"In that instant they felt an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment. Though they had failed dismally even to come close to the expedition's original objective, they knew now that somehow they had done much, much more than ever they set out to do."

Welcome back to another episode of Made You Think! If you love exploration books as much as we do, you'll definitely enjoy this episode. Today, we're talking about Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. Join us as we explore Shackleton's legendary expedition, where a crew of 28 men faced nearly two years of extreme conditions after their ship became trapped in ice.

We cover a wide range of topics including:

How Shackleton's leadership prevented descent into madness
Physical vs. mental challenges in extreme survival situations
Were previous generations tougher than we are today?
Antarctic exploration's parallels to modern space missions
The life-or-death decisions in the final rescue attempt

And much more. Please enjoy, and make sure to follow Nat, Neil, and Adil on Twitter and share your thoughts on the episode.

Links from the Episode:

Mentioned in the Show:

Equip (1:35)
TrueMed (1:39)
Gusto (3:15)
CrowdHealth (4:16)
Ross Sea Party (9:31)
SpaceX 'Chopsticks' (14:20)
Kerbal Space Program (15:57)
Oppenheimer (22:55)
Apollo 13 (40:06)
The Martian (40:35)
Endurance Documentary (43:50)
Free Solo (44:34)
JD Vance on Joe Rogan (1:14:04)
Justin Mares - The Next (1:20:19)
Anthony Gustin - The Feed (1:20:43)
News article on Epic (1:21:43)

Books Mentioned:

Colony One Mars (19:21)
The Fourth Turning (28:08) (Book Episode)
Dune (33:57)
Musashi (34:11)
East of Eden (34:12) (Book Episode) (Nat's Book Notes)
Lord of the Rings (35:29)
The River of Doubt (48:10) (Book Episode)
Hatchet (1:02:36)
The Lost Men (1:04:17)
Where Is My Flying Car? (1:08:07) (Book Episode)
Energy and Civilization (1:10:00) (Book Episode) (Nat's Book Notes)
How the World Really Works (1:10:03) (Book Episode)
The Prize (1:10:44)
Oil 101 (1:11:31)
The Brothers K (1:12:00)
Power to Save the World (1:12:19)
How to Drive a Nuclear Reactor (1:12:29)
Crypto Confidential (1:29:43)

People Mentioned:

Show Topics:

(0:00) After an unintended hiatus, we're back! We begin the episode with a tangent on our favorite blender, health insurance plans, and protein powder.

(5:44) We begin our discussion of Endurance by Alfred Lansing. Nat shares a unique perspective, having read the book during his own trip to Antarctica.

(09:15) The timeline of Shackleton's expedition spanned from August 1914 to September 1916, marking nearly two years of survival against impossible odds. Later on, Shackleton would help rescue another stranded crew in January 1917.

(11:16) Endurance draws from the crew's journal entries, a common practice during the age of exploration when survival wasn't guaranteed. We discuss how these historical records parallel potential Mars missions in the future.

(13:46) We explore current Mars exploration initiatives across the globe. China aims for a sample return mission by 2030, SpaceX targets 2028 for their missions, and India continues to advance their rover program.

(18:01) The core of Shackleton's story unfolds: an attempted Antarctic crossing, leading to a two-year fight for survival. Despite the world presuming them dead, every crew member survived, with many later serving in World War I, highlighting their extraordinary resilience.

(22:11) "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success."

Shackleton's legendary recruitment advertisement exemplified his unique approach to crew selection. Nat, Neil, and Adil also discuss whether the ...