice. But using lunar occultation notes, it's basically tracking the moon's movements. And the ship's astronomer or whatever or navigator had kept really meticulous notes about the celestial bodies moving and, and they had these incredible notes. They were able to kind of like go back in time and based on his notes, pinpoint the location where the, the Endurance had been stuck in the ice. And so that's where they searched and lo and behold, they found it. Now, some called it the most pristine shipwreck they'd ever seen. Apparently, like in warm, warmer waters, there are these enzymes and different things that consume or kind of denigrate the wood over time. But none of that is in the Weddell Sea, it's just too cold. So the shipwreck is in perfect condition. I think it's like two miles deep. And they could even read HMS Endurance on the back. And then this is fascinating. They found bottles of whiskey buried in the ice near Shackleton's wreck. And miraculously, these remained liquid despite the -22 degrees Fahrenheit weather. How much would you pay for a bottle of endurance 100 year old?

[Nick Kroll]

Oh, I'd pay a lot. Like, could I Venmo him?

[Ed Helms]

Yeah.

[Nick Kroll]

I'd pay upwards of, you know, like 60 bucks.

[Ed Helms]

I would pay a shitload for that Scotch. I'm not even, it's probably not consumable, but, but also, I must say, if there's, if, if there's Scotch left behind, this adventure, like, I'm starting to question their priorities.

[Nick Kroll]

Right. Like, what were they doing leaving all that, that Scotch behind?

[Ed Helms]

Yeah, come on. This, this is what, you know, Shackleton had good Scotch. Like, he was, he was a, he was Sir Ernest Shackleton, like, and he's like, he had the good stuff.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah. I mean, this is well before Bush's. No Scotch left behind. But you have to imagine how they made it. I guess they were probably like, if we're going to make it for a year or two, like in the middle of, literally in the middle of nowhere, alcohol is not going to help. Like, this is only going to create discord amongst us, so maybe better to leave it behind.

[Ed Helms]

All right. As for Ernest Shackleton, he passed away at the very not ripe young age of 47 in 1922 from a heart attack during another Antarctic expedition. So he was not traumatized by this. He went back, he was like, give me more. Antarctica researchers now say that he may have had a hole in his heart based on a lot of the symptoms that he was just making notes of in his. In his journal, which is a congenital heart defect. That's not uncommon. Some say that the hole in his heart was just the grief over losing Mrs. Chippy. Who can say that's true also. Okay, and I love this. After a doctor asked him to take it easy, his reported last words were, you always want me to give up something. What do you want me to give up now? Hmm. I guess you can take the Shackleton out of the voyage, but you can't take the Voyager out of Shackleton.

[Nick Kroll]

Indeed, Nick.

[Ed Helms]

That's our story. That is the story of Ernest Shackleton. That is today's snafu. What have we learned? Anything? Any big takeaways?

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, let's see. You can preserve your body in a cold plunge for a hundred years. Don't go to Antarctica. Just don't go. Like, let it be. Just let it be.

[Ed Helms]

Or if you do, make sure you go with Ernest Shackleton.

[Nick Kroll]

Go with Ernie. Dogs are delicious. If you need something to eat.

[Ed Helms]

If you're starving and about to die.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah.

[Ed Helms]

All right.

[Nick Kroll]

What about you? Any. Any takeaways for you?

[Ed Helms]

I love these. This kind of survival story because it's just so inspiring and not in a way that's like, oh, well, what are my problems compared to that guy's problems? It's more like if he could do that, it makes me hopeful for human potential. Like, all the things that we can do and deal with. And that, unfortunately, TikTok and Instagram is slowly sapping out of us. Like we're. The more we. The more we indulge in modern society, it feels like we're just sort of losing this metal that people like Shackleton and all of his men had.

[Nick Kroll]

I'm inspired. I'm inspired to go live more earnestly.

[Ed Helms]

Nick, you inspire me on a daily basis.

[Nick Kroll]

Thank you, sir. You inspire me.

[Ed Helms]

Are you up to anything? Is there anything we can talk about and. And tell the. The. The world and fans and listeners about.

[Nick Kroll]

Yeah, I'm doing a journey to Antarctica.

[Ed Helms]

I saw that. Go the GoFundMe page. Your goal was fifteen hundred dollars. It doesn't seem adequate.

[Nick Kroll]

I know. I have. Depending on when this comes out, the final season of Big Mouth, my animated show on Netflix, comes out.

[Ed Helms]

Yes.

[Nick Kroll]

In late spring. There's a movie that I made with Andrew Rannells called I Don't understand you'd. That'll also be out late spring, early summer.

[Ed Helms]

Can't wait for that.

[Nick Kroll]

And a show that I produced and directed some of called Adults on FX that'll be out this spring.

[Ed Helms]

So fantastic.

[Nick Kroll]

Whenever this stuff comes out, if you're not stuck on a boat in Antarctica. Luckily that's not a problem because everything is melting. Can go check out one of those things.

[Ed Helms]

Right on. Nick, I adore you and I am so grateful to have you on. Ladies and gentlemen, Nick Kroll.

[Nick Kroll]

Thanks, Ed. I love you, buddy.

[Ed Helms]

Cheers.

[Nick Kroll]

It's a pleasure. Cheers.

[Ed Helms]

Snafu is a production of iHeart podcasts and snafu Movies Media, a partnership between Film Nation Entertainment and Pacific Electric Picture Company. Post production and creative support from Gilded Audio. Our executive producers are me, Ed Helms, Mike Falbow, Glenn Basner, Andy Kim, Whitney Donaldson and Dylan Fagan. This episode was produced by Alyssa Martino, Tori Smith and Carl Nellis. Our consulting producer is Jess Hackel. Additional story editing from Carl. Our video editor is Jared Smith. Technical direction and engineering from Nick Dooley. Our creative executive is Brett Harris. Logo and branding by the Collected Works. Legal review from Dan Welch, Megan Halson and Caroline Johnson. Special thanks to Isaac Dunham, Adam Horne, Lane Klein and everyone at iHeart podcasts, but especially Will Pearson, Carrie Lieberman, Nikki Etor, Nathan Otoski and Alex Corral. While I have you, don't forget to.

[Ed Helms (Ad Segment)]

Pick up a copy of my book.

[Ed Helms]

Snafu the definitive guide to history's greatest screw ups. It's available now from any book retailer. Just go to snafu-book.com thanks for listening and see you next week. This is Alec Murdoch.

[Nick Kroll]

I need police and an ambulance immediately.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Murdoch Death in the Family official podcast is here. I'm joining Patricia Arquette, Jason Clark and the cast to uncover all things Murdoch family first to unravel the story piece by piece was really surprising because you don't want to believe it. Murdoch Death in the Family official podcast Wednesdays and stream Murdock Death in the Family on Hulu and Hulu on Disney for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

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[Nick Kroll]

This is an I Heart podcast.